Just a vent...

CY wrote:
"Linda" wrote in message news:4462a170


but all I got was "well thats ok, just keep her away from too many other
kids in the

meantime"


I don't get this advice either, though...I mean *most* kids these days are
vaccinated, right? So who are the ones carrying around these rare diseases?



Children and adults from other countries. (Very big problem when I lived
in NY)

Jo

Sidheag McCormack wrote:
lietofine writes:

You know everything's going downhill when he pulls out the "I went
through 4 years of medical school, 3 years of residency and I keep up on
my reading...you really need to follow the doctors recommendations
because the American medical system is the best in the world and no one
in the medical community is trying to do something that would harm
anyone."

Lol, that'll be why the US has worse first-month-of-life death statistics than
anywhere in the developed world except Latvia - somehow a :-) doesn't seem
quite appropriate.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/p...mothers.index/

What I did wonder about, when hearing this, was how much was due to
advances in neonatal care, increases in low-birth weight babies, and
the process of counting 'live' births in the US versus other countries.

Then again, Latvia isn't all that bad (somehow I'm reminded of that
Oldsmobile ad: "This isn't your father's Latvia.")

Caledonia

Ah, didn't think of that
"Jo" wrote in message
...
CY wrote:
"Linda" wrote in message news:4462a170


but all I got was "well thats ok, just keep her away from too many other
kids in the

meantime"


I don't get this advice either, though...I mean *most* kids these days
are vaccinated, right? So who are the ones carrying around these rare
diseases?

Children and adults from other countries. (Very big problem when I lived
in NY)

Jo

In misc.kids.breastfeeding, CY wrote:

I don't get this advice either, though...I mean *most* kids these days are
vaccinated, right? So who are the ones carrying around these rare diseases?

In fact, enough kids these days aren't immunised that the "herd" immunity
that protects all of them is breaking down. Measles has recently begun
to re-emerge in the UK, and children are already dying.

"Vashti" wrote in message
...
In misc.kids.breastfeeding, CY wrote:

I don't get this advice either, though...I mean *most* kids these days
are
vaccinated, right? So who are the ones carrying around these rare
diseases?

In fact, enough kids these days aren't immunised that the "herd" immunity
that protects all of them is breaking down. Measles has recently begun
to re-emerge in the UK, and children are already dying.

We have had over 200 reported and documented pertussus cases in Memphis
alone this year, and have had a major rise in measles as well in the last
few years, which coincides with a much reduced requirement to "prove" a need
for an excemption as opposed to just signing a paper stating you want one.
The last year I taught in an inner city school here, we had 22
kindergarteners, out of about 100, who were not completely vaccinated, but
who had "personal beliefs excemptions". And, we had a 3rd grader end up in
the hospital critically ill after contracting pertussus, almost certainly at
school, before her parents knew that we'd had confirmed cases and could pull
her out. She couldn't be vaccinated because of health issues, and came very
close to dying because people had chosen not to vaccinate their healthy with
no risk factors children.

On Mon, 22 May 2006, Donna Metler wrote:

She couldn't be vaccinated because of health issues, and came very
close to dying because people had chosen not to vaccinate their healthy with
no risk factors children.

I vaccinate my daughter for most illnesses. I'm delaying chicken pox
because hey, I had it and it wasn't fun but I don't want to give her any
more weird things introduced into her body than necessary. But I cannot
agree with the idea that there are only proven, documented, absolute
"risk" vs. "no risk factors" kids. I'm active in a few different
discussion groups, and I know of a few kids who have had horrendous
reactions in the day or two right after their immunizations. One kid
regressed in many milestones, another kid developed autism-like symptoms.
Even my own daughter developed a really spiky, scary fever in the week
after one set of shots. I agree that the illnesses themselves are tragic
and horrific, but it's downright creepy that many children show some very
concerning symptoms in the days following vaccinations. Our government's
answer was to apparently give legal absolution to various drug companies
regardless of any provable link to their products.

If we could do an honest assessment into various developments after
vaccinations, if we could legitimately keep track of various problems and
symptoms, and study other causes, maybe we could prove or disprove the
source of these illnesses, but by sweeping them under the table, some
parents feel the only way to protect their kids from potential harm from
vaccine additives is to refuse the vacine.

T Flynn wrote:
On Mon, 22 May 2006, Donna Metler wrote:


She couldn't be vaccinated because of health issues, and came very
close to dying because people had chosen not to vaccinate their healthy with
no risk factors children.


I vaccinate my daughter for most illnesses. I'm delaying chicken pox
because hey, I had it and it wasn't fun but I don't want to give her any
more weird things introduced into her body than necessary. But I cannot
agree with the idea that there are only proven, documented, absolute
"risk" vs. "no risk factors" kids. I'm active in a few different
discussion groups, and I know of a few kids who have had horrendous
reactions in the day or two right after their immunizations. One kid
regressed in many milestones, another kid developed autism-like symptoms.
Even my own daughter developed a really spiky, scary fever in the week
after one set of shots. I agree that the illnesses themselves are tragic
and horrific, but it's downright creepy that many children show some very
concerning symptoms in the days following vaccinations. Our government's
answer was to apparently give legal absolution to various drug companies
regardless of any provable link to their products.

If we could do an honest assessment into various developments after
vaccinations, if we could legitimately keep track of various problems and
symptoms, and study other causes, maybe we could prove or disprove the
source of these illnesses, but by sweeping them under the table, some
parents feel the only way to protect their kids from potential harm from
vaccine additives is to refuse the vacine.



Better to catch the chicken pox as a child then to get them later.
The children that did have the vaccine are getting the disease as adults
so it really isn't that effective long term. They do recommend getting
it if you are an adult and hadn't had chicken pox.

I think that some vaccines are important and some are not. The best
thing to do is educate yourself and then make choices based on that
knowledge.

JO

Jo wrote:

Better to catch the chicken pox as a child then to get them later.
The children that did have the vaccine are getting the disease as adults
so it really isn't that effective long term. They do recommend getting
it if you are an adult and hadn't had chicken pox.

Study, please?

The vaccine was relatively new to widespread use when my oldest
daughter was a baby, so it's not been in use much more than 10-12
years. It's been in use in Japan for some time (25-30 years?) and
what -they- found was that the small population who was vaccinated
maintained a good immunity, because they came in regular contact with
the wild virus. AFAIK, there's no concrete studies on adult immunity
for a largely vaccinated population because it hasn't been in use that
way for long enough yet.

Michelle
Flutist

Michelle J. Haines wrote:
Jo wrote:


Better to catch the chicken pox as a child then to get them later.
The children that did have the vaccine are getting the disease as
adults so it really isn't that effective long term. They do recommend
getting it if you are an adult and hadn't had chicken pox.


Study, please?

The vaccine was relatively new to widespread use when my oldest daughter
was a baby, so it's not been in use much more than 10-12 years. It's
been in use in Japan for some time (25-30 years?) and what -they- found
was that the small population who was vaccinated maintained a good
immunity, because they came in regular contact with the wild virus.
AFAIK, there's no concrete studies on adult immunity for a largely
vaccinated population because it hasn't been in use that way for long
enough yet.

Michelle
Flutist

I am copying an article here which includes references to several studies.


Chickenpox Party: Developing Natural Varicella Immunity
By Brian Wimer, Jacquelyn L. Emm and Deren Bader
Issue 122, January/February 2004

"Whoopee!" When word got out that little George's cousin Natalie had
chickenpox, the playgroup phone tree lit up with the jubilant consensus:
"Chickenpox party!" George was there, as was Natalie, our "Patient
Zero." Jonah, Timothy, Sam, and Luka came with parents in tow, hoping to
bring home a lifelong party favor of double-stranded DNA herpesvirus.

Yes, it sounds cruel and unusual to subject one's child to a biological
sneak attack. But we weren't going blindly into this affair like
Tupperware-toting lemmings. We'd done our homework. On the kitchen table
was a stack of clinical studies citing the pros, cons, dos, and don'ts
of catching wild chickenpox in the company of friends.

Sharing sippy cups, whistles, and lollipops (sugar- and saccharine-free,
of course), the wee revelers romped and stomped and ran amok as
microscopic varicella viruses triggered the alarms of their mucous
membranes, manufacturing ideal antibodies for a lifetime of immunity.

Admittedly, we mommies and daddies were not caught in the mainstream
with this somewhat rebellious act. Today's conventional wisdom says to
go with the shot, which many parents do "to be on the safe side." But we
at the party were doing what we felt was safest, after weeding through
the propaganda and rhetoric about America 's latest "Red Scare": the
deadly scourge of chickenpox panic.

You've seen them: The spooky Merck & Co. ads with the crying rubber
duck. The statistics of children dying from chickenpox. The assurances
of vaccination safety. Slick. Even convincing, to some.

The leading edge of a new slew of mandatory policies is a recent
decision from an Illinois immunization advisory committee that has
recommended that chickenpox vaccinations be required for admission to
Illinois schools-against the advice of the state health board.
Allegedly, five of the committee's 18 members-and Illinois's governor,
George Ryan, who vetoed a bill that would have banned people with
financial ties to pharmaceutical companies from serving on the
committee-had financial ties to Merck. 1 Conflict of interest or not, 29
states now require proof that children entering daycare or school either
have had chickenpox or have been vaccinated against the disease.

Varivax, the varicella vaccine manufactured by Merck, was approved by
the FDA in 1995. The latest Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports
estimate that 75 percent of the nation's children have been vaccinated
with it. They credit the vaccine with a significant statistical drop in
the number of chickenpox cases reported, and they have stacks of studies
to back up their claim. From 1987 to 1997, the reported national
incidence of chickenpox decreased 58 percent. 2 In fact, doctors are no
longer required to report chickenpox cases to local and state health
departments-which just might have some influence on optimistically low
chickenpox statistics.

"The decrease from 1987 to 1997 corresponded with decreases in the
number of states reporting to NNDSS and the completeness of reporting,"
admits the CDC. Areas reporting dropped from 46 states and DC in 1972 to
20 states in 1997. What declined was the reporting, not the incidence of
chickenpox. Today, the CDC actively watches only three US sites for
varicella: West Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Travis County, Texas; and
Antelope Valley , Los Angeles County , California. 3

Two years after vaccine licensure, in the 14 states that maintained
continuous reporting of varicella, the incidence remained completely
unchanged, at 107.0 cases per 100,000 population. (The national
incidence, however, was reported by the CDC as dropping to 36.9. 4 )

While the CDC estimates the vaccine to be 86 percent effective in
children, a 2001 CDC study showed that that effectiveness might actually
be as low as 40 percent. 5 But authorities at Maryland's Takoma Park
Elementary School might quarrel even with that. There, reportedly, 12 of
the 16 cases of a recent chickenpox outbreak involved children who had
already been vaccinated. 6

Moreover, the CDC's Jane Seward, MD; Karin Galil, MD, MPH; and Anne A.
Gershon, MD, director of the infectious disease division at Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons, found further cause for
concern about the vaccine in a recent outbreak of chickenpox at a
Concord, New Hampshire daycare center. 7 It began with a child who had
been vaccinated, contradicting the theory that "breakthrough"
cases-i.e., children who develop true chickenpox despite having been
vaccinated-are not contagious. Studies from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
also refute the idea that vaccine-borne varicella is not contagious. 8-10

Nor, perhaps, is the vaccine as safe as advertised. A 2000 article in
the Journal of the American Medical Association disclosed a wealth of
reports made by doctors and parents to the Vaccine Adverse Event
Reporting System (VAERS). "This FDA report confirms our concern that the
chickenpox vaccine may be more reactive than anticipated in individuals
with both known and unknown biological high risk factors," said Barbara
Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). 11

Allowing for underreporting, the authors estimated that 4 percent of
vaccine-induced adverse reactions (about 1 in 33,000 doses) were
serious, resulting in shock, convulsions, encephalitis,
thrombocytopenia, and 14 deaths. The report adds 17 adverse events to
the manufacturer's product label, including secondary bacterial
infections (cellulitis), secondary transmission (infection of close
contacts), and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

"This vaccine should not be mandated," said Fisher. "There are too many
questions about the true adverse event and efficacy profile of this
relatively new live virus vaccine." 12 Fisher's concerns are not
theoretical. Her son was left with multiple learning disabilities and
attention deficit disorder after a severe reaction to a DPT shot.

This is not to say that wild chickenpox is entirely benign. The CDC
estimates that the 4 million annual cases result in 11,000
hospitalizations and 100 deaths every year. (Although deaths first
became reportable to the CDC only in 1999.) The risk of death from
chickenpox complications in healthy children is quite minimal. However,
the CDC contends that chickenpox is the leading "vaccine-preventable"
killer of children, and many clinical studies have been published
attesting to the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

But, some vaccine critics say, the wild version has its advantages.
Allegedly, it produces much higher antibody levels than the vaccine,
making individuals less prone to developing shingles, the adult version
of chickenpox.

Getting chickenpox naturally works something like this: The virus enters
the body through the mucous membranes and the upper respiratory and
gastrointestinal tracts, giving the body time to work up a strong immune
response. Once the body's immune system has built an antibody for the
virus, the body will always build that same antibody on future contacts
with the virus. Theoretically, if the first encounter with chickenpox is
through vaccination, the resulting inferior antibody that the body
develops is what will be used whenever the body encounters chickenpox in
the future.

Critics of vaccines say that catching the wild version can mean the
difference between temporary and lifelong immunity. According to Merck's
literature, "the duration of protection of Varivax is unknown at
present." Although studies in Japan report a 20-year vaccine duration,
the CDC theorizes that that immunity will wane if wild viruses are wiped
out. 13

The danger here is illustrated well by Kristine M. Severyn, RPh, PhD, a
vaccine critic who has exposed drug-policy corruption in Ohio, Texas,
Illinois, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices. 14 According to her studies, a
widespread national chickenpox vaccination program might shift the
incidence of chickenpox to adults, where the complication and death rate
rise sharply. 15 In America today, adults comprise only 2 percent of
chickenpox cases, but are responsible for 47.5 percent of deaths from
chickenpox. 16

Dr. Arthur Lavin, a pediatrician at St. Luke's Medical Center in
Cleveland , agrees, writing in The Lancet that routine varicella
vaccination in healthy children might pose a "grave danger of advancing
the age of onset of chickenpox into adulthood." 17

We were able to witness this firsthand. Luka's uncle Damir, 32, caught
chickenpox in the wake of our party. While all the kids had mild
responses, Damir got the worst case his doctor had ever seen: hundreds
of lesions, even in his mouth and down his throat; headache; and tender
kidneys. Uncle Damir couldn't sleep for two days. "Please, kill me," he
joked as he staggered about, coated head to toe in calamine lotion.

Painful or not, catching chickenpox may be necessary for health, claim
some clinicians. Internet medical celebrity Dr. Joseph Mercola theorizes
that since varicella virus is a member of the Human Herpes virus family
(herpesvirus 3 or HHV3), naturally acquired chickenpox may provide
protection against other herpesviruses that have been implicated in
causing cancer, Bell's Palsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and chronic
fatigue syndrome. 18

On the other side of the debate, Dr. Anne Gershon of Columbia University
recommends vaccinating children to help patients cope with leukemia.
"Because of the complexities involved in immunizing leukemic children,
there seems to be a greater interest in vaccinating healthy
varicella-susceptible individuals rather than leukemic children. If
immunization with varicella vaccine were recommended for all
15-month-old infants, most children who become immunosuppressed because
of development of leukemia would already have been vaccinated against
varicella-zoster virus." 19

Although technically correct, Gershon's opinion isn't taken seriously by
critics of vaccines. Vaccinating millions of healthy babies every year
to protect leukemic children against chickenpox seems a stretch, but
it's the kind of thinking that forms vaccination policy. The official
reason behind vaccinating infants for Hepatitis B was in case these tots
grew up to engage in high-risk sex or use IV drugs. Babies aren't
statistically at risk for Hepatitis B. They are vaccinated because they
are "accessible."

Still, what about the 100 people who die of chickenpox each year? You
certainly wouldn't want your child to be one of them. "Sadly, about
7,400 kids end up in the hospital each year because of problems due to
chickenpox. . . . And tragically, about forty children lose their
lives," warns a Merck Varivax advertisement. But, a skeptic would ask,
are those numbers accurate? Not entirely. Even Merck's clinical papers
characterize chickenpox as a "benign, self-limiting disease."
Technically speaking, people die not from chickenpox, but from
complications, such as pneumonia, staph infection, meningitis, and
encephalitis.

Moreover, some investigators suggest that modern medicine is to blame.
After reviewing the medical records of several children who had
allegedly died of chickenpox, Gary Krasner, director of the Coalition
for Informed Choice, an anti-vaccine advocacy group, concludes: "Nearly
all of these deaths were a result of standard medical care. Physicians
would treat the children with antibiotics, analgesics, or steroidal
medications as their condition grew progressively worse. . . . The
doctors responded to each new symptom with yet another drug, until the
children died." 20 Here's one such report:

"On February 28, 1997 , a previously healthy, unvaccinated 21-month-old
boy developed a typical varicella rash. . . . On March 1, he was taken
to a local emergency department (ED) with a high fever and was started
on oral acetaminophen [Tylenol] and diphenhydramine [an antihistamine].
On March 3, his primary-care physician prescribed oral acyclovir [an
antiviral]. On March 4, his mother noted a new petechial-like rash. . .
.. [H]is primary-care physician noted lethargy, a purpuric rash, and poor
perfusion [pulse]. He was transferred to a local ED. Fluid resuscitation
and intravenous ceftriaxone [an antibiotic] were initiated, but the
child continued to deteriorate rapidly, requiring intubation, mechanical
ventilation, and inotropic [heart] support with dopamine [a
morphine-like neurotransmitter]. . . . [H]e suffered cardiac arrest and
died. The death was attributed to varicella." 21 (our italics)

What's interesting about this case is that it and two others were
specific examples published in a 1998 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly to promote childhood vaccinations. 22 The cases were
from 1997 in Texas and Iowa . It's unclear why these deaths were
highlighted out of the alleged 100 chickenpox deaths that year. However,
it's crucial to know that the second child, an asthmatic on the steroid
Prednisone, was also given an antipyretic (probably aspirin or
acetaminophen), and eventually developed and died from Group A strep (GAS).

The third child was treated with five antibiotics: one "unspecified,"
then methicillin and ceftriaxone, until he developed
penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus. He was then put on nafcillin and
gentamicin. Antibiotics can complicate varicella. First off, varicella
is a virus, against which antibiotics are useless. Antibiotics may be
necessary in advanced cases against secondary bacterial infections, but,
Gary Krasner says, they impair the immune system-and the healing
process, since they kill the good bacteria along with the bad. "After
cells have been damaged, it is important for bacteria, acting as
scavengers, to attack and devour the weakened, injured and dead cells.
Otherwise, these dead cells would become accumulated toxic waste
themselves." 23

Antibiotics were recently found to increase the risk of hemolytic-uremic
syndrome when used for treatment of children with E. coli. 24 Whether or
not they also complicate varicella remains unknown. Another issue to
consider is that overuse of antibiotics has led to antibiotic-resistant
bacteria. Of note are the relative prevalence of antibiotic-resistant
streptococcus pneumoniae in daycare centers, and the relative prevalence
of streptococcus pneumoniae in varicella complications and deaths. 25

Krasner's theories are partially substantiated by a 1999 paper by
Benjamin Estrada, MD, of the University of South Alabama . Estrada
reports that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as
aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxin, and ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin)
promote such GAS infections as necrotizing fasciitis (NF) and
streptococcal toxic-shock syndrome-some of the major complications of
varicella. The correspondence is significant: doctors routinely
prescribe NSAIDs to lessen the aches and itching of chickenpox. 26

Estrada cites several studies. One found that development of invasive
GAS infection was 8.3 times more likely in patients who used ibuprofen
during the first five days after the onset of chickenpox. Another,
focusing on NF, found that ibuprofen use led to twice as many
hospitalizations as in control groups. 27-29

But with dangerous regularity, physicians prescribe NSAIDs such as
ibuprofen to children with chickenpox. Take online Parents Place/Parent
Soup "expert" Robert Steele, MD, for example. His column was awarded
Best of the Pediatric Internet by the AAP, and Sesame Street magazine
calls it one of the Best Health Sites for Parents. Yet Steele happily
promotes ibuprofen for "fever control" during chickenpox because it's
free of "sticky theoretical considerations." 30 Theoretical? Estrada
would differ.

One other varicella-linked pharmacological danger is Reye's Syndrome, a
life-threatening condition that causes liver failure and swelling of the
brain. Epidemiological research links Reye's Syndrome and the use of
aspirin for treating the symptoms (usually fever) of chickenpox. 31
Moreover, according to the National Reye's Syndrome Foundation, "An
epidemic of flu or chickenpox is commonly followed by an increase in the
number of cases of Reye's Syndrome." 32 Symptoms include irregular
breathing and lethargy, two symptoms that often appear in case studies
of varicella deaths. Reye's Syndrome is often misdiagnosed as
encephalitis or meningitis, two complications that often appear in case
studies of varicella deaths. Is it possible that aspirin is making a
benign virus a killer?

Then there's the "death by misadventure" case of Lexie McConnell, a
nine-year-old girl from England . She, too, died of chickenpox, but the
coroner's inquest directly linked her death to the steroid Prednisone.
She had been prescribed the potent anti-inflammatory drug for a
pre-existing eye infection. Her parents have since collected a
20,000-signature petition calling for an inquiry into corticosteroid
prescription in Britain , a motion that has reached as high as the
European Parliament. 33

The VAERS post-licensure study also faulted medical practitioners for
contributing to varicella complications by simply administering the
vaccine. "Pregnant women occasionally received varicella vaccine through
confusion with varicella zoster immunoglobulin," 34 According to JAMA.

Besides these medical mishaps, there is another pattern in
chickenpox-related fatalities: pre-existing medical conditions. Vaccine
proponents often refer to a Reuters report that cites six Florida deaths
in 1998 linked to chickenpox. "Since all six were good candidates for
the vaccine, these deaths could have been prevented." A closer
examination of the cases reveals that only two of the deaths were of
children. One, an asthmatic, had been on steroids and died on a
respirator. The other had leukemia and had been on immunosuppressive
therapy since receiving a bone-marrow transplant. Of the adults, one was
also an asthmatic on steroids (Prednisone again); another had diabetes,
asthma, and cirrhosis of the liver. 35 Also interesting to note is that
two of the adults who died were born and raised in Cuba. Because
varicella is susceptible to heat, it is less easily communicated in
tropical areas. People from the tropics are less likely to acquire
immunity in childhood, and thus have higher rates of susceptibility as
adults.

But we at the party knew all that. Our children were all healthy. None
had asthma or leukemia (that we knew of), and no one was on steroids.
Nor were we planning to give anyone Tylenol, aspirin, or NSAIDS of any
kind. It was our belief that, given the correct circumstances, what we
were doing was acceptably safe, rationally prudent, and would give our
children a lifetime of immunity to a disease that could be dangerous in
adulthood.

Yes, we all lost a night or two of sleep with a fussy child-the vaccine
reportedly results in a milder version of chickenpox. But we felt those
missed hours were worth the preservation of our children's health and
well-being. Besides, they don't give out party hats at the doctor's office.

NOTES
1. Jim Ritter, "Ties to Drug Company Raise Vaccine Questions," Chicago
Sun Times, 27 January 2002 .
2. "Evaluation of Varicella Reporting to the National Notifiable Disease
Surveillance System: United States, 1972-1997," MMWR 48, no. 3 ( 29
January 1999 ): 55-58.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Low Varicella Vaccine Effectiveness Identified at Day Care Center ,"
Reuters Health, 19 December 2001 .
6. Avram Goldstein, "Chickenpox Cases Raise Questions," Washington Post,
2 February 2001 : B08.
7. "Chickenpox Vaccine Doesn't Ensure Protection," Reuters Health, 11
December 2002 .
8. Victoria Stagg Elliott, "Chickenpox Vaccine's Staying Power
Questioned," www.amednews.com , 20 January 2003 .
9. P. A. Brunell, T. Argaw, "Chickenpox Attributable to a Vaccine Virus
Contracted from a Vaccinee with Zoster," Pediatrics 106, no. 2 (August
2000): e28.
10. R. P. Wise et al., "Postlicensure Safety Surveillance for Varicella
Vaccine," Journal of the American Medical Association 284 (2000): 1271-1279.
11. Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC Press Release, 13 September 2000 .
12. Ibid.
13. Committee on Infectious Diseases, " American Academy of Pediatrics:
Varicella Vaccine Update," Pediatrics 105 (January 2000): 1, 136-141.
14. K. M. Severyn, RPh, PhD, "Profits, Not Science, Drive Vaccine
Mandates," Medical Sentinel 5, no. 5 (2000): 173-174.
15. S. L. Thomas et al., "Contacts with Varicella or with Children and
Protection Against Herpes Zoster in Adults: A Case-Control Study," The
Lancet 360, no. 9334 (2002): 678-682.
16. K. M. Severyn, RPh, PhD, "Chickenpox Vaccine: Does Everyone Need
It?." Ohio Parents for Vaccine Safety Newsletter (Autumn 1994).
17. Arthur Lavin , MD , letter to the editor, The Lancet 343, no. 8909
(1994): 1363.
18. http://www.mercola.com/2001/feb/14/c...ox_vaccine.htm .
19. Anne A. Gershon, MD, "Varicella Vaccine: Still at the Crossroads,"
Pediatrics 90 (1992): 144-148.
20. Gary Krasner, "Chickenpox: Why Do Children Die?," Well Beings
Newsletter (January 1999).
21. "Varicella-Related Deaths Among Children: United States , 1997,"
MMWR 47, no. 18 ( 15 May 1998 ): 365-368.
22. Ibid.
23. See Note 20.
24. L. B. Zimmerhackl, "E. coli, Antibiotics, and the Hemolytic-Uremic
Syndrome," New England Journal of Medicine 342, no. 26 ( 29 June 2000 ):
1990-1991.
25. L. A. Mandell et al., "The Battle Against Emerging Antibiotic
Resistance: Should Fluoroquinolones Be Used to Treat Children?,"
Clinical Infectious Diseases 35 (2002): 721-726.
26. Benjamin Estrada , MD , "Varicella and GAS: Do NSAIDs Fuel the
Fire?" Infect Med 16, no. 5 (1999): 307.
27. D. M. Zerr et al., "A Case-Control Study of Necrotizing Fasciitis
During Primary Varicella," Pediatrics 103 (1999): 783-790.
28. T. Brogan et al., "Group A Streptococcal Necrotizing Fasciitis
Complicating Primary Varicella: A Series of Fourteen Patients,"
Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 14 (1995): 588-594.
29. C. L. Peterson et al., "Risk Factor for Invasive Group A
Streptococcal Infections in Children with Varicella: A Case-Control
Study," Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 15 (1996): 151-156.
30.
http://www.parentsoup.com/experts/pe...a=adid=6283455
..
31. "Reye's Syndrome-Ohio, Michigan ," MMWR 46, no.
32 ( 15 August 1997 ): 750-755. 32. www.reyessyndrome.org/what.htm .
33. "Traumatised Parents Agree Payout," BBC News, 23 June 1999 , 01:21
GMT 02:21 UK .
34. See Note 10.
35. "Varicella-Related Deaths-Florida, 1998," MMWR 48, no. 18 ( 14 May
1999 ): 379-381.

For more information about chickenpox, see the following past issues of
Mothering: "The Chickenpox Vaccine," no. 79 and "Putting Up with
Chickenpox," no.70.

Brian Wimer is a freelance writer living in Charlottesville, Virginia,
where Deren Bader, CPM, MPH, assists births (most recently, of Brian's
daughter Maya-an at-home VBAC, no less); and where Jacquelyn L. Emm,
MPH, former director of the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program for
Santa Clara County in San Jose, California, raises two healthy boys,
George (3) and Sam (1), who have both had chickenpox.

!--

Michelle J. Haines wrote:
Jo wrote:


Better to catch the chicken pox as a child then to get them later.
The children that did have the vaccine are getting the disease as
adults so it really isn't that effective long term. They do recommend
getting it if you are an adult and hadn't had chicken pox.


Study, please?

The vaccine was relatively new to widespread use when my oldest daughter
was a baby, so it's not been in use much more than 10-12 years. It's
been in use in Japan for some time (25-30 years?) and what -they- found
was that the small population who was vaccinated maintained a good
immunity, because they came in regular contact with the wild virus.
AFAIK, there's no concrete studies on adult immunity for a largely
vaccinated population because it hasn't been in use that way for long
enough yet.

Michelle
Flutist

Also this:

DATA REVEALS THREAT OF SHINGLES EPIDEMIC FROM VACCINE USE Health
Officials Threaten Legal Action Against Researcher

Three different analyses of reported cases of shingles and chickenpox
were published today in the October 2003 issue of Vaccine and suggest
the threat of a shingles epidemic in the US due to mass vaccination with
varicella (chickenpox) vaccine.

Contact: Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D.
Phone: 661-944-5661
Fax: 661-944-4483
Email: pearblossominc

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PRWEB October 1, 2003

DATA REVEALS THREAT OF SHINGLES EPIDEMIC FROM VACCINE USE
Health Officials Threaten Legal Action Against Researcher

Pearblossom, California (PRWEB) October 1 2003-- Three different
analyses of reported cases of shingles and chickenpox were published
today in the October 2003 issue of Vaccine and suggest the threat of a
shingles epidemic in the US due to mass vaccination with varicella
(chickenpox) vaccine. Data collected under the CDC-funded Varicella
Active Surveillance Project (VASP) of the Los Angeles County Department
of Health Services Acute Communicable Disease Control Unit revealed that
when chickenpox disease was significantly reduced in a population, there
was an unexpectedly high number of shingles cases among unvaccinated
children with a previous history of chickenpox. Shingles is usually mild
in children and can be severe in adults. Complications from shingles,
which is caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus that lies
dormant in the body, result in about three times the number of
hospitalizations and five times the number of deaths as those from
chickenpox disease.

The analyses were authored by Gary Goldman, Ph.D., a former
research analyst with the VASP, using capture-recapture methods. Goldman
worked from 1995 through late 2002 at one of three projects in the
nation assigned to actively study the effects of chickenpox vaccine and
received reports from three hundred different public and private
schools, day cares, and healthcare facilities. He observed that because
the vaccine is eliminating chickenpox disease, children and adults no
longer receive the natural boost to their immune systems that they
received from periodic exposures to the disease. Due to the dramatic
decline in chickenpox, children are now experiencing a higher incidence
of shingles and Goldman predicts that a large scale increase in shingles
incidence will soon become manifest among adults—a group more
susceptible to serious complications.

Vaccine manufacturers plan to license a booster “shingles” vaccine
to substitute for the boosting that naturally occurred when chickenpox
disease was previously circulating in the population. “This will likely
lead to endless disease-and-cure cycles,” says Goldman. “Varicella
vaccination would have been less problematic if all children had the
opportunity to gain natural immunity and only those still susceptible at
twelve years old were vaccinated.”

Goldman also reports that shortly after communicating on
authorship issues with health officials associated with the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) concerning the shingles data and analysis, he was
threatened with legal action if he published the manuscript in the
medical literature. He said, “Whenever research data and information
concerning potential adverse effects associated with a vaccine used in a
human population are suppressed and/or misrepresented by health
authorities, not only is this most disturbing, it goes against all
accepted scientific norms and dangerously compromises professional ethics.”

Between 1995 and 2000, shingles was not being studied, and
positive aspects of vaccination contributed by Goldman were published in
the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and other medical
journals. In 2000, after hearing reports that school nurses were seeing
cases of shingles in children for the first time, Goldman suggested
shingles be added to the active surveillance project. After two years of
shingles data collection, Goldman documented the adverse effects that
might well be associated with the universal varicella vaccination
program. Currently, varicella immunization is mandated in thirty-eight
states.

The European journal, Vaccine (Volume 21, Issue 27/28) has devoted
eighteen pages to Goldman’s three reports.