Flexible Approach to Vaccinations Comes Under Fire

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I wonder if Dr. Offit is up to date on the 76 injections of 19 different vaccines that he says are needed by our children. If not, I wonder if he would comply (on a weight adjusted basis of course). Has anyone ever asked him this? Are pediatricians also required to get all the new vaccines? This would make for an interesting investigative report.

Mike of WI 1:42PM December 31, 2008

One would never dream of giving a 2 month old 5 doses of over-the-counter medications at one sitting. Why would we do this to a 2 month old with vaccines? Doesn't that send up alarms for anyone? Oh, that's right, it does send up alarms with the thousands and thousands and thousands of families out there dealing with a multitude of "unexplainable" and "uncurable" medical issues in their children. Because they tell the same story over and over again. We vaccinated, then something happened to our child. The more shots they add (flu and hep a being the latest to pile on top of the list) the more sick kids we see. I have even had 2 friends lose their children altogether after a round of 5 shots each. The AAP is wearing blinders and trusting a zealot for their information (Offit). Parents just want to trust the medical community, but laying down the law like this when there are so many questions left unanswered only leads to more distrust.

Kim of GA 9:51AM December 31, 2008

A one size fits all vs. flexible schedule is not the only debate when, in the end, everyone is vulnerable to toxic assault. I'm always concerned that Sears doesn't go quite far enough in his criticism of vaccine safety, though I agree with the article's premise.
My father passed away this year on my twins' birthday. He was in his eighties, but we knew he may have lived quite a few more years if his health had not been interrupted. Specifically, he'd received flu shots for nine years and showed galluping symptoms of chronic mercury and aluminum toxicity (malignant heart rhythms, ALS-like symptoms, neuropathy and other signs of neurological injury). He'd stopped getting the shots after my twins were diagnosed, one with autism and the other with a mysterious language delay, all of which developed after their childhood immunizations, including annual flu shots.
As a wounded WWII veteran, my dad knew what could be done in the name of "public health" and "science" from the Nazis. The idea of an iatrogenic epidemic didn't shock him, since he'd also paid keen attention to the disastrous results of deregulation and industry regulatory capture across the board in the U.S. (Katrina non-response, Enron, Vioxx, the mortgage crisis, etc.). He also had a sense of history and knew perfectly well that 1/67 children (the new military statistic for autism) hadn't suffered from this epidemic in his day. His perception matches asylum and social security statistics of past eras; even if individuals with every other known diagnosis like schizophrenia, dementia and mental retardation were supplanted, there weren't enough cognitively disabled or mentally institutionalized people in the U.S. up to the 1960's to cover the numbers of children effected by the epidemic today. In fact, my dad had never once met a child or adult afflicted with anything close to autism until his grandchildren were stricken. This also matches stats, since no one can find a population of adult autistics over thirty anywhere in the world which corresponds with the numbers of effected children.
Fortunately, my father lived just long enough to see some improvements in his grandchildren as they recovered from vaccine-induced injuries via treatments for mercury toxicity and neuroimmune and gut disorders. My father went to his death urging us to fight this new "cognitive holocaust" and seek justice.
My dad didn't have any particular preexisting susceptibility to excessive vaccination and mercury other than his age and being male. Though my children may have had transient conditions in infancy which increased their susceptibility to vaccine injury, these ran in the other side of the family and never manifested in autism or cognitive impairment in any previous generation. In other words, vaccine choice may help some individuals, but cleaning up the toxic soup comprising vaccines and cutting out all the unnecessary shots (HepB at birth?) is one of the major keys to ending the epidemic.

ATG of 1:52AM December 31, 2008

While Ms. Kotz is 'shocked' at the AAP's position on 'alternative' vaccine schedules, we should all keep in mind that Ms. Katz knows nothing about infectious diseases or the prevention of devastating childhood illnesses. As clearly spelled out in an eloquently presented argument, the article shows how Dr. Sears has misrepresented vaccine science and mislead the thousands of parents who have bought his book.
I should add that it takes a phenomenal degree of arrogance and nerve to question the motives of a man who has dedicated his life to the eradication of devastating childhood illnesses. Apparently unknown to Ms. Kotz, Dr Offit has individually advanced the science that keeps her children safe, healthy, and happy.
But Ms. Kotz's poorly argued point of view is supported by a longstanding history of anti-vaccine positions delivered under the guise of "journalism."

Bryan Vartabedian, MD of TX 10:17PM December 30, 2008

Very interesting comments. However, they are replete with logical fallacies. One of the most glaring ones is what I callthe fallacy of false balance. Sears schedule is based on nothing more than his own, personal "beliefs" without a shred of scientific evidence to support it. The APA and Dr. Offit are supported by science, and the experience of millions of children who have gone through the existing schedule without any problems.
The simple fact is, getting kids vaccinated as early as possible has the potential of saving their lives. Dealying, as Sears would, will allow diseases to affect children and possibly injure them.
There is no valid debate, and to do so gives credence to anti-vaccinators. Shame on US News and World Report for not seeing this.

FreeSpeaker of NY 10:13PM December 30, 2008

If parents are afraid to immunize their children against deadly diseases, it's due largely to the misinformation about vaccines that is spread by the news and entertainment media, of which Dr. Bob is a member in good standing. Sears is prescribing a debate to fix a problem he helped to create - falling public confidence in the vaccination program. His "Vaccine Book" is anti-vaccine for the simple reason that he mispresents data and cherry picks evidence, thus creating unnecessary concern. So good to see the AAP do its job. Sears isn't fooling everyone.

AutismNewsBeat of WI 9:37PM December 30, 2008

whatever choice parents end up making, they will be carrying the burden, not Dr. Offit, not the CDC and not the AAP. I know a number of parents with vaccine damaged children. All of them feel abandoned but the powers that be.

MinorityView of VT 9:23PM December 30, 2008

"What's worse, the lead author, Paul Offit, who heads the vaccine education center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, clearly has a conflict of interest. He's one of the patent holders of RotaTeq, a vaccine against rotavirus that's on the AAP's vaccine schedule. That means he stands to lose money if parents shun RotaTeq."
Perhaps if you had checked the publicly available information on this you would know that Dr. Offit (a) assigned the rights for RotaTeq to his institutions and (b) the institutions have sold future rights to another group. Thus, the compensation Dr. Offit will receive from his vaccine invention are already determined. In other words. this letter by Dr. Offit will not impact his own income.
You don't even need to have contacted Dr. Offit to have worked that one out--it is all publicly available information.

Sullivan of CA 8:59PM December 30, 2008

Paul Offit has become a millionaire from making vaccines so of course he is going to be an advocate for their use. Plus he dismisses anyone who thinks there is a link between vaccines and autism. It is about time this conflict was covered by the mainstream media. Also, many experts feel this issue is something that needs to be examined more closely. Consider the quote from Bernadette Healy, former head of the NIH. "I think public health officials have been too quick to dismiss the hypothesis as 'irrational,' without sufficient studies of causation... without studying the population that got sick," Dr. Healy said. "I have not seen major studies that focus on 300 kids who got autistic symptoms within a period of a few weeks of the vaccines."
Keep up the great reporting Deb. The eyes of the nation are upon you.

David M. of MA 8:57PM December 30, 2008

My husband and I approach all major decisions with a mixture of factual research, common sense and intuition. When we had our first child, we spent weeks researching vaccines. There was a plethora of conflicting data sources and we were disappointed and dismayed that the medical community had made no effort to offer us information outside of the standard handouts that we received at the doctor's office. When we asked for help from the doctor, we were treated like white-trash cousins unable to make educated decisions. After almost four months of research, we came upon Dr. Sears' Vaccine book. We appreciate the straightforward approach, and his attempt to educate as well as to suggest alternatives. We felt encouraged to vaccinate on a schedule that suited our needs and concerns.
We have been able to make an educated decision factoring in the pros, cons, risks and consequences thanks to the work Dr. Sears put into his book. We recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about having a baby, has a new baby, and every doctor's office who has at least one patient that wants to have a conversation regarding vaccinations past the standard CDC handouts.
Parents have a right and a duty to make decisions that compliment their intuition. This book gives us the power to do that in an informed manner.

R. English of PA 6:32PM December 30, 2008