Monday, October 26, 2009

Is Autism an Adverse Event Following Vaccination?

An intense campaign has been waged to discredit parents of autistic children who report that their children regressed and developed autism disorders after vaccinations. The campaign has been led by Dr. Paul Offit and a mainstream media that follows faithfully and without questioning the Offit script ...... vaccines are the miracle medical tool of the past century, Dr. Offit is a modern day medical hero who has had his life and family threatened by anti-vaccine kooks, science has disproved for all time any connection between vaccines and autism disorders, parents who question the safety of vaccines are hysterical and desperate, anti-vaccine whackos, duped by celebrities. Professionals who question the Official Doctrine of the Vaccine Church are not mentioned or, if mentioned at all, are quacks ..... and of course .... the many parental reports of autism development in children after vaccination are merely coincidental.

Unlike fever, redness, or swelling on the arm following vaccination, the development of an autism disorder after vaccination is not considered an adverse event and is not tracked, followed or admitted by public health authorities.

A Government of Canada web page, Frequently Asked Questions - H1N1 Flu Virus, purports to provide answers to serious questions about the H1N1 virus and vaccines. It discusses, without mention of the development of autism symptoms, what constitutes an adverse event following vaccination:

Q1. What is an adverse event?

An adverse event is any unwanted medical reaction following immunization.

The majority of adverse events are minor reactions – like soreness at the injection site, or a slight fever – but sometimes, more serious events are reported. Serious adverse events are reactions that cause life-threatening illness, hospitalization, disability or death, like a severe allergic reaction, paralysis, or a seizure. These events are carefully investigated to determine if they are related to the vaccine directly, or if they were caused by an underlying health condition or some other reason.

Q1. Serious adverse events following immunization are rare. In any immunization campaign, from regular childhood vaccines to seasonal flu shots, the average reported rate of serious adverse events is about one case for every 100,000 doses distributed.

Careful monitoring and prompt reporting of any adverse event after immunization are an essential part of the Government of Canada's commitment to providing a safe and effective vaccine. Reporting an adverse event does not mean that the vaccine caused harm. Careful investigation is needed to determine if the events are linked or if they are coincidental.

If there is ever an indication that a vaccine, or a specific batch or lot of vaccine, is harmful to the general population, the Government of Canada has systems in place to quickly and effectively stop or alter immunization programs."

To the above information the Government of Canada should perhaps say that it does not consider evidence of autistic regression after vaccination to constitute adverse events, no matter how many times such non-adverse events are reported by parents. As to the assurance that the Government of Canada will act quickly in the event of an "indication that a vaccine is harmful to the general population" I don't expect to see any time soon publication of the Government of Canada's efforts to follow up on reports of autism disorder onset in children after vaccination. It would be helpful if the Canadian government actually did conduct a careful investigation to see if autism disorders are "are related to the vaccine directly, or if they were caused by an underlying health condition or some other reason."

Is autism in some children an adverse event following vaccination? I don't know and neither does the Government of Canada, the IACC or Dr. Paul Offit, none of which wish to admit that autism disorders might be post vaccination adverse events in some cases.




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3 comments:

CK said...

Of course they won't admit it: governments and doctors are in bed with pharmaceutical companies. You want proof? At least where doctors are concerned? Take a look at a doctor's office's decor: if you see posters with the name of a drug and its' manufacturer. Also, prescription pads with also a name of a drug and/or manufacturer.
While I haven't seen data with H1N1 vaccine linked to autism, this vaccine is certainly linked to Guillain Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes temporary paralysis (could be permanent too).

farmwifetwo said...

First - vaccines did not cause autism in my house... the signs were there long before the dx...

Moving on...

I find that gov'ts and scientists will look for other reason's even if that reason had no bearing on the adverse reaction.

A girl in England died after taking the HPV vaccine. I will work under the hypothesis she's had all her vaccines, been healthy, and there were no pre-medical concerns. BECAUSE she had a tumour - which had it been troubling here, or had they known about it I suspect she would not have had the vaccine - they used it as "cause of death".

So, if it wasn't bothering her, she probably didn't know about it since they had to do an autopsy to find it.... how can it all of a sudden by cause of death within hours of her getting the HPV vaccine??

Sandra said...

"Serious adverse events following immunization are rare."

That should really read "Serious adverse events (indeed any adverse event) following immunization are RARELY reported".
Only three provinces require reporting of adverse effects and even then it's when doctors "feel" it is related.