http://www.naturalnews.com/023334.html
by Mike Adams (see all articles by this author)
(NaturalNews) Today I am bringing you news from the world of ADHD, because scientists claim they have found a difference in the brains of children with ADHD versus "normal" children. The brains of these children who have been diagnosed with ADHD were scanned with an MRI machine. They compared 40,000 different points in their brains looking for signs of thickness in the brain tissue.
They discovered that the brains of children diagnosed with ADHD were a little behind schedule in growing. Yes, you heard that right. They said they are about three years behind the brains of other children. Everything else was normal. They said if they wait three years those children will catch up and turn out just fine.
Now who is "they?" Dr. Phillip Shaw from the National Institute of Health, which is probably the National Institute of Mental Health -- they are the ones who did this research and this research has been making the rounds in mainstream media. You hear stories about it all over the radio. I heard one on national public radio today.
It just blew my mind. I will tell you why in a minute. Headlines in newspapers and magazines, TV news, cable news networks all across the country -- they have experts on there now claiming that ADHD is a physical disease. There is something wrong with the brains of these children. Apparently they forgot to look at the research that came out just two days before. Do you know what that research shows?
The Drugs Don't Work
It was a team of American scientists researching what is called the "Multi-Modal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD -- MTA for short. They found that the drugs are useless over long-term. The drugs used to treat ADHD such as Ritalin and Concerta are useless. They have no benefits whatsoever after three years and even though they may show some short-term benefits depending on who is watching, and depending on their judgment of the child's behavior, the truth is there is no long-term benefit whatsoever. But here's the most important part.
They found that these drugs stunt the growth of children. "They were not growing as much as other children in terms of both their height and their weight," said the report's co-author, Prof. William Pelham from the University of Buffalo. "I think we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study," he added in reference to a study they did a few years ago where they declared that these drugs were helping children.
"We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That did not happen to be the case. The children had a substantial decrease in their growth rate," he continued. The second point was that there were no benefits to children taking these drugs whatsoever.
ADHD Drugs Stunt Brain Growth in Children
What they did not say in the results of this study is that the same drugs also stunt the growth of the children's brains. Now this is my assessment of the situation, having studied this issue for several years and knowing that this drug is stunting the development of the children. It is very reasonable to conclude that it also stunts the growth of their brains and guess what? This new study actually proves it, because these MRI brain scans of children's brains that found that these brains were three years behind schedule in development.
80% of the children who were looked at with those MRI scans were on ADHD medications. That's right. All that study did was prove that medication stunts the growth of children's brains. Amazing is it not?
How lousy the science has become out there in the world of ADHD when they are trying to push these drugs on to parents, children and school administrators. They come up with anything. They actually take a bunch of healthy children, they invent a fictitious disease, then they come up with a chemical called "Speed" -- it used to be called speed when it was sold on the street as a street drug. They give it to the children.
It harms the children, stunts their growth, and causes their brains to develop more slowly. Then they stick these children under an MRI machine, run some brain scans, and announce to the world that oh my goodness ADHD children have smaller brains that are behind schedule. How amazing is that? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what is really going on here.
This science is so bad. I remember when I was taking a science course in college one of the first lessons we had was how to interpret statistics and how to watch out for correlations that might not be causations or how to make sure that you do not have mistakes in reaching conclusions with your data. This is a classic mistake.
These drugs are causing the slow brain development. All the MRI scans are doing is proving that the drugs are harming the children. Notice they did not take children who were not on the drugs, put them under an MRI machine, and scan their brains. You know why? Because their brains would be normal. They had to take children who were doped up on speed and put them under the machines in order to get these results.
In addition, notice that they did not do this study before children started being dosed with the drugs. They did not say 20 years ago: "Oh, wow! Suddenly children are having this so-called disease 'ADHD.'" Let's stick them under a machine and see if there is anything wrong with their brains. They did not do that because if they had they would have found there was no difference.
The True Cause of ADHD
Nothing is wrong with these children other than probably their diet, a little too much refined sugar and too many food additives. In fact, that reminds me of the Southampton Study in the UK that showed that additives cause hyperactivity in children within an hour after consumption. That's right -- food additives, especially the artificial colors. Made from coal tar derivatives and synthetic chemicals, you feed these to children and guess what? Within an hour you get hyperactive behavior.
Is there anything wrong with these children's brains? No, there is something wrong with these children's parents, who probably keep feeding him or her chemical food additives. There is probably something wrong with the school administrators who keep dishing out school lunches that contain food items made with toxic chemicals. Maybe those people should have their brains scanned.
As long as we are talking about brain scans, and talking about retarded neuron development I think the only people in this whole study who probably have brains that are behind schedule are the researchers who announced these conclusions.
These people have stunted brain development. There is no question about it because how on earth could they not have realized that the only thing they did with these MRI scans was prove that these drugs stunt neural development in children? How could they not have considered that? They must be on crack or maybe, in this case, amphetamines because that is what they are giving to the children.
Maybe these researchers are really ADHD children who were treated with these drugs, then they grew up with stunted brains and now they have gotten involved in the research. They have drawn these conclusions and made these announcements and, of course, the editors at places like National Public Radio were probably on the same drugs because they ran this story as if it was fact.
They did not question it one bit. No one out there in the mainstream media questioned this. They did not say, "Gee, could it be that the medication caused the stunted growth in the brains of these children? Could that be?" No, they did not question it at all. No skepticism anymore when it comes to psychiatry or Big Pharma and you know why, of course, because they have an agenda to push.
They have to keep pushing these drugs onto more children. They have to keep those parents in a state of fear. That's how they sell more drugs. They have to keep people believing in this fictitious disease. That's the only way they are going to make money. This is an industry that makes money by exploiting the bodies of children, and the evidence is very clear.
Even the NIH is now saying that these drugs stunt the growth of children. That is a scientific fact announced by a mainstream medical research organization. This is not fringe science. This is not alternative medicine. This is not conjecture on the part of some person who has an axe to grind with psychiatry. This is mainstream medicine announcing that this stuff stunts the growth of children. How could it not stunt the growth of their brains?
Why the Mainstream Media Cannot be Trusted
When I was listening to a report on this issue on National Public Radio just the other day, a woman called into the show and she asked a very good question. She said: "I am an adult who has been diagnosed with ADHD, is my brain also stunted in its growth?" Do you know what the reply was?
They had a doctor on that show. One of the doctors that does news reporting for National Public Radio -- kind of the in-house idiot there, who has no training in nutrition, does not understand a thing about health but knows all the disease names and all the chemical names. Do you know what this doctor told that woman?
He said, "Well, researchers are not sure but they suspect that your brain may be behind in its development too and that eventually your brain will catch up and then you will be fine but right now if you have been diagnosed with Adult ADHD your brain growth maybe a little behind schedule."
That is what he said to this woman. I am thinking are you kidding me? Is this person really saying this on the air? You have to be a complete idiot to come up with that.
The research said that ADHD is a disease where children lag behind a few years in developing their brains, and if you read the research they said the brain cortex of children reaches peak thickness at an average of 10.5 years for ADHD children compared with age 7.5 years in normal children.
This person was talking to a woman who is probably in her 40's and he is saying even in your 40's you are probably still a few years behind. Are you kidding me? Where does he come up with any evidence for this -- nowhere, he pulled it out of his hat. He just made that up right there on the air -- just made it up.
He had no evidence whatsoever -- not even any logic behind it and no reason to say that other than the fact that in order to keep up the illusion that this disease has something to do with slow brain development, they had to make an excuse to say "Oh, why are they diagnosing adults with this disease?"
They had to come up with a reason -- another fictitious reason and this was all they could come up with. This doctor on the radio on the spot, this was all he could think of. Oh, well your brain must be behind too.
They are reaching deep aren't they? What will they come up with next? It's like catching a politician in a lie and that politician has to keep the lie going. The lie gets more and more outrageous every time he tells it to a different group in a different city when he is touring around trying to get elected.
The Pharmaceutical Credo: Sell, Sell, Sell
This is what the ADHD industry is like. It is as if they have to carry on this outrageous lie, and they cannot really tell the truth because then the whole house of cards would collapse and everybody would realize this is all one giant fraud.
They cannot tell the truth so they have to keep coming up with new lies to try to market this to more people. First, it was just a children's disorder. Then the drug companies realized they could sell this same speed drug to adults. I mean think about it. Children are only a small part of the total market.
What if we could convince adults that they too have ADHD then we could sell this drug to them also? They came up with a test. That's right -- a paper test to try to convince adults that they had ADHD.
You know what this paper test is made of? It's a few questions like: Do you feel like you are juggling too many things in your day? Do you have too much on your mind or too many projects that you cannot finish? Do you feel like the stresses of modern life are distracting you? Do you have trouble finishing projects or trouble concentrating on your work? These are the kinds of questions they ask.
Well it turns out that virtually everyone has ADHD according to those questions. This is what they used to diagnose adults. See there is no test. There is no blood test. There is no body chemistry test. There is no MRI scan. There is nothing physically wrong and nothing chemically wrong. They just take a test and it turns out that 80% of American adults who take this test end up diagnosed with ADHD -- that is 80% or four or five adults that walk into this room and answer these questions gets slapped with a label. You are ADHD.
What a quick quack diagnosis, is it not? Drag a bunch of adults into a room, tell them they have a disease, and then give them a drug. That is what this industry is all about.
Now they have to back this up and they have to say, "Well, gee, adults must have slow brain development too." They cannot think of any other reason to justify their fictitious disease so they are just dragging the stuff out of nowhere -- out of absolutely nowhere.
'Treatment' as a Marketing Term
Even Dr. Phillip Shaw who is the head researcher on this study at the NIH, said in a quote published on Reuters: "What I would not take away from this study is just sit and wait three years and your child will be okay," he said.
In other words, he is saying that even though his own research shows that the brain development of these children is three years behind, your children will not just grow out of it. He is saying, in fact, they need to be treated with chemicals -- or he is implying that.
He says, "We know ADHD is a real problem for children and their families and the schools and it does need treatment." Now treatment is the word that this industry uses for marketing. When they say "treatment" what they mean is get out your wallet. When they say too many children are going untreated, what they mean is not enough children have bought our drugs -- not enough parents have given in. Not enough prescriptions have been written.
When they say that more children need treatment that is what they mean. They need to sell more drugs. They have managed to change the language. They have managed to phrase all of this so that their marketing campaigns sound like compassionate public health campaigns. Oh, we care about these children so much that we have to sell them our over-priced monopoly prescription drugs that used to be sold as street drugs and would, in fact, get you arrested for a felony if you sold them to a child.
That is how they bypass those signs in front of the schools that say this is a drug-free school zone. They go right over that sign. They jump that fence, get into the administrator's office, get into the heads of the teachers, counselors, get them to start prescribing drugs or pushing them onto those children. Then they come up with this self-reinforcing MRI scan to say that there is a difference in brain development.
Well, of course there is. These children have been on speed. You take a bunch of crack babies and you put them in the same MRI machine, you are going to see something wrong with their brains too. Make no mistake about it. You take a bunch of heroin junkies, you put them in that machine, same thing. You are going to get some strange looking results.
It does not mean that they had some disease that was treated with heroin or crack and that the disease caused the brain problem. No, it means that the drugs they were taking were the most likely cause of these problems.
Flawed Children or Flawed System?
Let us get back to the doctor with the study -- the Multi-Modal Treatment Study of Children. The report's co-author I mentioned earlier is Professor William Pelham at the University of Buffalo. He is the one who found out that these drugs do not help children at all in the long run. He says, "In the short run, medication will help the child behave better. In the long run, it will not and that information should be made very clear to parents."
Dr. Tim Kendall, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (the person who is working on some new guidelines about ADHD for the NHS) says, "A generous understanding would be to say that doctors have reached the point where they do not know what else to offer."
He says, "I hope we will be able to make recommendations that will give people a comprehensive approach to treatment…" there is that word "treatment" again. He continues, "and that will advise about what teachers might be able to do within the classroom when they are trying to deal with children who have difficult problems of this kind. I think the important thing is we have a comprehensive approach that does not focus on just one type of treatment."
Good for him to dare to say that we have to have a comprehensive approach. Well I have a solution for you that is comprehensive. How about nutrition? How about we stop poisoning our children with processed foods and chemical additives in those foods? How about we stop poisoning the brains of our children by dosing them up on speed? There's an idea for you.
We could cure children of this so-called behavioral disorder by doing two things -- making the children healthy and making education a lot more interesting. These children do not have attention deficit problems. You set those young boys down in front of a Wii or an X-box or a Playstation and they can pay attention for about 12 hours straight. They do not even pee or eat.
They sit there in front of that machine on that TV and they can focus and master a game. You go out and find a game called "Guitar Hero," put a 13-year-old boy in front of that game and you got the whole weekend done. Their whole weekend is focused on that one game and that child will master that game with hand/eye coordination.
That child will be a genius in that game by the end of the weekend. He goes back to school on Monday bored out of his mind. Why? Education is pretty darn boring the way it is done today in most schools. I know there are exceptions and my hat is off to those teachers who make learning fun. I had a few of those in my educational experience, but largely most of them were boring as heck.
History is reduced to just a series of names and dates to memorize and regurgitate onto paper so that you can be called smart and to say that you know history because you have memorized a bunch of stuff. Are you kidding me? That is not an education, and that is not interesting. No wonder these children cannot pay attention.
Education needs to be experiential. These children learn in a multitude of ways. It is not just auditory through a lecture or it is not just visual through a book. These children need to learn hands-on. They need to learn in a 3D space. They need to be able to move their bodies as they learn.
That is why "Guitar Hero" works, friends -- because they are moving. They are jamming out on these video game guitars -- the mind/body connection is solid. They are focused. They are learning. They master that game. We need to make public education more fun like that. I mean let's face it.
ADHD Drugs are a Crime Against Children
This is really about the Ritalin game, this is about making students easier for teachers to handle. It is about society not being willing to handle the energy of young children and instead of letting these children express that creative energy in a variety of ways and giving them a useful outlet for that energy, they want to turn our children into zombies.
You would think with a drug called "speed" that it would actually make them more hyperactive, right, but no it has the opposite effect. It is called "speed" but it makes them mellow. You can ask any ex-junkie who used to take that drug and they will tell you the same thing. Now, I remember when I was in the third grade, we had a baseball star come in and give a lecture about being hooked on drugs. He played for the Kansas City Royals.
He had been busted taking drugs. Part of his sentence was community service. He had to go into the schools all over town and talk to the children about how terrible an experience it was being hooked on drugs. He came in and he told us how he was hallucinating, what these drugs did to him, his sleep habits, and how they harmed his life and his health. I was really impacted by that speech but today guess what? You might as well have drug reps going into the schools telling children how good speed is for them.
That is what is going on. The drug reps go in and talk to the administrators, talk to the counselors, they brainwash those people, and then those people talk to the children and say you need these drugs. In one generation, we have gone from telling children "Just Say No to Drugs" to "Just take this pill and then you will be healthy" -- one generation.
Now, we have a new generation of children who are being raised on speed. Worse yet they have been given a label -- a label of a disease. They have been told that they are abnormal. Why? Because they have a whole lot of energy, because they can probably do 50 things at once. It is quite a skill. I have mastered it as an adult personally.
I can do 50 things at once and I do not have any disease. I have incredible creativity. I have fantastic mental focus. I can read a book a day if I want to. I can photo-read ten books a day, and learn multiple languages as an adult much better than I ever could as a child. If I were to walk into any of the psychiatric centers, they would diagnose me with ADHD no question about it. Why? Because I am doing many things at once. It fits their pattern. That is what these children are doing. They can do many things at once.
You say they cannot calm down. Of course they can't. They are too excited to be alive. They have stuff to do, stuff to learn, stuff to touch, hear, feel, taste, experience, stuff to categorize in those brains. Those brains are working and if you take them off those junk food additives those brains will work even better.
We have to start looking at the gem of what is in these children's heads. That brain is a gift and that brain needs to be cultivated, not shut down with drugs. This is a disgrace to the next generation what we are doing to our children. This is disgusting. In fact, I have often described it as a crime against humanity.
That is what I really believe it is. I believe to be a type of chemical castration to these young children that we are damaging their brains and now the MRI scans prove it, we are damaging their brains. We are stunting their growth. We are creating a generation of mutants because we are putting them all on speed. The industry has said, "Well we are not treating enough of them." They have said, "There are children still out there that do not have treatment. We must treat them all."
How the Drug Game Works
I read an article recently where the estimates were that only one-third of the children who have ADHD are currently "receiving treatment." The implication in this article was that they needed to put three times as many children on these drugs as there are now.
Think about that -- that would put the number at well over 10 million children in the United States being put on speed. A nation of drugged children -- stunted growth and what other side effects might we learn about this in the years ahead?
Nobody knows -- the researchers certainly don't know. This is all one giant experiment using our children as guinea pigs. This is a giant marketing experiment designed to generate profits, to scare people into believing in a fictitious disease, to label children with a fictitious disease name that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Make them a victim of a system of medicine that has no purpose other than to extract profits from bodies.
ADHD will not be the only label they will get. No way, perhaps the side effects of these drugs will cause liver damage and then they will get another disease name -- liver disease. Then after liver damage is in place for a long period, they will have toxicity in their blood and that might cause heart disease. It might cause sleep disorders. It might cause depression and guess what? Big Pharma has a drug to treat all of those too.
What are the odds? Just imagine a lifetime of popping pills. One side effect after another and it all starts with a fictitious diagnosis based on nothing but the opinion of a psychiatrist who has most likely been bribed by the drug companies himself or herself.
Try to find a psychiatrist practicing today who is not taking money from Big Pharma. Just try to find one. Try to find a decision-maker at the FDA who is not financially involved with the pharmaceutical industry. The situation is so bad that the FDA recently announced they were going to limit the amount of bribery allowed by the panel members who make the safety decisions for the FDA.
You see before there was no limit to the amount of bribery allowed. The FDA believed two things. They believed (1) that there should be no limit and (2) that none of this should be made public. In other words, no one needed to actually declare any conflict of interest nor declare how much money he or she had been receiving from pharmaceutical companies.
These are the people sitting on the boards making the decisions for the FDA about which drugs to approve or reject. Of course, all the high profit drugs were approved. Well, now the FDA has decided to clean up its act a little bit and limit the amount of bribery to $50,000 a year per person sitting on the panel. How is that for integrity? This is an agency so corrupt, so steeped in dishonest practices that it believes integrity means limiting bribery to $50,000 a year per person sitting on these panels These are the people making the decisions on drugs like Ritalin.
The Grand Experiment
Here is another fact you probably do not know: Most drugs that are prescribed to children have never been tested for either safety or effectiveness in children.
Anti-depressants, for example, are commonly prescribed to children. There are millions of children in this country who are on anti-depressant drugs -- SSRI's they are called -- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. They are the ones that have been linked to suicides, to violent behavior, violent thoughts. Many of these have been banned for use in children in other countries including the UK, but here in the United States it is perfectly okay to prescribe them on children even though they have never been tested on children -- never! Not one shred of evidence that they are safe on children -- not one.
This whole system of medicine that the FDA claims is the "Gold Standard of Medicine" -- this whole system is a sham. There is no real evidence behind most of what goes on and the evidence that you do see? A lot of it has just been fudged. It has been fraudulently created in order to achieve some level of cover so that the corrupt officials who have been bribed making decisions at the FDA can go ahead and put their rubber stamp on that drug. They can then approve it and release it into the marketplace.
That is when the grand experiment really begins. That is when we start seeing what happens when you unleash this drug onto a population that has never really been tested for? We are just now starting to learn the answers to that question. One of the answers that we just learned is that these drugs for ADHD stunt the growth of children. We know that now. What else might happen?
Might it cause them to be unable to reproduce down the road? What if it stunts the growth of sperm development, as these children become men? What if it interrupts the development or the release of eggs in the ovaries? What if it causes reproductive problems? What if we are, in fact, creating a generation of children who cannot reproduce?
We do not even know if that is the case or not. We will not know for many more years because this is a grand experiment. No one knows. No one can tell you what is safe. No one can tell you that the scenario I just described cannot happen because they do not know. It has never been tested.
Psychiatric drugs only have to be tested for a few weeks -- sometimes as little as six weeks before they are released onto the public and can be prescribed for a lifetime. That is right. This is true. You can Google this and find it yourself. The FDA has rules about this and the rules state that psychiatric drugs -- even those for schizophrenia -- only need to be tested for a few weeks and then they can be released to the public and prescribed for years or decades.
How do they know that these drugs are safe for use over a period of years or decades? They do not know. No one knows. If you allow your child to be put on these drugs then you are giving up your power and you are in a sense playing the role of a servant to this industry. You are giving up your money. You are compromising the health and safety of your child.
Diet Affects Behavior
You may say "Well, my child has behavioral problems, he is difficult in school," or "The teacher has told me that I should put him on Ritalin. What do I do?" It is very simple -- change the child's diet. Take all the processed foods out of his diet. Take away the food additives -- the artificial colors, artificial flavors and processed sugars. Take all that out and fill his diet with wholesome foods -- fresh produce, super food nutrients.
Emerald Balance has another product made for children called "X-Balance." It is chocolate flavored. Children love it. It is loaded with super foods. You can blend it up into some chocolate milk or some kind of super food drink. Give your child one of those every day. It will change his life.
Symptoms of ADHD will vanish usually within just a couple of weeks once you change their diet. This is not difficult stuff. Take the Aspartame out of their diets. Stop feeding them soda and diet soda. Put wholesome foods and nutrition back into their diets and they will change. They will do better in school and they will resist infection. They will be far less likely to ever be diagnosed with diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. You will in fact be creating a very positive future for that child by changing their nutrition today.
That is how you eliminate so-called behavioral disorders for the most part -- 80% success rate with a couple of weeks just by changing what they eat. It's very simple. This is not complicated. Here is why.
Food as Fuel
The brain is a physical organ. The brain needs blood, it needs oxygen, and it needs blood sugar to operate. In fact, the brain uses up a whole lot of oxygen and blood sugar. The brain burns up some calories. It is that big CPU on top of those shoulders.
The body invests some real resources in keeping that brain active because, of course, the brain is our main advantage. That is why our species has flourished -- at least by some measures. We have at least been able to populate the planet. We have not really taken care of it but we have been very successful at spreading and we did that because our brains worked better than the other animals -- the other mammals on this planet with which we were competing. The brain takes a lot of energy, many resources. Well the brain runs on what is in your blood.
The blood is pumping fuel to your brain and the blood is removing metabolic waste materials from the cells in your brain, right? The brain is a physical organ and that means whatever is in your blood is affecting the functioning of your brain. It makes sense, right? You drive up to a gas station to put fuel in your car. You have three grades of fuel to choose from.
You have your regular, your premium and your super premium. The difference between those grades of fuel is performance. You put in a higher-octane fuel you are going to get more mileage per gallon out of that car because there is just more energy in that fuel. Well you would not drive up to a gas station that had budget fuel for your car.
Budget fuel is 50% water and 50% gas. Would you put that in your car's gas tank and then expect to drive away and have great performance out of your car even if that gas were say half the price of all the other gas? Of course not, no one would do that but what do we do with our children?
We feed them junk food -- cheap processed junk food that lacks the nutrients the brain needs to operate at a high performance. It is like putting water in your gas tank and then expecting the car to work correctly. It will not work that well.
How to Feed Your Brain
You have to feed the brain the nutrients that it needs. It needs essential fatty acids. It needs DHA. It needs Omega 3 oils, vitamins, minerals, and all of these plant-based phytonutrients from things like berries and micro-algae such as spirulina and chlorella. All of these super foods -- even cacao. The brain needs these nutrients if you want it to run at high performance. It only makes sense. Do you want a child's brain to work correctly? Feed the brain right.
That means getting the right nutrients into the blood, and you know the human body has a very cool system for getting the right nutrients into the blood. It is called "digestion." It is called eating it or drinking it. Get that stuff down your throat -- all that good nutritional stuff, high-density super foods and guess what? The digestive system will take those nutrients.
It will pull them out of those foods. It will put them into the blood stream, and then the heart will pump that blood right to the brain. The brain will absorb that and whoa, wham. The brain is working. Suddenly it is working right.
This is not rocket science to figure out. This is kind of common sense. Common sense that is completely missed by the whole system of organized medicine today -- psychiatry has no clue about the link between nutrition and brain health. They imagine it does not even exist.
They think that all behavioral disorders are a result of some kind of brain chemical imbalance that has to be corrected with an artificial, synthetic chemical put into the body. It's ridiculous! Your brain has everything it needs to operate perfectly and so does the brain of every child born in this country.
It has everything it needs to operate perfectly -- barring, of course, some bizarre birth defect where they were born without half a brain or something. That is the rare exception. Maybe one in a million -- everybody else has everything they need. They just need to feed that brain correctly. Give it the nutrients that it needs and stop poisoning the brain. Stop poisoning it with toxic food additives that you find in manufactured foods. Stop poisoning it with all the toxic chemicals that you find in personal care products today.
Stop poisoning it with environmental chemicals. That is the key. You want to keep the brain healthy. You want to see it work. Give it the nutrients it needs. Stop poisoning it with toxic chemicals and for goodness sake give it some water. You know the brain is at least 75% water. Many of these children are just dehydrated. That is why they cannot think because the brain does not have the liquid in there. It needs the water. The neurons will not work right without the water.
ADHD and the Standard American Diet
Instead of drinking water, they are chugging down processed juices, sodas, sugary drinks -- stuff like Ensure and Slimfast -- and those infant formulas that are made with about 50% sugar, and I am not exaggerating. I saw one that is 42.6% corn syrup solids plus 10.5% sugar. You put that together that is over 52% refined sweetener. This is a baby formula sold at Wal-Mart and it is half sugar. That is unbelievable.
This is what parents are feeding their children too. They are guzzling down the Gatorade. It is sugar water with artificial colors and some salt in it. That is what Gatorade mostly is.
Why are we feeding our kids this stuff? Girl Scout cookies contain partially hydrogenated oil, which contains trans fatty acids that promote heart disease. Read the labels on this stuff folks; you will be shocked to find out what is in it. Once you do, you will know then the real reason why children might have some behaviors that someone could interpret as a disease.
Their diets are messed up. Their nutrients are atrocious. They are not getting enough water and they certainly are not getting right nutrition. If you turn that around -- you turn around the health of these children.
What they definitely do not need is speed. They definitely do not need amphetamine drugs on top of their malnourished state. You take a child that is dehydrated, that is suffering from numerous nutritional deficiencies and then you feed that child amphetamines of course you are going to see stunted development of their brain on an MRI scan.
Of course, why would you expect anything else? You would have to be insane to expect anything else. Of course, it is going to harm those children. Why has it come to this in this nation? Do you ever wonder that? How did it get to the point where our children are now guinea pigs being drugged up instead of being fed correctly?
Why is it that these companies are pushing infant formula made with sugar but they denounce breast milk? Why is that sunlight is being discredited? It is these companies that sell sunscreen want you to coat your children with sunscreen chemicals rather than to allow them to have decent exposure to the sunlight? Sunlight, which would generate vitamin D and improve brain function, improves immune function, prevent cancer, improve blood glucose metabolism to help prevent obesity and prevent Type II diabetes and so on.
Selling Out the American People for Profit
Why has it come to this? There is one answer to all of this. It is the common thread that runs through everything I have said here and that is the profit motive of corporations. These corporations are out of control and they are behind all of this. They are the drug companies and the food companies and sometimes it is the same company.
They want to exploit the bodies of your children just to make money. That is all there is to it. They don't care who dies, who is harmed. They don;t care about ethics. They don't care about the environment. They don't care what happens when these drugs are eliminated from the body, get flushed downstream, and enter the aquatic ecosystems of our planet. They don't care about that. They don't even think about that. They are not concerned.
They do not care about any of the impacts of what they do as long as they can keep people alive long enough to make sure they keep buying their drugs and that is it. They will market these drugs to anyone -- infants, children, adults, senior citizens. They will market them to people who do not need them.
They'll even just invent diseases and market those diseases and they will buy off anybody they need to buy off. They'll buy off the psychiatrists. They'll buy off FDA officials. They'll buy off the media with advertising money.
They will pay money to anybody they have to pay to get this message out and get this propaganda cemented in the minds of the American consumer. Once that happens they know they can push these drugs for at least a generation before someone will finally catch up with them and expose this whole sham for what it really is. You see Big Pharma is a lot as Big Tobacco used to be.
They are selling a product they know harms people. They are distorting all the science to try to cover it up. They are buying off everybody to keep this gimmick going for as long as they can. They're buying off the lawmakers. They're buying off the regulators. They're buying off the media. They're buying off scientists and the ones they cannot buy off they intimidate. We have documented numerous cases of that kind of intimidation of scientists on our website, www.NaturalNews.com. That is where I encourage you to go to learn more about this issue.
False Media vs. Independent Media
Stay informed, stay empowered, and stay skeptical. Do not believe what you hear in the mainstream media. It is all influenced by this corporate agenda because the media takes money from these companies.
How do you think they pay their bills and their salaries? They take money from pharmaceutical companies who are pushing these drugs onto children. You cannot trust their information. You can only now trust information from independent sources. That is it.
Sources like the Environmental Working Group Online or the Organic Consumers Association or sites like www.NaturalNews.com. That's where you can get information that you can trust because I have nothing to sell you here other than ideas, I do not sell nutritional supplements. I do not make any money on nutritional supplements. I do not sell drugs.
The only thing I sell is information. You can buy books on my website. You can buy audio programs if you want, but guess what? Those same audio programs are also available free. The only thing I have to offer you are ideas and information and I hope you have enjoyed this information. I hope you found value in it. I feel passionate about this.
I think what is going on in America today is a crime against our children and I hope that the justice department will round up a bunch of law enforcement officers and march into the offices of these drug companies and start making arrests. These people should be tried for their crimes against the children of this country.
There should be a massive public hearing and a prosecution attempt against the CEO's of these drug companies and the corrupt officials at the FDA and the people in psychiatry who are committing these crimes or allowing them to happen. These people should all be held accountable for their actions in harming our children. We do not even know what the final cost of this is going to be down the road.
If these drugs stunt the growth of these children right now and cause their brains to develop more slowly than normal children what will be the long-term consequences here? We do not even know. Maybe some day we will find out.
Maybe some day there will be prosecutions, maybe even convictions against some of these people but first we have to have the will to move in that direction as a society. We have to stand up and say what is going on today is wrong -- that turning the bodies of these young children into chemical profit centers is morally wrong, ethically wrong. It is wrong in terms of health policy. It is wrong in so many ways that even this hour is not enough to talk about them all. We have to be willing to do that in society.
I have a six CD course available at www.TruthPublishing.com that is very reasonably priced for these Health Ranger reports because I want to give you the opportunity to listen to these in your car while you are commuting or while you are driving your children to the naturopath. I hope that you are not driving your child to a conventional medical doctor or a psychiatrist. As you are taking them to a naturopathic doctor, you can listen to these programs in your car. You can find those at www.TruthPublishing.com.
Parents Must Protect Their Own Children
I hope you agree with most of what you have read here and I hope you remain skeptical with everything that you read. I hope you check this out. Go to Google. Start Googling this information. Teach yourself the truth about this issue. Find out the truth.
Do not just get your information from some doctor who has been taking money from the drug companies and certainly do not get your information from the mainstream media because they are taking money from drug companies left and right.
No one in their right mind trusts the FDA anymore except, of course, the drug companies because the FDA is doing their bidding. So remain skeptical, remain informed and please do everything in your power to protect your children from these dangerous drugs and these evil corporations.
Protect your children. That is the best way that you can thank me for putting forth this effort to get you this information and to keep www.NaturalNews.com going is to just protect your children. Help me make a difference. Spread this information around.
I do not want to see more children stunted in their growth and harmed by these dangerous drugs and in fact, I would like to see this whole industry overturned. This whole sham of psychiatric medicine should come crumbling down real soon now. It can only do so if people like you -- intelligent consumers like you continue to stay informed and continue to voice your concerns.
Speak out! Take a stand! Do not be rolled over by these dangerous corporations -- these powerful entities who seem to be in control in society today.
They will not last much longer. Trust me because the truth is coming out about these issues and as this truth comes out that house of cards is going to come falling down. Stand up, voice your truth, and protect the health of your children.
This article is a transcript of Health Ranger Report 7, entitled The ADHD Scam and the Mass Drugging of Schoolchildren, which is available free of charge as an MP3 download at: http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Podcasts.html
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
NY: ALL FEDERAL SHOTS WILL BECOME MANDATORY
NY is planning to tighten the rules regarding vaccines, if you are
reading this please be aware this police state mentality will not stop
with NY! The CDC and big pharma will not stop until they inject every
last human with poison.
http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A10942&sh=t
Below is a really good explanation of the requirements I got from
a yahoo group I belong to.
NY: ALL FEDERAL SHOTS WILL BECOME MANDATORY
Act now to stop the worst vaccine law ever proposed in New York since
the invention of the mandatory schedule. Assembly Bill 10942 would
make all vaccines recommended by the CDC mandatory for all children
to attend school and, and for the first time vaccines would become
mandatory for infants and toddlers.
The bill was introduced in Rules Committee at the request of Richard
Daines, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
The Rules Committee in the personal committee of the Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
A-CHAMP is calling for rejection of this bill and is demanding the
passage of A5468/S3031, a bill that would give individuals a right to
a philosophical exemption from vaccine mandates. This is no time to
transfer vaccine decisions away from individuals and elected
officials answerable to the voters and give it to obscure bureaucrats
with financial ties to the vaccine industry.
Here are a few features of the proposed bill:
· Our elected New York representatives would no longer determine
the mandatory schedule of vaccines to attend school; decisions made
by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would
automatically become mandatory.
· All children, infants and toddlers included, in New York would
be required to get all vaccines recommended by the ACIP according to
the ACIP schedule
· All children in New York up to age 18 would be required to get
annual flu shots.
· All girls in New York would be required to get a human papilloma
virus shot.
· All junior high school children and college students would be
required to get meningococcal shots.
· Doctors would be required to issue certificates for every shot
given and parents would be required to maintain the records and
provide them to school and other authorities.
· The rules committee claims that the new laws would have no
fiscal impact on the state despite the necessity of the state to
spend tens of millions on purchasing new vaccines, a vast increase in
mandatory record keeping and enforcement for schools, and a huge
increase that could be expected in the number of cases of
neurological damage, Guillian Barré syndrome and other vaccine-caused
injuries.
We only have a few weeks to defeat this bill. Let your Assembly member
and State Senator know immediately that a vote for this bill
guarantees that you will do everything you can to get them un-
elected. In addition to emailing and calling your local
representatives, please call Speaker Sheldon Silver and let his staff
know, politely, that this is a disastrous idea. While you are at it
please call Governor David Paterson and let his staff know, politely,
that this is a horrible law.
Governor David Paterson (518) 474-8390
Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791
reading this please be aware this police state mentality will not stop
with NY! The CDC and big pharma will not stop until they inject every
last human with poison.
http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A10942&sh=t
Below is a really good explanation of the requirements I got from
a yahoo group I belong to.
NY: ALL FEDERAL SHOTS WILL BECOME MANDATORY
Act now to stop the worst vaccine law ever proposed in New York since
the invention of the mandatory schedule. Assembly Bill 10942 would
make all vaccines recommended by the CDC mandatory for all children
to attend school and, and for the first time vaccines would become
mandatory for infants and toddlers.
The bill was introduced in Rules Committee at the request of Richard
Daines, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
The Rules Committee in the personal committee of the Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
A-CHAMP is calling for rejection of this bill and is demanding the
passage of A5468/S3031, a bill that would give individuals a right to
a philosophical exemption from vaccine mandates. This is no time to
transfer vaccine decisions away from individuals and elected
officials answerable to the voters and give it to obscure bureaucrats
with financial ties to the vaccine industry.
Here are a few features of the proposed bill:
· Our elected New York representatives would no longer determine
the mandatory schedule of vaccines to attend school; decisions made
by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would
automatically become mandatory.
· All children, infants and toddlers included, in New York would
be required to get all vaccines recommended by the ACIP according to
the ACIP schedule
· All children in New York up to age 18 would be required to get
annual flu shots.
· All girls in New York would be required to get a human papilloma
virus shot.
· All junior high school children and college students would be
required to get meningococcal shots.
· Doctors would be required to issue certificates for every shot
given and parents would be required to maintain the records and
provide them to school and other authorities.
· The rules committee claims that the new laws would have no
fiscal impact on the state despite the necessity of the state to
spend tens of millions on purchasing new vaccines, a vast increase in
mandatory record keeping and enforcement for schools, and a huge
increase that could be expected in the number of cases of
neurological damage, Guillian Barré syndrome and other vaccine-caused
injuries.
We only have a few weeks to defeat this bill. Let your Assembly member
and State Senator know immediately that a vote for this bill
guarantees that you will do everything you can to get them un-
elected. In addition to emailing and calling your local
representatives, please call Speaker Sheldon Silver and let his staff
know, politely, that this is a disastrous idea. While you are at it
please call Governor David Paterson and let his staff know, politely,
that this is a horrible law.
Governor David Paterson (518) 474-8390
Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Was there really a "Jane"?
OK, was there really a "Jane"? I think this story is pure fiction, and is pro vaccine rubbish. I almost believed this story was true until I saw the last part pushing vaccines.
*****
Sunday, May. 25, 2008
How My Son Spread the Measles
One of the recent measles clusters in the U.S. began in 2008 when the child of a family on a visit Europe contracted the virus there and carried it back to the U.S. The child's mother, who selectively vaccinates her children, spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity, fearing a backlash from her community. She asked that her name and her region not be identified. We will call her Jane.
Jane says her 10-year-old son starting showing symptoms of the measles — swollen lymph nodes and a fever — about 10 days after returning to the states. He seemed to recover, and she sent him back to school after a few days. The following day the boy developed a rash. He visited his doctor, but the measles diagnosis did not come for about a week. In the meantime the boy had again returned to school, carrying the disease into a school with a population of children whose parents choose not to immunize. All told, 12 children between 10 months old and nine years old contracted the measles at the school, the doctor's office and other nearby schools.
Jane says she did not know her son had been exposed to the measles while visiting Europe; and she didn't know that her son was infectious. She and her husband select vaccinations for their children based on their age, their body's ability to fight the infection, and the risks of the vaccination. Her infected son was not innoculated against measles. "We analyze the diseases and we analyze the risk of disease, and that's how my husband and I make our decision about what vaccines to give our children."
She adds about the outbreak, "I feel horrible for those children and their parents, but I want to protect all children from harm. And so by making sure there is more research done, we can help all children."
Vaccines in general are a good thing, she says, but the problem is in the ingredients. Many vaccines contain mercury, formaldehyde, and aluminum, Jane argues. Thimerosal, which contains a mercury derivative, was once a common preservative in vaccines, she says. "This just can't be good for you. Injecting yourself with aluminum can't be good."
Epidemiologists and doctors advocate vaccinations, arguing that the sera are safe. They also point out that beyond the safety of individuals, there is a demographic argument for vaccinations, with groups of people immune to disease creating geographic brakes to the potential spread of disease.
Jane says she became curious about vaccines after she took her first child for a series of vaccinations at four months old. "It felt like they were giving her four shots. It felt like it was too much. The next day she had blood in her stool and it freaked me out. The doctor said 'Well maybe it was the shots, but we don't know.'"
The experience prompted Jane to research vaccinations. She read widely on the CDC website and in medical journals. She read vaccine inserts published by the vaccine manufacturers and she talked to pediatricians. In the end, she and her husband decided to choose certain vaccinations and create their own shot schedule based on their children's age and ability to withstand disease.
Because her children are healthy and well-nourished, Jane said they will sail through childhood diseases such as measles and chicken pox without trouble — and get lifelong immunity from the exposure. And she said, because the U.S. is a relatively healthy first-world country with a well-functioning health care system, she feels safe in making the choice to vaccinate selectively. "Looking at the diseases mumps, measles and rubella in a country like the U.S.... it doesn't tend to be a problem," Jane said. "Children will do fine with these diseases in a developed country that has good nutrition. And because I live in a country where the norm is vaccine, I can delay my vaccines."
Still, Jane says she was surprised by the number of calls she got from friends who wanted to bring their unvaccinated children over to play with her kids while they were infectious. Like Jane, they see getting the measles as far healthier than the vaccine. She said the recent measles outbreak in her region prompted her to do more research. That work has made her even more certain that she and her husband are choosing wisely to be very selective about vaccinations. "This is a difficult choice for parents; choose the vaccine or choose the disease. I have chosen the disease by not vaccinating."
The family's planned travel to third-world countries prompted her to research other vaccinations. Her children are now vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria, polio, Hepatitis B and typhoid fever because the risks of those diseases overshadow the risks of complications from the vaccines. Jane said she hopes parents will take a more active role in deciding if and when to vaccinate their children. "I want parents to educate themselves," she said. "Be educated. Vaccination is in general a great thing, but we need more research. More and more parents are saying something's not right. They know their children. We need to listen."
*****
Sunday, May. 25, 2008
How My Son Spread the Measles
One of the recent measles clusters in the U.S. began in 2008 when the child of a family on a visit Europe contracted the virus there and carried it back to the U.S. The child's mother, who selectively vaccinates her children, spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity, fearing a backlash from her community. She asked that her name and her region not be identified. We will call her Jane.
Jane says her 10-year-old son starting showing symptoms of the measles — swollen lymph nodes and a fever — about 10 days after returning to the states. He seemed to recover, and she sent him back to school after a few days. The following day the boy developed a rash. He visited his doctor, but the measles diagnosis did not come for about a week. In the meantime the boy had again returned to school, carrying the disease into a school with a population of children whose parents choose not to immunize. All told, 12 children between 10 months old and nine years old contracted the measles at the school, the doctor's office and other nearby schools.
Jane says she did not know her son had been exposed to the measles while visiting Europe; and she didn't know that her son was infectious. She and her husband select vaccinations for their children based on their age, their body's ability to fight the infection, and the risks of the vaccination. Her infected son was not innoculated against measles. "We analyze the diseases and we analyze the risk of disease, and that's how my husband and I make our decision about what vaccines to give our children."
She adds about the outbreak, "I feel horrible for those children and their parents, but I want to protect all children from harm. And so by making sure there is more research done, we can help all children."
Vaccines in general are a good thing, she says, but the problem is in the ingredients. Many vaccines contain mercury, formaldehyde, and aluminum, Jane argues. Thimerosal, which contains a mercury derivative, was once a common preservative in vaccines, she says. "This just can't be good for you. Injecting yourself with aluminum can't be good."
Epidemiologists and doctors advocate vaccinations, arguing that the sera are safe. They also point out that beyond the safety of individuals, there is a demographic argument for vaccinations, with groups of people immune to disease creating geographic brakes to the potential spread of disease.
Jane says she became curious about vaccines after she took her first child for a series of vaccinations at four months old. "It felt like they were giving her four shots. It felt like it was too much. The next day she had blood in her stool and it freaked me out. The doctor said 'Well maybe it was the shots, but we don't know.'"
The experience prompted Jane to research vaccinations. She read widely on the CDC website and in medical journals. She read vaccine inserts published by the vaccine manufacturers and she talked to pediatricians. In the end, she and her husband decided to choose certain vaccinations and create their own shot schedule based on their children's age and ability to withstand disease.
Because her children are healthy and well-nourished, Jane said they will sail through childhood diseases such as measles and chicken pox without trouble — and get lifelong immunity from the exposure. And she said, because the U.S. is a relatively healthy first-world country with a well-functioning health care system, she feels safe in making the choice to vaccinate selectively. "Looking at the diseases mumps, measles and rubella in a country like the U.S.... it doesn't tend to be a problem," Jane said. "Children will do fine with these diseases in a developed country that has good nutrition. And because I live in a country where the norm is vaccine, I can delay my vaccines."
Still, Jane says she was surprised by the number of calls she got from friends who wanted to bring their unvaccinated children over to play with her kids while they were infectious. Like Jane, they see getting the measles as far healthier than the vaccine. She said the recent measles outbreak in her region prompted her to do more research. That work has made her even more certain that she and her husband are choosing wisely to be very selective about vaccinations. "This is a difficult choice for parents; choose the vaccine or choose the disease. I have chosen the disease by not vaccinating."
The family's planned travel to third-world countries prompted her to research other vaccinations. Her children are now vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria, polio, Hepatitis B and typhoid fever because the risks of those diseases overshadow the risks of complications from the vaccines. Jane said she hopes parents will take a more active role in deciding if and when to vaccinate their children. "I want parents to educate themselves," she said. "Be educated. Vaccination is in general a great thing, but we need more research. More and more parents are saying something's not right. They know their children. We need to listen."
Emergency measures are being implemented to halt UK measles outbreak
When will they stop injecting children with this poison?
*****
Emergency measures are being implemented to halt a measles outbreak.
Health chiefs in London have ordered NHS trusts to offer MMR jabs in quick succession amid a surge in measles.
There have been over 200 cases in south east London in the first five months of this year. It comes after a record 1,000 were recorded nationally in 2007.
The Health Protection Agency said it hoped that offering the two jabs within months instead of two years apart would help stem the rise.
Similar steps were taken when there was a high concentration of cases in north London last year.
MEASLES
Measles is a highly infectious virus. It starts with a fever and conjunctivitis before a rash develops
The rash often lasts about a week and other complications can include pneumonia and diarrhoea
The MMR jab is used to immunise children against the disease
Before the triple vaccine was introduced in the late 1980s, there were 20 deaths a year on average in the UK
But since the early 1990s there has just been one in total
It is not known exactly what has caused the rise in cases, but take-up of MMR has struggled to recover from being linked to autism in the 1990s.
At least 95% of children need to have the triple-jab to create herd immunity to stop the disease spreading, but London in particular has struggled to reach that.
About three quarters of children across London have had the first jab which is given to babies at 13 months of age.
The second jab, offered to capture the one in 10 who do not get immunity by the first vaccination, is normally given before children start school.
But the Health Protection Agency has told the six trusts in south east London - Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich - to give the second jab one to three months after the first.
Concern
HPA disease control expert Diana McInnes said: "The increase in measles cases is of concern and we know that large numbers of children are still not fully protected.
"In south east London we are encouraging parents to give the second MMR between one to three months after the first dose to protect their children.
"Children's immune systems have a huge capacity and overloading them with the vaccination is not an issue.
"Our main focus is to remind people that they need two doses of the MMR vaccine to be fully protected."
Health officials in Lewisham, which has had some of the highest rates of infection, is running special clinics to get every child under five immunised.
Parents of children between five and 16 who have not had the second jab are also being urged to go to their GP to get the jab.
A Lewisham PCT spokesman warned: "The disease is still spreading, particularly among school-age children."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7408278.stm
Published: 2008/05/19 11:55:59 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
*****
Emergency measures are being implemented to halt a measles outbreak.
Health chiefs in London have ordered NHS trusts to offer MMR jabs in quick succession amid a surge in measles.
There have been over 200 cases in south east London in the first five months of this year. It comes after a record 1,000 were recorded nationally in 2007.
The Health Protection Agency said it hoped that offering the two jabs within months instead of two years apart would help stem the rise.
Similar steps were taken when there was a high concentration of cases in north London last year.
MEASLES
Measles is a highly infectious virus. It starts with a fever and conjunctivitis before a rash develops
The rash often lasts about a week and other complications can include pneumonia and diarrhoea
The MMR jab is used to immunise children against the disease
Before the triple vaccine was introduced in the late 1980s, there were 20 deaths a year on average in the UK
But since the early 1990s there has just been one in total
It is not known exactly what has caused the rise in cases, but take-up of MMR has struggled to recover from being linked to autism in the 1990s.
At least 95% of children need to have the triple-jab to create herd immunity to stop the disease spreading, but London in particular has struggled to reach that.
About three quarters of children across London have had the first jab which is given to babies at 13 months of age.
The second jab, offered to capture the one in 10 who do not get immunity by the first vaccination, is normally given before children start school.
But the Health Protection Agency has told the six trusts in south east London - Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich - to give the second jab one to three months after the first.
Concern
HPA disease control expert Diana McInnes said: "The increase in measles cases is of concern and we know that large numbers of children are still not fully protected.
"In south east London we are encouraging parents to give the second MMR between one to three months after the first dose to protect their children.
"Children's immune systems have a huge capacity and overloading them with the vaccination is not an issue.
"Our main focus is to remind people that they need two doses of the MMR vaccine to be fully protected."
Health officials in Lewisham, which has had some of the highest rates of infection, is running special clinics to get every child under five immunised.
Parents of children between five and 16 who have not had the second jab are also being urged to go to their GP to get the jab.
A Lewisham PCT spokesman warned: "The disease is still spreading, particularly among school-age children."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7408278.stm
Published: 2008/05/19 11:55:59 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Friday, May 16, 2008
Over half of insured Americans on medication
What the HELL is wrong with people? I know big pharma and the Drs are partly to blame but people need to take some responsibility for their own health as well.
*****
More Americans are taking prescription medications
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer
Wed May 14, 4:18 PM ET
For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows.
The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
The numbers were gathered last year by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans.
Experts say the data reflect not just worsening public health but better medicines for chronic conditions and more aggressive treatment by doctors. For example, more people are now taking blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medicines because they need them, said Dr. Daniel W. Jones, president of the American Heart Association.
In addition, there is the pharmaceutical industry's relentless advertising. With those factors unlikely to change, doctors say the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only grow.
"Unless we do things to change the way we're managing health in this country ... things will get worse instead of getting better," predicted Jones, a heart specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi's medical school.
Americans buy much more medicine per person than any other country. But it was unclear how their prescriptions compare to those of insured people elsewhere. Comparable data were not available for Europe, for instance.
Medco's data show that last year, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. Most of the drugs are taken daily, although some are needed less often.
The company examined prescription records from 2001 to 2007 of a representative sample of 2.5 million customers, from newborns to the elderly.
Medication use for chronic problems was seen in all demographic groups:
• Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older.
• One in four children and teenagers.
• 52 percent of adult men.
• Three out of four people 65 or older.
Among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly.
Karen Walker of Paterson, N.J., takes 18 prescription medicines daily for high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic back and shoulder pain, asthma and the painful muscle disorder fibromyalgia.
"The only way I can do it and keep my sanity ... is I use pill boxes" to organize pills for each morning and night, said Walker, 57, a full-time nurse at an HIV clinic. Her 69-year-old husband, Charles, keeps his medicines lined up on his bureau: four pills for arthritis and heart disease, plus two inhalers for lung problems.
Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco, said he sees both bad news and good in the findings.
"Honestly, a lot of it is related to obesity," he said. "We've become a couch potato culture (and) it's a lot easier to pop a pill" than to exercise regularly or diet.
On the good side, he said, researchers have turned what used to be fatal diseases into chronic ones, including AIDS, some cancers, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease.
Yet Epstein noted the biggest jump in use of chronic medications was in the 20- to 44-year-old age group — adults in the prime of life — where it rose 20 percent over the six years. That was mainly due to more use of drugs for depression, diabetes, asthma, attention-deficit disorder and seizures.
Antidepressant use in particular jumped among teens and working-age women. Doctors attributed that to more stress in daily life and to family doctors, including pediatricians, being more comfortable prescribing newer antidepressants.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen's Health Research Group said the increased use of medications is partly because the most heavily advertised drugs are for chronic conditions, so most patients will take them for a long time. He also blames doctors for not spending the time to help patients lose weight and make other healthy changes before writing a prescription.
The study highlights a surge in children's use of medicines to treat weight-related problems and other illnesses previously considered adult problems. Medco estimates about 1.2 million American children now are taking pills for Type 2 diabetes, sleeping troubles and gastrointestinal problems such as heartburn.
"A scarier problem is that body weights are so much higher in children in general, and so we're going to have larger numbers of adults who develop high blood pressure or abnormal cholesterol or diabetes at an earlier age," said Jones, of the heart association.
Dr. Richard Gorman, an American Academy of Pediatrics expert on children's medicines, said more children are taking medicines for "adult conditions" partly because manufacturers now provide pediatric doses, liquid versions or at least information to determine the right amount for a child.
The Medco study found that among boys and girls under age 10, the most widely used medication switched from allergy drugs to asthma medicines between 2001 and 2007. Gorman said that's because over the last decade, asthma care has gone from treating flare-ups to using inhaled steroids regularly to prevent flare-ups and hospitalizations.
___
On the Net:
http://www.medco.com
*****
More Americans are taking prescription medications
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer
Wed May 14, 4:18 PM ET
For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows.
The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
The numbers were gathered last year by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans.
Experts say the data reflect not just worsening public health but better medicines for chronic conditions and more aggressive treatment by doctors. For example, more people are now taking blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medicines because they need them, said Dr. Daniel W. Jones, president of the American Heart Association.
In addition, there is the pharmaceutical industry's relentless advertising. With those factors unlikely to change, doctors say the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only grow.
"Unless we do things to change the way we're managing health in this country ... things will get worse instead of getting better," predicted Jones, a heart specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi's medical school.
Americans buy much more medicine per person than any other country. But it was unclear how their prescriptions compare to those of insured people elsewhere. Comparable data were not available for Europe, for instance.
Medco's data show that last year, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. Most of the drugs are taken daily, although some are needed less often.
The company examined prescription records from 2001 to 2007 of a representative sample of 2.5 million customers, from newborns to the elderly.
Medication use for chronic problems was seen in all demographic groups:
• Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older.
• One in four children and teenagers.
• 52 percent of adult men.
• Three out of four people 65 or older.
Among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly.
Karen Walker of Paterson, N.J., takes 18 prescription medicines daily for high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic back and shoulder pain, asthma and the painful muscle disorder fibromyalgia.
"The only way I can do it and keep my sanity ... is I use pill boxes" to organize pills for each morning and night, said Walker, 57, a full-time nurse at an HIV clinic. Her 69-year-old husband, Charles, keeps his medicines lined up on his bureau: four pills for arthritis and heart disease, plus two inhalers for lung problems.
Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco, said he sees both bad news and good in the findings.
"Honestly, a lot of it is related to obesity," he said. "We've become a couch potato culture (and) it's a lot easier to pop a pill" than to exercise regularly or diet.
On the good side, he said, researchers have turned what used to be fatal diseases into chronic ones, including AIDS, some cancers, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease.
Yet Epstein noted the biggest jump in use of chronic medications was in the 20- to 44-year-old age group — adults in the prime of life — where it rose 20 percent over the six years. That was mainly due to more use of drugs for depression, diabetes, asthma, attention-deficit disorder and seizures.
Antidepressant use in particular jumped among teens and working-age women. Doctors attributed that to more stress in daily life and to family doctors, including pediatricians, being more comfortable prescribing newer antidepressants.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen's Health Research Group said the increased use of medications is partly because the most heavily advertised drugs are for chronic conditions, so most patients will take them for a long time. He also blames doctors for not spending the time to help patients lose weight and make other healthy changes before writing a prescription.
The study highlights a surge in children's use of medicines to treat weight-related problems and other illnesses previously considered adult problems. Medco estimates about 1.2 million American children now are taking pills for Type 2 diabetes, sleeping troubles and gastrointestinal problems such as heartburn.
"A scarier problem is that body weights are so much higher in children in general, and so we're going to have larger numbers of adults who develop high blood pressure or abnormal cholesterol or diabetes at an earlier age," said Jones, of the heart association.
Dr. Richard Gorman, an American Academy of Pediatrics expert on children's medicines, said more children are taking medicines for "adult conditions" partly because manufacturers now provide pediatric doses, liquid versions or at least information to determine the right amount for a child.
The Medco study found that among boys and girls under age 10, the most widely used medication switched from allergy drugs to asthma medicines between 2001 and 2007. Gorman said that's because over the last decade, asthma care has gone from treating flare-ups to using inhaled steroids regularly to prevent flare-ups and hospitalizations.
___
On the Net:
http://www.medco.com
USDA continues to rape and defile the meaning of organic
They have ruined what it means to be organic, how much more arrogant and sick are they going to get? I hate to say it but at some point they are going to ban all organic foods and declare fruits and vegetables to be the property of of various corporations.
*****
http://www.naturalnews.com/023183.html
USDA Renews Approval of 46 Non-Organic Ingredients in "Organic" Foods
(NaturalNews) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed its approval for 46 non-organically produced substances to be used in foods and beverages that are labeled "organic." At the same time, the agency withdrew its approval for a type of food coloring and a food additive.
Under the Organic Foods Production Act, the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is required to renew approval every five years for any non-organic ingredients that are allowed into organic foods.
The products renewed include five agricultural non-organic products and 41 non-agricultural, non-organic products. The agricultural produced products are corn starch, kelp, pectin, unbleached lecithin and water extracted gums. Some of these are not individual products, but categories; water-extracted gums, for example, include arabic, carob bean, guar and locust bean gums. Kelp may only be used as a thickener or a dietary supplement.
The 41 allowed non-agricultural products include common ingredients such as citric and lactic acid; calcium carbonate; calcium chloride; carnauba wax; bakers, brewers or nutritional yeast; dairy cultures; flavors; sodium carbonate; glycerin; mono- and diglycerides; and xanthan gum.
The USDA withdrew its approval, however, for colors derived from non-synthetic sources and for potassium tartrate derived from tartaric acid.
The organic industry is the fastest-growing agriculture sector in the United States, currently accounting for 3 percent of all food and beverage sales. Retail revenues have risen 20 to 24 percent each year since 1990, from $1 billion to nearly $17 billion in 2006. They are expected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2010.
At the same time, acreage of organic agriculture operations more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, to a current 4.05 million acres. The number of organic operations increased by more than 18 percent in the same period, to a 2005 value of 8.500 crop and livestock operations and 2,900 handling operations.
*****
http://www.naturalnews.com/023183.html
USDA Renews Approval of 46 Non-Organic Ingredients in "Organic" Foods
(NaturalNews) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed its approval for 46 non-organically produced substances to be used in foods and beverages that are labeled "organic." At the same time, the agency withdrew its approval for a type of food coloring and a food additive.
Under the Organic Foods Production Act, the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is required to renew approval every five years for any non-organic ingredients that are allowed into organic foods.
The products renewed include five agricultural non-organic products and 41 non-agricultural, non-organic products. The agricultural produced products are corn starch, kelp, pectin, unbleached lecithin and water extracted gums. Some of these are not individual products, but categories; water-extracted gums, for example, include arabic, carob bean, guar and locust bean gums. Kelp may only be used as a thickener or a dietary supplement.
The 41 allowed non-agricultural products include common ingredients such as citric and lactic acid; calcium carbonate; calcium chloride; carnauba wax; bakers, brewers or nutritional yeast; dairy cultures; flavors; sodium carbonate; glycerin; mono- and diglycerides; and xanthan gum.
The USDA withdrew its approval, however, for colors derived from non-synthetic sources and for potassium tartrate derived from tartaric acid.
The organic industry is the fastest-growing agriculture sector in the United States, currently accounting for 3 percent of all food and beverage sales. Retail revenues have risen 20 to 24 percent each year since 1990, from $1 billion to nearly $17 billion in 2006. They are expected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2010.
At the same time, acreage of organic agriculture operations more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, to a current 4.05 million acres. The number of organic operations increased by more than 18 percent in the same period, to a 2005 value of 8.500 crop and livestock operations and 2,900 handling operations.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
I am not one to usually ask for prayer but these people need as much positive support / prayer as possible because these people have had their families turned upside down by something promoted as keeping their children safe. All they have been left with so far are cover ups and lies.
How do the pro vax drs, the idiots with financial ties to big pharma, and the people who make this poison sleep at night? I don't get it.
*****
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Monday, May 12, 2008; 4:36 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.
Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally _ but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.
Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.
Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.
The Office of Special Masters of the claims court has instructed the plaintiffs to designate three test cases for each of the three theories _ nine cases in all _ and has assigned three special masters to handle the cases. Three cases in the first category were heard last year, but no decisions have been reached.
The two cases beginning Monday are among the three that focus on the second theory of causation: that thimerosal-containing vaccines alone cause autism. The plaintiff in the third case originally scheduled for hearing this month has withdrawn and lawyers and court officials are working to agree on substitute case.
Hearings in the test cases for the third theory of causation are scheduled in mid-September.
Lawyers for the petitioning families in the cases being heard this month say they will present evidence that injections with thimerosal deposit a form of mercury in the brain. That mercury excites certain brain cells that stay chronically activated trying to get rid of the intrusion.
"In some kids, there's enough of it that it sets off this chronic neuroinflammatory pattern that can lead to regressive autism," said attorney Mike Williams.
In the end, the families' attorneys hope to convince the special master hearing their case that thimerosal belongs on the list of causes for the inflammation that leads to regressive autism.
To win, the attorneys for the two boys, William Mead and Jordan King, will have to show that it's more likely than not that the vaccine actually caused the injury.
Many members of the medical community are skeptical of the families' claims. They worry that the claims about the dangers of vaccines could cause some people to forgo vaccines that prevent illness.
"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people, is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Dr. Andrew Gerber, a psychiatrist, said that medical experts don't have a comprehensive understanding of what causes autism, but they do know there is a strong hereditary component.
Toxins from the environment could play a role, but currently, data does not support that they do, Gerber said.
Arguments are scheduled to go on throughout the month. A final decision could take several more months. Claims that are successful would result in compensation taking into account lost earnings after age 18 and up to $250,000 for pain and suffering.
The families or the federal government can also appeal the decision of the special master to the Court of Federal Claims or to a federal appeals court.
The court Web site says more than 12,500 claims have been filed since creation of the program in 1987, including more than 5,300 autism cases, and more than $1.7 billion has been paid in claims. It says there is now more than $2.7 billion in a trust fund supported by an excise tax on each dose of vaccine covered by the program.
____
On the Net:
Background on thimerosal trial: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4428
© 2008 The Associated Press
How do the pro vax drs, the idiots with financial ties to big pharma, and the people who make this poison sleep at night? I don't get it.
*****
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Monday, May 12, 2008; 4:36 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.
Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally _ but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.
Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.
Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.
The Office of Special Masters of the claims court has instructed the plaintiffs to designate three test cases for each of the three theories _ nine cases in all _ and has assigned three special masters to handle the cases. Three cases in the first category were heard last year, but no decisions have been reached.
The two cases beginning Monday are among the three that focus on the second theory of causation: that thimerosal-containing vaccines alone cause autism. The plaintiff in the third case originally scheduled for hearing this month has withdrawn and lawyers and court officials are working to agree on substitute case.
Hearings in the test cases for the third theory of causation are scheduled in mid-September.
Lawyers for the petitioning families in the cases being heard this month say they will present evidence that injections with thimerosal deposit a form of mercury in the brain. That mercury excites certain brain cells that stay chronically activated trying to get rid of the intrusion.
"In some kids, there's enough of it that it sets off this chronic neuroinflammatory pattern that can lead to regressive autism," said attorney Mike Williams.
In the end, the families' attorneys hope to convince the special master hearing their case that thimerosal belongs on the list of causes for the inflammation that leads to regressive autism.
To win, the attorneys for the two boys, William Mead and Jordan King, will have to show that it's more likely than not that the vaccine actually caused the injury.
Many members of the medical community are skeptical of the families' claims. They worry that the claims about the dangers of vaccines could cause some people to forgo vaccines that prevent illness.
"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people, is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Dr. Andrew Gerber, a psychiatrist, said that medical experts don't have a comprehensive understanding of what causes autism, but they do know there is a strong hereditary component.
Toxins from the environment could play a role, but currently, data does not support that they do, Gerber said.
Arguments are scheduled to go on throughout the month. A final decision could take several more months. Claims that are successful would result in compensation taking into account lost earnings after age 18 and up to $250,000 for pain and suffering.
The families or the federal government can also appeal the decision of the special master to the Court of Federal Claims or to a federal appeals court.
The court Web site says more than 12,500 claims have been filed since creation of the program in 1987, including more than 5,300 autism cases, and more than $1.7 billion has been paid in claims. It says there is now more than $2.7 billion in a trust fund supported by an excise tax on each dose of vaccine covered by the program.
____
On the Net:
Background on thimerosal trial: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4428
© 2008 The Associated Press
Mercury Causes Brain Cell Damage
Mercury = Brain Damage = Slow Painful Death! How much clearer can it get?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
US Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,354135,00.html
Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
Monday , May 05, 2008
Should doctors be allowed to play God?
In the case of a flu pandemic — yes, say government officials in a new report.
Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.
Who will die in the event of a pandemic? The very old, seriously hurt, severely burned and those with severe dementia, according to an influential group of physicians.
The group has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated.
The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report.
The idea is to try to make sure that scarce resources — including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses — are used in a uniform, objective way, task force members said.
Their recommendations appear in a report appearing Monday in the May edition of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include:
— People older than 85.
— Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
— Severely burned patients older than 60.
— Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.
— Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
Dr. Kevin Yeskey, director of the preparedness and emergency operations office at the Department of Health and Human Services, was on the task force. He said the report would be among many the agency reviews as part of preparedness efforts.
Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University called the report an important initiative but also "a political minefield and a legal minefield."
The recommendations would probably violate federal laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination, said Gostin, who was not on the task force.
If followed to a tee, such rules could exclude care for the poorest, most disadvantaged citizens who suffer disproportionately from chronic disease and disability, he said. While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, "there are some real ethical concerns here."
James Bentley, a senior vice president at American Hospital Association, said the report will give guidance to hospitals in shaping their own preparedness plans even if they don't follow all the suggestions.
He said the proposals resemble a battlefield approach in which limited health care resources are reserved for those most likely to survive.
Bentley said it's not the first time this type of approach has been recommended for a catastrophic pandemic, but that "this is the most detailed one I have seen from a professional group."
While the notion of rationing health care is unpleasant, the report could help the public understand that it will be necessary, Bentley said.
Devereaux said compiling the list "was emotionally difficult for everyone."
That's partly because members believe it's just a matter of time before such a health care disaster hits, she said.
"You never know," Devereaux said. "SARS took a lot of folks by surprise. We didn't even know it existed."
— The Associated Press
Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
Monday , May 05, 2008
Should doctors be allowed to play God?
In the case of a flu pandemic — yes, say government officials in a new report.
Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.
Who will die in the event of a pandemic? The very old, seriously hurt, severely burned and those with severe dementia, according to an influential group of physicians.
The group has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated.
The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report.
The idea is to try to make sure that scarce resources — including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses — are used in a uniform, objective way, task force members said.
Their recommendations appear in a report appearing Monday in the May edition of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include:
— People older than 85.
— Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
— Severely burned patients older than 60.
— Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.
— Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
Dr. Kevin Yeskey, director of the preparedness and emergency operations office at the Department of Health and Human Services, was on the task force. He said the report would be among many the agency reviews as part of preparedness efforts.
Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University called the report an important initiative but also "a political minefield and a legal minefield."
The recommendations would probably violate federal laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination, said Gostin, who was not on the task force.
If followed to a tee, such rules could exclude care for the poorest, most disadvantaged citizens who suffer disproportionately from chronic disease and disability, he said. While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, "there are some real ethical concerns here."
James Bentley, a senior vice president at American Hospital Association, said the report will give guidance to hospitals in shaping their own preparedness plans even if they don't follow all the suggestions.
He said the proposals resemble a battlefield approach in which limited health care resources are reserved for those most likely to survive.
Bentley said it's not the first time this type of approach has been recommended for a catastrophic pandemic, but that "this is the most detailed one I have seen from a professional group."
While the notion of rationing health care is unpleasant, the report could help the public understand that it will be necessary, Bentley said.
Devereaux said compiling the list "was emotionally difficult for everyone."
That's partly because members believe it's just a matter of time before such a health care disaster hits, she said.
"You never know," Devereaux said. "SARS took a lot of folks by surprise. We didn't even know it existed."
— The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
I will take my risk with natural exposure to the childhood diseases over vaccination any day.
*****
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNqVbEk87YKN2ve20_ppTYGyBidA
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
TORONTO — We call them the diseases of childhood - measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, to name a few.
But now that these diseases seldom circulate in countries that immunize against them and immune protection is rarely being naturally refreshed or "boosted" by sporadic exposure, is there a risk that in the future, older adults may find themselves unexpectedly vulnerable to these disease pests from their past?
As we head into a world where an ever growing - and aging - proportion of the population only has vaccine-acquired protection, what is really known about how long immunity is likely to endure? For that matter, can science be sure that immunity generated by infection - thought for many diseases to be lifelong - will actually hold true in the vaccine age?
"I don't think we know much at all," acknowledges Dr. Samuel Katz, co-inventor of the measles vaccine and a pediatric infectious disease expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Figuring out answers about the durability of immunity - naturally and vaccine-acquired - in a time without natural boosting won't be easy.
But the last generation to have routinely suffered through most of these diseases is crossing through mid-life and the first generation to have avoided them is hovering around 40.
As both groups head toward the so-called golden years when possible waning immunity may be exacerbated by the age-related decline of the immune system, gauging the levels of society's disease defences could become key to keeping these nasty invaders out of our communities, experts say.
Dr. Michael Osterholm says scientists should be doing long-term immunity studies - following groups of people for decades - in the way cancer researchers track groups of people to try to discern what causes cancer.
"That would help us understand at what point does the level of protection drop for a population. Not any one individual. But a population norm where you would now recommend that a booster shot should occur as a standard of medical practice," suggests Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Before vaccination became commonplace, adults often came in contact with youngsters suffering from mumps, measles and the other childhood diseases. That remained the case in the early days of vaccine administration when these diseases still commonly circulated.
If people had protection - natural or vaccine-acquired - those exposures were actually helpful. They acted as a sort of natural booster shot, reminding the immune system to be on guard for this threat.
Some experts now suggest these unrecorded natural boosts may have led medicine to overestimate the durability of immunity generated by childhood vaccinations and maybe even natural infection, though it is thought to be more enduring than vaccine-acquired infection.
These days, few people are getting natural boosting to these diseases.
"What's happening if we don't have these exposures? I don't know," Katz admits.
These questions about the durability of immunity are on the minds of public health authorities in countries where childhood vaccines have been in longest use, says Dr. Jane Seward, an expert in vaccine-preventable diseases with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
"It's certainly a reasonable hypothesis that immunity might wane more quickly in the absence of external boosting. Whether that's the case or not, we don't know. But it's a reasonable thing to postulate," she says.
Seward's group at the CDC is following people who were vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine about 15 years ago to track how well their protection is holding up. They hope to mount a similar effort to study chickenpox vaccine, which was only put into broad use in the U.S. and Canada in the mid-to late-1990s.
Others, though, acknowledge the long-term studies needed to assess immunity levels generated by the range of childhood vaccines haven't been undertaken in a systematic manner.
"We have not methodically - we being the field of public health officials, scientists - we have not methodically measured the level of immune responses to standard childhood diseases vaccines that people have received one, two, three, four, five decades earlier," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"It has been done mostly in a reactive mode," he says, pointing as an example to work done to understand a large outbreak of mumps in Iowa in 2006.
The full picture of the durability of immunity in the vaccine era will probably take decades to come into sharp focus. And the answers will likely vary from disease to disease, Fauci and others say.
For instance, U.S. studies done to test whether smallpox vaccinations given decades ago offered any current protection showed that those who had been vaccinated probably still have protective immunity. "We were stunned," Fauci says.
But a soon-to-be published study by some of Seward's CDC colleagues - done as part of the Iowa mumps investigation - shows antibody levels to the mumps virus had declined markedly in people who had received the recommended two doses of vaccine 15 years or more earlier. That suggests the vaccine's protection is less enduring than would have been hoped.
The fact that the protection may not be lifelong should not be characterized as a failure of the vaccines, public health experts say. The years of protection they have already conferred have dramatically slashed rates of once common diseases.
Consider measles: Where 300,000 to 400,000 Canadian children used to contract the disease every year, now an outbreak of fewer than a handful of cases - such as a recent cluster in Toronto - makes the news.
Given that measles has a complication rate of 20 per cent and that the World Health Organization estimates measles killed 242,000 children around the globe in 2006, proponents term vaccines as a modern day medical miracle.
Experts also warn that the fact that immunity may not be lifelong should not be used to argue for natural infection over immunization.
"Never forget natural infection comes at a great cost, both potentially to the individual and definitely to society," Osterholm insists. "Each infection is a crapshoot as to whether it's going to be mild, moderate, severe or fatal. And those are odds none of us should have to take."
The end result of the investigation into the durability of immunity in the vaccine age could be a recognition that adults need booster shots to prevent outbreaks of what we now consider childhood diseases. Osterholm, for one, thinks that's likely.
Fauci isn't sure, suggesting the lack of natural boosting highlights the fact that exposures to the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases are rare in North America.
"There is a potential risk. I mean you'd have to say that. I'm not so sure how great a risk it's going to be."
Should emerging data show adults will need booster shots for childhood diseases, vaccine delivery programs will have to be reorganized to look at issues of who pays and how best to ensure adults actually get the shots, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion.
"Adult immunization is woefully neglected," notes Henry, an infectious diseases expert with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
"And I don't know what the answer's going to be in that but it does pose a whole bunch of challenges because we don't have the access to people (adults) in the same way that we do when you're in school."
*****
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNqVbEk87YKN2ve20_ppTYGyBidA
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
TORONTO — We call them the diseases of childhood - measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, to name a few.
But now that these diseases seldom circulate in countries that immunize against them and immune protection is rarely being naturally refreshed or "boosted" by sporadic exposure, is there a risk that in the future, older adults may find themselves unexpectedly vulnerable to these disease pests from their past?
As we head into a world where an ever growing - and aging - proportion of the population only has vaccine-acquired protection, what is really known about how long immunity is likely to endure? For that matter, can science be sure that immunity generated by infection - thought for many diseases to be lifelong - will actually hold true in the vaccine age?
"I don't think we know much at all," acknowledges Dr. Samuel Katz, co-inventor of the measles vaccine and a pediatric infectious disease expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Figuring out answers about the durability of immunity - naturally and vaccine-acquired - in a time without natural boosting won't be easy.
But the last generation to have routinely suffered through most of these diseases is crossing through mid-life and the first generation to have avoided them is hovering around 40.
As both groups head toward the so-called golden years when possible waning immunity may be exacerbated by the age-related decline of the immune system, gauging the levels of society's disease defences could become key to keeping these nasty invaders out of our communities, experts say.
Dr. Michael Osterholm says scientists should be doing long-term immunity studies - following groups of people for decades - in the way cancer researchers track groups of people to try to discern what causes cancer.
"That would help us understand at what point does the level of protection drop for a population. Not any one individual. But a population norm where you would now recommend that a booster shot should occur as a standard of medical practice," suggests Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Before vaccination became commonplace, adults often came in contact with youngsters suffering from mumps, measles and the other childhood diseases. That remained the case in the early days of vaccine administration when these diseases still commonly circulated.
If people had protection - natural or vaccine-acquired - those exposures were actually helpful. They acted as a sort of natural booster shot, reminding the immune system to be on guard for this threat.
Some experts now suggest these unrecorded natural boosts may have led medicine to overestimate the durability of immunity generated by childhood vaccinations and maybe even natural infection, though it is thought to be more enduring than vaccine-acquired infection.
These days, few people are getting natural boosting to these diseases.
"What's happening if we don't have these exposures? I don't know," Katz admits.
These questions about the durability of immunity are on the minds of public health authorities in countries where childhood vaccines have been in longest use, says Dr. Jane Seward, an expert in vaccine-preventable diseases with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
"It's certainly a reasonable hypothesis that immunity might wane more quickly in the absence of external boosting. Whether that's the case or not, we don't know. But it's a reasonable thing to postulate," she says.
Seward's group at the CDC is following people who were vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine about 15 years ago to track how well their protection is holding up. They hope to mount a similar effort to study chickenpox vaccine, which was only put into broad use in the U.S. and Canada in the mid-to late-1990s.
Others, though, acknowledge the long-term studies needed to assess immunity levels generated by the range of childhood vaccines haven't been undertaken in a systematic manner.
"We have not methodically - we being the field of public health officials, scientists - we have not methodically measured the level of immune responses to standard childhood diseases vaccines that people have received one, two, three, four, five decades earlier," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"It has been done mostly in a reactive mode," he says, pointing as an example to work done to understand a large outbreak of mumps in Iowa in 2006.
The full picture of the durability of immunity in the vaccine era will probably take decades to come into sharp focus. And the answers will likely vary from disease to disease, Fauci and others say.
For instance, U.S. studies done to test whether smallpox vaccinations given decades ago offered any current protection showed that those who had been vaccinated probably still have protective immunity. "We were stunned," Fauci says.
But a soon-to-be published study by some of Seward's CDC colleagues - done as part of the Iowa mumps investigation - shows antibody levels to the mumps virus had declined markedly in people who had received the recommended two doses of vaccine 15 years or more earlier. That suggests the vaccine's protection is less enduring than would have been hoped.
The fact that the protection may not be lifelong should not be characterized as a failure of the vaccines, public health experts say. The years of protection they have already conferred have dramatically slashed rates of once common diseases.
Consider measles: Where 300,000 to 400,000 Canadian children used to contract the disease every year, now an outbreak of fewer than a handful of cases - such as a recent cluster in Toronto - makes the news.
Given that measles has a complication rate of 20 per cent and that the World Health Organization estimates measles killed 242,000 children around the globe in 2006, proponents term vaccines as a modern day medical miracle.
Experts also warn that the fact that immunity may not be lifelong should not be used to argue for natural infection over immunization.
"Never forget natural infection comes at a great cost, both potentially to the individual and definitely to society," Osterholm insists. "Each infection is a crapshoot as to whether it's going to be mild, moderate, severe or fatal. And those are odds none of us should have to take."
The end result of the investigation into the durability of immunity in the vaccine age could be a recognition that adults need booster shots to prevent outbreaks of what we now consider childhood diseases. Osterholm, for one, thinks that's likely.
Fauci isn't sure, suggesting the lack of natural boosting highlights the fact that exposures to the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases are rare in North America.
"There is a potential risk. I mean you'd have to say that. I'm not so sure how great a risk it's going to be."
Should emerging data show adults will need booster shots for childhood diseases, vaccine delivery programs will have to be reorganized to look at issues of who pays and how best to ensure adults actually get the shots, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion.
"Adult immunization is woefully neglected," notes Henry, an infectious diseases expert with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
"And I don't know what the answer's going to be in that but it does pose a whole bunch of challenges because we don't have the access to people (adults) in the same way that we do when you're in school."
CDC lies about MEASLES outbreak
More proof the CDC is spinning this outbreak out of control in an effort to scare people into the MMR vaccine. When will the madness end?
http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/05/deja-vu-spinning-measles.html
Deja Vu: Spinning Measles
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Last week, CDC officials began spinning the significance of 64 cases of measles reported during the past four months in contrast to the 37 to 508 cases of measles reported annually between 1996 and 2006 in the U.S.. One-quarter (14) of the 64 children and adults who got measles in the past four months were hospitalized but there were no deaths.
A CDC press release and Fact Sheet revealed that nearly half of the 64 measles cases occurred in those too young to be vaccinated or whose vaccination status was not known. Only one fifth (14) of the cases were American children whose parents claimed a religious or personal belief exemption. This fact didn't stop CDC officials from trying to blame the measles "outbreaks" on the exemption-takers by stating "These cases and outbreaks resulted primarily from failure to vaccinate, many because of religious or personal belief exemption."
In addition, the CDC made the following undocumented statement: "Before the measles vaccination program, about 3- 4 million persons in the U.S. were infected each year, of whom 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis." A quick look at the MMWR historical tables shows that the highest number of measles cases reported since 1945 in the U.S. was 763,094 cases reported in 1958.
What is the real story behind the hyping of 64 cases of measles and attempting to demonize parents who have taken religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination? Are government health officials trying to deflect attention from the reality that even with a 95-100 percent measles vaccine uptake for children entering kindergarten in two- thirds of the states and a 92 to 95 percent vaccine uptake in all but four states, two doses of measles vaccine does not prevent measles from circulating in the population? Are they softening up the public for a future announcement insisting that a third dose of MMR vaccine must be mandated to "eradicate" measles?
After the first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963 and began to be used on a mass basis in the U.S., health officials estimated the herd immunity threshold was as low as 55 percent vaccine coverage in a population receiving one dose of measles vaccine. (free registration to Medscape required, or click here to view the Abstract in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 25(12):1093- 1101, December 2006) When that belief failed to "eradicate"measles, in 1971 the herd immunity estimate was raised to more than 90 percent coverage and the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative was launched with an aggressive enforcement of mandatory vaccination laws. However, by 1989 it was obvious that even with a 95 percent plus vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten in most states, measles was still circulating with about 55,000 cases reported between 1989 and 1991.
Without conducting a thorough investigation to find out why there were measles increases between 1989 and 1991 in a highly vaccinated population or why the measles being seen was unusually virulent, CDC officials announced that all children must get a second dose of measles vaccine. But measles infections persisted and, in 1995, the National Vaccine Information Center reported on informed consent violations and child deaths in a large worldwide high titer measles vaccine experiment in which a very potent experimental measles vaccine was given to children under six months old to try to over- ride maternal antibodies. By 1998, eight distinct genetic groups of wild type measles were identified worldwide in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.
By 2006, vaccine developers had raised the estimated herd immunity coverage rate for measles eradication to between 93 to 95 percent but obviously even that extremely high coverage rate in most states is not enough to do the job. So what comes next? Will the CDC call for the National Guard to go door-to-door armed with syringes containing measles vaccine to make sure there is not one unvaccinated person in the country?
Measles vaccine, which is part of the combination live virus MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage. There have been nearly 45,000 reports of health problems associated with MMR vaccination made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . However, there is gross underreporting to VAERS and it is estimated that, for example, fewer than 4 percent of all cases of thrombocytopenia (potentially fatal blood disorder) following MMR vaccination are ever reported to VAERS.
In 1997, Andrew Wakefield, M.D. and his colleagues published findings indicating that the MMR vaccine may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease and autism in a subset of children, a scientific debate that continues today.
Parents contact the National Vaccine Information Center every week to file MMR vaccine reaction reports in the NVIC Vaccine Reaction Registry and describe how their children are suffering high fevers, seizures, brain inflammation and regression into autism after MMR vaccination. To view some of these reaction reports, go to the International Memorial for Vaccine Victims .
The CDC's one-size-fits-all, no-exceptions MMR vaccine policies allow almost no contraindications to MMR vaccine use. According to the CDC, a child can be sick at the time of vaccination or recovering from an illness; have a fever; be taking antibiotics; have a history of allergies; or have experienced a seizure or regression after a previous MMR shot and still be eligible for more MMR vaccine.
With oppressive "no missed opportunities" vaccination policies in place, it is no wonder more parents are filing religious and personal belief exemptions to vaccination. Some have no other choice, especially if their children have experienced previous serious health problems following vaccination and they cannot find a doctor to write a medical exemption. Others want to choose less toxic alternatives to vaccination to maintain health and wellness.
Non-medical vaccine exemptions for religious and personal beliefs are all that stand between the people and tyranny when doctors inside and outside of government take an extreme, utilitarian approach to infectious disease control and write off vaccine casualties as acceptable losses. Today, 1 in every 6 highly vaccinated American child is learning disabled, 1 in 9 is asthmatic and 1 in 100 to 150 develops autism while measles and other childhood diseases persist no matter how many doses are given or how high the vaccine coverage rate.
It is time for parents and legislators to take a hard look at whether trying to eradicate many diseases with forced use of multiple vaccines is a fundamentally flawed policy that has failed to achieve better individual or public health. It is time for vaccines, which are pharmaceutical products made and sold by corporations for profit, to be subject to the law of supply and demand rather than be financially subsidized and forced by government on the people.
http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/05/deja-vu-spinning-measles.html
Deja Vu: Spinning Measles
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Last week, CDC officials began spinning the significance of 64 cases of measles reported during the past four months in contrast to the 37 to 508 cases of measles reported annually between 1996 and 2006 in the U.S.. One-quarter (14) of the 64 children and adults who got measles in the past four months were hospitalized but there were no deaths.
A CDC press release and Fact Sheet revealed that nearly half of the 64 measles cases occurred in those too young to be vaccinated or whose vaccination status was not known. Only one fifth (14) of the cases were American children whose parents claimed a religious or personal belief exemption. This fact didn't stop CDC officials from trying to blame the measles "outbreaks" on the exemption-takers by stating "These cases and outbreaks resulted primarily from failure to vaccinate, many because of religious or personal belief exemption."
In addition, the CDC made the following undocumented statement: "Before the measles vaccination program, about 3- 4 million persons in the U.S. were infected each year, of whom 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis." A quick look at the MMWR historical tables shows that the highest number of measles cases reported since 1945 in the U.S. was 763,094 cases reported in 1958.
What is the real story behind the hyping of 64 cases of measles and attempting to demonize parents who have taken religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination? Are government health officials trying to deflect attention from the reality that even with a 95-100 percent measles vaccine uptake for children entering kindergarten in two- thirds of the states and a 92 to 95 percent vaccine uptake in all but four states, two doses of measles vaccine does not prevent measles from circulating in the population? Are they softening up the public for a future announcement insisting that a third dose of MMR vaccine must be mandated to "eradicate" measles?
After the first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963 and began to be used on a mass basis in the U.S., health officials estimated the herd immunity threshold was as low as 55 percent vaccine coverage in a population receiving one dose of measles vaccine. (free registration to Medscape required, or click here to view the Abstract in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 25(12):1093- 1101, December 2006) When that belief failed to "eradicate"measles, in 1971 the herd immunity estimate was raised to more than 90 percent coverage and the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative was launched with an aggressive enforcement of mandatory vaccination laws. However, by 1989 it was obvious that even with a 95 percent plus vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten in most states, measles was still circulating with about 55,000 cases reported between 1989 and 1991.
Without conducting a thorough investigation to find out why there were measles increases between 1989 and 1991 in a highly vaccinated population or why the measles being seen was unusually virulent, CDC officials announced that all children must get a second dose of measles vaccine. But measles infections persisted and, in 1995, the National Vaccine Information Center reported on informed consent violations and child deaths in a large worldwide high titer measles vaccine experiment in which a very potent experimental measles vaccine was given to children under six months old to try to over- ride maternal antibodies. By 1998, eight distinct genetic groups of wild type measles were identified worldwide in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.
By 2006, vaccine developers had raised the estimated herd immunity coverage rate for measles eradication to between 93 to 95 percent but obviously even that extremely high coverage rate in most states is not enough to do the job. So what comes next? Will the CDC call for the National Guard to go door-to-door armed with syringes containing measles vaccine to make sure there is not one unvaccinated person in the country?
Measles vaccine, which is part of the combination live virus MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage. There have been nearly 45,000 reports of health problems associated with MMR vaccination made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . However, there is gross underreporting to VAERS and it is estimated that, for example, fewer than 4 percent of all cases of thrombocytopenia (potentially fatal blood disorder) following MMR vaccination are ever reported to VAERS.
In 1997, Andrew Wakefield, M.D. and his colleagues published findings indicating that the MMR vaccine may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease and autism in a subset of children, a scientific debate that continues today.
Parents contact the National Vaccine Information Center every week to file MMR vaccine reaction reports in the NVIC Vaccine Reaction Registry and describe how their children are suffering high fevers, seizures, brain inflammation and regression into autism after MMR vaccination. To view some of these reaction reports, go to the International Memorial for Vaccine Victims .
The CDC's one-size-fits-all, no-exceptions MMR vaccine policies allow almost no contraindications to MMR vaccine use. According to the CDC, a child can be sick at the time of vaccination or recovering from an illness; have a fever; be taking antibiotics; have a history of allergies; or have experienced a seizure or regression after a previous MMR shot and still be eligible for more MMR vaccine.
With oppressive "no missed opportunities" vaccination policies in place, it is no wonder more parents are filing religious and personal belief exemptions to vaccination. Some have no other choice, especially if their children have experienced previous serious health problems following vaccination and they cannot find a doctor to write a medical exemption. Others want to choose less toxic alternatives to vaccination to maintain health and wellness.
Non-medical vaccine exemptions for religious and personal beliefs are all that stand between the people and tyranny when doctors inside and outside of government take an extreme, utilitarian approach to infectious disease control and write off vaccine casualties as acceptable losses. Today, 1 in every 6 highly vaccinated American child is learning disabled, 1 in 9 is asthmatic and 1 in 100 to 150 develops autism while measles and other childhood diseases persist no matter how many doses are given or how high the vaccine coverage rate.
It is time for parents and legislators to take a hard look at whether trying to eradicate many diseases with forced use of multiple vaccines is a fundamentally flawed policy that has failed to achieve better individual or public health. It is time for vaccines, which are pharmaceutical products made and sold by corporations for profit, to be subject to the law of supply and demand rather than be financially subsidized and forced by government on the people.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports, Sadly they think that's just fine!
Only the CDC would have the nerve to say that fainting after a vaccine is "not in itself dangerous" Do these morons think we are that stupid?
*****
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKN0141572220080501
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unprecedented number of U.S. youngsters are fainting after getting shots, especially teenage girls, and doctors need to keep an eye on them, federal health experts cautioned on Thursday.
At least 463 people fainted after getting vaccinated during an 18-month period from 2005 to 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Such fainting is not uncommon and not in itself dangerous -- but some of the patients hit their heads on the floor and at least one had a car accident, the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.
One 15-year-old boy died after hitting his head.
More cases may have been reported lately because of new vaccines -- notably against meningitis and the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer -- now recommended for adolescents and older children.
Very young children and babies get a battery of vaccinations in the United States, but vaccinations of older children and teens were not as routine until recent years.
"A girl aged 13 years fainted within 10 minutes of receiving HPV and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccinations," the CDC report reads.
"She fell backward and hit her head on the carpeted floor of the clinic." She fractured her skull and had bleeding on the brain but recovered.
"Providers should strongly consider observing patients for 15 minutes after they are vaccinated," the CDC recommended.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
*****
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKN0141572220080501
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unprecedented number of U.S. youngsters are fainting after getting shots, especially teenage girls, and doctors need to keep an eye on them, federal health experts cautioned on Thursday.
At least 463 people fainted after getting vaccinated during an 18-month period from 2005 to 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Such fainting is not uncommon and not in itself dangerous -- but some of the patients hit their heads on the floor and at least one had a car accident, the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.
One 15-year-old boy died after hitting his head.
More cases may have been reported lately because of new vaccines -- notably against meningitis and the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer -- now recommended for adolescents and older children.
Very young children and babies get a battery of vaccinations in the United States, but vaccinations of older children and teens were not as routine until recent years.
"A girl aged 13 years fainted within 10 minutes of receiving HPV and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccinations," the CDC report reads.
"She fell backward and hit her head on the carpeted floor of the clinic." She fractured her skull and had bleeding on the brain but recovered.
"Providers should strongly consider observing patients for 15 minutes after they are vaccinated," the CDC recommended.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
Friday, May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
36 out of 64 were not vaccinated--a little over half. 14 vax status unknown, one had proof of vaccination. What about the other 13? How is 36 "most?
Also, anyone reading this free to point me in the direction of the measles because the CDC is really playing up the scare tactics on this one. As most people know I am a film maker with a long life ahead of me and if I thought for one second they would be as bad as the CDC is trying to say I would not be so willing to catch them as part of my anti vaccine documentary now would I?
*****
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/health/02measles.html?ref=health
May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
By DENISE GRADY
Measles outbreaks in at least seven states are expected to produce more cases in 2008 than in any other recent year, federal health officials said Thursday, warning that measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death.
Most of the cases have occurred in people who were never vaccinated.
There were 64 cases from January through April 25, more than in all of 2006 and the highest number during that four-month period since 2001. None have yet proved fatal, but officials said they expected the total to keep rising.
"We haven't seen the end of this," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fourteen patients, or 22 percent, have been hospitalized, mostly for pneumonia.
The largest outbreak, 22 cases, is under way in New York City, mainly in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, where it was most likely introduced by travelers from other countries, including Israel and Belgium.
"There may be more cases," said Dr. Jane R. Zucker, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Immunization in the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Zucker said the New York outbreak was still being investigated.
As in New York, the other outbreaks are occurring because travelers bring the measles virus in from other countries — worldwide there are 20 million cases a year — and spread it to unvaccinated people. The unvaccinated include babies under a year old, who are too young to receive the vaccine, and children and young adults from families who refuse vaccination for personal or religious reasons.
The disease can then keep spreading. Dr. Schuchat said doctors were finding clusters with as many as five generations of transmission. She said many of today's parents, doctors and nurses were unfamiliar with measles and not on the lookout for it.
In 17 cases, patients were infected in clinics and doctors' offices, including a year-old baby who contracted the disease in a pediatrician's office during a routine visit — for a measles shot.
Health officials are warning doctors and nurses to take special precautions to avoid spreading the disease in clinics. Children with fevers and rashes should not sit in waiting rooms, and other children should not be brought into an examining room that a child suspected of having measles has just left, because the virus can linger and remain infectious for about two hours.
In the current outbreak, 13 patients were under a year old and therefore too young to have been vaccinated, and 7 others were 12 to 15 months old, with parents who had not yet taken them for their first vaccination, which is due at 1 year. Sixteen others, who were older, came from families that refused vaccination. Fourteen more had what officials described as "unknown or undocumented vaccination status." Only one person had proof of having received the standard two doses of measles vaccine.
In one family in Washington State, eight siblings came down with measles, and three of them had signs of pneumonia, a serious complication. These cases were reported after April 25 and so are in addition to the 64 described by the disease centers on Thursday.
The eight siblings are believed to have contracted measles at a religious conference attended by about 2,000 people from 5 countries and 19 states. None of the eight had been vaccinated. Forty-eight states allow exemptions from vaccine requirements for religious reasons, and 21 for personal beliefs, the C.D.C. said.
Growing numbers of parents in the United States and other countries have begun refusing to vaccinate their children because of unproven fears that vaccines cause autism or other illnesses. Health officials blame the trend for the resurgence of measles in many regions. Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Britain have had large outbreaks recently, linked to pockets of people who shun vaccination.
Given the outbreaks overseas, travelers need to be immunized, Dr. Schuchat emphasized, acknowledging that many people do not think of Europe or Israel as places where they have to worry about catching infectious diseases. Babies who are going to be taken on trips can be given a measles shot at 6 months instead of 1 year, officials said.
People who have not been immunized and have been exposed to measles can often be protected with a vaccination or treatment with immune globulin, but the treatment must be given soon after the exposure. Health departments are supposed to track all the contacts of infected people and advise them about what to do, officials said.
Counting the Washington occurrence, 10 states have measles cases, though only seven have three or more, the disease centers' definition of an outbreak. Besides New York City, the highest numbers are in Pima County in southern Arizona, with 15, and San Diego, with 11. The San Diego and Arizona cases have been traced to travelers from Switzerland. Cases in other states have come from Italy, India and probably China.
The remaining states with cases are Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"I think it's important for states who aren't on that list to have their alerts up," Dr. Schuchat said. "We know there are unimmunized people out there, and measles is extremely infectious. Not being on the list shouldn't be reassuring."
Before 1963, when the vaccine became available in this country, there were three million to four million cases of measles annually. The disease killed 400 to 500 children a year and put 48,000 in the hospital.
The vaccine wiped out transmission here by 2000, but the disease can easily be imported because there are so many cases overseas. Worldwide, measles still kills 242,000 children a year.
A report on the outbreaks is online at cdc.gov.
Also, anyone reading this free to point me in the direction of the measles because the CDC is really playing up the scare tactics on this one. As most people know I am a film maker with a long life ahead of me and if I thought for one second they would be as bad as the CDC is trying to say I would not be so willing to catch them as part of my anti vaccine documentary now would I?
*****
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/health/02measles.html?ref=health
May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
By DENISE GRADY
Measles outbreaks in at least seven states are expected to produce more cases in 2008 than in any other recent year, federal health officials said Thursday, warning that measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death.
Most of the cases have occurred in people who were never vaccinated.
There were 64 cases from January through April 25, more than in all of 2006 and the highest number during that four-month period since 2001. None have yet proved fatal, but officials said they expected the total to keep rising.
"We haven't seen the end of this," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fourteen patients, or 22 percent, have been hospitalized, mostly for pneumonia.
The largest outbreak, 22 cases, is under way in New York City, mainly in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, where it was most likely introduced by travelers from other countries, including Israel and Belgium.
"There may be more cases," said Dr. Jane R. Zucker, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Immunization in the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Zucker said the New York outbreak was still being investigated.
As in New York, the other outbreaks are occurring because travelers bring the measles virus in from other countries — worldwide there are 20 million cases a year — and spread it to unvaccinated people. The unvaccinated include babies under a year old, who are too young to receive the vaccine, and children and young adults from families who refuse vaccination for personal or religious reasons.
The disease can then keep spreading. Dr. Schuchat said doctors were finding clusters with as many as five generations of transmission. She said many of today's parents, doctors and nurses were unfamiliar with measles and not on the lookout for it.
In 17 cases, patients were infected in clinics and doctors' offices, including a year-old baby who contracted the disease in a pediatrician's office during a routine visit — for a measles shot.
Health officials are warning doctors and nurses to take special precautions to avoid spreading the disease in clinics. Children with fevers and rashes should not sit in waiting rooms, and other children should not be brought into an examining room that a child suspected of having measles has just left, because the virus can linger and remain infectious for about two hours.
In the current outbreak, 13 patients were under a year old and therefore too young to have been vaccinated, and 7 others were 12 to 15 months old, with parents who had not yet taken them for their first vaccination, which is due at 1 year. Sixteen others, who were older, came from families that refused vaccination. Fourteen more had what officials described as "unknown or undocumented vaccination status." Only one person had proof of having received the standard two doses of measles vaccine.
In one family in Washington State, eight siblings came down with measles, and three of them had signs of pneumonia, a serious complication. These cases were reported after April 25 and so are in addition to the 64 described by the disease centers on Thursday.
The eight siblings are believed to have contracted measles at a religious conference attended by about 2,000 people from 5 countries and 19 states. None of the eight had been vaccinated. Forty-eight states allow exemptions from vaccine requirements for religious reasons, and 21 for personal beliefs, the C.D.C. said.
Growing numbers of parents in the United States and other countries have begun refusing to vaccinate their children because of unproven fears that vaccines cause autism or other illnesses. Health officials blame the trend for the resurgence of measles in many regions. Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Britain have had large outbreaks recently, linked to pockets of people who shun vaccination.
Given the outbreaks overseas, travelers need to be immunized, Dr. Schuchat emphasized, acknowledging that many people do not think of Europe or Israel as places where they have to worry about catching infectious diseases. Babies who are going to be taken on trips can be given a measles shot at 6 months instead of 1 year, officials said.
People who have not been immunized and have been exposed to measles can often be protected with a vaccination or treatment with immune globulin, but the treatment must be given soon after the exposure. Health departments are supposed to track all the contacts of infected people and advise them about what to do, officials said.
Counting the Washington occurrence, 10 states have measles cases, though only seven have three or more, the disease centers' definition of an outbreak. Besides New York City, the highest numbers are in Pima County in southern Arizona, with 15, and San Diego, with 11. The San Diego and Arizona cases have been traced to travelers from Switzerland. Cases in other states have come from Italy, India and probably China.
The remaining states with cases are Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"I think it's important for states who aren't on that list to have their alerts up," Dr. Schuchat said. "We know there are unimmunized people out there, and measles is extremely infectious. Not being on the list shouldn't be reassuring."
Before 1963, when the vaccine became available in this country, there were three million to four million cases of measles annually. The disease killed 400 to 500 children a year and put 48,000 in the hospital.
The vaccine wiped out transmission here by 2000, but the disease can easily be imported because there are so many cases overseas. Worldwide, measles still kills 242,000 children a year.
A report on the outbreaks is online at cdc.gov.
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