NVIC Launches "Stand Up Be Counted Campaign" To Protect Voluntary Vaccination Decisions in America


Washington, D.C. - The oldest and largest consumer organization dedicated to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), announced today that it will launch a national public education campaign to protect the legal right to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccination in America.

Citing the tripling of the numbers of doses of vaccines recommended by federal officials for children during the past quarter century, most of which have been mandated for school entry in many states, NVIC is urging citizens to "stand up and be counted" and help inform and empower citizens to insert informed consent protections in state vaccine laws.

Founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine injured children, for the past three decades NVIC has asked government and industry to individualize vaccine policies and conduct prospective studies comparing the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. The organization opposed recent attempts to mandate the newly licensed HPV vaccine for all sixth grade girls, as well as criticized the action of Maryland state officials who forced parents in November 2007 to vaccinate their children for chickenpox and hepatitis B or face stiff fines and prison time.

"Twenty-six years is long enough to wait for government officials and the multi-billion dollar vaccine industry to investigate the chronic disease and disability epidemic affecting millions of highly vaccinated American children," said NVIC co-founder and president, Barbara Loe Fisher. "Vaccines are pharmaceutical products sold for profit and federally protected from liability. One-size-fits-all vaccine mandates must be accompanied by strong informed consent protections, including broad exemptions for medical, religious and conscientious belief reasons. Forcing vaccination is a violation of human rights, especially when government guidelines to protect those genetically vulnerable for being harmed by vaccines are non-existent."

NVIC's Stand Up Be Counted Campaign emphasizes prevention of vaccine reactions through education, advocacy and charity. Adopting the slogan "Give a Dollar For Yourself and For Every Person You Love," NVIC's goal is to encourage public support through small $5 and $10 donations for the national vaccine education campaign.

For more information about the campaign go to www.StandUpBeCounted.org where a free ad can be downloaded for placement in community newspapers. NVIC's website at www.NVIC.org is the oldest and largest consumer-operated vaccine information website on the internet and includes an on-line Vaccine Reaction Registry.

NVIC's founders worked with Congress on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 to insert vaccine safety provisions into the law mandating that doctors (1) give parents written information about vaccine benefits and risks before vaccinating children; (2) keep permanent records of all vaccines given, including the manufacturer's name and lot number; (3) write down serious health problems following vaccination in medical records; and (4) report injuries, hospitalizations and deaths within 30 days of vaccination to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).

It is estimated that less than 10 percent of all serious health problems which develop following vaccination are ever reported to the government. NVIC supports the adoption of the federal safety provisions into state vaccine laws with legal sanctions if physicians do not obey the law, including failure to report adverse events that occur after vaccination.

NVIC is endorsing the June 4 "Green Our Vaccines" rally in Washington, D.C. and the call by organizations representing children with autism to remove toxins from vaccines and allow more flexibility in administration of the 48 doses of 14 vaccines pediatricians give to children before age six.

The Center Will Not Hold As Parents & Docs Question Vaccine Policy

by Barbara Loe Fisher

It was only a matter of time. For 26 years parents of vaccine injured children and a few brave doctors have challenged the one-size-fits-all approach to mandated use of multiple vaccines in the absence of sound scientific evidence that policy is safe for all children. Now, when 1 in 6 child in America is learning disabled and 1 in 150 develops autism, more rank and file pediatricians are speaking out about the need to provide pediatric care for unvaccinated children and respect parental choices to use fewer vaccines.

Last week in a CBS-TV interview, HPV vaccine researcher Dr. Diane Harper supported more scientific research as well as the ethical principle of informed consent to vaccination when asked whether HPV vaccine should be mandated. She said "We don't know yet what's going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in process a place that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment....... There isn't enough information to have a mandate that you can't go to school until you have this vaccine. It does not make any sense."

This week in another CBS-TV interview, former NIH Director Bernadine Healy, M.D., stood up and spoke out about the need to scientifically investigate the causal association between vaccines and autism, especially the potential for certain individuals to be genetically susceptible to being harmed by vaccines. She said "I think that the public health officials have been too quick to dismiss the hypothesis as irrational.... there may be this susceptible group. The fact that there is concern, that you don't want to know that susceptible group is a real disappointment to me. If you know that susceptible group, you can save those children. If you turn your back on the notion that there is a susceptible group.....what can I say?"

At the same time that enlightened pediatricians, researchers, and former health officials are calling for a re-examination of scientifically questionable vaccine policies that have failed to identify and screen out high risk children and respect parental rights to make informed, voluntary vaccine choices, some British health authorities and politicians are calling for MMR vaccine mandates for British children. The leading proponent for mandates in Britain said "The MMR vaccination rate is at 85% and the target figure is 95%, so it's about catching children who may have moved or lost contact with their health visitor but also saying to parents your child has a right to live free from vaccine preventable diseases." The head of Britain's Medical Association called the proposal "morally and ethically dubious" and added "A Stalinist approach like this would be likely to backfire on an unprecedented scale and increase opposition to vaccinations."

After 26 years, U.S. health officials are also wrestling with how to prove to parents and doctors that current vaccine policies have adequately addressed evidence that more and more children are regressing after vaccination and suffering brain and immune dysfunction. A transcript of the April 11, 2008 National Vaccine Advisory Committee workshop at which parents and doctors expressed their concerns about vaccine safety is now available at http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac/transcript_apr08.html

In the meantime, 19 parent organizations are endorsing a call for Presidential candidates to pledge to issue two executive orders within 100 days of taking office which would (1) remove mercury from all vaccines by Jan 1. 2010 and (2) require a moratorium on the addition of new vaccines to the recommended list for children until the current vaccine schedule can be proven safe. Supporting organizations include A- CHAMP, Autism One, Autism Research Institute, Autism United, Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, Environment of Harm Yahoo Group, Generation Rescue, HEAL Foundation, Moms Against Mercury, National Autism Association, National Vaccine Information Center, No Mercury, Safeminds, Schafer Autism Report, Spectrum Magazine, TACA -- Talk About Curing Autism, Treating Autism (UK), Unlocking Autism, and World Mercury Project.

On Wednesday, June 4, 2008 a "Green Our Vaccines" rally will be held in Washington, D.C. questioning the safety of vaccine components and the government's current vaccine schedule.


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" There is a growing controversy over the number of vaccines that children receive and when they receive them. According to the National Vaccine Information Center, in the 1970s, children received 23 doses of vaccine by the time they were 6 years old. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends more than twice as many. For some doctors and parents, that number is disturbing......Hamilton thought that she found a doctor who would respect her decision, but the office told her to put it in writing. Then, according to Hamilton, the office told her, "Whenever you come back in two months, you're going to have to vaccinate. And if you don't vaccinate, don't come back." Hamilton found a pediatrician who will care for their son after checking with about 25 doctors. "He agrees with me in my thinking, in saying that it's perfectly fine in what I'm doing, not making me feel horrible for doing it," she said. Dr. Anuradha Agrawal is a pediatrician in Dallas. She said that she is willing to delay vaccines and spread others out, and does have a small number of patients who have opted not to innoculate their kids. "I cannot say you get this shot now otherwise I cannot see you any further," she said. Dr. Seshagiri Rao believes kids are given too many vaccines. He and a growing number of pediatricians say that Hepatitis B does not need to be given at birth if the mother does not have Hepatitis B......Pediatricians like Dr. Deborah Bains believe that MMR, a triple vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella, puts unnecessary stress on a child's immune system. She explained, "We saw before our eyes this reaction to the vaccination. That was the last time I gave the MMR as a single vaccine." "Being a mom, I believe there are too many," Dr. Agrawal said of the vaccinations. "Being a pediatrician, I believe there are too many, and I don't know what can be done about it. And as the research evolves, as the science evolves, I think there will be more and more." Dr. Rao takes the debate even one more step further, saying, "I think it would be a good idea to revamp the whole vaccination program." - CBS11-TV (Dallas), Stephanie Lucero Reporting (May 9, 2008) http://cbs11tv.com/health/Children.Vaccine.Schedule.2.720610.html

"William Mead was a Pottery Barn baby model and met all the typical milestones. Then, also at age 2, after a set of vaccinations, William became very ill and he, too, changed forever. At first, both sets of parents suspected hearing problems. "The reason we had him tested for a hearing deficit was 'cause he wouldn't respond to us," Mead said. "He no longer used any of his language." "We had him tested for deafness, it was that bad," King said. "I mean, you could slam a book on the floor and he wouldn't turn around to see what the sound was. It was like he was in this bubble of somewhere else, like he'd left the planet or something.....Dr. Bernadine Healy is the former head of the National Institutes of Health, and the most well-known medical voice yet to break with her colleagues on the vaccine-autism question. In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Healy said the question is still open......."But public health officials have been saying they know, they've been implying to the public there's enough evidence and they know it's not causal," Attkisson said. "I think you can't say that," Healy said. "You can't say that." Healy goes on to say public health officials have intentionally avoided researching whether subsets of children are "susceptible" to vaccine side effects - afraid the answer will scare the public......There is a completely expressed concern that they don't want to pursue a hypothesis because that hypothesis could be damaging to the public health community at large by scaring people. "First of all," Healy said, "I think the public's smarter than that. The public values vaccines. But more importantly, I don't think you should ever turn your back on any scientific hypothesis because you're afraid of what it might show." - CBS-TV News, Sharyl Attkisson Reporting (May 12, 2008)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/12/cbsnews_investigates/main4086809.shtml

"Children who have not received all their vaccinations should not be allowed to start school, a Labour MP has suggested. Speaking in the left-wing Fabian Society magazine, Mary Creagh said the move would increase the uptake of the controversial MMR vaccine. In the same article, public health expert Sir Sandy Macara suggests linking child benefits to vaccinations.....Ms Creagh said primary schools should be compelled to demand proof that children had been given the full range of routine jabs - including MMR - before they could register. The MP for Wakefield, who is also in charge of drawing up the Labour party's public health manifesto for the next election, said the sanction had been used in the US." - BBC-UK (May 11, 2008)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7392510.stm

Examining the Science & Politics of HPV Vaccine

by Barbara Loe Fisher

It has been nearly two years since the FDA fast tracked the licensure of Merck's GARDASIL vaccine and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended it for universal use by all 11 year old girls. Calls for state mandates for sixth grade entry soon followed with Merck leading an aggressive lobbying campaign with pro-forced vaccination proponents talking about 12 year old girls having sex. The National Vaccine Information Center countered by publicly framing the debate about GARDASIL mandates as a product safety and informed consent issue: the vaccine had only been tested in fewer than 1200 girls under age 16 followed up for less than two years.

Now, a leading HPV vaccine researcher has spoken out opposing mandates in a three-part series produced by CBS4-TV in Miami. Speaking to investigative journalist Michele Gillen Harper said "We don't know yet what's going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in process a place that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment. So we can't do that until we have more data."

It takes a lot of courage for any scientist or physician to stand up and speak out about the need for government, industry and physicians to embrace the precautionary principle: First, do no harm. Dr. Harper has upheld high standards for scientific and ethical integrity by responsibly calling for rigorous post- marketing surveillance of licensed HPV vaccines and adherence to the informed consent ethic.

The National Vaccine Information Center has received nearly 100 reports of serious health problems following vaccination. NVIC issued three reports on GARDASIL adverse events reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). In August 2007, NVIC called on the CDC to warn doctors that the safety of giving GARDASIL simultaneously in combination with other vaccines had not been proven safe.

A family support group for those who have reported HPV vaccine reactions to NVIC is being created. If you or a loved one has suffered an HPV vaccine reaction, you can make a report to NVIC's 26- year old Vaccine Reaction Registry by going to https://www.nvic.org/report/reaction.htm. Please indicate if you would like to participate in the HPV Vaccine Reaction Family Support Group.


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"According to Dr. Diane Harper, "the vaccine has not been out long enough for us to have post marketing surveillance to really understand what all the potential side effects are going to be. We feel it is very safe." However, she adds, "We don't know yet what's going to happen when millions of doses of the vaccine have been given and to put in process a place that says you must have this vaccine, it means you must be part of a big public experiment. So we can't do that until we have more data." Barbara Loe Fisher agrees. She took to the streets a grass roots fight credited with derailing many efforts around the country to mandate the vaccine. "It was the quickest effort I have ever seen in 25 years for a vaccine to be mandated," says Fisher. A mother of a son who she say was left with learning disabilities following a routine vaccination in the 1980's, Fisher is President and Co Founder of the National Vaccine Information Center. It is a non-profit independent clearinghouse for information on vaccines and disease. Fisher says her organization has been contacted by nearly 100 parents claiming their daughters have suffered some type of adverse reaction following a Gardasil shot - at times given in combination with other vaccines. She says many parents are frustrated in their search for answers and that they don't know where to turn. She tells Gillen "the National Vaccine Information Center is getting reports every week, mostly mothers, of what is happening to their 11-year old girls after receiving Gardasil." - CBS4-TV (Miami), Michele Gillen reporting (May 7, 2008)
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=54565@wfor.dayport.com

"Bell says she now finds herself on a search for answers as to what happened to her daughter, Brittney, just weeks following an injection of Gardasil and a tetanus shot. The former cheerleader and runner's left leg was mysteriously affected by paralysis. The family wants to know if the condition could have been triggered by the vaccines she received that day. Reported adverse events following vaccine injections, including Gardasil, have come under increasing scrutiny by parents reviewing them on the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)....."Brittany's case is at a quandary," said Sean Cronin, attorney for the Bell family. Cronin says it is an uphill battle trying to investigate whether the Gardasil shot played any role in what has happened to Brittney. Christina Bell says Brittney's pediatrician does not believe there is a link. Now the Bell family has learned that Merck can't be sued over its Gardasil vaccine because it has been added to a federal list of vaccines recommended by the government. The vaccine manufacturers are insulated from liability." - CBS4-TV (Miami), Michele Gillen reporting (May 25, 2008)
http://cbs4.com/video/id =53934@wfor.dayport.com

"Christina Bell's daughter, Brittney, was one of the young girls who recieved the vaccine. Just weeks later, her life took a radical turn for the worse. Seemingly, in a moment's time, Brittney's left leg became paralyzed, her ankle swinging like a rag doll's. Even with a shoe brace, she walks with a limp. "It's hard for me to lift it up," Brittney told Gillen. Brittney's limb paralysis occurred shortly after the 12 year old went to the doctor for a routine tetanus shot for school.....Last February, the FDA told CBS4 that it was investigating reports of 13 deaths following an HPV vaccination. At the time, the agency said it was confident that none were tied to the vaccine and that reports of adverse events were under review but not considered anything out of the ordinary. An FDA spokeswoman told CBS4 this week that she could not provide an update on the number of reported events, including deaths. "I haven't seen updated numbers for several months. We monitor on a daily basis but we don't total it up. We are not seeing a problem," said Susan Cruzan, spokesperson for the FDA.....Brittney's mom said she can't find a doctor willing to report an adverse reaction following the administration of her daughter's vaccines. CBS4 informed her that parents, just like doctors, can report an adverse event and the Bell family has done just that." - CBS4-TV (Miami), April 24, 2007
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=53899@wfor.dayport.com

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.

No forced vaccination. Not in America.

Green Our Vaccines Rally
Wednesday June 4, 2008

9:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Washington, D.C.

Tracking & Forcing Vaccines: Parents Want Choices

by Barbara Loe Fisher

This week, CDC researchers sent out a warning that one in four child under age three in America is "not in compliance" with the CDC vaccine "recommendations" and that "missed doses" or "mistimed" doses is the cause. Some are calling for more vaccine tracking registries that will track children and their parents down to make sure every single one of the 48 doses of 14 vaccines that the CDC says kids must get has been given to every single child. The Los Angeles Times points the finger at "anti-vaccine parents" and urges the California legislature to put an end to the "personal belief"exemption so only doctors adhering to very narrow CDC guidelines for what constitutes a vaccine exemption are allowed to exempt children from vaccination.

The U.S. uses more vaccines than any other country in the world and has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world for young children: 70 to 80 percent of pre-schoolers have been injected with 26 doses of 10 vaccines. That high vaccination rate rises with age to 95 percent or more for six year old children entering kindergarten.

The CDC report lamenting that public health officials have been calculating the vaccine uptake among young children incorrectly comes at a time when the rate of infectious disease is way down but the rate of chronic disease and disability among highly vaccinated children is increasing: 1 in 6 child is learning disabled; 1 in 9 is asthmatic; 1 in 150 develops autism; 1 in 450 has diabetes.

Today, a Gallup poll reveals that half of all Americans report they are "stuck in a cycle of chronic disease" with two thirds of U.S. workers reporting one or more chronic diseases or recurring conditions. Some want to point to "stress" and "overweight" and "smoking" as the cause for the catastrophic high rate of chronic illness among Americans of all ages.

But the public health officials and medical doctors of this country have a lot to answer for and the question everyone should be asking is: Why is the most highly vaccinated population in the world so sick?

Educated health consumers, including informed parents, are taking matters into their own hands. They are choosing healthy lifestyles and wise health care alternatives that do not rely on constant pharmaceutical product use, including using too many vaccines.


UPCOMING EVENTS PROMOTING INFORMED HEALTH CARE CHOICES:

May 8-11, 2008: The First Family Wellness Collaborative Conference and Celebration
Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing
201 South Columbus Blvd.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
Tel: 215-928-1234

Speakers: Dawson Church, PhD, Barbara Loe Fisher, Stephen Marini, D.C., PhD, Jeanne Ohm, D.C., Larry Palevsky, M.D., Lisa Reagan, Nancy Warren, CPM and many more.

$79 for parents and public
http://www.familywellnessfirst.org/


May 12, 2008: Education Before Vaccination Workshop
Bayport-Blue Point Public Library
203 Blue Point Avenue
Blue Point, NY 11715

Speakers: Ronald Sinagra, D.C., Lawrence Palevsky, M.D., Nicholas Argo, Esq., Rita Palma, Michelle Doxsee, Physical Therapist

RSVP: 631-806-2850 (leave message)


Green Our Vaccines Rally
Wednesday June 4, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Washington, D.C.