Witch Hunting Jenny McCarthy for Vaccine Talking

Posted: 7/22/2013

By Barbara Loe Fisher  

Now that it looks like ABC-TV executives are backing Barbara Walters’ hire of celebrity Jenny McCarthy to join the popular daytime talk show The View,¹ the blood spilled on the ground of the Fourth Estate during 10 hot days in July is beginning to dry. It was fascinating to watch the well-orchestrated response by online mainstream media, which took on the frenzy of an old fashioned witch hunt to burn a heretic at the stake.

Reviewing 29 articles published in major print and broadcast media outlets  between July 9 and July 18, 2013²  with 19 of them written by males, it became obvious that some of them are really upset about “blonde” girls expressing politically incorrect opinions about vaccine side effects, a topic that has become the biggest taboo talk in America. Several media outlets used her gender to take the first punch with headlines such as “Putting Jenny McCarthy on the View: Good Sex Over Bad Science”³ and “ View’ Host Jenny McCarthy’s Vaccine-Autism Claims: Beauty vs. Science.”⁴

“The Pretty Idiot” or A Threat to the Survival of Mankind?

Some tried to bash McCarthy’s brain by focusing on her body. Cat calls like “buxom physique: - “blonde bombshell” - “sex symbol” – “object of teenage boys fantasies” – “ bleached blonde hair” - “pulchritudinous” – “ the pretty idiot” - “Playboy Playmate of the Year”– and so on were effortlessly tossed into the story.^{5 6  7 8 9}

Once the boys club firmly established that she is really only good for one thing, they moved on to alleging that if she is allowed to open her mouth and talk on ‘The View,’ she will in fact and without question threaten the very survival of the human race. One of them took bizarre name-calling to new heights by hurling the epithet “homicidal maniac” at her.¹⁰

I am not sure how presumably well-educated men expected people to swallow the vacuous argument that the woman is both a dumb blonde and a threat to mankind but for some inexplicable reason that is exactly what they tried to do. And, further embarrassing themselves, they desperately tried to persuade all the rest of us to be as emotionally invested in her hire on ‘The View’ as they are and immediately write to the bosses at ABC to express our shock and horror.^{11 12}

A Call to Muzzle Vaccine Talking Moms

It could have been amusing summer entertainment watching guys fall all over themselves to up one another with hysterical hyperbole, but it quickly became obvious that it was about much more than slapping around a celebrity Mom because she has talked publicly about her son’s vaccine reaction and how she helped him get better.¹³

Way more.

And, although males outnumbered females in suggesting that mothers should not be allowed to talk about vaccines in public unless the script is pre-approved by a politically correct M.D. or Ph.D., a few of the female writers going after McCarthy and ABC were just as adamant about the urgent need to muzzle vaccine talking Moms challenging the status quo.^{14 15  16}

Four of the 29 headlines featured the word “dangerous.”^{17 18  19} One apocalyptic headline screamed “Dear ABC: Putting Jenny McCarthy on ‘The View’ Will Kill Children”²⁰ while an article written by a female pediatrician used the same threatening approach: “ABC’s Hiring of Jenny McCarthy: A Decision That Could Cost Lives.”²¹

The collective howl of indignation escalated when Barbara Walters and ABC did not flinch. Using poison pens and heavyweight media platforms, the writers ridiculed the intelligence, values and beliefs of mothers like McCarthy taking matters into their own hands when a healthy child suddenly develops brain and immune system dysfunction after vaccination, a condition doctors can’t explain and often label “autism” but dismiss as “just a coincidence” or bad parental “genes” without looking any further.^{22 23 24}

Century of Medical Literature: Yes, Vaccines CAN Do THAT

Never mind that there is more than a century of medical literature documenting the fact that vaccines can cause:

• brain inflammation;
• chronic nervous system dysfunction;
• seizures;
• arthritis;
• vaccine strain viral infection;
• shock and “unusual shock-like state;”
• protracted inconsolable crying and
• death.

The indisputable fact that vaccines can do that has been acknowledged by the Institute of Medicine in a series of peer-reviewed reports published between 1991 and 2013.^{25 26 27 28} The last one pointed out that there is not enough scientific evidence to determine if the current recommended schedule of 49 doses of 14 vaccines between day of birth and age six²⁹ is or is not associated with the development of a whole host of health problems in children - everything from autoimmunity, allergy, asthma, epilepsy, ADHD and learning disabilities to – yes – autism.^{30  31 32}

The indisputable fact that vaccines can hurt people and that doctors still don’t know which individuals are more biologically susceptible to suffering vaccine damage³³ was codified into law by Congress in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.³⁴ That law has awarded more than $2.7 billion dollars to Americans harmed by vaccines in exchange for shielding drug companies and doctors from vaccine injury lawsuits in civil court.^{35 36}

With vaccine failures among highly vaccinated children playing a big role in outbreaks of B. pertussis whooping cough,^{37 38} the hype about Jenny McCarthy joining ‘The View’ could be just a red herring. But it is going to take a lot of red herrings to distract millions of parents from talking about why 1 child in 6 in America is learning disabled,³⁹ 1 in 9 suffers with asthma,⁴⁰ 1 in 50 develops autism⁴¹ or why there has never been a large, well-designed study comparing the health outcomes of highly vaccinated children and those remaining unvaccinated or using fewer vaccines.⁴²

Media: Non-Medical Degrees, PR, Politics, Marketing & Other Expertise

Most of the writers who wrote stories about a vaccine talking celebrity Mom joining ‘The View,” including those calling for censorship and the gutting of journalistic standards that ensure fair balance - when it comes to writing stories about vaccination⁴³ - are journalists by profession.  28 of the 29 articles were written by individuals without medical degrees, although one is a pharmacologist, one is an astronomer and one has a PhD in biological sciences. The majority have degrees in Journalism, English, History or Political Science with some also listing expertise in public relations and communications, marketing and fund raising, political media campaign management, TV and entertainment.⁴⁴

Even though these writers do not have medical degrees, the U.S. Constitution guarantees them the liberty to express their views about Jenny McCarthy, Barbara Walters, ABC and vaccines, just as the media outlets publishing their opinions are protected by the First Amendment. That legal right to engage in critical thinking and to hold personal beliefs and to exercise free speech, belongs to every American - not just to those articulating talking points made or approved by citizens with M.D. or Ph.D. written after their names.

Public Talking About Vaccine Safety Since 1982

Parents, doctors, legislators and journalists started talking publicly about vaccine safety issues in America in 1982,⁴⁵ 16 years before a paper about MMR vaccine and autism was published in The Lancet. Mothers were talking about what happens to their children’s health after vaccination long before the Library of Medicine was posted online and the world wide web became the biggest talk show on the planet.

Vaccine talk will continue in the kitchens and on the smart phones and tablets of critical thinking women, who are using the brains and mother’s instincts they were born with to make informed health care choices for their children. Vaccine talk will continue because, today, many more mothers either have a child or know a child who was healthy, got vaccinated and was never healthy again.

Evangelistic doctors should stop trying so hard to shut down vaccine talking and just do the credible science that will answer the question on everybody’s mind: what exactly is causing the 1 child in 50 $126 billion dollar a year⁴⁶ public health disaster doctors call autism but still can’t agree on how to define it or how often it happens. One thing doctors say they know for sure is that vaccines don’t have anything to do with autism because the earth is not flat, there is nothing more to be learned about vaccine side effects and autism cannot be cured, so parents should just forget about it.
That empty rhetoric is not flying these days with thinking Moms and Dads digging deeper and learning that good health is about more than using lots of vaccines to prevent infections.
Become educated about diseases and vaccines. It’s your health. Your family. Your choice.

References:

¹ ABC. Jenny McCarthy Joins ‘The View’ As Co-Host Announcement. July 15, 2013.

² NVIC. Selected Mainstream Media Coverage of ABC TV’s Hiring of Jenny McCarthy for “The View” from July 9, 2013 to July 18, 2013. NVIC.org July 24, 2013.

³ Felix Gillette. Putting Jenny McCarthy on ‘The View’ – Good Sex Over Bad Science. Businessweek July 18, 2013. Felix Gillette BIO.

⁴ Tim Molloy. ‘View’ Host Jenny McCarthy’s Vaccine-Autism Claims: Beauty Versus Science. Reuters July 16, 2013. Tim Molloy BIO.

⁵ Seth Mnookin. A Jenny McCarthy Reader Pt. 1: The Birth of a Star and an Embrace of ‘Crystal Children.’ PLOS.org July 15, 2013. Seth Mnookin BIO.

⁶ Michael Specter. Jenny McCarthy’s Dangerous Views. New Yorker July 16, 2013. Michael Specter BIO.

⁷ Alex Parene. Dear ABC: Putting Jenny McCarthy on ‘The View’ Will Kill Children. Salon.com July 16, 2013. Alex Pareene BIO.

⁸ James Poniewozik. Viruses Don’t Care About Your View: Why ABC Shouldn’t Have Hired Jenny McCarthy. Time Magazine July 15, 2013. James Poniewozik BIO.

⁹ David Kroll. Jenny McCarthy Is A Dangerous Example of Medical Celebrity. Forbes July 16, 2013.   David Kroll BIO.

¹⁰ Meredith Blake. Jenny McCarthy’s Hiring As ‘View’ Co-Host Is Matter of Contention. Los Angeles Times July 16, 2013. Meredith Blake BIO.

¹¹ Phil Plait. The View of Jenny McCarthy.  Slate July 9, 2013. Phil Plait BIO.

¹² See Reference #7.

¹³ Jenny McCarthy. Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism. Dutton: The Penguin Group 2007.

¹⁴ Mary Elizabeth Williams. Don’t Put Jenny McCarthy on ‘The View.’ Salon.com July 11, 2013. Mary Elizabeth Williams BIO.

¹⁵ Alexandra Petri. Jenny McCarthy on ‘The View’ – Not the Medically Correct View, Just the View. Washington Post July 15, 2013. Alexandra Petri BIO.

¹⁶ Margaret Sullivan. Just the Facts, No False Balance Wanted Here. New York Times July 17, 2013. Margaret Sullivan BIO.

¹⁷ Paul Thornton. Jenny McCarthy – Dangerous At Any Volume. Los Angeles Times July 16, 2013. Paul Thornton BIO.

¹⁸ Brendan Nyhan. When ‘He Said,’ ‘She Said’ is Dangerous. Columbia Journalism Review July 16, 2013. Brendan Nyhan BIO.       

¹⁹ See References #6 and #9.

²⁰ See Reference #7.

²¹ Claire McCarthy, M.D. ABC’s Hiring of Jenny McCarthy: A Decision That Could Cost Lives. Boston Globe July 16, 2013. Claire McCarthy BIO.

²² David M. Perry. Destabilizing the Jenny McCarthy Public Health Industrial Complex. Atlantic Monthly July 11, 2013. And David M. Perry.  Jenny McCarthy and Fear-Based Parenting. CNN July 17, 2013. David Perry BIO.

²³ Harold Maass. Jenny McCarthy, The View and Anti-Vaccination Quackery. The Week July 16, 2013. Harold Maass BIO.

²⁴ See References #5, #6, #8, #9, and #14.

²⁵ Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Committee. Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines. Washington, DC. The National Academies Press. 1991.

²⁶ Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Committee. Adverse Events Association with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Neurologic Disorders. Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 1994.

²⁷ Institute of Medicine. DPT Vaccine and Chronic Nervous System Dysfunction: A New Analysis. Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 1994.

²⁸ Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 2012.

²⁹ Centers for Disease Control.  Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 0 Through 18 Years – United States, 2013. MMWR 2013; 62(01): 2-8.

³⁰ Businesswire. National Vaccine Information Center Supports Three of Five Recommendations of New IOM Report on US Childhood Immunization Schedule Safety and Calls for Transparency. NVIC Jan. 16, 2003 Press Release.

³¹ Institute of Medicine Committee on the Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule. The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence and Future Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 2013.

³² Ibid. Review of Scientific Findings. Chapter 5: Pages 69 - 88.

³³ Ibid. Evaluating Biological Mechanisms of Adverse Events. Chapter 3: Page 82.

³⁴ NVIC.org. National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.

³⁵ Health Resources Services Administration. National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Statistics Report.  June 26, 2013.

³⁶ Businesswire. National Vaccine Information Center Cites ‘Betrayal’ of Consumers by U.S. Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. NVIC Press Release Feb. 23, 2011

³⁷ Kane J. Whooping cough Outbreak: Top 10 Things You Should Know - #6 Vaccine Refusals and Disease Importations Are Not to Blame for Outbreaks. PBS NewsHour Aug. 21, 2012.

³⁸ Liz Szabo.  US Whooping cough may be becoming resistant to vaccines. USA Today Feb. 18, 2013.

³⁹ Boyle CA, Boulet S et al. Trends in the Prevalence of Developmental Disabilities in US Children 1997 – 2008. Pediatrics. Published online May 23, 2011.

⁴⁰ CDC. Asthma in the U.S.: Growing Every Year.

⁴¹ Blumberg SJ, Bramlette MD, Kogan MD et al. Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011-2013. National Health Statistics Reports 2013; 65: 1-11.

⁴² Fisher BL. The Safety of the Childhood Vaccine Schedule: A Public Perspective Institute of Medicine Committee on the Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule Feb. 9, 2012.

⁴³ See References #7, #16, #18.

⁴⁴ See Reference #2.

⁴⁵ Coulter HL, Fisher BL. DPT: A Shot in the Dark. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985 (Warner 1986, Avery 1991, Penguin - current).

⁴⁶ Jonathan Berr. How Autism Can Cost Families Millions. MSN Money Mar. 25, 2013.

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Desperate Times for Vaccine Risk Denialism

posted May 14, 2013

by Barbara Loe Fisher 

 

These are desperate times for those denying vaccine risks. We know it because we are witnessing so many acts of desperation being committed by doctors determined to shut down the public conversation about vaccination and health. Vaccine risk deniers are working overtime to restrict public access to information, cover up vaccine injuries and deaths and violate the human right to informed consent to medical risk-taking.

 

No Flu Shots? No Employment.

 

2013 was only a few days old when public health agencies and medical trade groups called for veteran nurses and other health care workers to be fired for refusing to obey orders to get annual flu shots – no exceptions and no questions asked. ¹ It did not matter that the risky and notoriously ineffective influenza vaccine turned out to be almost useless in preventing infection with the most prevalent influenza strains circulating in the U.S. this year. ²

 

Proposed State Legislation to Force Vaccine Use

 

This was followed by the introduction of legislation backed by public health officials and Pharma-funded medical trade groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics in states like Texas, Oregon, Arizona and Vermont. ³ Their goal is to remove or restrict non-medical vaccine exemptions in state laws so doctors have more power to force vaccine use by children and adults - no questions asked and no exceptions.

 

Institute of Medicine Report: Where Is the Good Vaccine Science?

 

In mid-January came the eye-opening Institute of Medicine committee report acknowledging that only 37 scientific studies have examined the safety of the current U.S. vaccine schedule for newborns and children under age six,⁴ which now totals a stunning 49 doses of 14 vaccines ⁵ compared to 23 doses of 7 vaccines recommended in 1983. ⁶ The lack of enough good scientific studies meant the committee could not determine whether the numbers of doses and timing of government recommended vaccinations is - or is not - associated with development of chronic health problems like seizures, autoimmunity, allergies, learning disabilities and autism in the first six years of life. ⁷

 

New U.S. Autism Prevalence Statistic: 1 Child in 50

 

 In March, a report was issued by the National Center for Health Statistics estimating that among children attending school in America, today 1 child in 50 has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ⁸ In 2004, that number was 1 child in 150. In 1992, it was 1 child in 500 and in 1986 it was 1 child in 2000. ⁹

 

By April, which is Autism Awareness Month in the U.S., there was a full court press by doctors inside and outside of government to dismiss any association whatsoever between steep increases in the numbers of vaccinations given to children during the past 30 years and corresponding steep increases in the numbers of children developing autism. Those doctors know, but a lot of young parents today don’t know, that the public conversation about vaccine-induced brain inflammation and chronic brain and immune system dysfunction, including autism, began 16 years before a study was published in The Lancet in 1998 examining the potential association between MMR vaccine and autism. ^{10 11}

 

CDC Study Fails to Confirm Offit’s Claim 10,000 Vaccines Safe for Babies

 

On Good Friday, April 1, during Easter and Passover observances, a study conducted and funded by the Centers for Disease Control was released by the Journal of Pediatrics declaring that “increasing exposure to antibody stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines is not associated with risk of autism” and, therefore, vaccines don’t cause autism. ¹² It was a pathetic attempt to validate a Machiavellian hypothesis forwarded in 2002 by pediatric vaccine developer Paul Offit claiming that an infant could safely respond to 10,000 vaccines given at any one time. ¹³

 

 However, an eighth grade science class student with an elementary understanding of health research methods, ¹⁴ the bioactivity of various vaccine ingredients ^{15 16 17 18} and the difference between naturally acquired and vaccine acquired immunity, ¹⁹ could figure out that the absence of an unvaccinated control group meant the study was fatally flawed. It proved absolutely nothing about the potential relationship between administration of multiple vaccinations in early childhood and the development of autism among genetically diverse children with and without increased biological susceptibility to adverse responses to vaccination. ²⁰

 

Pediatricians Label Social Networking Parents “Nonconformers”

 

On April 15, Pediatric News published an online survey stating the obvious: a person’s knowledge, values and beliefs, as well as the opinions of friends and families in social networks, strongly influences decisions about vaccination. ²¹ Parents, who expressed doubts about vaccine safety and used alternative vaccine schedules for their children, were pejoratively labeled as “nonconformers.  

 

Pediatricians commenting on the survey suggested that nonconforming parents did not base their vaccine decisions on “rational logic” and “scientific evidence” because they were influenced by non-conforming friends and misleading information on nonconforming websites. ²² Apparently, there was no consideration given to the fact that nonconforming parents found the poor science and empty rhetoric buttressing one-size-fits-all vaccine policies entirely unconvincing. ²³

 

Journalist & Magazine Attacked for Article Questioning Gardasil Safety

 

April was also the month that a veteran journalist and radio show host was personally attacked by pediatricians and public health officials in Buffalo, New York for daring to write an article questioning the safety of Gardasil vaccine and urging parents to make informed vaccine choices. ²⁴ Outraged doctors threatened to financially ruin the magazine that published the article by destroying the magazine’s paid advertising base unless the article was retracted. ²⁵

Offit Plays Class & Race Card to Demonize Smart Nonconforming Parents

 

By the end of April, a CNN reporter quoted doctors blaming outbreaks of whooping cough, measles and mumps on unvaccinated people in developed nations, who spread their vaccine safety doubts on the Internet and jeopardize the health of people around the world. ²⁶ Crassly playing both the class AND race card, the magical thinking, attention seeking Dr. Offit offered the opinion that “It is the upper middle class, well-educated Caucasian parents who are shunning vaccines. They have generally gone to graduate school, are in positions of management and are used to being in control,” he said flatly.

 

Doctors playing the blame game apparently disagree about whether nonconforming parents asking questions about vaccines are simply stupid and irrational or are just over-educated, rich white folks refusing to acknowledge the intellectual superiority and infallibility of those with M.D., PhD or MPH written after their names regardless of the color of their skin or how much money they make.

 

Doctors like Offit, ²⁷ Halsey, ^{28 29 30} Plotkin, ^{31 32} Omer ^{33 34 35 36} and others denying vaccine risks are blaming everyone but themselves for the miserable statistic that 1 child in 50 in America develops a type of brain and immune dysfunction labeled autism when it used to be 1 child in 2000 before they dumped three times as many vaccinations on babies.

 

Regression Into Poor Health After Vaccination: A Universal Experience

 

What doctors drowning in denialism ³⁷ refuse to accept is that, today, everybody knows somebody who was healthy, got vaccinated and was never healthy again. ³⁸That pattern of regression into poor health, ³⁹ that universal experience of suffering after use of a pharmaceutical product that has a long, well documented history of risks ^{40 41 42} and failures, ⁴³⁴⁴ is why the public conversation about health and vaccination in the 21^st century must and will continue. It will continue until doctors, who are pushing more and more vaccines on children and adults already more highly vaccinated and sicker than ever, come up with a much better explanation than it’s “bad genes,” “better diagnosing” or all “a coincidence.”

 

Vaccine Makers and Doctors Shielded from Liability Have Ethical Duty

 

In the U.S., vaccine manufacturers are shielded from product liability in civil court and doctors promoting and administering vaccines are also shielded from vaccine injury lawsuits. ^{45 46} Doctors without legal accountability have an even greater ethical duty to encourage patients and parents of minor children to become educated about all risks and honor the vaccination decisions patients or parents make, even if the doctor does not personally agree with the decision made. ^{47 48}

 

Freedom of thought, speech and conscience are deeply valued and constitutionally protected rights in America. ⁴⁹ The public trust in the integrity of public health policies is destroyed when defensive doctors unwilling to share decision-making power fail to respect the human right to informed consent to medical risk taking and behave like schoolyard bullies instead of compassionate healers committed to, first, doing no harm.

 

References:

---

¹ Fisher BL. Women, Vaccines & Bodily Integrity. NVIC Vaccine Newsletter Jan. 14, 2013.

 

² Centers for Disease Control. What You Should Know for the 2012-2013 Flu Season: Can I Get Vaccinated and Still Get the Flu?

 

³ LaVigne P. New State Vaccine Bills Threaten Vaccine Choices. NVIC Vaccine Newsletter Apr. 22, 2013.

 

⁴ Institute of Medicine Committee on the Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule.

The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence and Future Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 2013.

 

⁵ Centers for Disease Control.  Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 0 Through 18 Years – United States, 2013. MMWR 2013; 62(01): 2-8.

 

⁶ Centers for Disease Control. Recommended schedule for active immunization of normal infants and children 1983.

 

⁷ Businesswire. National Vaccine Information Center Supports Three of Five Recommendations of New IOM Report on US Childhood Immunization Schedule Safety and Calls for Transparency. NVIC Jan. 16, 2003 Press Release.

 

⁸ Blumberg SJ, Bramlette MD, Kogan MD et al. Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011-2013. National Health Statistics Reports 2013; 65: 1-11.

 

⁹ Newschaffer CJ, Falb MD, Gurney JG. Autism Prevalence Trends from United States Autism Special Education Data. Pediatrics 2005; 115(3).

 

¹⁰ Coulter HL, Fisher BL. DPT: A Shot in the Dark. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985 (Warner 1986, Avery 1991, Penguin - current).

 

¹¹ Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Committee. Appendix B: A Brief Chronology of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccine (1982) Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines. Washington, D.C: The National Academies Press 1991.

 

¹² DeStefano F, Price CS, Weintraub ES. Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism. Journal of Pediatrics.  Published online April 1, 2013.  

 

¹³ Offit PA, Quarles J, Gerber MA et al. Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?Pediatrics 2002; 109(1): 124-129.

 

¹⁴ Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library. Study Design 101: Case Control Study. November 2011.

 

¹⁵ Centers for Disease Control. Vaccine Excipient and Media Summary. February 2012.

 

¹⁶ Sato H, Ito A, Chiba J. Monoclonal Antibody Against Pertussis Toxin: Effects on Toxin Activity and Pertussis Infections. Infection and Immunity 1984; 46(2): 422-428.

 

¹⁷ Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Mechanisms of aluminum adjuvant toxicity and autoimmunity in pediatric populations. Lupus 2012; 2(21).

 

¹⁸  Santucci B, Cannistraci C, Cristaudo A et al. Thimerosal posivities: The role of SH groups and divalent ions. Contact Dermatitis 1998; 39(3): 123-126.

 

¹⁹ The Free Dictionary. Acquired Immunity.

 

²⁰ Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Adverse Effects of Vaccines Evidence and Causality. Increased Susceptibility (page 82).  Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 2012.

 

²¹ Brunson EK. The Impact of Social Networks on Parents’ Vaccination Decisions. Pediatrics published online April 15, 2013.

 

²² Rajaraman M. Social networks play a key role in parents’ vaccination decisions. Pediatric News April 15, 2013.

 

²³ Fisher BL. The Safety of the Childhood Vaccine Schedule: A Public Perspective Institute of Medicine Committee on the Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule Feb. 9, 2012 meeting.

 

²⁴ Tokasz J. Column critical of vaccine for teen HPV stirs outrage. The Buffalo News Apr. 11, 2013.

 

²⁵ O’Connor L. Writer Defends Column Critical of Gardasil Vaccine. “Parent Talk” radio interview with Barbara Loe Fisher on risk of HPV and Gardasil and informed consent rights of parents. The Breeze (FM102.9 & AM1230). April 13, 2013.

 

²⁶ McCafferty G. Vaccines shunned by some as others struggle for access. CNN Apr. 26, 2013.

 

²⁷ Fagone J. Will this Doctor Hurt Your Baby? Philadelphia Magazine June 2009.

 

²⁸ NBC-TV. Debate with Neal Halsey, M.D. and Barbara Loe Fisher moderated by Matt Lauer on vaccine safety, chronic disease increases and informed consent. Today Show March 1997.

 

²⁹ O’Reilly KB. Time to get tough? States increasingly offer ways to opt out of vaccine mandates. American Medical News Sept. 8, 2008.

 

³⁰  Salmon DA, Halsey NA. Keeping the M in Medical Exemptions: Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Children. J Infect Dis Aug. 29, 2012 (published online).

 

³¹31 Plotkin S, Orenstein WA, Offit PA, editors. Vaccines, 6^th Edition. Saunders Elsevier Inc. 2012.

 

³²  Plotkin S. History of Vaccines: A New Website by the Oldest Medical Society in the U.S. Shots of Prevention.com Nov. 3, 2010.

 

³³ Omer SB, Pan WK, Halsey NA et al. Nonmedical exemptions to school immunization requirements: secular trends and association of state policies with pertussis incidence. JAMA 2006; 296: 1757-1763.

 

³⁴ Salmon DA, Omer SB. Individual freedoms versus collective responsibility:  immunization decision-making in the face of competing values. Emerging Themes in Epid 2006; 3: 13-15.

 

³⁵ Omer SB, Salmon DA, Orenstein WA, deHart PM, Halsey N. Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization and the Risks of Vaccine Preventable Diseases. N Engl J Med 2009; 360(19): 1981-1988.

 

³⁶ Stadlin S, Bednarczyk RA, Omer SB. Medical Exemptions to School Immunization Requirements in the United States – Association of State Policies with Medical Exemption Rates (2004-2011). J Infect Dis Aug. 29, 2012 (published online).

 

³⁷ Diethelm P, McKee M. Denialism: What is it and how should scientists respond? Eur J Public Health 2009; 19(1): 2-4.

 

³⁸NVIC.org. Vaccine Freedom Wall.

 

³⁹ MedAlerts.org. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) searchable database.

 

⁴⁰ Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Committee. Adverse Events Association with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 1994.

 

⁴¹ Institute of Medicine. DPT Vaccine and Chronic Nervous System Dysfunction: A New Analysis. Washington, D.C. The National Academies Press 1994.

 

⁴² Health Resources Services Administration. National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Statistics Report.  

 

⁴³ He Q, Vijanen MK et al. Whooping Cough Caused by Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis in an Immunized Population. JAMA 1998; 280: 635-637.

 

⁴⁴ Dayan GH, Rubin S, Plotkin S. Mumps Outbreak in Vaccinated Populations: Are Available Mumps Vaccines Effective Enough to Prevent Outbreaks?Clin Infect Dis 2008; 47(11): 1458-1467.

 

⁴⁵ Businesswire. National Vaccine Information Center Cites ‘Betrayal’ of Consumers by U.S. Supreme Court Giving Total Liability Shield to Big Pharma. NVIC Press Release Feb. 23, 2011

 

⁴⁶ Evans G. National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act: Revision of the Vaccine Injury Table. Pediatrics 1995; 98(6): 1179-1181.

 

⁴⁷ University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine. Informed Consent.

 

⁴⁸ American Medical Association. Informed Consent.

 

⁴⁹ American Library Association. Quotations: First Amendment, Censorship and the Freedom to Read.

 

Women, Vaccines & Bodily Integrity

Posted 1/24/2013

By Barbara Loe Fisher
 
2013 was only a few days old when I saw a photo of 61-year old Ethel Hoover, a veteran hospital nurse, who had only missed 4 or 5 days of work in 22 years, she was fired from her job for declining to get a flu shot.

Defending Freedom of Conscience

On her last day of work, she wore black. In the photo, she was standing straight, looking directly into the camera, unafraid, signaling strong ownership of the principled choice she made in defense of autonomy, ^[1] freedom of conscience ^{[2] [3]} and protection of bodily integrity. ^[4]

“This is my body,” she said. “I have a right to refuse the flu vaccine.” ^[5]

Punishment: No Shots, No Job

The Methodist-founded Indiana University Health Goshen Hospital rejected the medical and religious exemptions Ethel filed so they could punish her for obeying her conscience and choosing to stay healthy another way. Refusing to respect her beliefs or superior health and work attendance record, they cited the “no shots, no job” vaccine mandates being pushed by public health officials and Pharma-funded medical trade groups ^[6] as a reason to fire her.

Ethel is not alone. Many American nurses and other health care workers are being thrown out on the street without a job ^{[7] [8]} or forced to wear masks and special badges publicly branding them ^[9] for declining to subject themselves to the well-known failures and risks of influenza vaccinations, a vaccine that the Centers for Disease Control admits does not protect against influenza nearly half the time ^[10] and, like all vaccines, can cause permanent injury when there are complications. ^[11]

Hysterical, Ignorant Female Nurses?

A doctor from Vanderbilt University heading up the Campaign for Adult Immunization,^[12] which is funded by drug corporation giants Merck and Pfizer, observed that nurses are the most reluctant to get vaccinated. Downplaying the critical thinking going on in the primarily female nursing profession, he quipped with more than a trace of sexism: "There seems to be a persistent myth that you can get flu from a flu vaccine among nurses. They subject themselves to more influenza by not being immunized, and they certainly do not participate in putting patient safety first." ^[13]

One of Pharma’s go-to guys apparently feels comfortable perpetuating the myth that nurses are a bunch of hysterical, ignorant females because they are less likely to be persuaded to engage in magical thinking about the benefits and risks of influenza vaccine. I guess it is OK to do that when you can use your medical license as a club to tell other people what to think, believe and do and then harm them when they disagree with you.

Veteran Nurses Not Buying Vaccine Myths

We should all pause and reflect about just why nurses, who devote their lives to saving our lives when we are patients, are not buying the vaccine myths that drug companies and doctors with big titles are hard-selling. Why are veteran nurses sacrificing their careers to take a stand for the right to protect freedom of conscience and bodily integrity?

Perhaps it is because nurses know it is a myth that influenza vaccine is risk-free, when it is not. More nurses today are aware that a flu shot reaction can end in brain inflammation, paralysis ^[14] and death, especially if you are biologically more susceptible to vaccine reactions, ^[15] and they know that the majority of adult vaccine injury claims paid out by government are for influenza vaccine. ^[16]

Nurses also know it is a myth that a flu shot will prevent you from getting or transmitting influenza or other kinds of respiratory infections. ^[17] They know that, every year, 70 to 80 percent of all influenza-like-illness (ILI) cases, such as fever, sore throat and cough, test negative for type A or type B influenza. ^{[18] [19]}

Major Labor Unions Opposing “No Shots, No Job” Policy

Major labor unions are opposing the “no shots, no job” mandate that doctors in government and medical trade groups funded by Pharma ^{[20] [21] [22] [23] [24]} are telling employers to impose because they want to force a 90 percent vaccination compliance rate.^[25] These unions include American Nurses Association; ^[26] National Nurses United; ^[27] California Nurses Association; ^[28] Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); ^[29] Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Employees Union; ^[30] American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); ALF-CIO ^[31] and others. Joining them are the American Federation of Teachers and Association of Flight Attendants. ^[32]

Teachers and flight attendants are likely next on the government’s list to be threatened with unemployment, right after child-care workers now being targeted with “no shots, no job” mandates in Texas and Colorado. ^[33]

Women’s Professions Being Targeted 

Women, many of them single Moms or primary breadwinners for their families, have always filled the ranks of low paying personal service professions in America. ^[34] 92 percent of American nurses and 98 percent of nursing aides are women. ^[35] 98 percent of childcare workers are women.^{[36] [37]} 82 percent of American teachers for grades 1 to 12 are women ^[38] and 98 percent of pre-school and kindergarten teachers are women. ^[39] And 80 percent of American flight attendants are women. ^[40]

Is there a pattern here? You bet there is. Because 100 percent of mothers, who give birth to and nurture children until they are old enough to care for themselves, are women. And mothers were the first to be humiliated, marginalized and punished by paternalistic doctors for daring to engage in critical thinking and asking good questions about the quality of vaccine science that doctors still can’t answer. ^{[41] [42] [43]}

Honoring Nurses Defending Critical Thinking 

I honor Ethel Hoover and the brave women in nursing fighting to protect their informed consent rights, ^{[44] [45] [46] [47]} which are being taken away inch by inch from all of us by doctors in positions of power.

A nurse, who refuses to abandon the human right to informed consent to medical risk-taking, is a nurse, who will respect your right when you are her patient to make voluntary decisions about medical risks. A nurse, who demands the right to think critically and follow her conscience to protect her body is a nurse, who will defend your right to think critically, follow your conscience and protect your body, no matter what a doctor - male or female - tells you to do with it.

Go to www.NVICAdvocacy.org and learn how you can join the growing number of educated vaccine choice advocates working to protect informed consent rights in America.

It’s your health. Your family. Your choice.

References:
^[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Definition of Autonomy.
^[2] The Free Dictionary. Definition of Conscience.
^[3] The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson. Man’s Need for Religious Freedom. Pages 23-27. University of Virginia Press 1987.
^[4] Whitehead JW. Missouri v. McNeely: The Loss of Bodily Integrity in an Emerging Police State. Huffington Post. Jan. 15, 2013.
^[5] Lupkin S. Nurses Fired for Refusing Flu Shot. ABC News Jan. 3, 2013.
^[6] IU Health Goshen. Statement Regarding IU Health Influenza Patient Safety Program. Press Release: January 2013.
^[7] Cheung-Larivee K. Hospital flu vaccination policies are ‘tough sell.’ Fierce Healthcare Dec. 4, 2012.
^[8] Hendricks L. Six at FMC out over flu shots. Arizona Daily Sun Jan. 18, 2013.
^[9] Kent JL. Flu Vaccine Debate Sparks Rights Debate. NBC Connecticut Dec. 6, 2012.
^[10] CDC. Early Estimates of Seasonal Influenza Effectiveness – United States. MMWR Jan. 18, 2013: 62(02); 32-35.
^[11] Jurlink DN, Stukel TA et al. Guillain-Barre Syndrome After Influenza Vaccination in Adults. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166(20): 2217-2221.
^[12] National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.  Campaign for Adult Immunization.
^[13] See Reference #5.
^[14] NVIC. Flu Vaccine Reaction Leaves Former Nurse a Quadriplegic. NVIC Vaccine Newsletter Oct. 31, 2011.
^[15] Stratton K, Ford A, Rusch E, Clayton EW, editors. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality.(Evaluating Biological Mechanisms of Adverse Events: Increased Susceptibility). Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press 2011.
^[16] DHHS. Health Resources and Services Administration. Statistics Reports – Jan. 7, 2013. Claims Filed and Compensated or Dismissed by Vaccine.
^[17] CDC. Seasonal Influenza Q&A. What You Should Know About the 2012-2013 Influenza Season: Has CDC received reports of people who have gotten a flu vaccine and then tested positive for influenza?
^[18] FDA. Vaccines & Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting Transcript. Feb. 20, 2003.
^[19] See Reference #10.
^[20] Infectious Diseases Society of America. IDSA Industry Relations. 2010 and 2011 Grants and Contributions.
^[21] American College of Physicians Foundation. ACPF Corporate Relations.
^[22] National Patient Safety Foundation. NPSF Corporate Council.
^[23] Attkisson S. How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders? CBS-TV News. July 25, 2008.
^[24] Orange County Register. CORRECTION re: August 4, 2008 article “Dr. Paul Offit Responds.” April 18, 2011.
^[25] U.S. Department of Health & Human Service. Healthy People 2020 Goals. Immunization and Infectious Disease Objective IID-12.9: Increase the percentage of health care personnel who are vaccinated annually against seasonal influenza.
^[26] Lloyd J. Mandatory flu shots opposed by some health care workers. USA Today Jan. 16, 2013.
^[27] National Nurses United. Largest National Nurses Union Opposes Mandatory Flu Vaccination as Condition of Employment. Press Release: Feb. 8, 2012.
^[28] California Healthline. S.F. Bay Area Health Officials Require Flu Shots for Medical Staff. Dec. 12, 2012.
^[29] Evans G. OSHA crashes mandatory flu shot party. HICPrevent Jan. 18, 2012.
^[30]  Gallegos A. First state flu shot mandate at center of legal battle. American Medical News Jan. 14, 2013.
^[31]  Zubeck P. Calling the shots. Colorado Springs Independent Jan. 21, 2013.
^[32] Wrangham T. Labor Unions Oppose Mandatory Flu Shots as AMA Cherry Picks Ethics to Endorse Vaccine Mandates. NVIC Vaccine Newsletter Aug. 21, 2012.
^[33] NVIC. Child Care Workers Targeted for Vaccine Mandates. NVIC Newsletter Jan. 16, 2013.
^[34] Pollack W. Raising the Minimum Wage is a Woman’s Issue. The Shriver Brief Mar. 2, 2012.
^[35] U.S. Department of Labor. Quick Facts on Registered Nurses (2008).
^[36] Women’s Work: Child Care Worker. Ms. Magazine June 1999.
^[37] Reisman S. “Because Women’s Work Is Always Undervalued:” Why Child Care Workers Are Some of the Lowest Paid Professionals in America.” Blogher.com July 3, 2008.
^[38] National Center for Education Information. Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2005. Press Release: Aug. 18, 2005.
^[39] AFLC-CIO Department for Professional Employees. Fact Sheet 2010: Professional Women Vital Statistics.
^[40] Whitelegg D. The Big Squeeze: The Time and Space for Flight Attendants Since 911. Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life 2004.
^[41] Coulter HL, Fisher BL. DPT: A Shot in the Dark. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985.
^[42] NVIC. Doctor’s Denying Vaccine Risks: An American Tragedy. NVIC Newsletter Apr. 22, 2011.
^[43] Businesswire. National Vaccine Information Center Supports Three of Five Recommendations of New Institute of Medicine Report on U.S. Childhood Immunization Schedule Safety and Calls for Transparency. Jan. 16, 2013.
^[44] The Goshen News. Goshen nurses lose jobs after refusing flu vaccination. Jan. 9, 2013.
^[45] Infection Control Today. Nurses Oppose Mandated Masking of Healthy Nurses, Staff as Part of Flu Prevention Program. Dec. 26, 2012.
^[46] CBS4 (Denver). Colorado Nurses Association Opposes Mandatory Flu Shot Policy. Oct. 5, 2012.
^[47] Spokesman-Review. Some in health care refusing flu vaccine. Jan. 16, 2013.

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