OT - Vaccines

Lisa,

Thanks....btw, my original message should have been caveat'ed with "..in my area..." but I guess my thinking was better than my typing. In any case thanks for the additional numbers.

In recent years ( see, AAPS for starters ) the CDC has come under attack for shoddy reporting, inflating disease virulence and prevalence, and poor statistics.

I still think ( after a healthy spirit and body, and a caring expert physician when needed )the CDC is one of our best insurances against sickness.

Having said that...even some conservative sources say vaccines heading for the blood of millions of kids may have a "0.1 percent failure rate" (failure consisting of anything from severe bruising, sickness, recoverable anaphylactic shock, or death).

Even 0.1 percent of million -- 100,000 "failures" -- is way way too much. I guess that's why some of these things get tested on our men/women in the Armed Services w/o informed consent during little drills like the Gulf War.

And we are doing this to eradicate 3 cases of diptheria? 12 cases of pertussis? It's not worth it.

Based solely on Gulf War syndrome, I'd say the costs are too high. I do not at present have the information to provide a more comprehensive accounting.

Thanks again for your thoughts and numbers, they round out the picture nicely.

Regards,

Ross

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 9:37 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

Hi Ross - you wrote -

> I haven't even *heard* of a case of tuberculosis..rubella....malaria...
polio...diptheria...pertussis.....in *years*.
>

Actually, tuberculosis is not really that rare - in fact, I had a very good friend who wound up with a positive PPD (tuberculosis test), apparently exposed while working in a Virginia health department with a large HIV caseload. Immunocompromised persons are quite prone to tuberculosis. We saw TB positive people on a regular basis - not a lot, but enough that I was surprised that folks think it is gone.

However, the "shot" for tuberculosis, in almost all cases, is a test for the disease (a PPD), not a vaccination against the disease.

 From my somewhat elderly copy of _Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases_, published by the CDC -

Diptheria averaged about 3 reported cases per year, nationwide, from 1980 to 1993. In contrast, in 1993, over 40,000 cases were reported in the countries of former Russia.

Rubella had 192 reported cases in 1993, down from 57,686 in 1969. Worldwide incidence AFAIK is unknown.

Polio is quite rare in the US (what few cases occur most often breakouts from the modified live virus) Outbreaks of "wild" polio have occurred on the US/Mexican border, but AFAIK not recently. In 1993, 9700 cases were reported worldwide.

Pertussis in 993 had 6,586 cases and 12 deaths in the US. It's found worldwide.

Malaria is not a disease children are normally vaccinated against. Not sure why it's in the list?

If you're interested in learning more about the theory behind vaccination policy, the CDC book (available online, I believe) is a good way to see the rationale. Whether or not you agree with vaccination, it is an interesting book, and it gives the hard numbers where available.

Lisa

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