MMR @ 3years, safe for my autistic son???

Hayley S said:

Hi all. Just wana get some opinions on the MMR vaccine.

My son had his first dose at 12months old and I noticed a change in his behaviour straight away. He had started saying 'choo choo' (he loves Thomas the tank), clapping and doing the stars with his hands to 'twinkle twinkle'. Soon after his dose of MMR he stopped all that.

He will be 3years old in December and has only recently started to say 'choo choo' again and a few other words such as cat. he has come on so much which has taken a lot of work from myself, my husband, our families, speech thearpy and speech groups.

I'm frightened that if he has the 2nd dose of MMR it will stop all he's learnt and send him back to the beginning!! 

any feesback or thoughts or suggestions on this would be very much appreciated. I've looked into having the vaccinations done in 3 separate injections... Any thoughts on that either? 

Thanks you. Hayley xxx

Quoted from the World Health Organisation - 

MMR and autism

Concerns about a possible link between vaccination with MMR and autism were raised in the late 1990s, following publication of studies claiming an association between natural and vaccine strains of measles virus and inflammatory bowel diseases, and separately, MMR vaccine, bowel disease and autism. WHO, on the recommendation of GACVS, commissioned a literature review by an independent researcher of the risk of autism associated with MMR vaccine; the outcome of the review was presented to GACVS for its consideration.

Autistic spectrum disorder represents a continuum of cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders including autism. The prevalence of autism varies considerably with case ascertainment, ranging from 0.7 – 21.1 per 10 000 children (median 5.2 per 10 000) while the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder is estimated to be 1 - 6 per 1000. Eleven epidemiological studies (representing the most recent studies, mostly in the last 4 years) were reviewed in detail, taking into consideration study design (including ecologic, case control, case-crossover and cohort studies) and limitations. The review concluded that existing studies do not show evidence of an association between the risk of autism or autistic disorders and MMR vaccine. Three laboratory studies were also reviewed. It was concluded that the alleged persistence of measles vaccine virus in the gastrointestinal tract of children with autism and inflammatory bowel disease requires further investigation through independent studies before the laboratory findings of the published studies, which have serious limitations, can be considered confirmed.

Based on the extensive review presented, GACVS concluded that no evidence exists of a causal association between MMR vaccine and autism or autistic disorders. The Committee believes the matter is likely to be clarified by a better understanding of the causes of autism. GACVS also concluded that there is no evidence to support the routine use of monovalent measles, mumps and rubella vaccines over the combined vaccine, a strategy which would put children at increased risk of incomplete immunization. Thus, GACVS recommends that there should be no change in current vaccination practices with MMR.

www.who.int/.../

www.who.int/.../wer7804.pdf

My elderly father has a bowel disease.  One of his brothers was autistic.  Two of his other brothers were alcoholics and battled depression.  One of my grandmothers suffered from depression and anxiety.  

This makes me assume that autism is caused by faulty genes and genetics inheritied from other blood family members.  

At this point, I'd like to remind everyone of the NAS's position on this. 

http://www.autism.org.uk/news-and-events/media-centre/position-statements/mmr-vaccine-and-autism.aspx 

The National Autistic Society (NAS) is keenly aware of the understandable concerns of parents surrounding suggested links between autism and the MMR vaccine. We recognise that the weight of epidemiological evidence indicates that there is no statistically significant link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

http://www.ecomed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/little-justice-walker.pdf

The panel's overall conclusion that Professor Walker-Smith was guilty of serious professional misconduct was flawed, in two respects: inadequate and superficial reasoning and, in a number of instances, a wrong conclusion.

The end result is that the finding of serious professional misconduct and the sanction of erasure are both quashed.

Judgment of Mr Justice Mitting1

There is now no respectable body of opinion which supports his (Wakefield’s) hypothesis, that MMR vaccine and autism/enterocolitis are causally linked.

Judgment of Mr Justice Mitting

This essay places the acquittal at Appeal of Professor John Walker-Smith in the context of the conspiracy against the three doctors, Dr Andrew Wakefield, Dr Simon Murch and Professor Walker-Smith, who were tried in a General Medical Council (GMC) Fitness to Practice Hearing in London between 2007 and 2010. The hearing was the longest in GMC history and one of the longest quasi judicial hearings ever to take place in Britain.

The essay asks two questions specifically, ‘Can justice ever be served in this case if Dr Andrew Wakefield, the principle victim of the conspiracy is denied an independent appeal?’ and ‘In the event of a professional tribunal such as the GMC acting with malice and intimacy of corruption, who might bring such powerful wrongdoers to justice?’

...and I read this post on another forum:

"Ever since I, an adult with autism, heard about the autism/MMR jab controversy which Andrew J. Wakefield, a former gastro-enterologist at the Royal Free Hospital, London, started with a 1998 article in The Lancet (since retracted) which speculated that there might be a link between measles, bowel disease and autism, I’ve wondered if, despite everything, Wakefield might have been right.

What if Wakefield was correct in his original suspicion that there was a link between the measles virus, bowel disease and autism in children like myself, with the onset of symptoms sometimes coming after vaccination with the new measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab?

However, Wakefield made it perfectly clear that:

We did not prove an association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the syndrome described.  Virological studies are underway that may help to resolve this issue.

                                                    (Lancet, 28th February 1998, later retracted)

According to Wakefield’s original article, of the twelve children he and his team assessed, nine had autism and the parents of eight children had noticed the onset of behavioural symptoms after their children received the MMR jab.

Wakefield’s article never even said there was any explicit link between MMR and autism, and merely ended with the reasonable suggestion that:

Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.

However, despite this reasonable statement, the article provoked a storm of controversy which ultimately led to Wakefield’s resignation from the Royal FreeHospital and removal from the Medical Register, plummeting levels of inoculations which led to more cases of the measles and a General Medical Council (GMC) investigation. Wakefield now lives and works in the United States.

There were complex allegations that Wakefield had acted dishonestly by neither disclosing conflicts of interest to The Lancet nor coming clean on the fact that, previous to his worrying assessment of the all-in-one triple shot MMR jab, he had applied for a patent on a single-shot measles vaccine, which if largely used instead of MMR would have made Wakefield very large sums of money…

However, on December 18th 2001 Edward Heathcote Amory of the Daily Mail said:

I spent a day with a GP in West London who said many doctors in the National Health Service were on a financial incentive scheme which would involve them losing several thousand pounds a year in taxpayers’ money if any of their child patients didn’t have the MMR jab.

Amory had previously seen the Government go out of its way to insist that mad cow disease (BSE) could not be communicated to humans, and as it turned out that BSE could in fact be communicated to humans, had become sceptical of Government assurances re the safety of new medical products such as MMR…

He had his son inoculated with separate single-shot jabs

Furthermore, in 2006 Dr Peter Fletcher (formerly Chief Scientific Officer at the Department of Health and medical assessor to the Committee on the Safety of Medicines), who had (according to The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail of 5th and 7th February 2006, respectively) agreed to be an expert witness for lawyers of the affected children, and who had studied thousands of documents about the MMR issue, said that he had seen:

‘A steady accumulation of evidence’ from scientists worldwide that the measles, mumps and rubella jab is causing brain damage in certain children.

But he added: ‘There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves.’

This from the man who, according to the Daily Mail of 7th February 2006, “had responsibility for deciding whether new vaccines were safe.”

So Andrew Wakefield could have been a rogue, or a slightly naïve man who simply believed that his ultimate responsibility was the health and welfare of children.

A statement he made in his defence of his original article particularly impressed me:

The approach of the clinical scientists should reflect the first and most important lesson learnt as a medical student—to listen to the patient or the patient's parent, and they will tell you the answer. Accordingly, we have now investigated 48 children with developmental disorder in whom the parents said “my child has a problem with his/her bowels which I believe is related to their autism”. Hitherto, this claim had been rejected by health professionals with little or no attempt to investigate the problem. The parents were right. They have helped us to identify a new inflammatory bowel disease that seems to be associated with their child's developmental disorder. This is a lesson in humility that, as doctors, we ignore at our peril. In many cases, the parents associated onset of behavioural symptoms in their child with MMR vaccine. Were we to ignore this because it challenged the public-health dogma on MMR vaccine safety?

                                                         (Lancet, 21st March 1998, not retracted)

Those in power often lack humility and, exactly as Dr Fletcher warned, are often willing to do almost anything to protect themselves.

Another detail nearly lost in controversy’s storm was also made clear in the Lancet article of 21st March 1998:

As they expound the virtues of MMR vaccine, public-health officials would do well to reflect upon the fact that published pre-licensure studies of MMR vaccine safety have been restricted to 3 weeks. For three live viruses given in combination at a different dose, route, strain, and age, compared with the normal pattern of exposure of these viruses, 3 weeks seems woefully inadequate.

Apparently, the MMR jab hadn’t even received enough testing…

Nevertheless, Wakefield was comprehensively discredited, vaccination rates picked up and the world (including this autistic author) went on its weary way.

Then, on 16th June 2012, the Daily Mail reported that a provincial court in Rimini, Italy, had ruled that Valentino Bocca, who received the MMR jab at 14 months and promptly developed autism, had indeed developed the disorder because of the MMR jab.

According to the Mail report:

…Antonio Barboni, a doctor of forensic medicine and appointed by the judge to independently advise the court, wrote a report saying that ‘in the absence of any other pre-existing conditions’ it is a ‘reasonable scientific probability’ that Valentino’s autism can be ‘traced back to the administration of the MMR vaccine … by the health authority.’

Dr Barboni’s findings were endorsed by two other eminent doctors who examined Valentino, investigated his medical background, and gave evidence to the court hearing.

Judge Lucio Ardigo, awarding compensation to the family, agreed.  He said it was ‘conclusively established’ that Valentino had suffered from an ‘autistic disorder associated with medium cognitive delay’ and his illness, as Dr Barboni stated, was linked to receiving the jab.

This, you may think, is the end of the article and perhaps the end of a rabble-rousing argument, but here’s the rub.

Basically, all Wakefield ever said was that there might be a link between measles, bowel disease and autism.

I’m not sure there’s a link.  I acknowledge the possibility that Wakefield may indeed have been dishonest and the GMC investigation justified.  I think the MMR jab is probably safe.

But I know I got measles, bowel disease and autism.

And nor do I have any illusions about what those in power are willing to do to protect themselves.

Considering my own experience and the landmark Rimini judgement, I still suspect there may be a link.

The Rimini judgement may be the first legal anti-MMR statement in this controversy.

My own statement, which you have just read, may be the first statement made by a person with autism on the subject.

I would most surely say, as Andrew Wakefield did before me, that further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to the MMR vaccine."

For any vaccination that contains thimerosal:

http://www.epa.gov/hg/effects.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/thimerosal_faqs.html

There are two, very different, types of mercury which people should know about: methylmercury and ethylmercury.

Thimerosal contains a different form of mercury called ethylmercury. Studies comparing ethylmercury and methylmercury suggest that they are processed differently in the human body. Ethylmercury is broken down and excreted much more rapidly than methylmercury. Therefore, ethylmercury (the type of mercury found in the influenza vaccine) is much less likely than methylmercury (the type of mercury in the environment) to accumulate in the body and cause harm.

Note that it does not say not at all likely.  These are only snippets, please click the link to see all the information for the full picture.  See more scientific information which basically says the usual method of analysis may be invalid and they don't actually know.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1280369/

However, the proportion of inorganic mercury in the brain was much higher in the thimerosal group (21–86% of total mercury) compared to the methylmercury group (6–10%). Brain concentrations of inorganic mercury were approximately twice as high in the thimerosal group compared to the methylmercury group. Inorganic mercury remains in the brain much longer than organic mercury, with an estimated half-life of more than a year. It’s not currently known whether inorganic mercury presents any risk to the developing brain.

Given these findings, the researchers caution that risk assessments for thimerosal based on studies using blood mercury measurements may not be valid, depending on the design of the study.

The researchers emphasize, however, that the risks associated with low-level exposures to inorganic mercury in the developing brain are unknown, and they describe other research linking persistent inorganic mercury exposure with increased activation of microglia in the brain, an effect recently reported in children with autism. They recommend further research focused specifically on the biotransformation of thimerosal and its neurotoxic potential.

Clearly you didn't read through the links I provided, this was within:

http://www.ecomed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/3-tomljenovic.pdf

http://www.ecomed.org.uk/publications/the-health-hazards-of-disease-prevention

I suggest you also read this about Andrew Wakefield:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2013/04/andrew-wakefield-british-government-culpable-for-measles-outbreaks.html

Andrew Wakefield: British Government Culpable for Measles Outbreaks

IntenseWorld said:

Just so you have both sides of the coin, always wise to know all the facts before making decisions:

"Vaccines contain lots of chemical ingredients you wouldn’t consider safe to ingest. For example, the “MMR” vaccine has: measles, mumps, rubella live virus, neomycin, sorbitol, hydrolyzed gelatin, chick embryonic fluid, and human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue. Many other vaccines contain disgusting ingredients like, formaldehyde, aluminum hydroxide and thimerosal. (mercury) If you don’t believe this – try asking your doctor for a list of ingredients during your next office visit or look it up yourself."

Ignorance is not bliss; it is dangerous...  

UK childhood vaccines do NOT contain Thimerosal (mercury based preservative), which includes the MMR vaccine.  

I prefer to base my facts on the World Health Organisation and evidence-based, peer-reviewed medical research, and not some dodgy website, new-age medicine, or self-published book!

Also I noticed that one of the said websites supports Andrew Wakefield, despite the fact that his research as been universally discredited internationally, was flawed, used a small sample of children (12), was unethical, etc.  The website I am referring to is British Society for Ecological Medicine, a website and organisation that I have never even heard of before (and I am familiar with many a UK based medical organisation).

Just so you have both sides of the coin, always wise to know all the facts before making decisions:

http://www.tetrahedron.org/articles/new_world_order/HcG_Vaccine_for_Pop._Control.html

http://www.naturalhealth365.com/vaccine_dangers/population-control.html

"Vaccines contain lots of chemical ingredients you wouldn’t consider safe to ingest. For example, the “MMR” vaccine has: measles, mumps, rubella live virus, neomycin, sorbitol, hydrolyzed gelatin, chick embryonic fluid, and human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue. Many other vaccines contain disgusting ingredients like, formaldehyde, aluminum hydroxide and thimerosal. (mercury) If you don’t believe this – try asking your doctor for a list of ingredients during your next office visit or look it up yourself."

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/government-experts-cover-up-vaccine-hazards/

30 Years of Secret Official Transcripts Show UK Government Experts Cover Up Vaccine Hazards To Sell More Vaccines And Harm Your Kids

"An extraordinary new paper published by a courageous doctor and investigative medical researcher has dug the dirt on 30 years of secret official transcripts of meetings of UK government vaccine committees and the supposedly independent medical “experts” sitting on them with their drug industry connections.

If you want to get an idea of who is responsible for your child’s condition resulting from a vaccine adverse reaction then this is the paper to read. What you have to ask yourself is if the people on these committees are honest and honourable and acting in the best interests of British children, how is it this has been going on for at least 30 years?

This is what everyone has always known but could never prove before now. Pass this information on to others so they can see what goes on in Government health committees behind locked doors.

We quote here from the author’s summary and the paper:

Deliberately concealing information from parents for the sole purpose of getting them to comply with an “official” vaccination schedule could be considered as a form of ethical violation or misconduct. Official documents obtained from the UK Department of Health (DH) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reveal that the British health authorities have been engaging in such practice for the last 30 years, apparently for the sole purpose of protecting the national vaccination program.

The 45 page paper with detailed evidence can be downloaded here: The vaccination policy and the Code of Practice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI): are they at odds? Lucija Tomljenovic, Neural Dynamics Research Group, Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.  It was presented at and forms part of the proceedings of The 2011 BSEM Scientific Conference now published online here: The Health Hazards of Disease Prevention BSEM Scientific Conference, March 2011."

There are other papers also found at that link which you will find an excellent read.

A relevant book:

ISBN 9781591810964
Subtitle The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America's Children
Format Paperback
Pages 358 pages, tables & b/w illus
Width 155
Height 230
Publisher Sentient Publications
Author Beth Lambert

Seemingly benign elements of American culture are making millions of children chronically ill, disabled, or dysfunctional. They are being diagnosed with illnesses such as autism, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and ADHD at a breathtaking rate. Research shows that decades of pharmaceutical over-usage, toxic or nutritionally anemic diets, exposure to environmental toxins, certain American habits and lifestyles, and excessive or improperly administered vaccines are at the root of these illnesses. This book provides details on how to reverse these epidemics and prevent more children from becoming ill, supplying evidence that we can help children recover from chronic illnesses, including autism, by altering their environmental influences and by stepping outside the traditional western medical paradigm.

"Beth Lambert takes us all the way to the roots of the problems in our toxic diet and toxic environment and shows us a way to protect our children's future. This is the future of medicine. If you have a child and want them to thrive, then you must read this book."ù Mark Hyman, MD, author of The UltraMind Solution

"A thorough and gripping account of the new reality for millions of children and their families. Beth Lambert, armed with persuasive scientific facts, explains how environmental insults have compromised the health and future of an entire generation and, provides welt-researched strategies aimed at prevention."ù Deirdre Imus, founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology

"Beth Lambert puts forth a cogent, well-written explanation of the suspected, environmental factors involved in the current epidemics of autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, obesity and diabetes; and includes thoughtful approaches to treatment. She also proposes strategies for prevention so that we may achieve our ultimate goal: to avoid compromising the next generation."ù Dr. Kenneth A. Bock, author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics

"A clear, rational, and compelling wake-up call for everyone who is concerned about the health of our future generations. In short, this is a terrific book!"ù Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom

"Beth Lambert not only provides a clear and comprehensive assessment of the state of children's health today, but she also offers a practical roadmap to finding our way out of this mess. A Compromised Generation should be required reading for parents and health care practitioners everywhere." Dr. Lawrence Rosen, Chief of Pediatric Integrative Medicine at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital

I would have him vaccinated. There's no credible evidence that not doing so will do anything other than increase his risk of measles, mumps and rubella.

My son also began to to show symptoms after his mmr. But that is the age symptoms tend to become noticeable - even in unvaccinated kids. There were subtle signs before then if I look back but nothing that was cause for concern at the time. He has now had his 2nd mmr and was absolutely fine.

I wouldn't recommend the single jabs. They are less widely tested and just create a window of opportunity betwwen the jabs where your child can contract the diseases they haven't been vaccinated against.

There is NO connection whatsoever between the MMR vaccine and Autism.  

Andrew Wakefield (formerly Dr, but he has since been struck off the UK medical register, is no longer allowed to practice as a Dr of Medicine in the UK, and has since fled to the USA) and his so called "MMR causes Autism" study have been discredited both in the UK and internationally.  

(The scare was exaggarated by the likes of the Daily Mail, which are just as much to blame, if not more so, than Andrew Wakefield and his flawed and dodgy research!  They asked the Tony and Cherie Blair whether their son, Leo, had been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine.  When no answer was given, and rightly so because it was a family matter and none of the DM's business, the Daily Mail began a witch hunt against the MMR vaccine.)

Two good articles on the Wakefield scandal can be found on Dr Ben Goldacre's website - 

www.badscience.net/.../

www.badscience.net/.../

The most likely cause of Autism are genetic, faulty genes, and hireditary causes, etc, although research is still ongoing.  But there is NO connection whatsoever between MMR and Autism.  

The main reason why rates of Autism diagnosises have increased in the last 15 plus years is because of greater awareness of the condition, including how it affects people in varying severities.  This greater awareness was helped in part by the publication in English of Dr Hans Asperger's 1940s studies into high functioning autism (aka Asperger Syndrome).  

* * * * 

Vaccine scares are nothing new; in the 1950s approx, there was a vaccine scare against the Polio vaccine.  Now in the 21st century, Polio is almost unheard of in the UK; thanks to vaccination.  Smallpox has been erradicated thanks to vaccination.  HPV, the strain of virus that causes Cervical Cancer, can now be fought with a vaccine, if given to teenage girls.  The only reason why Measles rates have been soaring in recent years is because of the Andrew Wakefield's bogus MMR scare!  

Vaccines have been saving lives and improving public health.