The Safety (or lack thereof) of the MMR Vaccine

As previously stated, in an earlier post, I am on the quest for the most accurate information on the vaccines administered to our babies and children. I am taking each of them, and breaking them down, gathering information from various sources, to help me decide which (if any) of the vaccines I find truly necessary.

This post I will be examining the MMR or Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

First,what is it?
According to http://www.nlm.nih.gov  it is a vaccine where "one MMR will protect most individuals from contracting measles, mumps, or rubella throughout their lives. The second MMR is recommended to cover those individuals who may not have received adequate protection from the first MMR. " (15% of vaccinated children, do not develop antibodies to the diseases, and this is the reason why ALL children are given a second dose of the vaccine. The British Medical Journal (Jan 13, 2001) showed a survey noting that 80% of UK doctors do not recommend this booster.)

The MMR is one of the recommended childhood immunizations. Generally, proof of MMR vaccination is required for school entry. (Unless you get a waiver, which constitutionally you may)

• The first shot is recommended when the child is 12 to 15 months old. The timing of vaccination is important to make sure the child is properly protected. It must not be given too early.
• A second MMR is recommended before entering school at 4 - 6 years, but may be given at any time thereafter. Some states require a second MMR at kindergarten entry. (Babies are immune up to a year old, due to their mothers immune systems- according to the CDC)

This is the vaccine that has been the most closely linked to autism, even though the Wakefield  study has been proven an inefficient study, it was not the only study or observation citing a correlation between autism and the MMR.

If you look at these diagrams, you can note the accute correlation between when the number of autism cases spiked and the introduction of the compulsory MMR vaccine (1987),

From Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders by Neil Z.Miller

According to nvic.org, the chances of your child catching and having a serious complication from the measles, is much lower than the chances of him/her having an adverse reaction or negative consequence from the MMR vaccine. According, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn ( a renowned pediatrician and vaccine researcher), only about 1/10,0000-1/100,000 depending on their living conditions and vitamin A intake, will contract encephalitis ( a serious complication of the measles) versus 1/3,000 who will have seizures from the vaccine.

Even the Government Site "Medline Plus"posts the following risks of vaccinating your child with the MMR (whether you acknowledge the autism statistics or not):

Potential mild to moderate adverse effects include:

• Fever (1 in 6 children)
• Rash (1 in 20)
• Swollen glands (rare)
• Seizure (1 in 3,000)
• Joint pain/stiffness (1 in 4, usually young women)
• Low platelet count/bleeding (1 in 30,000)

Severe adverse effects may include:

• Allergic reaction (less than 1 per million)
• Long-term seizure, brain damage, or deafness (so rare that the association with the vaccine is questionable

 The chances of a child contracting measles, and having
A great book on the MMR vaccine is Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders, written by Neil Z. Miller (2003). There is documentation of statistics, reports from various doctors that were presented to congress, where even congree members spoke of the autism risks from this vaccine. The author presents various facts, past and present such as facts of the measles disease decreasing even before vaccines were initiated, and other serious complications which are still being researched such us crohns disease links, blood disorders and of course autism.

Even if one vaccinates their children, it does not mean they are in the clear, in 1989 89% of all children who contracted measles in the US were adequately vaccinated, in 1995 56% of them were. So with all these risks involved, and the protection still insufficient my husband and I have decided against this vaccine.

Please don't take anything I say as the end-all, but rather use the links and statistics as a jumping board for your own research. I am not, or ever was, a doctor! Thank you.

More information:

http://www.nvic.org The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC, a grassroots organization founded by parents of vaccine injured
and killed children)
Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders, written by Neil Z. Miller (2003) (A must read!!!!)
http://thinktwice.com/mmr.htm

Love and knowledge,
Kerry, the Momster