Dr. Harvey Karp on Autism and Vaccines. What Do You Think?
Editor’s Note: The following editorial by Dr. Harvey Karp, posted originally on The Huffington Post, may contradict beliefs about the relationship between vaccinations and autism held by organizations affiliated with Causecast. This post is printed not as an affront to those organizations, but as a representation of the multiple sides to the debate.
All sorts of arguments are thrown around to persuade parents that shots threaten their children with autism. I’d like to discuss 4 of the commonly repeated concerns, 3 flawed…and 1 that I think has merit.
1) Too many shots can overwhelm a child and cause autism. No!
Babies get more vaccines today than 30 years ago, but if you think that means more things are injected into their young bodies…you’d be wrong! That’s because immunizations today are much more purified than those of the past.
For example, in 1980, the DPT shot (Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus) was made from a soup of blendarized bacteria (over 1000 different illness particles – antigens – all mixed together). And, the polio vaccine had live virus that actually protected children by triggering a minute case of…polio! Today, our modern DPT vaccine is highly purified, containing only 3-5 bacterial antigens and the polio shot has absolutely no live virus.
Actually, the current trend to give kids more shots is a win-win for them. They win because they’re protected from many more illnesses and because they have fewer antigens put into their bodies.
But, some still worry, “Can too many shots overwhelm a baby’s immature immune system?” That idea is pretty close to a baby urban legend.
The immune system is a superb multitasking, fighting machine. Every day, babies are bombarded by thousands of threats: irritating pollen; colonic microbes; bacterial invaders from the skin, eyes, nose, mouth; viral swarms; offending dietary proteins; damaged cells; even tiny, little cancers. The immune system’s magnificent ability to protect against many, mild attacks at one time is exactly why most babies tolerate several shots at once with no reaction whatsoever. (In fact, a new theory suggests that allergies and asthma may be on the rise in part because we have made the world so clean it doesn’t exercise a baby’s immune system enough!)
2) Shots hurt the brains of extra-sensitive children. No!
Each of us has special sensitivities. Some have peanut allergies…some get lots of strep throat….and a very, very few get serious reactions to vaccines. I wish we had a test to detect which infants are susceptible to severe measles or big vaccine reactions, but no such test exists.
The good news, however, is that shot risks are tiny compared to the risks of full-blown illness. For example, influenza and chicken pox hammer the immune system 100-1000 times harder than the impact of the flu or pox vaccines. While most kids breeze through the chicken pox shot, even a mild case of real pox can weaken a child’s immunity for weeks to months and lead to ear infections, pneumonia and, rarely, toxic shock syndrome. (And, it can often land an adult in the hospital!)
Continue reading on The Huffington Post
Photo by peasap, flickr
- Posted by Causecast
Related causes: Health
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My comment to Harvey Karp on the Huffington Post web site, posted June 30, 2009:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-karp/cracking-the-autism-riddl_b_221202.html?page=5&show_comment_id=26378190#comment_26378190
My Challenge To Harvey Karp:
Scan the pages in your medical school textbooks in which vaccine safety/efficacy is mentioned, send those pages to me as jpeg files, and I'll show you, page by page, graph by graph, point by point, how you and your colleagues were lied to.
Send scanned pages to: director@spontaneouscreation.org
By sending me the pages, you agree to post them -- with my added comments -- in a follow-up article on vaccine safety and efficacy on the Huffington Post web site.
I doubt parents of autistic children will put up with excuses such as: "I lost my textbooks." "My textbooks are in storage." "My scanner is broken." "I don't have time," etc.
As a published authority on vaccine safety and efficacy, you owe it to parents of autistic children, and to parents-to-be, to allow science to be served.
I am looking forward to your vaccine-referencing medical school textbook pages in my inbox by the end of the week.
In health,
Jock Doubleday
Director
Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.
A California 501(c)3 Public Benefit Nonprofit Corporation
http://spontaneouscreation.org
director@spontaneouscreation.org
Silent Testimony Madison: Before and After Autism. Environment Vaccines
One family's journey of Autism through a daughter's eyes! You decide if vaccines impacted this life. This family. This nation. This world. The Human Race. Get back to me soon. It might be too late!
http://tinyurl.com/m8osy3
How solid is your soap box? Creating an Advocate for Autism and Social Causes http://tinyurl.com/nsol33
How can anyone get past the first line? To quote Jim Carrey "How stupid do they think we are?" Years ago we got 6 to 8 vaccines and now 40+. He has the balls to say... "Babies get more vaccines today than 30 years ago, but if you think that means more things are injected into their young bodies…you’d be wrong!" Parents are not stupid.
Thanks for the disclaimer. People parents public can decide for themselves... www.fourteenstudies.org With 140 vaccines in the pipeline waiting approval, Autism, Asthma, ADHD, Autoimune, Allergies and SIDs Deaths going through the roof. Somebody has to advocate for vaccine safety. Soon Mandated vaccines will be accepted. How many is too Many? HPV For Boys? Mandated boosters? Possible three Flu shots in schools this fall? We can spend a trillion dollars on health care reform but we all will be Bankrupt or extinct if we do not fix our air water food and yes green our vaccines. Too Many Too Soon. This article should offend about 54 of the 54 Causecast charities. Thanks now I do not have to have my coffee this morning. The opposing side in blog, video, links, and love for children.
A pregnant mother to be will not have an Iced tea or coffee the week before the baby is born but the minute the child is born we give it a hepB shot which is transmitted by Intravenous drug use and Sex... We could at least wait until they are 9 when they start having sex and doing drugs.
Next time "Editor" Please sign your name.