by Louise Kuo Habakus
I’ve been dismayed by the national brouhaha characterized by the Four “Astroturf” Horsemen of Vaccine Hysteria: Fear, Anger, Blame, Hatred.
- The unvaccinated must be hunted down and punished Measles is deadly
- We need a federal mandate for the measles vaccine
- No exemptions for anyone
There’s nary a mainstream outlet that hasn’t jumped in and piled on. For a group of investigative journalists, health reporters, seasoned writers, and popular bloggers that claims to wrap themselves in the cloak of modern science, there’s precious little scientific or even analytic thinking, let alone responsible, measured discussion. It remains to be seen whether mainstream journalism will grow a spine.
In the meantime, however, what concerns me is how little parents know about the combination measles, mumps & rubella vaccine (MMR).
I worry about informed consent.
In this post we address the safety of the vaccine itself [and] what’s going on with its manufacturer, Merck & Co.
MMR Vaccine Safety
Documentation of adverse events following vaccination
Start with the basics:
Measles virus can present as three different forms of infection in the central nervous system.
We’ve known that measles virus can travel via neuronal spread and enter the brain. It’s called “axonal transport” and it’s as fast as it sounds.
What is not commonly understood, however, is that it’s not just the natural contraction of disease that’s implicated. Vaccination can carry measles virus to your brain, too. From a study in the peer-reviewed Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology:
[A]ttenuated vaccine strain can traffic to the brain under conditions of poor immune surveillance.
Injection of MMR vaccine can cause the live measles virus to hop a neurological bullet train to your brain.
The Merck Manual acknowledges that vaccines can cause brain damage:
In the meantime, however, what concerns me is how little parents know about the combination measles, mumps & rubella vaccine (MMR).
I worry about informed consent.
In this post we address the safety of the vaccine itself [and] what’s going on with its manufacturer, Merck & Co.
MMR Vaccine Safety
Documentation of adverse events following vaccination
Start with the basics:
- MMR package insert
- MMRV / ProQuad package insert
- Observed Rate of Vaccine Reactions – Measles, Mumps & Rubella Vaccines from the World Health Organization
- Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System
- Vaccine Injury Table of the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
- The Pink Book: Course Textbook, chapter 12 (Measles) from the CDC
- Can Measles Vaccine Cause Injury & Death? from the National Vaccine Information Center
Measles virus can present as three different forms of infection in the central nervous system.
We’ve known that measles virus can travel via neuronal spread and enter the brain. It’s called “axonal transport” and it’s as fast as it sounds.
What is not commonly understood, however, is that it’s not just the natural contraction of disease that’s implicated. Vaccination can carry measles virus to your brain, too. From a study in the peer-reviewed Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology:
[A]ttenuated vaccine strain can traffic to the brain under conditions of poor immune surveillance.
Injection of MMR vaccine can cause the live measles virus to hop a neurological bullet train to your brain.
The Merck Manual acknowledges that vaccines can cause brain damage:
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