Mothering
July, 1998

Vaccine Update.

As vaccine research and development increases, so do claims of their adverse effects. Merck and Company predicts that 20 to 30 new vaccines will be developed in the next 20 years. SmithKline Beecham PLC vaccine sales topped $1 billion in 1997, up from $250 million six years ago. Pasteur Merieux Connaught has doubled the size of its US vaccine staff in the last five years. And American Home's 30 vaccine projects have tripled in 10 years.

In the 1970s, vaccine side effects resulted in many lawsuits over adverse reactions to "swine flu," pertussis, and others. The combination of low profitability and rising liability forced many drug companies out of the vaccine business.

However, in 1986 a federal law was enacted to shield vaccine manufacturers from all liability not related to manufacturing engineering. Since 1988 a tax on each vaccine dose is used to compensate those with adverse reactions. The federal government pays for claims for vaccinations prior to that time.

Recently the industry has turned around, and biotech companies have entered the vaccine field. American Home Products is currently in the process of developing a bioengineered vaccine for ear infections. Some 200 vaccines in development include rotavirus (diarrhea), AIDS, malaria, Lyme disease, herpes, dengue fever, cancer, lower respiratory infections, gonorrhea, anthrax, and others.

At the same time, the incidence of autism, diabetes, and other chronic immune and neurological dysfunction in children has climbed dramatically in the last 30 years. The February 27, 1988, issue of the British medical journal Lancet reported a new syndrome involving inflammatory bowel disease and autism in children following viral infection or MMR vaccination.

Conducted by 13 British scientists led by gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, MD, the study investigated more than 40 children suffering from the same syndrome. While it does not claim to have proven a cause-and-effect relationship between MMR vaccine and children's health problems, the study does call for more research to resolve the question of whether persistent viral infection, either from natural disease or live virus vaccines, can damage central nervous system development in some children.

Portia Iverson, founder and president of the Cure Autism Now (CAN) foundation says, "Approximately one-half of the hundreds of parents who call our office each month report that their child became autistic shortly after receiving a vaccination."

The National Vaccine Information Center, along with CaN and the Autism Research Institute, are calling for independent studies into the possible link between vaccines and autism conducted by nongovernmental researchers. They call for these studies to be funded by a portion of the $1 billion appropriated each year to the Department of Health and Human Services for the creation, purchase, and promotion of vaccines.

On a related note, a national veterans' advocacy organization, Veterans for Integrity in Government (VIG), supports the decision of at least 14 US Navy sailors--including six officers--on board the aircraft carrier Independence to refuse anthrax vaccinations out of concern for their health and civil liberties.

The officers were removed from the ship, and the enlisted men were either fined, reduced in rank, or both. One sailor, a Vietnamese American, was threatened with loss of citizenship. There have been reports of similar refusals on board the USS Stennis.

VIG executive director Patrick Eddington says that these actions "violate the Nuremberg Code by trying to force these men to take medically and militarily questionable vaccinations." The organization may present a court challenge to the Pentagon's investigational drug policy.

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, transmitted from animals to humans, and in the developed world, its incidence is very low. However, anthrax can be used as a biological weapon, and Gulf War troops are routinely vaccinated against it. Inhaling anthrax is almost 100% fatal, and gastrointestinal cases lead to a mortality rate of 25% to 75%.

Critics of the anthrax vaccine suggest that it has not been proven to be effective against inhaled anthrax, especially since anthrax can be easily genetically manipulated to resist antibiotics and, possibly, vaccines. Additionally, its safety when given in conjunction with other vaccines is not well established, and it has not been proven to be safe in six doses over 18 months. Anthrax may be a potential cause of undiagnosed illnesses in the Persian Gulf military support troops

No published, peer-reviewed studies exist on the long-term health effects of the anthrax vaccine. Moreover, most sailors aren't considered to be protected until they receive the full six doses over 18 months--and many won't be there that long.

(For more details on the anthrax debate see www.nccn.net/~wwithin/welcome.html or E-mail: wwithin@nccn.net. For information on autism and vaccines, contact the NationalVaccine Information Center, 512 W. Maple Ave., Ste. 206, Vienna, VA 22180. 703-938-0342. Fax: 703-938-5768. www.909shot.com. For information on the vaccine business, see the Wall Street Journal, February 25, 1998, "The Vaccine Business Gets a Shot in the Arm.)