Vaccination policy lags behind vaccine science by Binstock December 9, 2007

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December 09, 2007

Vaccination policy lags behind vaccine science

by Binstock December 9, 2007

Although vaccinologists have long enjoyed the prominence of their field's

orthodoxy, skepticism is arising in respected venues. The British Medical

Journal allows the question, " Are US flu death figures more PR than

science? " and the journal Vaccine presents an article titled, " Why is

evidence-based medicine so harsh on vaccines? " Debate about the safety of

vaccinations continues.

Many parents believe their child's neurologic, behavioral, or certain other

physiological problems were caused or exacerbated by vaccinations. The CDC,

which receives gargantuan funding to promote vaccinations (1-2), assures

the public of their safety. Despite these assurances, a reporting system

for vaccine-related adverse effects exists (3-4). A growing body of

medical research suggests that subgroups of individuals can be adversely

affected by environmental exposures that, for most people, seem not to

generate untoward effects (eg, 5).

Consider some new words: pharmacogenomics, pharmacogenetics, and

nutrigenomics. Each calls attention to the interplay between environmental

factors and the human genome. Pharmacogenetics refers to how drugs interact

with various gene alleles. An example is that some people detoxify an

anti-cancer drug before it can do its work. Conversely, some individuals

detoxify a given drug so poorly that a therapeutic dose normal for most

people is far too high. Nutrigenomics refers to relationships among proper

levels of intra-body nutrients, a person's gene alleles, and his or her

need for nutritional boosting of one metabolic pathway or another (6). The

word toxicogenomics refers to the interplay between gene alleles and

environmental chemicals (5). Each of these fancy words has an inherent

principle. People are not identical. There is much inter-individual

variation in the human genome, and these differences often cause people

respond to differently to otherwise similar chemical exposures. A major

ramification is that medical treatments based upon a " one size fits all "

policy often create problems for some individuals. This may be what is

occurring as childhood vaccinations become more numerous.

In fact, the new insights about pharmacogenomics and nutrigenomics ought be

applied to the nation's vaccination policy. Might subtle genetic variations

account for why some children experience adverse reactions to vaccinations?

If so, are one-size-fits-all mandates for vaccinations likely to injure

some children? Ought a sick child not be vaccinated? Certainly, some

contraindications against vaccinations are known and declared, but findings

in pharmacogenomics and nutrigenomics suggest that officially declared

vaccination contraindications circa 2007 may be insufficient for protecting

infants and toddlers whose gene alleles and nutritional status indicate

enhanced likelihood of risk. These concerns are not theoretical.

Vaccine guidelines are virtually compulsory in most states. Most parents

are informed that they consent. School attendance is one of the primary

levers by which vaccinations are enforced. Recently, land prompted a

flurry of news articles describing school-related vaccination-enforcement

(eg, 7). Similarly, New Jersey is likely to add four vaccinations as

conditions for preschool and kindergarten registration (eg, 8). These

events proceed even as many physicians, researchers, and parents question

the wisdom of infants, toddlers, and young children receiving so many

vaccinations so early in life.

A. Poland, M.D., is a Mayo researcher. He and his colleagues have

published numerous findings about gene alleles and their effects upon an

individual's ability to produce titers to vaccinal antigens. Needless to

say, their research and similar studies by others help us understand the

genomic basis for inter-individual responses to vaccinations (eg, 9-19).

Some individuals are low responders, they hardly generate a titer to a

vaccinal antigen. Other individuals are high responders, they generate

antibody responses far higher than normal. These differences provide

possible clues regarding why vaccinations are not safe for every child, why

many parents describe post-vaccinal adverse effects, and do so while the

CDC and AMA continue to trumpet vaccine safety, even as some states seek

increased enforcement of compulsory vaccinations in accord with a

one-size-fits-all policy.

For more than ten years, many parents of autistic children have purchased

titer-based immune screens for vaccinal antigens and for herpes viruses.

Many such parents report that their autistic child who had been vaccinated

has one or several missing titers for a vaccinal antigen. Since some

vaccines contain live-viruses (described as attenuated), if some

individuals have one or more alleles that impair immune responses to a

specific vaccine's antigen, might that vaccine's live-virus be effectively

less attenuated for that subgroup of individuals? Since some viruses are

known to have the potential of affecting the central nervous system of

humans (20-26), would vaccinal injections with attenuated versions of those

viruses be more likely to generate adverse effects in individuals with

missing or weak titers against those viruses? As suggested by findings in

pharmacogenetics and in the work of Dr. Poland and colleagues, the answer

may well be Yes! Some individuals are likely to be affected by injections

of live-viruses, even those claimed to be attenuated. Furthermore, the

work of Merrill Chase and others has made clear that a missing titer may

represent additional immune weaknesses.

The findings mentioned in this brief essay indicate an important concern.

Is enforcement of a one-size-fits-all vaccination policy certain to induce

adverse effects in some children? Again, the answer appears to be Yes.

Perhaps the policy of enforcing mandatory vaccinations needs be tempered by

genomic testing of children so that individuals with relevant alleles or

weakened immunity can be identified before they are placed at risk by

vaccination incidents. Such testing would not be inexpensive, but

establishing a pre-vaccination testing policy might reduce the number of

adverse events and thus inhibit the growing costs of long-term care for

severely affected individuals.

Binstock

1. http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/19/029/0.pdf

2. http://weldon.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=47773

3. http://vaers.hhs.gov/

4. http://www.nvic.org

5. Toxicogenomics: a pivotal piece in the puzzle of toxicological

research. Gatzidou ET et al. J Appl Toxicol. 2007 Jul-Aug;27(4):302-9.

6. Nutrigenomics: The Genome–Food Interface

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2007/115-12/focus-abs.html

7. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/us/18vaccine.html?fta=y

8. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/09vaccine.html

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Dec;142(3):498-504.

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Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in February