Up to 1-in-50 troops injured by vaccines?

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Up to 1-in-50 Troops Seriously Injured... By Vaccines?

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Posted August 14, 2008 | 07:56 PM (EST)

By DAVID KIRBY

US Department of Defense:

1-2% of individuals may experience severe vaccine effects that " could

result in disability or death. "

American Academy of Pediatrics: 2+ % of

children have " defects " that cause vaccine " risks "

On August 5th, the President of the American Academy of

Pediatrics, Dr. , made a rather puzzling comment on " Good

Morning America, " during a segment on vaccine safety and the risk of

autism.

Dr. said that, " 97-plus percent of children

don't have these kinds of defects, and so when you look at what the (vaccine)

risk is to children, and then what the benefits are, the benefits far outweigh

the risks that occur. "

Many observers, myself among them, were startled by the

comments. But due to awkward editing, it was left entirely unclear as to what

Dr. meant by " defects, " and what sort of vaccine-related

" risks " threatened the remaining two-plus percent of children.

Some in the autism community took the statement to mean

that at least 2 percent of children (or 1-in-50) were somehow genetically

destined ( " defective " is such an ugly term) to be at-risk for serious

vaccine injuries.

I didn't believe it. It was inconceivable to me that any

pediatrician would so nonchalantly find it acceptable that somewhere between

1-in-50 and 1-in-33 children faced such severe risks. Certainly, Dr.

had misspoken.

So I emailed the AAP and, sure enough, they assured me

that Dr. had never intended to use the word " defects. "

Instead, I was told, she was referring to certain susceptibilities that some

infants might have to very mild side effects - such as temporary fever, or

localized pain or swelling.

The AAP official I spoke with said studies had shown that

less than 3% of children encounter such non-serious side effects.

So I published this account on the " Age of

Autism " blog, where I concluded that, " some people may not accept

this explanation, but I do. "

Well, a lot of people did not accept the explanation.

Some insisted that Dr. was not talking about minor side effects: She

had been asked a question about vaccines and autism.

I called ABC and spoke with a producer who had worked on

the segment. She confirmed that the question Dr. had been asked was

this: " Do you completely dismiss any connection between autism and

vaccines? "

In other words, Dr. was not speaking about mild

side effects at all.

So I emailed the AAP once again, for a little further

clarification. Did Dr. stand by her original contention that she was

actually talking about susceptibilities, and not " defects? " And were

the " risks " she mentioned really related to simple pain and swelling,

when the question posed to her was about autism?

It didn't make sense. And it still doesn't.

Which brings us to the military.

Following the remarks, one parent directed me to

a report, prepared last year by the Government Accountability Office, that

contained this rather surprising statement:

" Officials from the VHC (the Department of Defense's

Vaccine Healthcare Centers) Network and CDC estimate that between 1 and 2

percent of immunized individuals may experience severe adverse events, which

could result in disability or death. Some of these events may occur

coincidentally following immunization, while others may truly be caused by

immunization "

I had never heard of the VHC, so I went to their website,

where I found this Power

Point presentation, and this slide in particular: Download file

This slide suggests many things to me. Namely:

1) Some 10.4 million service members, DoD employees and

their beneficiaries (including children) have been vaccinated.

2) Up to 2%, or 1-in-50 service members (and it looks

like DoD employees and beneficiaries as well - though I have yet to confirm

this) have sustained " serious " adverse vaccine reactions, including

disability and death.

3) Among active duty and reserve service members, up to

48,000 individuals may have sustained serious vaccine injuries which might need

to be classified as " casualties. "

4) These vaccine-related disabilities are often severe,

and may require teaching " new skills " to the injured.

At first, I thought the injury rates might be so high

because of the anthrax and smallpox vaccines. But military studies on both

shots claimed that they were extremely safe. (For example, there were only 140

reports of inflamed heart muscle following smallpox vaccination, out of 1.2

million service members vaccinated).

But then I read that the possible cause of so much

injury, for service members at least, was " multiple vaccines " or

" drugs + vaccines, " according to the VHC slide.

I wrote to the VHC, and to the OAC, seeking more information

on these data, but did not receive any replies (so far, although I will be

happy to update this column if I do).

The questions raised by this, by other slides in the

series, and within the GAO report, are numerous. They could have serious

implications for the military, and for the population at large. Here is what I

asked the two agencies (GAO and VHC):

What, exactly, were the serious

side effects found in the population?

What information is there on the impact of these effects, in terms of medical

discharges, relocation and reassignments, teaching of " new skills, "

treatments, veteran care, etc?

Of those service members injured, how many did not return

to active duty or reserve assignments, and what impact, if any, is this having

on our military?

What are the financial costs of training troops who may

no longer be able to serve due to vaccine injuries?

If the 1-2% rate for serious side effects is the same for

all 10.4 million DoD personnel and their beneficiaries, does that mean there

have been 100,000-200,000 serious side effects within the DoD system?

The GAO said that some service members who received

anthrax or smallpox vaccines experienced severe reactions such as the onset of

diabetes and multiple sclerosis. How rare were these events and why don't they

show up in the safety data?

Why does DoD believe that adverse events effecting up to

1 in 50 people are " rare? "

Is DoD stating that vaccines can cause diabetes, chronic

fatigue syndrome and autoimmune disorders, however rare?

DoD says that possible risk factors for severe adverse

events include " multiple vaccines. " So why does the AAP and CDC say

this is not a risk factor for infants?

DoD also says that gender and ethnicity may be risk

factors as well. What evidence, if any, is available to support this?

One slide says that the " ever expanding " number

of CDC-recommended vaccines is one of several " complex immunization

exposures " to be considered - Could the DoD elaborate on that?

DoD says that " travel vaccines mixed in new

ways " also need to be considered. What impact might they be having?

The military says that people who have adverse reactions

to a vaccine may be exempted from further doses. Why doesn't the American

Academy of Pediatrics adopt this approach as well?

If the rate of serious vaccine effects in this population

is 1-2%, what is the rate in the general population?

Is autism more common in military families than the

general population? (Some anecdotal reports, at least, estimate the rate at

about 1-in-80 children of US military personnel).

These seem like sensible questions to me. But I am not

sure anyone will get any answers that are any more sensible than those coming

out of the AAP.

Dr. spoke about 2-plus percent of children with

" defects " leaving them at risk for vaccine injury. Is that the same

1-2 percent risk found by the military? I have no idea.

But I did look up the rates for mild side effects from

some common childhood vaccines. Many of them were much higher than the

" 2-plus " percent cited by Dr.

The diphtheria--tetanus-pertussis vaccine, for instance,

carries a 25% risk for fever, 25% for localized redness or swelling, and 25%

for soreness or tenderness where the shot was given. Haemophilus influenzae

type b (HiB) vaccine causes redness, warmth, or swelling where the shot was

given in up to 25% of children, and fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit in up to

1 out of 20 children.

Which leads me to believe, sadly, that I defended Dr.

prematurely. It would appear the AAP President is either misinformed,

or not telling the whole truth.

But we will never know. This afternoon, the AAP wrote to

me to say they would have no further comment on Dr. 's appearance on

Good Morning America.