American Children Need Access to Better Vaccines
Feb 9, 2015
As measles spreads, pressures are increasing to force reluctant parents to fully vaccinate their children. Gov. Christie is severely criticized for suggesting that there should be a choice, states the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
AAPS is opposed to mandatory vaccination, holding that patients have the right to refuse medical treatment, and that vaccines, like all medical interventions, have risks as well as benefits, which vary with individuals and circumstances.
“We should ask why some parents reject MMR (measles-mumps-rubella vaccine),” states AAPS executive director Jane M. Orient, M.D.
One reason is moral. Merck’s MMR vaccine is manufactured using material from aborted babies, she notes.
The other is worry about autism. Though most children tolerate the vaccine well, there are hundreds of reports of children who stopped making eye contact and lost language skills soon after receiving MMR. “Science does not ignore observations,” Orient says.
Autism used to be diagnosed in 1 in 10,000 children. Now it is more like 1 in 85. “This demands an explanation; it can’t just be that we failed to notice this devastating condition in the past,” she states.
“Many factors may well contribute, but it is not unreasonable to suspect that MMR is one of them. Measles itself can cause encephalitis (brain inflammation)—its most dreaded complication. MMR is a live-virus vaccine. And the combination could be riskier than the separate elements.”
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