Majority Support Parental Vaccination Choice According To New Harris Poll

Over Half Of Parents Say Pharmaceutical Industry Has Too Much Influence Over Government Vaccine Mandates and Support More Safety Research

CHICAGO, May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new Harris Interactive poll shows a majority of American parents believe they, rather than the government, should have the final say in which vaccines their children receive.

The poll, commissioned by the Center for Personal Rights, queried a representative sample of American parents about vaccination. The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Center for Personal Rights, Inc. from May 5-11, 2010 among 1,144 parents of children age 17 years or younger.

Poll results indicate a majority of American parents, 52%, believe that "parents should have the right to decide which vaccines their children receive without government mandates."

Parents answered other questions consistently. 54% of parents are "concerned that the pharmaceutical industry has undue influence over government vaccine mandates." 54% agree that "the government should fund an independent scientific study of fully vaccinated vs. unvaccinated individuals to assess long-term health outcomes." 48% of parents are "concerned about serious adverse effects of vaccines." This poll answer on adverse events is slightly less than the number found in a recent study published in Pediatrics magazine that found that 54% of parents are concerned about serious adverse effects (http://tinyurl.com/2dmx63q). 42% of parents agree that "all children should receive 69 doses of 16 vaccines before age 18, as recommended by the federal government."

These parental views are broadly consistent across gender, age, income, number of children, educational levels and regions of the country. Notably, older parents, aged 35 and above (57%), are significantly more likely than their younger peers (47%) to agree that the pharmaceutical industry has undue influence on vaccine mandates. Single parents are more likely to agree than parents in two-parent families across the range of vaccination questions, perhaps reflecting their greater vulnerability to the risks from vaccination adverse events.

"These poll data should be a wake-up call to the government and the media that a majority of American parents believe that parents, not the state, should decide when and whether to vaccinate their children," said Mary Holland, co-founder of the Center for Personal Rights.

The American Rally for Personal Rights in downtown Chicago on May 26 www.americanpersonalrights.org reinforces what the Harris poll shows - that parents are concerned about how the government's vaccine policy may be affecting their kids, according to rally organizer, Louise Kuo Habakus. "Parents who question vaccine mandates and vaccine safety are routinely marginalized or depicted as fringe in the mainstream media, but this Harris poll proves just the opposite. This poll shows that the majority of American parents believe that parents, not government, should make these decisions; that we need more science and that pharma has undue influence."

Information on Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between May 5-11, 2010 among 1,144 parents of children age 17 years or younger by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Center for Personal Rights, Inc. via its ParentQuery omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, household income, and age of children in household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the parent population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

For poll results and complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, see the 78-page full statistical report available at http://tinyurl.com/2da43dr or contact Kitty Kurth at 312-617-7288. For information on the May 26th rally, contact Louise Kuo Habakus at 917-553-4634 or louise@americanpersonalrights.org.

Contact: Cheri Jacobus 202-547-7358 CheriJacobus@aol.com

SOURCE Center for Personal Rights, Inc.
Copyright 2009 PR Newswire All rights reserved.

via forbes.com

Posted via web from NJCVC's posterous

Majority Support Parental Vaccination Choice According To New Harris Poll

Edison NJ Rally For Personal Rights (Press Release) Please SHARE!

NEW JERSEY COALITION FOR VACCINATION CHOICE

EDISON, NJ RALLY FOR PERSONAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Edison, NJ - Three leading members of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (NJCVC) will represent the organization at the American Rally for Personal Rights (ARPR) in Grant Park, Chicago on May 26, 2010. The ARPR, sponsored by the Center for Personal Rights, is featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Andrew Wakefield among other headliners, in this health freedom event.    http://americanpersonalrights.org

The NJCVC will broadcast a Live Satellite Rally from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison, New Jersey for area residents, beginning at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, May 26^th.   http://njvaccinationchoice.org

 

“Vaccination choice is a personal rights issue, not just a healthcare issue.  We want to send a message to Governor Christie and the people of New Jersey, that the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice plans to remain in the forefront of these issues. Governor Christie made a campaign promise to give parents more involvement in vaccination decisions for their children. He promised to give parents of autistic children a ‘seat at the table,’ and we are prepared to hold him accountable to fulfill that promise,” said Maureen Drummond, a founding member and co-director of the NJCVC.

The rally will kick-off the National AutismOne Conference taking place at the Westin O’Hare in Chicago which runs from Thursday May 27th until Sunday May 30^th.

The NJCVC is among dozens of supporting organizations of the ARPR including Holistic Moms Network, Generation Rescue, Mothering Magazine, HomeFirst Health Services and the New York Liberty Council.

###

Posted via email from NJCVC's posterous

Edison NJ Rally For Personal Rights (Press Release) Please SHARE!

Dr. Andrew Wakefield Needs YOUR Support this Monday, May 24th @ 8AM - NB...

Dear All,

On Monday May 24th 2010 the GMC will convene to announce whether  Andrew Wakefield is to be struck off. In light of the improprieties of the Legal Services Commission and GMC, it is hoped that the panel in Wakefield's case will be discharged pending a full inquiry.

We will gather to support Andrew Wakefield at 8:00am in 30 Rockefeller Center on Monday, May 24, 2010 in front of the NBC Studios on 49th St. Between 5th and 6th Ave. Andrew Wakefield will be interviewed by Matt Lauer and immediately following Andrew Wakefield will join our gathering outside the studio.  Urgent attendance is requested and bring signs supporting Andrew Wakefield. PLEASE SEND TO ALL YOUR EMAIL LISTS!!

In 1998 Andrew Wakefield and 12 colleagues published a case series paper in the Lancet, describing bowel disease in twelve children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, a cautious article say the findings based on a study of 12 children did not prove for certain that there was an association between MMR-cited as the cause by the parent and the syndrome, but that further research should be carried out.

The significance of these finding has been overshadowed by a concerted systematic effort to discredit the work. This effort and an intense desire to subvert the inquiry into the issues of vaccine safety and legal redress for vaccine damage, has culminated in the longest running and most expensive fitness to practice case ever to come before the GMC.

Thank you to all!!!

NY Alliance for Vaccination Choice (NYAVC)

Posted via email from NJCVC's posterous

Dr. Andrew Wakefield Needs YOUR Support this Monday, May 24th @ 8AM - NB...

Today Show: Controversial autism doctor: ‘I’m not going away’

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Today Show: Controversial autism doctor: ‘I’m not going away’

American Rally for Personal Rights, NJ Satellite Rally on 5-26 @ Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison, NJ

Download now or preview on posterous

IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR YOU TO STAND UP.pdf (90 KB)

NJCVC supports the American Rally for Personal Rights live from Grant Park,

Chicago with a NEW JERSEY SATELLITE RALLY broadcasting simultaneously on

WEDNEDSAY, MAY 26, 2010

4 pm to 6 pm

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL in Edison NJ

See attached flyer for details

Posted via email from NJCVC's posterous

American Rally for Personal Rights, NJ Satellite Rally on 5-26 @ Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison, NJ

DISGRACING THE TRUTH and Other Matters Of Public Health

DISGRACING THE TRUTH and Other Matters Of Public Health

By: Maureen Drummond
New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice http://njvaccinationchoice.org
May, 2010

In a recent interview with Readerʼs Digest magazine regarding the H1N1 influenza pandemic and vaccine, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius stated:

“There are groups out there that [sic] insist that vaccines are responsible for a variety of problems, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. We (the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services) have reached out to media outlets to try to get them to NOT (my emphasis) to give the views of these people equal weight in their reporting...”

Imagine that! Instructions to the media from the government, not to give its citizens, full disclosure of the risks and harm they unwittingly accept each day with vaccination. This just begs the question, “What donʼt they want us to know and why don’t they want us to know it? I have to imagine public broadcasting’s recent airing made Secretary Sebelius quite proud!

On April 27th, PBS ran a Frontline piece called “The Vaccine Wars.” Frankly, I expected more from my viewer-supported television program. I fail to understand why every initiative the government engages in must be a “war.” A war on drugs. A war on terrorism. A war on disease. Forces of opposition never lend themselves to intelligent and open discussion, nor to peaceful and respectful resolution. The last thing we need is another war! What is urgent and necessary is an understanding and acceptance of the concerns of those who are cautious about excessive vaccination. And yes, 44 vaccines by the age of 6 is an excessive number of vaccinations!

The segment blatantly lacked any viable discussion about the actual products; the injectable substances composed of toxic, carcinogenic and pathogenic material. There was no discussion about what happens in the economy of the human immune system when these harmful substances are allowed direct access to the blood-brain barrier. While several children were pictured in the show suffering from the ravages of diseases like polio and whooping cough, there was no coverage of children injured by vaccination. No coverage of children in wheelchairs. No coverage of those wearing football helmets to prevent additional brain injury from the dozens if not, hundreds of daily seizures. No coverage of those on life support from vaccine injury. No coverage of an autistic child before vaccination and then, afterwards. Why not? Terrible things happen from vaccinations as well as from diseases. Secretary Sebelius has asked the media to silence these Truths so, I ask, “In whose best interest?”

“The Vaccine Wars” broadly painted thoughtful, intelligent, cautious parents as “anti-vaccine” and blamed them for any rise in so-called “vaccine-preventable diseases.” However this tainted and subjective segment neglected to mention that disease outbreaks occur in widely-vaccinated populations. In fact, during the most recent outbreak of mumps in NY and NJ, 88% of those infected had been vaccinated and 75% infected had been vaccinated twice. Why omitthat very critical bit of information? Routinely, the vaccination status of infected individuals is always omitted from media reports, unless of course, the individual is unvaccinated! Vaccinations fail to protectlarge portions of the population.

The perpetuated, misguided notion that diseases are “vaccine preventable” is solidly disputed in evidence when vaccinated people acquire the diseases they were allegedly “protected” against.

It is interesting to note the “experts” contributing to the segment in support of mass vaccination who monetarily profit from the sale of the vaccines. Dr. Paul Offit, a patent holder on Merckʼs Rotavirus vaccine, touted the benefits of his noxious nostrum but neither Frontline, nor Dr. Offit ever mentioned that the vaccine was pulled from the market after 13 children died from complications post-vaccination. No mention. Parents who subject their children to this vaccine have every right to know that the vaccine has previously claimed the lives of at least 13 babies! A risk any responsible parent would want to be made aware of, regardless of how small Dr. Offit claims it is. The vaccine was “reworked” and put back on the market. The FDA failed in its duty to provide safety oversight but rest assured now, the money-making, patent-holder claims it is safe.

Throughout the segment, the alleged experts made no haste in collectively drilling the same point:

Parents donʼt think vaccines are important because they are not old enough to remember how horrible diseases like polio and whooping cough were. They donʼt see the ravages of these diseases anymore.

Quite true. Whether or not that has anything to do with the vaccines is arguable. We no longer see scarlet fever, cholera and typhus but there were never any vaccines for those diseases. What we do see scares us even more-- the ravages of vaccine injury. Our federal government, through the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), recognizes the severity of vaccine injuries ranging from injection site soreness to death, yet there was no mention of this system or registry on the program-- as if it doesn’t exist at all.

Poor Rachel Murphy... gasping for air with an oxygen tube up her nose. The 6 week old had contracted whooping cough, too young to receive the DTP vaccine. Stressing the need for “herd immunity” to “protect” infants like Rachel Murphy, the vaccine advocates, in their infinite wisdom, claim that the vaccination was the only way to protect her and sadly, she was too young to have it. Iʼm guessing the science of passive immunity--antibody protection passed from mother to child through breast milk--is a thing of the past? Or perhaps it simply slipped their minds?

Why canʼt they just tell the Truth? Vaccination cannot guarantee immunity. Vaccines will harm a subset of the population for which there is no scientific model to pre-determine. Vaccine makers have no liability for their products because the government, not the underwriters for the pharmaceutical companies, insures the vaccines,. The manufacturers, however, still enjoy all of their staggering profits. Wouldnʼt every manufacturer across the nation like to enjoy the luxury of absolution from liability when their products maim and kill?

The lies and the deception over vaccination safety and efficacy have paved a well-travelled roadway called fear. We, the naysayers of excessive and mandatory vaccination, have approached the intersection of evidence and sensibility where we have decided to park for a spell and wait for that busload of Truthfulness to arrive. Itʼs not that we donʼt know what we are talking about, itʼs just that they donʼt like what we are saying. Seemingly, in preservation of some proprietary agendas they disgrace the Truth, silence our voices and discredit our work and our names. Shame on them! As American writer Flannery OʼConner said, and I believe her, “The Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it!”

DISGRACING THE TRUTH and Other Matters Of Public Health

Shame on PBS Frontline Show "The Vaccine War"

From Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP

April 28, 2010                                                    

Last night, PBS aired a show called "The Vaccine War." I was interviewed at great length and in great depth about vaccines and my point of view and expressed my ambivalence about the polarization of this issue and the need for more calm reasoned discussion about the number one question that new parents have. I told Kate McMahon, the co-producer of the show, that there was a large group of doctors and others who cannot be dismissed with the facile label "anti-vaccine" because we still give vaccines and see a place for them in the practice of medicine, but we do not agree with the current vaccine schedule nor the number of vaccines children receive all at one time.

A few days ago, Ms. McMahon emailed me to tell me that the decision had been made to omit my interview from the show. There would not be one word from me. She didn't tell me that she had also omitted 100% of Dr. Robert Sears' interview. And that any other comments from physicians supporting the parents on the show in their ambivalence about vaccines or their decision to refuse all vaccines would also be omitted.

She left this as a show with many doctors commenting very negatively, very frighteningly and often disdainfully and dismissively about vaccine "hesitation" as they called it.

Below is my email response to Kate McMahon.

Dear Kate,

The "Frontline" show was disgraceful. You didn't even have the courtesy to put my interview or any part of the two hours we spent taping on your web site.

You created a pseudo-documentary with a preconceived set of conclusions: "Irresponsible moms against science" was an easy takeaway from the show.

Did you happen to notice that Vanessa, the child critically ill with pertussis, was not intubated nor on a respirator in the ER? She had nasal "prongs" delivering oxygen. I'm sorry for her parents' anxiety and very happy that she was cured of pertussis. But to use anecdotal reports like this as science is irresponsible and merely served the needs of the doctor you wanted to feature.

No one pursued Dr. Offit's response about becoming rich from the vaccine he invented. He was allowed to slide right by that question without any follow up. Dr. Paul Offit did not go into vaccine research to get rich. He is a scientist motivated by his desire to help children. But his profiting tens of millions of dollars from the creation of this vaccine and the pursuit of sales of this and other vaccines is definitely not what he says it is. His many millions "don't matter" he says. And you let it go.

Jenny McCarthy resumed being a "former Playboy" person and was not acknowledged as a successful author, actress and mother exploring every possible avenue to treating her own son and the children of tens of thousands of other families.

I trusted you by giving you two or three hours of my time for an interview and multiple background discussions. I expressed my heartfelt reservations about both vaccines and the polarizing of this issue into "pro-vaccine" and "anti-vaccine" camps. I told you that there was at least a third "camp." There are many doctors and even more parents who would like a more judicious approach to immunization. Give vaccines later, slower and with an individualized approach as we do in every other area of medicine.

What did you create instead?

"The Vaccine War."

A war. Not a discussion or a disagreement over facts and opinions, but a war. This show was unintelligent, dangerous and completely lacking in the balance that you promised me--and your viewers--when you produced and advertised this piece of biased unscientific journalism. "Tabloid journalism" I believe is the epithet often used. Even a good tabloid journalist could see through the screed you've presented.

You interviewed me, you spent hours with Dr. Robert Sears of the deservedly-illustrious Sears family and you spoke to other doctors who support parents in their desire to find out what went wrong and why it's going wrong and what we might do to prevent this true epidemic.

Not a measles epidemic, not whooping cough. Autism. An epidemic caused by environmental triggers acting on genetic predisposition. The science is there and the evidence of harm is there. Proof will come over the next decade. The National Children's Study will, perhaps by accident, become a prospective look at many children with and without vaccines. But we don't have time to wait for the results of this twenty-one year research study: We know that certain pesticides cause cancer and we know that flame retardants in children's pajamas are dangerous. We are cleaning up our air and water slowly and parents know which paint to buy and which to leave on the shelves when they paint their babies' bedrooms.

The information parents and doctors don't have is contained in the huge question mark about the number of vaccines, the way we vaccinate and the dramatic increase in autism, ADD/ADHD, childhood depression and more. We pretend to have proof of harm or proof of no harm when what we really have is a large series of very important unanswered questions.

In case you were wondering, as I practice pediatrics every day of my career, I base nothing I do on Dr. Wakefield's research or on Jenny McCarthy's opinions. I respect what they both have done and respectfully disagree with them at times. I don't think that Dr. Wakefield's study proved anything except that we need to look harder at his hypothesis. I don't think that Jenny McCarthy has all the answers to treating or preventing autism, but there are tens of thousands of parents who have long needed her strong high-profile voice to draw attention to their families' needs: Most families with autism get inadequate reimbursement for their huge annual expenses and very little respect from the insurance industry, the government or the medical community. Jenny has demanded that a brighter light be shone on their circumstances, their frustration and their needs.

I base everything I do on my reading of CDC and World Health Organization statistics about disease incidence in the United States and elsewhere. I base everything I do on having spent the past thirty years in pediatric practice watching tens of thousands of children get vaccines, not get vaccines and the differences I see.

Vaccines change children.

Most experts would argue that the changes are unequivocally good. My experience and three decades of observation and study tell me otherwise. Vaccines are neither all good--as this biased, miserable PBS treacle would have you believe--nor all bad as the strident anti-vaccine camp argues.

You say the decisions to edit 100% of my interview from your show (and omit my comments from your website) "were purely based on what's best for the show, not personal or political, and the others who didn't make it came from both sides of the vaccine debate." You are not telling the truth. You had a point to prove and removed material from your show which made the narrative balanced. "Distraught, confused moms against important, well-spoken calm doctors" was your narrative with a deep sure voice to, literally, narrate the entire artifice.

You should be ashamed of yourself, Kate. You knew what you put on the air was slanted and you cheated the viewers out of an opportunity for education and information. You cheated me out of hours of time, betrayed my trust and then you wasted an hour of PBS airtime. Shame on you.

The way vaccines are manufactured and administered right now in 2010 makes vaccines and their ingredients part of the group of toxins which have led to a huge increase in childhood diseases including autism. Your show made parents' decisions harder and did nothing except regurgitate old news.

Parents and children deserve far better from PBS.

Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP

http://www.drjaygordon.com

                                               

Posted via email from NJCVC's posterous

Shame on PBS Frontline Show "The Vaccine War"