David Kirby, the author of the Huffington post article is a known anti-vaccine supporter, just like Jenny McCarthy and Andrew Wakefield. I hope you went beyond reading the article penned by David Kirby and did a search on the case of both Ryan Mojabi and Emily Lowrie, the children mentioned in the article. There are many articles available that provide further insight with regards to the 2 cases. In the case of Emily Lowrie, an article cited that she was actually found to have periventricular leukomalacia, a congenital condition (congenital means present at birth) and is said to be a risk factor for developing ASD. Ryan Mojabi was also said to be examined by doctors in Iran where he went after getting vaccinated and several other doctors/specialists in the US and was found not to have ASD. It is possible that he developed encephalitis, but that it is not linked to ASD.
Were there vaccines linked to encephalopathy? Yes. Several years ago, the whole cell pertussis component of DTwP was linked to febrile seizures, irritability and encephalopathy which is why the acellular component was developed. The acellular component of pertussis is the one found in most 5 in 1 and 6 in 1 vaccines.
The risk of getting encephalopathy from vaccines is rare compared to getting encephalitis from an actual viral infection. In fact, vaccines are given to decrease the risk of complications such as encephalopathy/encephalitis. If a child less than 1 year of age developed measles, there is a high chance he might get Subacute sclerosing encephalitis or SSPE. This disease shows up later in life (around 7 to 8 years of age) with development progression later leading to debilitation. There are also a lot of cases of varicella or chickenpox infection leading to encephalitis later on.
These are the single or mono vaccines available:
BCG
Hepatitis B
Tetanus toxoid
Polio
Rotavirus
Pneumococcal vaccine
Measles
Hepatitis A
Varicella vaccine
Typhoid
Meningococcal vaccine
H. Influenza type B vaccine
Influenza vaccine
Combination vaccines include:
Measles - Rubella vaccine (MR) the one given at the health centers at 9 months
Measles - mumps - rubella vaccines (12 to 15 months and 4 to 6 years of age)
Measles - Mumps - Rubella - varicella
Diphtheria - pertussis - tetanus vaccine
Diphtheria - pertussis - tetanus - h. influenza type b - polio vaccine (5 in 1 vaccine)
Diphtheria - pertussis - tetanus - h. influenza type b - polio - hepatitis b vaccine (6 in 1 vaccine)
Diptheria - pertussis - tetanus - h. influenza type b - hepatitis b vaccine (the 5 in given at local health centers)
Diphtheria - pertussis - tetanus - polio vaccine (4 in 1 vaccine that may be given as the 2nd booster at 4 to 6 years of age)
If you give only mono vaccines, then how about protection against rubella and mumps? How about the DPT? It has long been proven that combination vaccines do not lead to more side effects or risk compared to mono vaccines. Even the local health centers who give the government recommended vaccines have been giving 5 in 1 vaccines and MR vaccines for the past 2 years now. These vaccines are provided by the World Health Organization.
With regards to those who are saying that vaccines should be given at a later age of life when the immune system is more developed, it is precisely the fact that the child still has a developing immune system and needs help with protection against diseases as to why they need vaccines at a particular age. Age recommendations are based on when the maternal antibodies start to wane or disappear. Antibodies for pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, h. influenza type b, rotavirus, polio and pneumococcal infections disappear fast or are poorly transferred during pregnancy which is why it is recommended that the 1st dose should be given by 6 to 8 weeks of age. The 3 primary doses should be completed by 6 months of age because it is at this time when maternal antibodies are very low. Haven't you noticed that at 6 month of age, your baby gets more sickly? This period of low antibody protection usually last until 2 years of age which is why it is very important that primary doses are completed before maternal antibodies disappear. There is immunologic basis for the need for vaccines at this age and not at a later age. For your information, the immune system only gets fully developed at 7 years of age. That is also the reason why previously sickly kids get better by age 7.
It takes several years for vaccine development. It goes through 4 phases of research and there is also post vaccine surveillance. If it was just that easy to release a vaccine, then we would have vaccines against malaria, dengue, SARS, MERS, ebola, etc by now. The dengue vaccine has been on its' last phase for the past few years. It has been 15 years since they started to develop it.
Andrew Wakefield, the one who started the anti-vaccine movement was found to have falsified results in his MMR - autism study which was why he was stripped of his license in the UK. He also had conflict of interest during the study because he was developing a mono - measles vaccine at the time he was doing his MMR - autism study. He was against MMR because it would go against his own Measles vaccine.
http://www.upworthy.com/16-years-ago-a-doctor-published-a-study-it-was-completely-made-up-and-it-made-us-all-sicker?g=4&fb_ref=DefaultI agree that parents should be informed about vaccination but please do proper research. Go to the CDC and ACIP websites. Do not depend on testimonial evidence. Know the background of the authors. Do not be afraid to discuss your fears/qualms with your pedias. Report side effects such as fever and irritability. Be upfront about family history, especially cases of epilepsy, neurological conditions, etc. Prepare for your pedia appointments. Ask for the box and insert of the vaccines so you can read up on the vaccine being given to your baby.
Vaccines prevent diseases. It saves lives. Our aim is to eradicate disease. Have we not learned anything from the recent measles outbreak?
It is good that a lot of schools are getting pro-active about vaccination and asking for a list of immunizations prior to school entry.