The Truth About MMR
Andrew Wakefield, the gastroenterologist who first discovered a link between the MMR vaccine, crohn’s disease and autism, recently went before the General Medical Council (GMC) accused of professional misconduct for daring to suggest that there is anything wrong with vaccination.
At the same time, GP Jayne Donegan, who gave evidence in support of two mothers who did not wish their children to be vaccinated, came under fire from the GMC for her unorthodox views. She is accused of giving false information. Both doctors’ careers are at risk. This approach has only served to heighten public concern as many wonder why the DOH refuse to look at any opposing evidence or have a rational discussion of the issues. If a person had an allergic reaction to paracetamol, this would be accepted. So are the dangers of mercury fillings, which are now not recommended for pregnant women. When it comes to vaccines, however, it is a sacred cow that no one is allowed to question.
Do we even need a vaccine?
Before I explore whether the MMR is safe, let’s look at whether we even need a vaccine for measles. Measles in healthy, well nourished children who weren’t medicated is usually a mild illness. In 1967, Christine Miller from the National Institute for Medical Research, London, published a paper on measles, stating: ‘Measles is now the commonest infectious disease of childhood in the UK. It occurs in epidemics in which the total number of cases usually exceeds half a million…there is no doubt that most cases in England today are mild, only last for a short period, are not followed by complications and are rarely fatal.’
Also in the Practitioner, November 1967: ‘some physicians consider that measles is so mild a complaint that a major effort at prevention is not justified.’
The Medical Importance of Measles, a 1962 paper in the American Journal of Diseases in Childhood, read:
‘During the past 40 years the ecological approach to disease has become a basic concept of epidemiology. Among all diseases measles has stood as the classic example of successful parasitism. This self-limiting infection of short duration, moderate severity, and low fatality has maintained a remarkably stable biological balance over the centuries. Those epidemiologists, and there are many, who tend to revere the biological balance have long argued that the ecological equilibrium of measles is solidly based, that it cannot readily be disrupted, and that therefore we must learn to live with this parasite rather than hope to eradicate it.’
(Am J Dis Child. 1962;103(3):224-226. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1962.02080020236005 – ABSTRACT )
After the measles vaccine was introduced in the early 60’s in the US and 1968 in the UK – followed by the MMR in 1988, the disease suddenly became more serious. According to the BMA Complete Family Medical Encyclopaedia, 1995: ‘measles is a potentially dangerous viral illness…prevention of measles is important because it can have rare but serious complications…it is sometimes fatal in children with impaired immunity.’
Clearly, you can see vaccine marketing techniques at play here.
Lies
According to the DOH, in their book ‘Immunisation Against Infectious Diseases’,‘Before 1988 (when the MMR was introduced) more than half the acute measles deaths occurred in previously healthy children who had not been immunised.’ They quote the study C L MILLER. Deaths from measles in England and Wales, 1970-83. British Medical Journal, Vol 290, 9 February 1985, but if you actually read this study (which they are relying on parents not doing), you will find it actually says:
‘No attempt was made to establish further clinical details, vaccination history, or social class.’ – i.e. they didn’t know the vaccine status of the individuals. And: ‘90% of deaths in those previously normal occurred in those over the age of 15 months, when the vaccines are usually given’. These children were probably vaccinated prior to dying of measles as they were of vaccination age.
Nearly half the children who died were ‘grossly physically or mentally abnormal or both. The pre-existing conditions in the 126 previously abnormal individuals included cerebral palsy (24), mental retardation (20), Down’s syndrome (19) and various congenital abnormalities (22). There were nine children with immune deficiency or immunosuppression, and 19 aged 2-8 with lymphatic leukaemia, a number of them in remission.’
(Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). Feb 9, 1985; 290(6466): 443–444).
