As tools to build immunity to specific diseases, vaccinations are an important tool in the healthcare arsenal. However, vaccines are also capable of doing greater damage than the diseases they are intended to prevent. Since 1986, the US government has had to pay over $3 billion to vaccine-injured families. That year Congress established the Office of Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (known informally as the Vaccine Court) and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Congress also gave pharmaceutical companies legal immunity. This means U.S. citizens cannot sue a pharmaceutical company directly for vaccine-related damages. You must hire an attorney and fight tax-funded government attorneys, and this process can take years to reach a settlement.
The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), lists several negative outcomes of vaccines. VAERS reports on new and upcoming vaccines including MMR, varicella zoster, influenza, hepatitis B, meningococcal and tetanus that “are linked to anaphylaxis.” Anaphylaxis shock can lead to sudden death. Many of these cases are underreported, or filed as some other cause, i.e. sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The American College of Pediatricians recently came across possible links between the Gardasil vaccine, a four-strain human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4), and premature ovarian failure (POF) in adolescent girls due to ovarian toxicity. Vaccinations are also speculated to be a contributing factor in the rise of autism spectrum diagnoses. While the autism debate rages on, the US Vaccine Court has awarded several families large cash settlements after confirming that their child likely became autistic because of vaccine use.
The number of required vaccinations in the U.S. has risen significantly over the past three decades. The state of California recently passed SB277, which mandates multiple vaccines for all children attending public and private K-12 schools.
We should be talking openly about these issues; to think critically about vaccines is not to be anti-vaccine.
Sources:
L.J. Devon, “If vaccines are safe, why has the US government paid out $3 BILLION to vaccineinjured families?” Natural News, March 1, 2015, http://www.naturalnews.com/048819_vaccine_injuries_autism_US_government.html
Danni Shanel, “Autism and Vaccines: University of British Columbia Defends the Freedom to Research,” The Ubyssey, March 23, 2015, http://ubyssey.ca/news/the-freedom-to-research-autism-vaccine-765
Dawn Richardson, “The Fallout from California SB 277: What Happens Next?,” National Vaccine Information Center Newsletter.” August 5, 2015, http://www.nvic.org/nvic-vaccine-news/august-2015/sb277-fallout-what-happens-next.aspx
“New Concerns about the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine,” American College of Pediatricians, January 2016, http://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/health-issues/new-concerns-about-the-human-papillomavirus-vaccine
Student Researchers: Brittany Oldham, Dorsa Abyaneh, and Emiko Osaka (San Francisco State University)
Faculty Evaluator: Kenn Burrows (San Francisco State University)