Vaccination: Is It Always a Good Thing?
“Science is at once the most questioning and . . . sceptical of activities and also the most trusting…It is intensely sceptical about the possibility of error, but totally trusting about the possibility of fraud.” (Schechter et al. FASEB J1989;3:206-17)
This quote by the former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine can be found at the beginning of a January 2011 article by three editors from the British Medical Journal stating that the 1998 Wakefield article alleging a link between the MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent. It was big news and many still struggle with the implications–after all, it took over 12 years for the paper to be withdrawn.
What are the lessons we can learn from this scandal? First, peer-reviewed papers are not always right. And, according to this article, if one questions a new and interesting paper, being believed is an uphill battle. Second, scientific error, whether as a result of fraud or genuine misunderstanding, is costly. Some parents still do not allow their children to be vaccinated, even though the annual death rate from measles prior to development of this vaccine exceeded 5000/year in the USA alone. Mumps and rubella are not terribly dangerous diseases, but have serious repercussions for post-adolescent boys and pregnant ladies, respectively. Finally, it is always good to assess the validity of a scientific claim. In this case, Dr. Wakefield appears to have been seduced by the prospect of money and revenge (he was involved in a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the vaccine) and his paper contained elaborate fraud.
But, it is equally important to realize that the fact that this paper did not show a link between MMR and autism, does not mean that all vaccines are safe nor even that administration is advisable. After all, it is not impossible that a pharmaceutical company might cover data that jeopardizes their profit margin and caution is always to be advised. When the government mandates that the population receive the vaccine, the potential conflicts of interest are obvious.
Take, for example, the cases of the Hepatitis B and Gardasil vaccines. Hepatitis B is transmitted by sexual contact and IV drug abuse; the vaccine is currently administered to newborns, even though very few of them engage in risky behavior! According to Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, MD, ”The idea of giving this vaccine to a one-day old baby, a newborn, is preposterous. There is no scientific evidence for this. In fact, I called up the manufacturer and I had (a representative) come to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, where I am Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and I asked
him: ‘Show me your evidence on one-day old infants as to side effects (from the hepatitis B vaccine)’ — we have none. Our studies were done on 5 and 10 year olds.”
Gardasil is also touted to protect against a sexually transmitted disease (Human Papilloma Virus or HPV) and is offered to preadolescent children. But what is less commonly known is that it only protects against only 70% of virus-induced cervical cancer. In addition, over 90% of people get over the HPV virus on their own. So, does Gardasil make a discernible difference in reducing cervical cancer in the population? A rough estimate based on the above statistics indicates that it may not. A scientist working on Gardasil privately informed me that he/she believes that the vaccine’s main purpose is to be a cash cow for Merck. He/she does not believe that it is of significant value to the population who is paying for it–and Merck pays his/her salary!
What is the general population to do? We are being told that more and more vaccinations are necessary, but are they? What are the health repercussions of injecting ourselves and our children with these substances? What are the risks of not doing so? These are questions that must be answered–and, unfortunately, leaving responsibility to think about them to the experts does not appear to be advisable. The merits of vaccination against deadly and contagious illnesses like whooping cough, diptheria and polio are obvious; the long term benefit of vaccination of all against sexually transmitted diseases or mild childhood ailments are less so.