Welcome back to Vaccines & Beyond (what you'll find here)

From time to time, the unresolved and complicated questions swirling around the impact of vaccine medical choices are triggered. When this happens...

Many people fall into remembering and repeating what they've heard before.
Many people jump on a familiar bandwagon & start swinging before they start thinking.
Many people injure their relationships with others in their community.

And really, much to most of this is unnecessary and unhelpful. If you have come to our blog...

Chances are, you're looking for a better way to talk about this important topic.
Chances are, you're a reporter and are researching your next story.
Chances are, you're surprised to hear someone discuss this topic in a calm & interested way.

Because, that's what Karen and I are. Interested. In fact, we find vaccine medicine to be utterly fascinating! This topic touches upon many vitally important sub-topics or related topics, such as:

Informed consent & medical ethics
Adult bullying
Understanding statistics & recognizing bias
Communication issues in social media forums
Liberty, power & history
Scientific thinking vs belief-based thinking
Propaganda, education & limited Resources
Western medicine, eastern medicine, emergency medicine, preventative medicine
The role of laws, regulations & court rulings
Efforts to silence the minority voice & the dangers of majority thinking

And the list goes on. So, welcome to our blog. Most of our posts reflect current information, but we have taken a step back since this past Summer. If there is a topic you have questions about, ask! We will get back to you as soon as we can. This means, we'll need to find time in our busy lives AND we'll need to do significant research to ensure we trust our answers. It might take a few days or a week.

Until then, let the angry words flow past you like the wind. Choose your own words to grow relationships, not stunt them. And remember that there is always more to learn.

~March & Karen

Vaccines, Vashon Island & March in the News...

Hello all!

Updated news about the current conversations around vaccine medicine...coming to you from me, March Twisdale. I spoke with Nina Shapiro of Seattle Weekly earlier in the week...and I was interviewed by King 5 News today.

Watch here: http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2015/02/11/vashon-island-measles-immunization-vaccination/23263843/

Overall, excellent conversations around the various issues that come up around Vaccine Medicine.

Also talking with The Seattle Times on Thursday and another journalist is interviewing both Karen and I for a magazine that discusses issues important to medical doctors...that's on Wednesday.  (Karen is a lovely interview candidate, but news agencies seem to like to focus on Vashon Island, so she gets less calls...wish they delved into her mind a bit more often!)

A busy week, all told! 

So...you might be wondering... 

WHAT do I focus on, when being interviewed?

(1) How trust is lost when people in positions of authority simplify a complex subject and get "caught" in the lie. (This can happen at either end of the spectrum.)
(2) The importance of acknowledging the growing epidemic of neurological conditions, auto-immune conditions, and other chronic illnesses, including - but most definitely not limited to - Autism Spectrum Disorder. Given the increase in these conditions, overall parental concerns deserve our respect.
(3) The validity of being concerned about "environmental factors" with regard to this epidemic. We go to great lengths to discourage tuna & alcohol for pregnant women, smoking in homes with children, washing fruits & vegetables to decrease pesticide residues, etc. But, for some reason, we don't validate concerns about the increased number of vaccines being injected into newborns and very young children who are still developing both their brains and their immune system. Why?
(4) Focusing our attention on HOW people make their decisions rather than WHAT they decide, because our thinking process matters. Whether you inherently question everything or prefer to delegate to an authority figure or simply believe what your trusted childhood doctor told you...how we arrive at a decision matters.
(5) The negative impact of polarization, including "birds of a feather flocking together," which results in people being offered consistently re-affirming information for their particular perspective. This lack of diversity reduces our ability to grow and evolve in our understanding, etc.
(6) Bringing the focus back to SCIENCE. When I was asked, "why do you think people on Vashon believe as they do?" I corrected the question, saying we shouldn't assume that people act upon a "belief." People are making a "choice" and the question is, "what has led to their decision?"

Remember...vaccine science is science, and that means

questions are always a good idea!

NOTE: this post is written by March about her week's experiences and has not

been co-written with Karen Crisalli Winter. As such, March is solely responsible

for the content of this post.

UC Davis Autism Phenome Project (Wow!)

Direct Link Here:
https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/research/app/

Mainstream media often either neglects or mangles the newest scientific discoveries and experiments.  Here's one we thought might interest you.  As always, we encourage you to do four things:

(1)  Go straight to the source, read the whole study, and interpret the significance of the results for yourself. Headlines can be misleading. Even our headlines!

(2)  Consider what effects, if any, this new knowledge might have on your life and decisions.

(3)  Share this study with people you think might be interested through Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and printed copies. 

(4)  Treat everyone with courtesy, even if you disagree with their opinions or decisions.

Science Evolves.

Informed Consent Matters.

Maternal Exposure to Farm Chemicals Linked to Autism by UC Davis

Here's the link:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/maternal-exposure-farm-pesticides-linked-autism-offspring

Mainstream media often either neglects or mangles the newest science discoveries and experiments.  Here's one we thought might interest you.  As always, we encourage you to do four things:

(1)  Go straight to the source, read the whole study, and interpret the significance of the results for yourself.  Headlines can be misleading.  Even our headlines!

(2)  Consider what effects, if any, this new knowledge might have on your life and decisions.

(3)  Share this study with people you think might be interested through Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and printed copies. 

(4)  Treat everyone with courtesy, even if you disagree with their opinions or decisions.

Science Evolves.

Informed Consent Matters.

Fact-Checking Mercury - Post #3

In Fact-Checking Mercury #2, we ended with a question:

"Do people vary in their ability to excrete heavy metals?"

The answer is: YES.

There is some interesting research being done around variations in the genes for MTHFR, MTRR, and MTR. It appears that there are specific genetic differences that impact many aspects of human biochemistry, including the ability to excrete heavy metals. Two people may be exposed to the exact same dose of mercury and have completely different responses. One may dump that mercury out of their system easily and quickly. The other may hold onto it for years. As the toxic load in our environment becomes higher and higher, this variation may become more and more significant in terms of individual health.

The research on this is new, ongoing, and very confusing. Science changes. Stay on top of the current research to learn more. Be forewarned: much of the information about this issue is either oversimplified hype or detailed genetic analysis from the Human Genome Project that is really difficult to read. Research with caution.

A nice summary of the issue can be found here: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mthfr/
Information from a more reliable source can be found here: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MTHFR 

Fact-Checking Mercury - Post #2

Last post, we left you with the question, "What is Thimerosal anyway?"

Here's some information that will shed light on this question...

What is thimerosal?

Thimerosal is a preservative that is used in many medications, including vaccines. It's popular because it is one of the few preservatives that can be used in a medication without altering the effect of the medication. It is approximately 50% mercury by weight. The human body breaks it down into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. 

The problem is that no one really seems to know what the biological effects of these two breakdown products are upon the human body, or if they're consistent between different human beings.

Until quite recently, there was very little research done on ethyl mercury. Most of the research has been focused on methyl mercury. All initial safety research on thimerosal was based on that methyl mercury, since it is so similar. All current research indicates that ethyl mercury is less toxic than methyl mercury and more easily excreted from the body. And then there's thiosalicylate. The chemical name for asprin is acetylsalicylic acid. It's been noted for some time that certain individuals are allergic to asprin. 

More recently, there's been research indicating that certain individuals are allergic or sensitive to all salicylates, including ones normally occurring in food. As far as I can tell, however, no one has done much research into whether the thiosalicylate created in the breakdown of thimerosal can be problematic for those sensitive to salicylates. 

Please remember that science changes and the information in this section is based on a very brief survey of easily located research. If you are interested in the metabolism of thimerosal, the excretion of the breakdown products, and the variability between individuals in these areas, I strongly keeping up to date on the current research. There's an extraordinary amount of work being done in this area right now.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696737/

Why do we need preservatives in vaccines?

In 1928, a diphtheria vaccine was being distributed from a multi-dose vial. (This means that there is a bottle filled with the serum and you withdraw multiple doses from the bottle...allowing for possible contamination when the needle is inserted into the bottle). The first 21 vaccinations were given without problems. At that point, the vaccine became contaminated with staph bacteria. Of the next 21 vaccinations from that vial, 11 children died from staph infections. Preservatives were added to multi-dose vials to prevent a repeat of that tragedy.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696737/

Is thimerosal still in vaccines? What about other pharmaceuticals?

Preservatives are not required in single-dose vials of vaccines, since there is no opportunity for the vaccine to become contaminated. Single-dose vials of vaccines are slightly more expensive to manufacture, however. In 2000, after increasing concern about thimerosal, the US began eliminating multi-dose vials of vaccines (and the thimerosal) from vaccines. Most vaccines these days are distributed from single-dose vials, especially the ones intended for children. The injectable flu vaccines are offered in multi-dose or single-dose vials. The multi-dose vials are cheaper. The single-dose vials have no thimerosal in them, but are slightly more expensive.

If you're sensitive to (or concerned about) thimerosal, please remember to check other pharmaceutical products besides vaccines. This preservative is found in many brands of eye drops and nasal sprays.

Source: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228

So, if all children get basically the same vaccine, with the same ingredients, and their reactions vary...what might be causing this? Well, in such a scenario, the only variables appears to be either (1) the batch of the vaccine (yes, batches can be different, just like all pharmaceutical drugs - and recalls do happen on occasion) or (2) the children themselves. 

Next post, we will address variability in how humans excrete heavy metals.

Fact-Checking Mercury - Post #1

We've all heard a lot about mercury 

over the past few decades. From its 

accumulation in seafood to air pollution

to vaccines...mercury is an oft-talked about 

subject. But, what do we really know?

This is the 1st of 4 segments which we will

offer, once a week, in hopes of bringing 

you and those you care about, some useful intel

on the subject. And please, if you have something 

to add, offer a comment. Let us all learn together.

So...what is mercury, anyway?

Mercury is a naturally occurring metal element with interesting properties. In its pure form, it is a magical-looking liquid metal, also called quicksilver. It can also react with various other elements to form stable compounds. These compounds are grouped into 3 classifications: elemental mercury, inorganic mercury compounds (primarily mercuric chloride), and organic mercury compounds (primarily methyl mercury).

Source: Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/mercury.html

What are the symptoms of mercury poisoning?

All forms of mercury are quite toxic, and each form exhibits different health effects.

Acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of elemental mercury in humans results in central nervous system (CNS) effects such as tremors, mood changes, and slowed sensory and motor nerve function.  Chronic (long-term) exposure to elemental mercury in humans also affects the CNS, with effects such as erethism (increased excitability), irritability, excessive shyness, and tremors.  Human studies are inconclusive regarding elemental mercury and cancer.

Acute exposure to inorganic mercury by the oral route may result in effects such as nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain.  The major effect from chronic exposure to inorganic mercury is kidney damage. Animal studies have reported effects such as alterations in testicular tissue, increased resorption rates, and abnormalities of development. Mercuric chloride (an inorganic mercury compound) exposure has been shown to result in forestomach, thyroid, and renal tumors in experimental animals.

Acute exposure of humans to very high levels of methyl mercury results in CNS effects such as blindness, deafness, and impaired level of consciousness. Chronic exposure to methyl mercury in humans also affects the CNS with symptoms such as paresthesia (a sensation of pricking on the skin), blurred vision, malaise, speech difficulties, and constriction of the visual field. 

Methyl mercury exposure, via the oral route, has led to significant developmental effects. Infants born to women who ingested high levels of methyl mercury exhibited mental retardation, ataxia, constriction of the visual field, blindness, and cerebral palsy. “

Source: Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/mercury.html

So...now that we have a small sense of what mercury is, or can be, 

and the kinds of damage it can inflict on living creatures...tune in 

next week for our post about common sources of mercury and an 

answer to the question: "What is Thimerosal?"