SOUTHERN UTAH – Michelle Turner’s 13-month-old son acted like other normal toddlers – he cruised around, talked and used utensils. And then Turner got her son his HIB vaccine.
“ … and I lost him,” Turner said.
Turner’s son could no longer walk, talk, eat or roll over.
“His regression was so severe that they [started] looking at muscular dystrophy and other neurological disorders,” she said. “My son had to go to the Foundation for Blind Children for preschool. By his fourth birthday, he was non-verbal and we had the following diagnoses of autism, mental retardation, cortical visual impairment and non-functioning immune system. Ten days before his fourth birthday we had the cause … “
Her son had Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and staph.
“He didn’t get the antibodies from his vaccine, he got the disease. The doctors weren’t looking for it because he was vaccinated,” she said.
Turner said she doesn’t advocate not vaccinating children, however. She believes polio and whooping cough are deadly and the vaccines are necessary. She does not, however, believe children need three to five vaccines at once.
According to ABC4 News, Utah ranks 35th in the nation for childhood immunization. Only 66.7 percent of children are immunized by the age of two. (See story here)
Rich Lake, from the Utah Department of Health, told ABC4 that the low numbers are partly due to parents researching the Internet and getting information that immunizations could cause autism or diabetes; something he said is not true.
Leslie Carr, Editor-in-Chief of The Doctor, said she hopes parents do more reading to understand the importance of immunizations.
“Frankly, I find it scary that parents are still thinking that vaccination carries a risk of autism,” Carr said. “That study has now been retracted for a long time. Similarly, if they are interested in reducing the risk of diabetes, better would be to omit junk food and processed carbs and soda.”
Esther Entin, M.D. wrote in TheDoctor that it is easy to lose sight of the need for immunizations since their success has prevented parents from experiencing the devastating effects of certain illnesses.
“As a result of vaccination programs, smallpox was eradicated in 1977 and polio was eradicated from the Americas in 1991,” Entin said. “There has been a significant decline in the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and children today are protected against many illnesses that their parents experienced. Despite these impressive benefits, parents are often concerned about the discomfort to their children and the possibility of serious side effects.”
When St. George News asked readers for their opinion, some readers disagreed that possible serious side effects were worth it.
“I don’t know when putting foreign and dangerous chemicals in [our] babies became a good thing,” said Sandi Burningham, a local mom and licensed professional counselor. “I’m not a fanatic and I do vaccinate my children for life-threatening illnesses but I draw the line there; I also wait until my children are older before vaccinating them. The Swine Flu vaccination has now been linked to numerous cases of narcolepsy and the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine has resulted in a number of deaths. ‘Big pharma’ is using scare tactics to make more money and they have so much money to lobby and make campaign contributions to politicians, that the politicians (via the CDC) are pushing the same scare tactics.”
“We have known for years that mercury and aluminum are potent neuro-toxins and yet they are still used as components in some vaccinations,” Burningham continued. “You’ve got to weigh the risks and the benefits of any medical procedure. I urge parents to get educated and make informed decisions … I am so grateful that I live in a country where I can make those decisions.”
Other readers, however, argued that the pros outweighed the cons.
“Growing up in a third world country I am very thankful for the immunizations and blessings they bring to my family,” a reader added.
Copyright 2011 St. George News. This material may not be published or rewritten without written consent.