We are now required to be vaccinated by our mattresses. With the July-07 flameproof mattress regulation the CPSC says we will absorb .8 mg Antimony (Arsenic) every night to protect us from a one in 1.111 million mattress fire risk.
Here are some key facts you will see in the highlights of the flawed government risk assessment justifying the regulation. http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/CPSC_Risk_Assessment_Selected_Pages_Highlighted_4.pdf
They excluded and did not study children under age five. A proper risk assessment always includes young children. This one should because even crib mattresses must be flameproof and now often contain both Boric Acid and Antimony. A European study proved Antimony leaches through vinyl on crib mattresses.
They studied only 3 of the 8 main chemicals used to flameproof mattresses.
They proved these three chemicals leach to the surface of mattresses and measured significant amounts of toxins contacting our bodies.
They made ridiculously low skin absorption assumptions of only 2/1,000"s for Antimony, 1/1,000"s for DBDPO, and 1/10,000"s for Boric Acid.
The risk assessment basically failed independent review.
The reviewer complained strongly they changed the rules of the "Child Sucking Test" and then did not even apply it to young children who the test was designed to protect.
The reviewer complained many times their assumptions of safe levels of toxin absorption do not agree with other agencies.
Indeed, what the CPSC assumes is safe is 320 times more for DBDPO, and 5,750 times more for Antimony, than what the EPA says is safe to absorb.
Even with low absorption assumptions the CPSC says we will absorb .8 mg Antimony every night. Even .8 mg is 27 times more than the EPA says is safe.
Proper assumptions of absorption rates and/or safe levels would have proven all three chemicals toxic, with their own calculations. In other words the government cheated to make this appear safe.
See more at Strobel"s blog http://poisonbeds.blogspot.com/ and a lot of detail with links to references at www.PeopleForCleanBeds.org
Over Medicated and Over-Vaccinated: The Unintended Consequences of Medicines Meant to Protect
Several important findings affecting our children's health were reported in the past few months. All of them raising questions about the unintended consequences of widely accepted medical treatments.
In September news reports about Prevnar, a vaccine developed to protect against pneumonia in children, along with the overuse of antibiotics, was "having the unfortunate effect of promoting new superbugs that cause ear infections" that are resistant to all antibiotic drugs approved for children.
A month later it was announced that once routinely recommended infant and cold medications were being immediately and voluntarily recalled by many of the country's largest drug companies because the products were being "misused leading to overdosing," particularly in children 2 years and younger. In addition, physicians and public health officials expressed concern that there were no studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the medications.
In responding to the recall, Dr. Steven Czinn, chair of the department of pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine stated, "In the 21st century, it is unacceptable to be marketing medication to infants and children that may not work."
Are they kidding me? "No studies demonstrating the effectiveness of these cold medications"? Don't we have a whole federal agency; the Food and Drug Administration, whose job it is to make sure drugs are safe and effective? If this data was available, why did it take 35 years to notify parents the medications they were giving their sick children may not work? Where is the evidence-based science that should have been here to prove safety and efficacy?
Just a few weeks ago another study called into question long prescribed vaccination recommendations and added more "fuel to the fire" in the on going controversy over our nation's immunization policies.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine [Nov. 8, 2007] the study, funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, suggests we may want to reevaluate and adjust our nation's current vaccination recommendations.
Scientists from the Oregon Health & Science University found many of the vaccines administered to millions of American's may be providing immunity longer than what was first believed, making the need for some booster shots unnecessary.
"Surprisingly, we found that immunity following vaccination with tetanus and diphtheria was much more long-lived than anyone realized, and that antibody responses following viral infections were essentially maintained for life," stated lead author Dr. Mark Slifka, a scientist at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute. The study also found similar longer than expected immunity for several other vaccines.
According to the study, "it [a booster shot] may just be unnecessary under certain circumstances."
Logically, this would make sense. After all, if vaccines are effective, one should not need another booster shot.
But our kids are getting a lot of booster shots...shots containing heavy metals and viruses. Shots that a growing number of parents, physicians and researchers believe could be contributing to the rise of chronic illnesses and developmental disorders affecting our children. If the booster shots are unnecessary because immunity is present, why expose our children to these toxins?
If this study found there has been no increase in diseases in countries that discontinued the booster shots, as was noted, why is the current policy of over vaccinating our children continuing? Where are the conflict-free studies that prove giving infants and children 49 immunizations - most of them by age 5, are safe and effective?
I'm also starting to think that we should follow the lead being set in veterinary medicine. Studies have provided evidence that the over-vaccination of dogs and cats can result in numerous maladies including cancer, skin and ear conditions, arthritis, allergies, diabetes, aggression, behavior problems and other immune system dysfunctions.
There is even a name for the conditions caused by animal over-vaccination, vaccinosis and it is note worthy to read what veterinarians' say about over-vaccinating our pets.
"Vaccinosis is the reaction from common inoculations (vaccines)...These reactions might take months or years to show up and will cause undue harm to future generations."
"In a general and frightening context, I see the overall health and longevity of animals deteriorating. The bodies of most animals have a tremendous capacity to detoxify poisons, but they do have a limit."
These statements made by seasoned animal health professionals have an eerie familiar ring to them. They bare a striking resemblance to what parents of children suffering from autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders have been claiming.
Why is it that veterinarians have a better appreciation of how over-vaccinating with shots containing various toxins and viruses might overload the immune system of the family pet but mainstream physicians can't quite wrap their arms around such a logical premise when it comes to our babies and young children? If vaccinosis can cause maladies in animals, isn't it possible that like animals, over-vaccinating our children might, not only be unnecessary, but may be contributing to the rising rates of chronic diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders affecting our children today?
It is also interesting to note that the mercury-containing preservative [thimerosal] used in vaccines for over 50 years was removed from animal vaccines back in 1992. Unfortunately for the kids, it remained in children's vaccines for another decade and remains in some vaccines like the influenza (25 micrograms) and tetanus vaccine (25 micrograms) today and in trace amounts (3 micrograms) in some immunizations.
Add this all up and there's still a lot of mercury being injected into our children.
What most people don't realize is that any liquid waste containing more than 200 parts per billion (ppb) mercury must be deposited at a hazardous waste site and that drinking water cannot exceed 2 ppb mercury. But when the influenza vaccines arrive and are injected into pregnant woman and infants as young as six months, those vaccines contain 50,000 ppb mercury. This is an amount that is 250 times higher than hazardous waste. According to EPA guidelines, this amount of mercury can only be considered safe if a person weighs 550 pounds. Even trace amounts of mercury in vaccines can be anywhere from 600 to 2000 ppb.
The CDC and The Institute for Vaccine Safety claim there are "no biological effects" from trace amounts (.3 micrograms) of mercury. So, where are the evidenced based (conflict free) studies that prove the safety of these "trace" amounts and proof that there are "no biological effects" of any amount of mercury being injected into our children and pregnant moms? Also, where are the evidence based studies proving the safety of vaccines given to pregnant moms and our children that contain other toxins such as aluminum and formaldehyde?
I do take issue with the NEJM study opinion that "over-vaccinating the population poses no health or safety concerns". Where is the hard data showing that giving vaccines, where immunity already exists... is not harmful?
Thimerosal has been proven to be a carcinogen, immunotoxic, genotoxic, nephrotoxic and neurotoxic. One study found thimerosal's lethal toxicity to developing human neurons below 1 part per billion (Parran et al., 2005). Another study concluded, "thimerosal...has been found not only to render its primary toxic effect, but also capable of changing the properties of cells. This fact suggests that the use of thimerosal for the preservation of medical biological preparations, especially those intended for children, is inadmissible." (Kravchenko et al., 1983).
These and many other studies would suggest over-vaccinating, certainly does pose some "health and safety concerns."
So here we have several recent findings that all contradict previously long held medical beliefs and raise more questions about the unintended consequences of overuse of some medications and over vaccinating and perhaps the over marketing of these treatments by pharmaceutical companies.
Far too often we are beginning to see physician prescribed drugs (like Vioxx and thalidomide) and vaccines (like the whole cell DPT and Rotovirus) thrust upon the public that are later found to be unsafe.
While physicians warn the public about the over use of antibiotics, it is the physicians themselves that over-prescribed these antibiotics for every ailment under the sun. And like antibiotics, every time a new vaccine was developed, it quickly found its way onto the immunization schedule along with the recommended booster shots. We are now reaping the unintended consequences of the overuse of these medical interventions. Instead of being healthier, we have a nation of very sick children.
Let's open our eyes to what appears obvious to doctors treating animals... we have allowed ourselves and our children to be overdosed through a culture dominated by drug company marketing influence which has now become dangerously out of control and detrimental to our children's health.
Comments for this post are now closed
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
"Logically, this would make sense. After all, if vaccines are effective, one should not need another booster shot."
What the hell kind of stupid "logic" is this? Immunity is maintained by cells in the body. These cells aren't immortal, they are constantly dying and being replaced. So this is about as "logical" as saying, "If the schooling my grandmother received was effective, then I shouldn't have to teach arithmetic to my daughter."
Perhaps the cells of the immune system effectively pass the immunity down through the thousands of generations of cells over the decades, perhaps they don't. "Logic" can't tell you the answer--the only way to know for sure is to actually do a study.
"The problem with overvaccination goes beyond mercury. There are other toxic ingredients (e.g., aluminum, formaldahyde, etc.), and there is also some concern about the mere act of giving so many, so early to children whose immune systems are not yet fully developed. "
Oh, goody. The old and dreaded antivax "formaldehyde" canard. Oooh, scary!
As always, the dose makes the poison. Formaldehyde at low levels is harmless. Indeed, it's everywhere. Indeed, children are probably exposed to far more formaldehyde from their environment than from every vaccine they ever get. It's in exhaust fumes; it's emitted from various kinds of clothing, plastics, and fabric softeners; it's even emitted from plywood and particle boards, carpets, and even some paper bags.
The amount of formaldehyde in vaccines is not a health hazard, as far as can be determined.
I'm not. WABC got rid of a far superior show, Curtis & Kuby, to make room for Don Imus. Never mind that C&K routinely trounced Imus in the ratings when he was still on the air in New York. Never mind that C&K was a far superior radio show.
As for Deirdre Imus' article, it's so clear that she only read the rather badly framed press release and not the study itself; so I dug up the actual study. Also, there are so many antivaccination canards there that the only way to deal with them is in a post:
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/11/america_the_overvaccinated.php
Somebody is putting something bad into our kids. I don't know that Deirde Imus has it right but I am sure she doesn't have it wrong. Someone is killing our kids and they need to stop.
Jim
Good article...
thanks
Thank you Deirde. I have heard that many pediatricans are going to start screening for autism which means they will be seeking out information. Raising awareness works. More and more new mothers are asking questions. I believe there is a link. My daughter had a flu shot during her last pregancy. She was sick until delivery. My grandson has autism. To quote Jenny McCarthy, "one size does not fit all" so for Gods sake if your going to vacinate your kids at least don't do it when they are sick. I heard the other day that a newborn got a hepititis B shot and afterwards wasn't doing so well. Its all about the money. I don't trust them.
After getting a round of vaccines - my great dane (weight 160 lbs) had an autoimmune response that dropped her platlets levels to dangerously low levels and almost killed her. The vet said no more vaccines for her, including rabies. The vets seems to know more than the peds.
well said. Now we need our officials and leaders to take notice and not allow our health choices and freedoms to be taken away from us.
Coming from the angle of an immunologist, I actually couldn't agree more that we aren't weighing the pros and cons (other then the financial ones) when considering the use of vaccines. Other than the preservatives and stabilizers used in vaccines, I am concerned that the way and frequency of the way the antigen is introduced to the immune system may not be the best way to go. It isn't the way the immune system would normally generate antibodies - there is no regulation through innate immunity to orchestrate the proper adaptive immune response when we inject things into the bloodstream with adjuvants. Could this lead to an oversensitivity to other inocuous antigens present simultaneously? Could it exacerbate a mild sensitivity by expanding immune cells that could lend themselves to develop into a full-blown autoimmune disorder or systematic allergy? Is that why we are seeing an unparalleled increase in childhood allergies from everything like peanuts to wheat? Don't blame the doctors - they are indoctrinated into believing that vaccines are equivalent to exercise when it comes to disease prevention - unfortunately, that is just a matter of miseducation and superb marketing.
Great article. I wonder who is watching what is actually in the vaccines and other drugs for purity and compliance? Could it be the same people who were checking the Vioxx pills?
How do we know how many bad batches have slipped through? Where are the recalls?
"...if vaccines are effective, one should not need another booster shot."
And if food was effective, one should not need to eat every day.
I agree with most of this, but I wanted to point out that your argument against thimerosal really weakens this whole article.
The units ppb, are similar to percentages, except divided by a billion instead of 100. Therefore, the number is irrelevant when you compare different volumes. For example:
Drinking water at 2 ppb mercury, if you drink 8, 8 oz glasses per day, 365 days a year you consume .000047 oz mercury per year, of course this doesn't include bathing, cleaning, cooking etc.
with the vaccine assuming it contains 1 oz (it's probably less) and you get it once a year, you would consume .00005 oz per year. So pretty much the same amount as you will drink over the year. I'm not saying it's good for you, but comparing it to toxic waste is a fear mongering and ignorant tactic.
For simplicity I assumed ppb is by volume, it is probably not, but the article did not specify that either. I assume the author did not intend to misinform, but simply does not understand the math behind these numbers.
Other than that, this is a good article. The pharmacutical companies interests do not align with our best interests and it is scary to think about.
In the best of worlds, this column - with comments pro and con - would be posted on bulletin boards in every preschool in America, as a good solid starting point for tired parents who too often make decisions based on fear, not on information. I know because I have been there and now for reasons still unknown I have an adult son with autism whom I suspect was infected with a toxic substance when he was little. In all these years, there has been no other answer that makes as much sense. Thank you, Deirdre, for yet again igniting discussion. If only we had a Pediatric Academy that demonstrated the same leadership skills.
Great piece, Dierdre! Thanks for your support on this issue. Not sure why commenters think your statistics are incorrect, they are perfectly accurate. Well done!
best,
Heidi
As long as you mentioned it, veterinarian doctors were the last profession in this country that retained any dignity and respect for their patients and customers. I said "were" because they are now officially over in the other column with the the cheaters, thieves, and hucksters.
We had some old-time vets where I live, and everyone went there - turtles, cats, dogs, birds, horses, whatever you've got. And they were decent and honest and fair.
But they have retired or died out. And often they retired sooner than planned because the "New" vets - many from L.A. and Orange County - come in with lots of money and buy them out. My vet got bought out by a Southern California Vet replete with $100,000 car, and the $1.5 million mansion in the newest area of the county.
My vet now charges $500/hour for routine visits (they actually charge $90 for 10 minutes, but think we can't do the math). All end-of-life illnesses are automatically over-tested, over-treated, over-operated, and put aside $5,000 no matter what. Their vet techs, who are paid less than $20,000/year, are billed out at $125/hour.
Such a sad demise. No professions left where there is any sense of devotion to the public. It's all just greed. No such thing as unconscionable fees. And the fact is more animals will die because of these policies because people simply cannot afford to have animals when their vets are scamming the public with these obscene charges.
Oh well. One more nail in the coffin of what used to be a decent country.
Bravo, excellent. I used to work as a scientist with FDA regulations (non-pharma) I couldn"t agree more!
Thank you Deirdre!! As a parent who watched her child regress into autism after vaccination I find your bravery to take on our fight more than heroic. You are a beautiful person and those of us who are personally affected are truely greatful.
Usually it takes a personal view and experience to understand why we know vaccines to be one of the causes of Autism. Unfortunately telling someone like agrund what happened and showing them the proof is not enough because of fear. Fear of disease is strongly routed in our society but people have to start looking at the long term health costs. Diabetes, asthma, allergies and even things more severe as Autism, parkinson's, MS, CP etc. are tearing through our country at rapid unrelenting rates. There are consequences to overuse of vaccination and pharmaceutical drugs, like superbugs and most certainly chronic health conditions that may outweight the dangers of the actual diseases the vaccines are protecting us from to begin with. Where does it stop?? When there are no unaffected boys left? Heavy metals, toxins, antifreeze, etc., have no place in our babies veins and neither does the amount of live vaccines they are given at once. Common sense and reason has been too long overlooked in the name of fear...
I am one of those rare individuals who is allergic to Mercury. It can literally kill me, in very tiny dosages. It's in all my charts and yet I NEVER had a doctor or dentist discuss with me options of treatment much less the long term effects on my health.
It is almost as if they were so brain washed themselves, or beholden to the drug and amalgam lobbies that they forgot their Hippocratic oaths and began treating us as pocketbooks, not people.
I know that in many European countries that mercury has been banned. Yet, here, you are a tin foiled hatted conspiracy monger of the first order to suggest that thimerosal and mercury have deleterious effects. And yet, just today--A front page article on Statins and their horrible consequences. Just because the FTA or AMA says its "ok" don't make it so!
Deirdre & Don Imus are our dynamic duo telling the truth about unsafe medicines & other toxics - Thank-God!
Sometimes people with good intentions do dumb things. To put it politely, such is the case here. The autism "epidemic" is a result of better reporting, heightened awareness,and an extremely broad definition being applied. Multiple highly credible studies in several countries have shown absolutely no connection between mercury and autism. In fact reported autism has not decreased in the US and other countries where thimerosol has been removed for years (and it has been removed in the US, contrary to Deidre's remarks). The only people continuing to claim such a connection are lay people such as Imus and Robert Kennedy. It there actually is any increased incidence of autism, we wil have to look elsewhere. There is very good scientific support for a genetic origin of this condition.
Regarding vaccinations, frankly anyone publicly advocating not vaccinating children and the population in general against readily preventable diseases should be flogged in public. This is dangerous nonsense and quite irresponsible. Mass vaccinations have probably prevented more deaths and illness than any other single health measure adopted in the twentieth century. There have been problems at times, but the actual safety record for vaccines is outstanding. A fair number of people reading this post wouldn't be here today without them, or would be sitting in a wheelchair,
Finally, yes, antibiotics have been overused. Microorganisms show evolution in action, and resistant mutants can rapidly arise. What this means is more prudent useage by society, and heightened efforts for new classes of antimicrobials. Here is where "big Pharma" has basically failed. Most of the last companies have given up on natural discovery, and prefer looking for the next viagra.
A century ago the physician coming to treat your sick child had three things in his black bag: aspirin, laxatives, and a sugar pill. I don't think anyone really wants to retreat back to that time.
Pharmas' the one controlling the message of fear about many diseases-to drive up their profits. remeebr when Rummy would talk about 'bird flu" many years ago-and how it was going to be so bad here. We heard that many years in a row-so far, nada. what Rummy didn't disclose is that he was on the board and had been while secdef. Little bit of a conflict of interest-ya think?
I don't think it's entirely fair to let vets completely off the hook though.
They are indirectly contributing to antibiotic resistance-by giving poultry/livestock/dairy farmers antibiotics given in feed-to provide "herd immunity". In this way, if one animal gets sick-it does not spread. By overuse of such practice though-the antibiotics in the animal eventually enters the human foodchain-thus giving people more microdoses of the antibiotic. Boosting their own immune systems to be able to eliminate the antibiotic, humans develop a resistance to future doses of antibiotics.
This is a practice which should not be allowed.
Buy hormone-free, antibiotic free if you can-especially if you have kids.
This contradictory ideology regarding the so-called "benefits" of vaccinations has been perfectly clear to me for quite some time.
The only ones benefitting from messing up our future generations' immune systems are Big Pharma and their drug lords.
Vaccines in animals is something I can speak to, but it is a large subject.
As to the note about Prevnar causing new bugs, Parvo, the killer of puppies was probably started by a modified live distemper vaccination for cats. If anyone had pets before the mid seventies and knows they never worried about parvo back then, it is because it did not exist.
Annual vaccinations are a scam. People do not get a measals vaccination every year, yet they give their dogs a parvo, distemper and others to their dogs every year.
There have been studies by researchers that the puppy Parvo vaccination lasts a lifetime, as well as others. But here is the problem - the vaccination companies only have to prove a minimum time for the vaccine to work, not maximum, so they can say that they guarantee that the vaccine works one year, when in reality it works for a lifetime.
When you go to the vet for those annual vaccinations they send you a card for, vets get a nice doctors visit and fees.
These vaccines are not harmless. It has been proven that if you give the parvo vaccine in puppies too close together you can, in essence, cancel out immunity. Dogs and cats have reactions to vaccines, both physical and behavioral. The rabies vaccine is the most dangerous of all. Everyone who has to get it annually is given the three year vaccine and even the three year vaccine has been proven to work for at least eight years.
If you know the science it does not help you because most dog training schools and kennels will not allow your dog there unless your dog has had annual vaccinations. The rabies vaccine is the only one dogs have to get by law, but these folks who know nothing about science insist that dogs get all the other vaccines too.
There are only a small group of research vets trying to turn this around, the vaccine companies (who also donate to vet schools) have no incentive to change current protocols.
Deirde Imus is a champion for eliminating pollutants in our Country. This includes vaccinations and over medicating when it is not necessary. Deirde and Don Imus are the leaders in promoting greening and cleaning.
I will emphasize though that Deirdre Imus is the leader on this front.
Thank you Deirdre. Looking forward to your appearance on the "New" Don Imus show being broadcast on WABC Radio in New York and Boston, and on RFD-TV beginning December 3rd, 2007.
Loading comments…
The McCain campaign implied on Wednesday that Barack Obama's commitment...
Before the largest crowd of his campaign, Democratic presidential contender Barack...
When Katie Couric told Haaretz that "The glory days of TV news...
There is one more John McCain gaffe that...
As we have observed throughout the last several years,...
In a flagrant political act, the State Department has...
**UPDATE 7/25** ThinkProgress now reports that the bar...
** Update below: Nas delivers Fox petition to Stephen...
BARCELONA, Spain — Christian Bale swept into Barcelona on Wednesday night to attend a...
If you're wondering about the recent articles claiming that a study found...
HOUSTON — A "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico off...
WASHINGTON — Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at...
Posted November 19, 2007 | 01:07 PM (EST)