Measles and Vaccines

by Kit

After over a decade-and-a-half of anti-MMR vaccine activism by celebrities, quack doctors, and (some) politicians the moment that many epidemiologists and pro-vaccine watchers of the movement feared has come true. In Disneyland a group of unvaccinated children contracted it and it has spread like wildfire. A headline for the Los Angeles Times gives us some idea of what has happened: “California measles: baby diagnosed, infants quarantined, day care shut.”

In California there are 92 case of Measles and “Cases connected to the California-centered outbreak have been confirmed in Arizona (five), Utah (three), Washington state (two), Michigan (one), Oregon (one), Colorado (one), Nebraska (one) and Mexico (two).” One of the California cases was a 12-month old infant, which is too young to be vaccinated for the virus.

The incubation period can last up to a little over two weeks so we may have to wait to see how big this thing grows but it appears the only thing that may stop it from actually killing people is the country’s 92% rate. Though that still leaves about 24,000,000 people unvaccinated for a disease with a mortality rate of 1/1000. And even if it does not kill can leave you permanently blind or deaf. Because of the vaccine, however, which is injected twice, first when you are 1 year-old and again when you are about 5 or 6, the US was declared Measles-free in 2000.

However, in 1998, the British journal Lancet published a study by British doctor Andrew Wakefield claiming that the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine can be linked to autism. Though not a single study by any other group has been able replicate these results and a British newspaper’s investigative report revealing numerous discrepancies and outright lies resulting in Dr. Wakefield losing his medical license (making him “Mr. Wakefield”), it has caught on like wildfire garnering support from celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and Oprah Winfrey.

Anyway, the result of all this was a decrease in MMR immunizations, first in Britain then in America with immunization rates in certain Southern California schools lower than South Sudan. This meant a few years ago Britain saw a sharp uptick in Measles cases, including a few deaths (and a sharp increase in immunization rates from 89% in 2011 to 95% in 2014). Then last year, the US had 400 Measles cases and now we have a major outbreak centered around a major theme park and over 100 cases in a single month.

Since, as said above, children under a certain age those with immunity problems stemming from medical conditions or treatments like chemotherapy cannot be vaccinated that means infants and kids with leukemia are at risk because of Dr.— excuse me, Mr. Wakefield and his supporters.

As for Mr. Wakefield, despite Lancet revoking the paper and him losing his medical license in the UK, has developed a fiercely loyal following consisting of Christian fundamentalists, “all-natural” crunchy hippies, and, most infuriatingly, parents of children with autism searching desperately for some kind of answer with many anti-MMR advocates pushing “cures” as a means of removing the toxins that they claim caused autism. These include bathing in epsom salts, enzyme supplements, large vitamin doses, and bleach enemas. I wished I was making that last one up.

Unfortunately, this means that Mr. Wakefield’s debunked claims are not the province of one political party but firmly bipartisan with (thankfully few) supporters on both sides, including Robert Kennedy, Jr. and a Republican congressman and others willing to play it up for political gain (such as Obama in 2008). A Washington Post article described it as “uniting the tea party with limousine liberals”. The only time members of one party will push it more seems to be when they are out of power. The Democrats pushed it during the Bush era as proof of Big Pharma caring more about greed and profits than people while certain “genuine conservatives” have pushed it as proof of big government sticking needles into little kids. The want of power caused by the lack of it seems to have quite an impact on a person’s susceptibility to (or willingness to support) crackpot ideas.

And the fanaticism of these advocates needed to have been seen to be believed. When Dr. Paul Offit published his book Autism’s False Prophets, he and his publisher decided to cancel the book tour due to death threats and hate mail. When British writer Theodore Dalrymple, a conservative has written extensively on his time as a Doctor serving some of Britain’s poorest citizens and the afflictions of the Welfare State, published a column at City Journal criticizing the anti-vaccine movement the comments section of his article and his mail box were quickly inundated with accusations that he was receiving money from major pharmaceutical companies for promoting his pro-vaccine views. No proof was needed or offered except (1) he was a medical Doctor and (2) he was pro-vaccine. The anti-vaccine lobby operated on the assumption that anyone opposed to them was hurting children in order to make some money, which allowed them to think their enemies the most vile and evil human beings on the planet. Offit mentioned special vile aimed towards parents of autistic children who supported vaccination (which is where the majority actually stand). After all, what king of mother would support such wicked abuse of her own child?

But now appears to be a massive backlash against the anti-vaccine movement and, despite claims of some in the left-wing media, that open support for vaccination is firmly bi-partisan with Rubio, Jindal, Walker, Cruz, Ben Carson et al announcing their support for vaccination. Several congressman spent half a hearing this morning intended for influenza promoting the measles vaccine. Even Christie said vaccines are wise, only parting on whether or not they should be mandatory. Only one major politician has made statements leaning towards anti-vaccination; Rand Paul. Just about everyone else is firmly pro-vaccine. And, irony of ironies, anti-vaccine advocates are now complaining of anger thrown at them over the measles epidemic.

Edmund Burke once said “Example is the school of mankind and he will learn at no other,” C.S. Lewis said “Experience is a brutal teacher but by God do you learn.” Measles is proving a brutal teacher and a harsh school for America on the importance of childhood vaccinations and the folly of forgoing them on the basis of a lone quack doctor appealing to our fears and a celebrity mom’s opinion about what caused her child’s autism.

Now, on one final note. Jenny McCarthy, whenever someone pointed out that the science supports the pro-vaccine argument she would respond by saying “My son is my science.” Since the Measles epidemic hit, a 1986 pamphlet written by Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach, about the death of his daughter Olivia from the Measles in 1962 (before the vaccine was available). It is as if he is coming from the grave an responding to Jenny McCarthy by saying, “My science is my dead daughter!”

I think it is worth posting an excerpt:

Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn't do anything.

"Are you feeling all right?" I asked her.

"I feel all sleepy," she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.

You can find the full link here: LINK.