Introduction

Welcome to the blog.  This blog is here to outline some basic history about the Anti-Vaccine movement in American History.  Vaccines are a difficult decision every parent faces and one that carries much weight.  While it is easier to simply turn the other way or to ignore some pretty difficult facts, it is important to look at the history and learn.  Because we are the first population practicing such lengthy vaccine schedules, there isn't any history to learn from.  We are on uncharted territory and essentially writing the first chapter in this book.  Is it more than vaccines that are causing 1 in 6 children to have nureo-developmental problems?
 

History of Anti-Vaccine Movement in America

Religion and politics are known to be taboo topics that you avoid in most company. Vaccinations are a topic that could be added to this age-old list of very polarizing issues.  There is such a fine line down the middle and parents and doctors on both sides agree on some things they aren’t even aware they agree on because emotions run so high when it comes to these types of issues. 

All parents want what is best for their child. It is normal for them to become passionate and very defensive of the side of the line they stand on.  It is a moral issue because [i] “Parents need to understand that when they choose not to vaccinate, they are making a decision for other people’s children as well,” Brendalee Flint.  On the other side it could be said: Why worry if your child is vaccinated aren’t they immune to any disease my un-vaccinated child may carry?

Herd immunity is the real issue.   It is also referred to as community immunity and defined by CDC as [ii]“immunity, herd the resistance to an infectious agent of an entire group or community (and, in particular, protection of susceptible persons) as a result of a substantial proportion of the population being immune to the agent. Herd immunity is based on having a substantial number of immune persons, thereby reducing the likelihood that an infected person will come in contact with a susceptible one among human populations, also called community immunity.”

The idea behind herd immunity is to keep the most vulnerable; children, pregnant women and the elderly, safe from illness by vaccinating the healthy and strong majority of people (not entire populations).  Modern vaccines target this age group aggressively and encourage pregnant women and elderly and even newborn babies, those most vulnerable, to get vaccinations.

Pro-vaccine argue that by immunizing a large population diseases won’t have such a significant populations affected by disease.  This is controversial, especially in America, where freedom to choose is the general rule of thumb.  This forced method is difficult for many to swallow. 

Vaccination is different than inoculation.  Inoculation is administering the organism in a controlled setting to control severity of the disease; while vaccination is administering a dead or weakened organism.  Inoculation dates back as the first century [iii]“The son of a Chinese statesman was said to have been inoculated against smallpox, probably by having powder from pulverized smallpox scabs blown into his nostril. Inoculation may also have been practiced by scratching matter from a smallpox sore into the skin.”

The media has played a vital role in both sides of the issue by capitalizing on the emotion and passion involved and sensualizing stories.  Pro-vaccine organizations  and government agencies air commercials with a child with whooping cough in their mother’s arms to promote the pertussis vaccine for both the woman and the infant. 

Drug companies also spend big bucks on sending their message out on TV.  [iv]“The first year Gardasil was on the market Merck spent $100 million on advertising. “We are the only country in the world, other than New Zealand, that allows for adverting on TV of pharmaceutical drugs,” Cliff Shoemaker, vaccine injury lawyer. 

[v]“The modern American anti-vaccine movement was born on April 19, 1982 when WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate in Washington D.C., aired a one-hour documentary titled DPT: Vaccine Roulette.” That same year the National Vaccination Information Center was founded.[vi] “The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is dedicated to the prevention of vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to defending the informed consent ethic in medicine.” 

During this movement parents and doctors, alike, were so horrified that many stopped vaccinating.  So many injured families sued the vaccine manufactures that the prices of vaccines went up along with their liability insurance.  This pushed many manufacturers to stop producing vaccines all together.  This produced a shortage of vaccines, which led to a national backlash.

Vaccine injury caseloads were so heavy that a whole separate court system was born to manage the demand. [vii]“On October 1, 1988, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-660) created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). The VICP was established to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines, stabilize vaccine costs, and establish and maintain an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be injured by certain vaccines. The VICP is a no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims that provide compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines. The U. S. Court of Federal Claims decides who will be paid. Three Federal government offices have a role in the VICP:

•    the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);

•    the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); and

•    the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (the Court).

The VICP is located in the HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, Healthcare Systems Bureau, Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation.”

All of these things really began to shape America’s perception of vaccines.  Watch dog organizations and parents of injured children began to join together and become organized.  Social media and the Internet equipped many with the confidence they needed to make the decisions THEY felt best about.  People no longer only relied on their Doctor’s opinion. 

The NVIC is a well-respected source of information on vaccine injury and education.  They ride the line and claim to be neither pro or anti vaccine but encourage education.  [viii]“We started out in the early eighties working with congress to pass the National Childhood Vaccine Act; which President Regan signed into law in 1986,” Barbra Fisher. Barbra Fisher was [ix]”in short, America’s premier vaccine safety activist.  The media believed her, politicians relied on her and parents turned to her.”  She co-founded NVIC.

Congress has heard many heated debates from those on both sides. Melenda Wharton, Acting deputy Directory of the National Immunization Program at the Denters for Disease Control and Prevention testified [x] “Immunizations are one of the great public health success stories of the 20^th century, having made once-common diseases, such as diphtheria, measles, mumps and pertussis diseases of the past.  Vaccines are now available to protect children and adults against 15 life-threatening or debilitating diseases. This has reduced cases of all vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 97 percent from peak levels before vaccines were available, saving lives and saving treatment and hospitalization costs.”

During this same hearing a statement from Dr. William Egan, the Acting Director for the Office of Vaccines Research and Review for of the Food and Drug Administration Centers for Biologics Research and Review, Department of Health and Human Services was also documented. [xi]“Based on a review of this full body of data, which included epidemiological studies from the United States, Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Committee concluded: “Thus, based on this body of evidence, the committee concludes that the evidence favors rejection of a casual relationship between thirmeosol- containing vaccines and autism”

[xii]“We’re not here to say that vaccinations aren’t important.  They’re very important.  They’ve given us the highest quality of life of any civilization in the history of mankind.  That isn’t what we’re talking about.  We’re talking about why they’re putting mercury in vaccinations and why it’s never been tested since 1929 when Lily developed it, “Gary Burton, Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights & Wellness.

The pro-vaccine camp dominates when it comes to the amount of research on this vaccinations because, [xiii] “The people that are approving the vaccines are taking the word of the pharmaceutical companies. The majority of vaccine research is paid for by the vaccine manufactures.”  These types of studies are very expensive and the anti-vaccine movement is still in early stages of organization. 

[xiv]“In the 1980’s children were asked to get 23 doses of 8 vaccines.  In the last few decades that number has grown to 69 doses of 16 vaccines.” [xv]“All you have to do is ask guidance counselors, the teachers, the principals and all of them across the board will tell you that we are seeing a rise in the number of children with disability that is clear. The CDC states that one in 110 have autism but autism is just one piece of a bigger problem.  The bigger issue is that 1 in 6 has some form of a Neuro-developmental disability,” Lawrence Palevsky, Pediatrician.

---

[i] Paul Offit, Deadly Choices, (New York: Basic Books 2011). 214

[ii] http://www.cdc.gov/excite/library/glossary.htm#communityimmunity accessed November 19, 2012

[iii] http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all#.UKEKqRlyTP4.blogger accessed  November 19, 2012

[iv]‪alienevolvedpart3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlXY1hrBfU 8:49, accessed November 19, 2012

[v] Paul Offit, Deadly Choices, (New York: Basic Books 2011). 13

[vi]National Vaccine Information Center http://www.nvic.org/about.aspxCop

[vii] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/index.html. Accessed November 19, 2012.

[viii] ‪alienevolvedpart3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlXY1hrBfU 11:15, accessed November 19, 2012

[ix] Paul Offit, Deadly Choices, (New York: Basic Books 2011). 57

[x] U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Reform. Truth Revealed: New Scientific Discoveries Regarding Mercury in Medicine and Autism. 108th Cong., 2d sess., 2004. Serial Number 108-262. Pg 20

[xi] U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Reform. Truth Revealed: New Scientific Discoveries Regarding Mercury in Medicine and Autism. 108th Cong., 2d sess., 2004. Serial Number 108-262. Pg 29

[xii] U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Reform. Truth Revealed: New Scientific Discoveries Regarding Mercury in Medicine and Autism. 108th Cong., 2d sess., 2004. Serial Number 108-262.

[xiii]‪alienevolvedpart3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlXY1hrBfU 8:39, accessed November 19, 2012

[xiv] National Vaccine Information Center http://www.nvic.org/about.aspxCop

[xv] ‪alienevolvedpart3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlXY1hrBfU 15:19, accessed November 19, 2012

1980 vs 2010 vaccine schedule

Graph from: National Vaccine Information Center: http://www.nvic.org/ 

Doctor's Debate | heated public issue

1678 Early Medical Pamphlet

Timelines — History of Vaccines

National Library of Medicine

A 1721 (approximate date) printing of Thomas Thacher's pamphlet on colonial smallpox

1678

Early Medical Pamphlet on Smallpox

The first medical work published in America was printed in Boston, partly in response to a smallpox epidemic in New England: Thomas Thacher’s pamphlet, A Brief Rule to Guide the Common People of New England how to order themselves and theirs in the Small Pocks, or Measels.

1898 Regulation of Vaccine Supply Increases

Timelines — History of Vaccines

The Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

This invitation to an inspection of the vaccine farms of Dr. H. M. Alexander illustrates the emerging regulation of vaccine production. Page 1.

1898

Regulation of Vaccine Supply Increases

As smallpox rates declined, the apparent need for vaccination was less pressing, and the occasional adverse reactions to vaccination became more visible. At the same time, developments such as the addition of glycerin to vaccine lymph, the increasing regulation of pharmaceutical suppliers, and the advancements of microbiology led to the generally increasing safety of the vaccine supply.

A Pennsylvania commission reporting on inspections wrote:

“This [Inspection of Vaccine Propagating Establishments] included a personal inspection of each plant…and a bacteriological examination of the points produced at each place. These points were purchased in open market. The matters investigated were location, size, number and construction of buildings, arrangements for cleanliness, character of animals, mode of operation and of taking of lymph, modes of preparation of virus, precautions taken in packing and bacteriological control. Fourteen of these establishments were visited and the inspectors were uniformly received with courtesy. Of these, four are located in this State. It is somewhat humiliating to find that three of these are not conducted with such regard to hygienic precautions or even to ordinary cleanliness, as to warrant the Board in expressing anything but condemnation of the establishments themselves and of the methods pursued therein. On the other hand it is gratifying to our State pride to be able to point to the fourth as admirable in all its appointments and conducted with the strictest observance of modern surgical asepsis. The establishment referred to is known as the Lancaster County Vaccine Farms, at Marietta, Dr. H. M. Alexander & Co., Proprietors."

— Twelfth Annual Report of the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (1896)

H.M. Alexander & Company's facilities in Marietta, Pennsylvania, were eventually acquired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and played an important role in global smallpox eradication.18

1879 First Laboratory Vaccine

Timelines — History of Vaccines

Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1895. Laboratory worker using autoclave to sterilize chicken broth.

1879

First Laboratory Vaccine

Louis Pasteur produced the first laboratory-developed vaccine: the vaccine for chicken cholera.

Pasteur attenuated, or weakened the bacteria, for use in the vaccine. He happened upon the method of attenuation by accident: in his lab, he was studying cholera by injecting chickens with the live bacteria and recording the fatal progression of the illness. He had instructed an assistant to inject the chickens with a fresh culture of the bacteria before a holiday. The assistant, however, forgot. When the assistant returned a month later, he carried out Pasteur’s wishes. The chickens, while showing mild signs of the disease, survived. When they were healthy again, Pasteur injected them with fresh bacteria. The chickens did not become ill. Pasteur eventually reasoned the factor that made the bacteria less deadly was exposure to oxygen.

1870 Animal Vaccine Brought to US

The Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Title page of Martin's On Animal Vaccination, 1878

1870

Animal Vaccine Brought to U.S.

Boston physician Henry Austin Martin brought what he called true animal vaccine (material produced by inoculating a calf with cowpox lymph) to the United States. He described how he procured the material:

“…[M]y special agent [returned] from Paris with ample supplies of animal virus in tubes and on ivory points and squares of glass, collected and sealed by Professor Depaul in his presence, autograph directions from the same distinguishedsavant, and a full collection of pamphlets and other publications by Professor Depaul and others. My agent returned to Boston on the 23rd of September, 1870. I had secured the use of a farm on which was a herd of nearly fifty young bovine animals, and, on the very day of my agent’s return, I vaccinated three of these, on the next day two, and on till I had nearly exhausted my supply of virus in the vaccination of nine or ten animals….I was, of course, put in possession of ample supplies of animal lymph, and devoted myself to daily vaccinations of infants.”

Martin wrote that he obtained the vaccine from the 258th, 259th, and 260th animals vaccinated from Depaul’s series of animal vaccinated with the original Beaugency lymph (see the 1866 timeline entry). Martin reported success with the new method of producing vaccine, and went on to supply vaccine to vaccinators across the country until others began to serially vaccinate cows.

His work, however, came with a price: he wrote,

“It involved great labor and responsibility, considerable odium, large expenditure, and, in various ways, infinite annoyance, insult, and wrong; which, as it is now past forever, I can only endeavor to forget. As soon as my experiment had proved a success there were not wanting those who eagerly rushed into competition with me; this I expected, and hailed some of these competitors as fellow-workers in a field where much was to be done. I gave them every aid in my power freely, frankly, and fully, and was repaid by ingratitude, slander, and an effort, as futile as it was earnest and persistent, to rob me of the scrap of professional honor and reputation I had worked so hard to win and deserve, in introducing and establishing in America a system which has already conferred infinite though hardly fully appreciated blessings…" --Henry Austin Martin, On Animal Vaccination, 1878