Re: Asking questions about vaccinations

April 23, 2006

The parents are appropriately imposing informed consent on their pediatricians.

No mandates!!!!!

Asking questions about vaccinations

I just called this reporter/the editor and left a message. How these people keep saying thimerosal is in the MMR is beyond me. Please feel free to drop them an email about that as well as to educate them..nicely.Thanks.http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/healthscience/homepage/article_1110538.php

Sunday, April 23, 2006 Asking questions about vaccinationsNot all parents opt for the five vaccinations recommended for young kids. Some choose, others stagger the shots. By LISA LIDDANE The Orange County Register

It's a question Dr. Bob Sears increasingly hears from new parents, a question for which the San Clemente pediatrician wishes he had a simple answer.

"Does my child need all those vaccines?"

Infants and toddlers have been getting as many as four shots in one visit. And with the addition this year of RotaTeq – a new rotavirus vaccine – to the kids' immunization schedule, the maximum shot load has risen to five.

But to accommodate parental concern about the safety of vaccines, Sears' young patients typically receive no more than two shots per visit.

Sears' flexible approach is unorthodox and uncommon, but it's one of several ways a handful of doctors and a growing number of parents are dealing with vaccine worries.

"Reports of staggered vaccinations are true," said Dr. Jasjit Singh, associate director of pediatric infectious disease at Children's Hospital of Orange County.

Some parents are choosing not to vaccinate at all, Singh said. Others are picking and choosing vaccines that their children are going to get.

Singh said that although she has no specific statistics, she has noticed that more educated, middle-to-high income families are opting to forgo vaccinations. Parents worry that some vaccines can increase risk of asthma, autism and learning disabilities.

This month, the vaccine debate intensified. An outbreak of mumps in nine states over the past eight weeks has tripled the number of mumps cases usually reported in the United States over a full year. Mumps is one of several diseases close to being eliminated in the United States.

Though no deaths have been attributed to mumps, the disease can cause deafness in children and sterility in men later in life.

But the vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella, MMR, is the one parents are most likely to worry about.

The MMR vaccine is at the core of the immunization debate because some researchers and parents believe thimerosal used as a preservative in the vaccine can cause autism. Thimerosal, a compound containing mercury, has been removed from children's vaccines, except for trace amounts, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A review of studies does not show a link between vaccines with thimerosal and autism, according to the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. But some parents and doctors are not convinced that enough research has been done.

A study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons in March showed that autism and other neurological disorders decreased after mercury was removed from children's vaccines.

The controversy is heating up all the way from pediatricians' clinics to the halls of Congress and the CDC offices. On April 6, autism activist groups accused the CDC in a full-page ad in a national newspaper of covering up knowledge that mercury in vaccines caused the rise of autism. The CDC, which issues the immunization schedule, denied the accusation. A panel from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will meet in May to address a study about whether the incidence of autism decreased after thimerosal was removed from or substantially reduced in most vaccines.

The results of that study won't make a difference to , who began scouring the Internet and reading about vaccines before she became pregnant with Easton , now 14 months. "After I told my husband what I found out about vaccines, he said, 'There is no way we're vaccinating.'"

That was the easy part. Finding a pediatrician who would agree to their wishes wasn't. But she eventually found one.

"Easton's pediatrician said, 'I disagree with your beliefs, but I'll see your son," said , 26, of Huntington Beach. "At Easton's two-month visit, the doctor offered the shots. I declined. At the four-month visit, she stopped asking."

said her son's excellent health is a testament to his vaccine-free existence. She said she believes that allowing her son's immune system to fight infection without the help of vaccines makes his body tougher. He's had only minor coughs and one bout of an ear infection, said.

Grijalva's son, , stopped receiving vaccines after his two-month visit. "When we told his pediatrician that we didn't want him vaccinated, she walked away and said, 'That's not being a good parent,'" recalled Grijalva, 23, of Costa Mesa.

"Why would I want these chemicals in my baby's body?" she said. "If he catches a disease and dies from it, then that's God's will. I'd prefer that to him dying from a vaccine I purposely allowed him to have."

and Grijalva are acutely aware that many parents don't agree with their beliefs, but they also add that many of the diseases for which kids are routinely vaccinated are no longer serious threats in the U.S.

"While many diseases indeed have been mostly eliminated in the U.S., they're certainly not eradicated in other parts of the world," said Salmon, associate director for policy and behavioral research at Institute for Vaccine Safety at s Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Salmon, also associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., cites polio as an example of a disease that does not exist in the U.S. but is still a threat in developing countries, and potentially to the U.S.

In an era of frequent global travel, it's possible for such diseases to resurface in the U.S. and cause unvaccinated children to become seriously ill or die, he said.

Parents need to remember that vaccines have been largely responsible for preventing many deaths and health problems from numerous childhood diseases, CHOC's Singh said.

Vaccines are more than a family health issue – they are a public-health matter, she added. "If you don't have your children vaccinated, you're counting on the herd immunity of the population and putting not only your children but others around them at risk for preventable diseases," Singh said. "Vaccines are excellent, but they're not 100 percent protective."

Parents also need to better scrutinize their sources of vaccine information, she said. Parents may be getting biased and inaccurate information, she said.

Vaccines are relevant, but the busy nature of managed-care practice makes it difficult for doctors who see children to spend a lot of time discussing the risks and benefits of each vaccine, Salmon said.

Giving parents some flexibility with the immunization schedule is a much preferable option to children not getting vaccinated at all, said Sears, who is finishing "The Vaccine Book."

The vaccination schedule has some room for spreading out the vaccines, especially when a child reaches 6 months old.

"You decrease the exposure to a variety of chemicals if you spread out the vaccines," he said. "The only downside for parents is the extra driving and extra co-pays."

Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help slow climate change. Earth Day

April 23, 2006

This is what I sent:

To the Editor:

Thank you for your article " Asking Questions About Vaccinations " that

appears on ocregister.com. While your article makes some good points

about spacing out vaccinations it, ironically, contains some inaccurate

statements even while quoting " experts " who call for the need about

" accurate " information.

First, it should be pointed out that one expert's view is often another

person's distorted propaganda. Experts who call for accuracy are often

reacting to well-informed criticism by parents - the " expert's " reflex

is to protect the vaccine program and the defense is to claim the

criticisms of the program are " inaccurate " while the expert merely

disagrees with the criticism.

Now, for some inaccuracies and omissions in your article. I will take

them line by line.

1. " The MMR vaccine is at the core of the immunization debate because

some researchers and parents believe thimerosal used as a preservative

in the vaccine can cause autism. "

False. The MMR is but one focus of the debate, not necessarily the

core. The MMR does not contain thimerosal, never did and could not

contain it as an active virus vaccine (thimerosal would deactivate the

attenuated viruses and render the vaccine's antigenicity ineffective in

producing an immune response). No parents or researchers who are

familiar with the issues believe thimerosal is contained in the MMR.

Rather, many believe thimerosal causes neurological developmental

disorder including, but not exclusively, autism. Many also believe

that thimerosal in other vaccines (often given on the same day as the

MMR or otherwise temporally proximate) may impair the immune system

causing an inadequate response to the MMR viruses, allowing them to

persist and trigger an autoimmune disease process.)

2. " Thimerosal, a compound containing mercury, has been removed from

children's vaccines, except for trace amounts, according to the federal

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "

The flu shot still given to many children and pregnant women still

contains a non- " trace " amount of mercury-containing thimerosal. The

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently recommended that

children receive annual flu shots from ages 2-5, which would likely

contain mercury, thus increasing mercury exposure from vaccines.

3. Omissions

Your article omits any mention of other problems with vaccines that may

cause disease - many vaccines contain large doses of aluminum, a heavy

metal associated with many diseases and auto-immune problems. Vaccines

have been shown to contain impurities, proteins called endotoxins that

can cause problems. Formaldehyde, monkey viruses, 2 phenoxyethanol,

phenol, neomycin, antigens grown in egg cultures, and attenuated

viruses in addition to the MMR (varicella -chicken pox) and more are

sometimes contained in various vaccines - all of these can cause

problems in children, and most of which are insufficiently tested in

children, especially their long-term effects.

4. " A review of studies does not show a link between vaccines with

thimerosal and autism, according to the Immunization Safety Review

Committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. But

some parents and doctors are not convinced that enough research has

been done. "

It is not merely that " some parents and doctors " are convinced that

more research is necessary, but that substantial research has already

been done showing the biological mechanisms by which vaccines can cause

disease processes that manifest themselves as neurodevelopmental

problems in children. The IOM ignored these study by well respected

scientific researchers at leading universities. The IOM actively tried

to discourage further research. That the IOM did this is

unconscionable. All of our children suffer from such irresponsibility.

While your article is good in its attempt at balance I respectfully

request you to note the above listed errors and omissions.

Respectfully,

J. Krakow (Parent)

On Apr 23, 2006, at 10:09 AM, wrote:

> I just called this reporter/the editor and left a message.Â How these

> people keep saying thimerosal is in the MMR is beyond me.Â Please feel

> free to drop them an email about that as well as to educate

> them..nicely.

>

> Thanks.

>

> http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/healthscience/homepage/

> article_1110538.php

>

> Sunday, April 23, 2006

> Asking questions about vaccinations

> Not all parents opt for the five vaccinations recommended for young

> kids. Some choose, others stagger the shots.

> By LISA LIDDANE

> The Orange County Register

> It's a question Dr. Bob Sears increasingly hears from new parents, a

> question for which the San Clemente pediatrician wishes he had a

> simple answer.

>

> " Does my child need all those vaccines? "

>

> Infants and toddlers have been getting as many as four shots in one

> visit. And with the addition this year of RotaTeq â€“ a new rotavirus

> vaccine â€“ to the kids' immunization schedule, the maximum shot load

> has risen to five.

>

> But to accommodate parental concern about the safety of vaccines,

> Sears' young patients typically receive no more than two shots per

> visit.

>

> Sears' flexible approach is unorthodox and uncommon, but it's one of

> several ways a handful of doctors and a growing number of parents are

> dealing with vaccine worries.

>

> " Reports of staggered vaccinations are true, " said Dr. Jasjit Singh,

> associate director of pediatric infectious disease at Children's

> Hospital of Orange County.

> Some parents are choosing not to vaccinate at all, Singh said. Others

> are picking and choosing vaccines that their children are going to

> get.

>

> Singh said that although she has no specific statistics, she has

> noticed that more educated, middle-to-high income families are opting

> to forgo vaccinations. Parents worry that some vaccines can increase

> risk of asthma, autism and learning disabilities.

> This month, the vaccine debate intensified. An outbreak of mumps in

> nine states over the past eight weeks has tripled the number of mumps

> cases usually reported in the United States over a full year. Mumps is

> one of several diseases close to being eliminated in the United

> States.

> Though no deaths have been attributed to mumps, the disease can cause

> deafness in children and sterility in men later in life.

>

> But the vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella, MMR, is the one

> parents are most likely to worry about.

>

> The MMR vaccine is at the core of the immunization debate because some

> researchers and parents believe thimerosal used as a preservative in

> the vaccine can cause autism. Thimerosal, a compound containing

> mercury, has been removed from children's vaccines, except for trace

> amounts, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and

> Prevention.

> A review of studies does not show a link between vaccines with

> thimerosal and autism, according to the Immunization Safety Review

> Committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. But

> some parents and doctors are not convinced that enough research has

> been done.

> A study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons in March

> showed that autism and other neurological disorders decreased after

> mercury was removed from children's vaccines.

> The controversy is heating up all the way from pediatricians' clinics

> to the halls of Congress and the CDC offices. On April 6, autism

> activist groups accused the CDC in a full-page ad in a national

> newspaper of covering up knowledge that mercury in vaccines caused the

> rise of autism. The CDC, which issues the immunization schedule,

> denied the accusation. A panel from the National Institute of

> Environmental Health Sciences will meet in May to address a study

> about whether the incidence of autism decreased after thimerosal was

> removed from or substantially reduced in most vaccines.

> The results of that study won't make a difference to , who

> began scouring the Internet and reading about vaccines before she

> became pregnant with Easton , now 14 months. " After I told my

> husband what I found out about vaccines, he said, 'There is no way

> we're vaccinating.' "

>

> That was the easy part. Finding a pediatrician who would agree to

> their wishes wasn't. But she eventually found one.

>

> " Easton's pediatrician said, 'I disagree with your beliefs, but I'll

> see your son, " said , 26, of Huntington Beach. " At Easton's

> two-month visit, the doctor offered the shots. I declined. At the

> four-month visit, she stopped asking. "

>

> said her son's excellent health is a testament to his vaccine-free

> existence. She said she believes that allowing her son's immune system

> to fight infection without the help of vaccines makes his body

> tougher. He's had only minor coughs and one bout of an ear infection,

> said.

>

> Grijalva's son, , stopped receiving vaccines after his

> two-month visit. " When we told his pediatrician that we didn't want

> him vaccinated, she walked away and said, 'That's not being a good

> parent,' " recalled Grijalva, 23, of Costa Mesa.

>

> " Why would I want these chemicals in my baby's body? " she said. " If he

> catches a disease and dies from it, then that's God's will. I'd prefer

> that to him dying from a vaccine I purposely allowed him to have. "

>

> and Grijalva are acutely aware that many parents don't agree with

> their beliefs, but they also add that many of the diseases for which

> kids are routinely vaccinated are no longer serious threats in the

> U.S.

>

> " While many diseases indeed have been mostly eliminated in the U.S.,

> they're certainly not eradicated in other parts of the world, " said

> Salmon, associate director for policy and behavioral research

> at Institute for Vaccine Safety at s Hopkins University in

> Baltimore, Md. Salmon, also associate professor of epidemiology at the

> University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., cites polio as an example

> of a disease that does not exist in the U.S. but is still a threat in

> developing countries, and potentially to the U.S.

>

> In an era of frequent global travel, it's possible for such diseases

> to resurface in the U.S. and cause unvaccinated children to become

> seriously ill or die, he said.

>

> Parents need to remember that vaccines have been largely responsible

> for preventing many deaths and health problems from numerous childhood

> diseases, CHOC's Singh said.

> Vaccines are more than a family health issue â€“ they are a

> public-health matter, she added. " If you don't have your children

> vaccinated, you're counting on the herd immunity of the population and

> putting not only your children but others around them at risk for

> preventable diseases, " Singh said. " Vaccines are excellent, but

> they're not 100 percent protective. "

> Parents also need to better scrutinize their sources of vaccine

> information, she said. Parents may be getting biased and inaccurate

> information, she said.

> Vaccines are relevant, but the busy nature of managed-care practice

> makes it difficult for doctors who see children to spend a lot of time

> discussing the risks and benefits of each vaccine, Salmon said.

> Giving parents some flexibility with the immunization schedule is a

> much preferable option to children not getting vaccinated at all, said

> Sears, who is finishing " The Vaccine Book. "

> The vaccination schedule has some room for spreading out the vaccines,

> especially when a child reaches 6 months old.

>

> " You decrease the exposure to a variety of chemicals if you spread out

> the vaccines, " he said. " The only downside for parents is the extra

> driving and extra co-pays. "

>

> <23vaccination_graphic.gif>

>

> Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help

> slow climate change. Earth Day

>

April 23, 2006

Thimerosal may not be added to MMR as a preservative, but I do recall reading that it may have been used in the manufacturing process. Perhaps Sandy can help clarify this. http://www.vaclib.org/news/mmrandmercury.htm Aasa " J. Krakow" <rkrakow@...> wrote: This is what I sent:To the Editor:Thank you for your article "Asking Questions About Vaccinations" that appears on ocregister.com. While your article makes some good points about spacing out vaccinations it, ironically, contains some inaccurate statements even while quoting "experts" who call for the need about "accurate" information.First, it should be pointed out that one expert's view is often another person's

distorted propaganda. Experts who call for accuracy are often reacting to well-informed criticism by parents - the "expert's" reflex is to protect the vaccine program and the defense is to claim the criticisms of the program are "inaccurate" while the expert merely disagrees with the criticism.Now, for some inaccuracies and omissions in your article. I will take them line by line.1. "The MMR vaccine is at the core of the immunization debate because some researchers and parents believe thimerosal used as a preservative in the vaccine can cause autism. "False. The MMR is but one focus of the debate, not necessarily the core. The MMR does not contain thimerosal, never did and could not contain it as an active virus vaccine (thimerosal would deactivate the attenuated viruses and render the vaccine's antigenicity ineffective in producing an immune response). No parents or researchers who are familiar with

the issues believe thimerosal is contained in the MMR. Rather, many believe thimerosal causes neurological developmental disorder including, but not exclusively, autism. Many also believe that thimerosal in other vaccines (often given on the same day as the MMR or otherwise temporally proximate) may impair the immune system causing an inadequate response to the MMR viruses, allowing them to persist and trigger an autoimmune disease process.)2. "Thimerosal, a compound containing mercury, has been removed from children's vaccines, except for trace amounts, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."The flu shot still given to many children and pregnant women still contains a non-"trace" amount of mercury-containing thimerosal. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently recommended that children receive annual flu shots from ages 2-5, which would likely contain mercury,

thus increasing mercury exposure from vaccines.3. OmissionsYour article omits any mention of other problems with vaccines that may cause disease - many vaccines contain large doses of aluminum, a heavy metal associated with many diseases and auto-immune problems. Vaccines have been shown to contain impurities, proteins called endotoxins that can cause problems. Formaldehyde, monkey viruses, 2 phenoxyethanol, phenol, neomycin, antigens grown in egg cultures, and attenuated viruses in addition to the MMR (varicella -chicken pox) and more are sometimes contained in various vaccines - all of these can cause problems in children, and most of which are insufficiently tested in children, especially their long-term effects.4. "A review of studies does not show a link between vaccines with thimerosal and autism, according to the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National

Academies. But some parents and doctors are not convinced that enough research has been done."It is not merely that "some parents and doctors" are convinced that more research is necessary, but that substantial research has already been done showing the biological mechanisms by which vaccines can cause disease processes that manifest themselves as neurodevelopmental problems in children. The IOM ignored these study by well respected scientific researchers at leading universities. The IOM actively tried to discourage further research. That the IOM did this is unconscionable. All of our children suffer from such irresponsibility.While your article is good in its attempt at balance I respectfully request you to note the above listed errors and omissions.Respectfully, J. Krakow (Parent)On Apr 23, 2006, at 10:09 AM, wrote:> I just called this reporter/the editor and left

a message.Â How these > people keep saying thimerosal is in the MMR is beyond me.Â Please feel > free to drop them an email about that as well as to educate > them..nicely.>> Thanks.>> >>>> > http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/healthscience/homepage/ > article_1110538.php>> Sunday, April 23, 2006> Asking questions about vaccinations> Not all parents opt for the five vaccinations recommended for young > kids. Some choose, others stagger the shots.> By LISA LIDDANE> The Orange County Register> It's a question Dr. Bob Sears increasingly hears from new parents, a > question for which the San Clemente pediatrician wishes he had a > simple answer.>> "Does my child need all those vaccines?">> Infants and toddlers have been getting as many as four shots in one > visit.

And with the addition this year of RotaTeq â€“ a new rotavirus > vaccine â€“ to the kids' immunization schedule, the maximum shot load > has risen to five.>> But to accommodate parental concern about the safety of vaccines, > Sears' young patients typically receive no more than two shots per > visit.>> Sears' flexible approach is unorthodox and uncommon, but it's one of > several ways a handful of doctors and a growing number of parents are > dealing with vaccine worries.>> "Reports of staggered vaccinations are true," said Dr. Jasjit Singh, > associate director of pediatric infectious disease at Children's > Hospital of Orange County.> Some parents are choosing not to vaccinate at all, Singh said. Others > are picking and choosing vaccines that their children are going to > get.>> Singh said that although she has no specific statistics, she

has > noticed that more educated, middle-to-high income families are opting > to forgo vaccinations. Parents worry that some vaccines can increase > risk of asthma, autism and learning disabilities.> This month, the vaccine debate intensified. An outbreak of mumps in > nine states over the past eight weeks has tripled the number of mumps > cases usually reported in the United States over a full year. Mumps is > one of several diseases close to being eliminated in the United > States.> Though no deaths have been attributed to mumps, the disease can cause > deafness in children and sterility in men later in life.>> But the vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella, MMR, is the one > parents are most likely to worry about.>> The MMR vaccine is at the core of the immunization debate because some > researchers and parents believe thimerosal used as a preservative in

> the vaccine can cause autism. Thimerosal, a compound containing > mercury, has been removed from children's vaccines, except for trace > amounts, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and > Prevention.> A review of studies does not show a link between vaccines with > thimerosal and autism, according to the Immunization Safety Review > Committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. But > some parents and doctors are not convinced that enough research has > been done.> A study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons in March > showed that autism and other neurological disorders decreased after > mercury was removed from children's vaccines.> The controversy is heating up all the way from pediatricians' clinics > to the halls of Congress and the CDC offices. On April 6, autism > activist groups accused the CDC in a full-page

ad in a national > newspaper of covering up knowledge that mercury in vaccines caused the > rise of autism. The CDC, which issues the immunization schedule, > denied the accusation. A panel from the National Institute of > Environmental Health Sciences will meet in May to address a study > about whether the incidence of autism decreased after thimerosal was > removed from or substantially reduced in most vaccines.> The results of that study won't make a difference to , who > began scouring the Internet and reading about vaccines before she > became pregnant with Easton , now 14 months. "After I told my > husband what I found out about vaccines, he said, 'There is no way > we're vaccinating.'">> That was the easy part. Finding a pediatrician who would agree to > their wishes wasn't. But she eventually found one.>> "Easton's pediatrician said, 'I

disagree with your beliefs, but I'll > see your son," said , 26, of Huntington Beach. "At Easton's > two-month visit, the doctor offered the shots. I declined. At the > four-month visit, she stopped asking.">> said her son's excellent health is a testament to his vaccine-free > existence. She said she believes that allowing her son's immune system > to fight infection without the help of vaccines makes his body > tougher. He's had only minor coughs and one bout of an ear infection, > said.>> Grijalva's son, , stopped receiving vaccines after his > two-month visit. "When we told his pediatrician that we didn't want > him vaccinated, she walked away and said, 'That's not being a good > parent,'" recalled Grijalva, 23, of Costa Mesa.>> "Why would I want these chemicals in my baby's body?" she said. "If he > catches a disease and dies

from it, then that's God's will. I'd prefer > that to him dying from a vaccine I purposely allowed him to have.">> and Grijalva are acutely aware that many parents don't agree with > their beliefs, but they also add that many of the diseases for which > kids are routinely vaccinated are no longer serious threats in the > U.S.>> "While many diseases indeed have been mostly eliminated in the U.S., > they're certainly not eradicated in other parts of the world," said > Salmon, associate director for policy and behavioral research > at Institute for Vaccine Safety at s Hopkins University in > Baltimore, Md. Salmon, also associate professor of epidemiology at the > University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., cites polio as an example > of a disease that does not exist in the U.S. but is still a threat in > developing countries, and potentially to the

U.S.>> In an era of frequent global travel, it's possible for such diseases > to resurface in the U.S. and cause unvaccinated children to become > seriously ill or die, he said.>> Parents need to remember that vaccines have been largely responsible > for preventing many deaths and health problems from numerous childhood > diseases, CHOC's Singh said.> Vaccines are more than a family health issue â€“ they are a > public-health matter, she added. "If you don't have your children > vaccinated, you're counting on the herd immunity of the population and > putting not only your children but others around them at risk for > preventable diseases," Singh said. "Vaccines are excellent, but > they're not 100 percent protective."> Parents also need to better scrutinize their sources of vaccine > information, she said. Parents may be getting biased and inaccurate >

information, she said.> Vaccines are relevant, but the busy nature of managed-care practice > makes it difficult for doctors who see children to spend a lot of time > discussing the risks and benefits of each vaccine, Salmon said.> Giving parents some flexibility with the immunization schedule is a > much preferable option to children not getting vaccinated at all, said > Sears, who is finishing "The Vaccine Book."> The vaccination schedule has some room for spreading out the vaccines, > especially when a child reaches 6 months old.>> "You decrease the exposure to a variety of chemicals if you spread out > the vaccines," he said. "The only downside for parents is the extra > driving and extra co-pays.">> <23vaccination_graphic.gif>>>>> Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help > slow climate change.

Earth Day>>

April 23, 2006

Yes, merck said they DO use it in the

manufacturing process but that it is not ADDED to the formulation like it is in

the other vaccines.

From: EOHarm [mailto:EOHarm ] On Behalf Of Aasa

Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2006 12:03

PM

EOHarm

Subject: Re: Asking

questions about vaccinations

Thimerosal may not be added to MMR as a preservative, but I do recall

reading that it may have been used in the manufacturing process. Perhaps Sandy can help clarify

this.

http://www.vaclib.org/news/mmrandmercury.htm

Aasa

" J.

Krakow " <rkrakow@...> wrote: