Measles vaccine messes with nature

Don’t believe exaggerated measles fears

Do vaccines mess with nature? And if they do, is that bad?

Simple questions. Complicated answers.

A friend sent me an article about a pediatrician who believes that attempts to curb disease with vaccines is “messing with nature.”

That’s a brave pediatrician. I’m sure she has to deal with a lot of heated emotional backlash these days. But she’s absolutely right. Even with the success of polio and smallpox vaccines, it’s wise to be wary of a drug industry that promotes dozens of shots for kids, with many more vaccines in the pipeline.

Measles is a perfect example. You’ve probably heard the furious outrage directed toward parents who have “brought back measles” by opting out of the MMR vaccine. This outrage usually comes with a hostile accusation that children will die.

That might be true. But with the littlest bit of caution, it doesn’t have to end that way.

A few years ago, Dr. Wright explained how the measles vaccine disrupts the protective “viral human cycle.”

Before this vaccine came along, nearly all kids got the measles between ages 4 and 8. After recovering from a few days of rash and fever, they had a strong anti-measles antibody response. In fact, it was so strong that little girls who had measles and later became mothers passed along their antibody response to their children. This protection prevented measles infection in infants, who are far more vulnerable to measles-related complications than 4-year-olds.

Today, a young girl gets a much weaker anti-measles antibody response from the vaccine. Any anti-measles antibodies she has left to pass along to her babies are too weak to do much good, leaving her infants vulnerable.

That’s “messing with nature.”

So if today’s mom rejects the measles vaccine for her child, and then the child comes down with the disease — what then? In this case, Dr. Wright’s answer is simple: Vitamin A.

Studies have shown that death from measles is entirely preventable. In the 1920s and again 70 years later, researchers found that a single large dose of vitamin A cut the death rate from measles to zero in treated children.

And you can be sure it’s easier to administer vitamin A to a 4-year-old than an infant.

Meanwhile, the measles vaccine appears to increase risk of one of the most troublesome chronic health problems. You can read more about that at this link.

Sources:

My Interview With a Pediatrician Who Thinks Vaccines Are “Messing With Nature:” (motherjones.com)