Chicken Pox Vaccine
This article was sent to me by BabyCenter:
Children need second dose of chicken pox
vaccine
FRIDAY, June 30 (HealthDayNews) — Children 4 to 6 years old should be given the
varicella zoster (chickenpox) vaccine, in addition to the initial dose they
received at age 12 to 18 months, an expert panel advising the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention has recommended.
Up to 20 percent of children who receive a single dose of the vaccine aren't
fully protected against chickenpox, the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices said in recommending the second dose to the full CDC. In a statement,
the panel also said a single dose administered at 18 months or younger might not
continue to offer protection into adulthood.
Before the varicella vaccine was licensed in 1995, about 4 million U.S. cases of
chickenpox were reported each year, leading to 13,500 hospitalizations and 150
deaths. Those numbers have since declined by up to 85 percent, the agency said.
Nonetheless, the CDC said it has been concerned about scattered outbreaks among
vaccinated school children. Chickenpox cases in vaccinated children are usually
mild, but the children can transmit the virus to others, including adults who
are prone to more severe symptoms.
The full CDC typically follows the recommendations of its advisory panels.
-- HealthDayNews
Of course, I couldn't just let that sit, because I know how statistics can sometimes get confused with the truth. Here is an excellent article that should help clear things up for you.
It sure cleared things up for me! :o)
Chickenpox Party: Developing Natural Varicella Immunity
By Brian Wimer, Jacquelyn
L. Emm and Deren Bader
Issue 122, January/February 2004
"Whoopee!" When word got out that little George's cousin Natalie
had chickenpox, the playgroup phone tree lit up with the
jubilant consensus: "Chickenpox party!" George was there, as was
Natalie, our "Patient Zero." Jonah, Timothy, Sam, and Luka came
with parents in tow, hoping to bring home a lifelong party favor
of double-stranded DNA herpesvirus.
Yes, it sounds cruel and unusual to subject one's child to a
biological sneak attack. But we weren't going blindly into this
affair like Tupperware-toting lemmings. We'd done our homework.
On the kitchen table was a stack of clinical studies citing the
pros, cons, dos, and don'ts of catching wild chickenpox in the
company of friends.
Sharing sippy cups, whistles, and lollipops (sugar- and
saccharine-free, of course), the wee revelers romped and stomped
and ran amok as microscopic varicella viruses triggered the
alarms of their mucous membranes, manufacturing ideal antibodies
for a lifetime of immunity.
Admittedly, we mommies and daddies were not caught in the
mainstream with this somewhat rebellious act. Today's
conventional wisdom says to go with the shot, which many parents
do "to be on the safe side." But we at the party were doing what
we felt was safest, after weeding through the
propaganda and rhetoric about America 's latest "Red Scare": the
deadly scourge of chickenpox panic.
You've seen them: The spooky Merck & Co. ads with the crying
rubber duck. The statistics of children dying from chickenpox.
The assurances of vaccination safety. Slick. Even convincing, to
some.
The leading edge of a new slew of mandatory policies is a recent
decision from an Illinois immunization advisory committee that
has recommended that chickenpox vaccinations be required for
admission to Illinois schools-against the advice of the state
health board. Allegedly, five of the committee's 18 members-and
Illinois's governor, George Ryan, who vetoed a bill that would
have banned people with financial ties to pharmaceutical
companies from serving on the committee-had financial ties to
Merck. 1 Conflict of interest or not, 29 states now require
proof that children entering daycare or school either have had
chickenpox or have been vaccinated against the disease.
Varivax, the varicella vaccine manufactured by Merck, was
approved by the FDA in 1995. The latest Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) reports estimate that 75 percent of the nation's
children have been vaccinated with it. They credit the vaccine
with a significant statistical drop in the number of chickenpox
cases reported, and they have stacks of studies to back up their
claim. From 1987 to 1997, the reported national incidence of
chickenpox decreased 58 percent. 2 In fact, doctors are no
longer required to report chickenpox cases to local and state
health departments-which just might have some influence on
optimistically low chickenpox statistics.
"The decrease from 1987 to 1997 corresponded with decreases in
the number of states reporting to NNDSS and the completeness of
reporting," admits the CDC. Areas reporting dropped from 46
states and DC in 1972 to 20 states in 1997. What declined was
the reporting, not the incidence of chickenpox. Today, the CDC
actively watches only three US sites for varicella: West
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Travis County, Texas; and Antelope
Valley , Los Angeles County , California. 3
Two years after vaccine licensure, in the 14 states that
maintained continuous reporting of varicella, the incidence
remained completely unchanged, at 107.0 cases per 100,000
population. (The national incidence, however, was reported by
the CDC as dropping to 36.9. 4 )
While the CDC estimates the vaccine to be 86 percent effective
in children, a 2001 CDC study showed that that effectiveness
might actually be as low as 40 percent. 5 But authorities at
Maryland's Takoma Park Elementary School might quarrel even with
that. There, reportedly, 12 of the 16 cases of a recent
chickenpox outbreak involved children who had already been
vaccinated. 6
Moreover, the CDC's Jane Seward, MD; Karin Galil, MD, MPH; and
Anne A. Gershon, MD, director of the infectious disease division
at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, found
further cause for concern about the vaccine in a recent outbreak
of chickenpox at a Concord, New Hampshire daycare center. 7 It
began with a child who had been vaccinated, contradicting the
theory that "breakthrough" cases-i.e., children who develop true
chickenpox despite having been vaccinated-are not contagious.
Studies from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center also refute the idea
that vaccine-borne varicella is not contagious. 8-10
Nor, perhaps, is the vaccine as safe as advertised. A 2000
article in the Journal of the American Medical Association
disclosed a wealth of reports made by doctors and parents to the
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). "This FDA report
confirms our concern that the chickenpox vaccine may be more
reactive than anticipated in individuals with both known and
unknown biological high risk factors," said Barbara Loe Fisher,
president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). 11
Allowing for underreporting, the authors estimated that 4
percent of vaccine-induced adverse reactions (about 1 in 33,000
doses) were serious, resulting in shock, convulsions,
encephalitis, thrombocytopenia, and 14 deaths. The report adds
17 adverse events to the manufacturer's product label, including
secondary bacterial infections (cellulitis), secondary
transmission (infection of close contacts), and Guillain-Barré
syndrome.
"This vaccine should not be mandated," said Fisher. "There are
too many questions about the true adverse event and efficacy
profile of this relatively new live virus vaccine." 12 Fisher's
concerns are not theoretical. Her son was left with multiple
learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder after a
severe reaction to a DPT shot.
This is not to say that wild chickenpox is entirely benign. The
CDC estimates that the 4 million annual cases result in 11,000
hospitalizations and 100 deaths every year. (Although deaths
first became reportable to the CDC only in 1999.) The risk of
death from chickenpox complications in healthy children is quite
minimal. However, the CDC contends that chickenpox is the
leading "vaccine-preventable" killer of children, and many
clinical studies have been published attesting to the vaccine's
safety and efficacy.
But, some vaccine critics say, the wild version has its
advantages. Allegedly, it produces much higher antibody levels
than the vaccine, making individuals less prone to developing
shingles, the adult version of chickenpox.
Getting chickenpox naturally works something like this: The
virus enters the body through the mucous membranes and the upper
respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, giving the body time to
work up a strong immune response. Once the body's immune system
has built an antibody for the virus, the body will always build
that same antibody on future contacts with the virus.
Theoretically, if the first encounter with chickenpox is through
vaccination, the resulting inferior antibody that the body
develops is what will be used whenever the body encounters
chickenpox in the future.
Critics of vaccines say that catching the wild version can mean
the difference between temporary and lifelong immunity.
According to Merck's literature, "the duration of protection of
Varivax is unknown at present." Although studies in Japan report
a 20-year vaccine duration, the CDC theorizes that that immunity
will wane if wild viruses are wiped out. 13
The danger here is illustrated well by Kristine M. Severyn, RPh,
PhD, a vaccine critic who has exposed drug-policy corruption in
Ohio, Texas, Illinois, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. 14
According to her studies, a widespread national chickenpox
vaccination program might shift the incidence of chickenpox to
adults, where the complication and death rate rise sharply. 15
In America today, adults comprise only 2 percent of
chickenpox cases, but are responsible for 47.5 percent of deaths
from chickenpox. 16
Dr. Arthur Lavin, a pediatrician at St. Luke's Medical Center in
Cleveland , agrees, writing in The Lancet that routine varicella
vaccination in healthy children might pose a "grave danger of
advancing the age of onset of chickenpox into adulthood." 17
We were able to witness this firsthand. Luka's uncle Damir, 32,
caught chickenpox in the wake of our party. While all the kids
had mild responses, Damir got the worst case his doctor had ever
seen: hundreds of lesions, even in his mouth and down his
throat; headache; and tender kidneys. Uncle
Damir couldn't sleep for two days. "Please, kill me," he joked
as he staggered about, coated head to toe in calamine lotion.
Painful or not, catching chickenpox may be necessary for health,
claim some clinicians. Internet medical celebrity Dr. Joseph
Mercola theorizes that since varicella virus is a member of the
Human Herpes virus family (herpesvirus 3 or HHV3), naturally
acquired chickenpox may provide protection against other
herpesviruses that have been implicated in causing cancer,
Bell's Palsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and chronic fatigue
syndrome. 18
On the other side of the debate, Dr. Anne Gershon of Columbia
University recommends vaccinating children to help patients cope
with leukemia. "Because of the complexities involved in
immunizing leukemic children, there seems to be a greater
interest in vaccinating healthy varicella-susceptible
individuals rather than leukemic children. If immunization with
varicella vaccine were recommended for all 15-month-old infants,
most children who become immunosuppressed because of development
of leukemia would already have been vaccinated against varicella-zoster
virus." 19
Although technically correct, Gershon's opinion isn't taken
seriously by critics of vaccines. Vaccinating millions of
healthy babies every year to protect leukemic children against
chickenpox seems a stretch, but it's the kind of thinking that
forms vaccination policy. The official reason behind vaccinating
infants for Hepatitis B was in case these tots grew up to engage
in high-risk sex or use IV drugs. Babies aren't statistically at
risk for Hepatitis B. They are vaccinated because they are
"accessible."
Still, what about the 100 people who die of chickenpox each
year? You certainly wouldn't want your child to be one of them.
"Sadly, about 7,400 kids end up in the hospital each year
because of problems due to chickenpox. . . . And tragically,
about forty children lose their lives," warns a Merck Varivax
advertisement. But, a skeptic would ask, are those numbers
accurate? Not entirely. Even Merck's clinical papers
characterize chickenpox as a "benign, self-limiting disease."
Technically speaking, people die not from chickenpox, but from
complications, such as pneumonia, staph infection, meningitis,
and encephalitis.
Moreover, some investigators suggest that modern medicine is to
blame. After reviewing the medical records of several children
who had allegedly died of chickenpox, Gary Krasner, director of
the Coalition for Informed Choice, an anti-vaccine advocacy
group, concludes: "Nearly all of these deaths were a result of
standard medical care. Physicians would treat the children with
antibiotics, analgesics, or steroidal medications as their
condition grew progressively worse. . . . The doctors responded
to each new symptom with yet another drug, until the children
died." 20 Here's one such
report:
"On February 28, 1997 , a previously healthy, unvaccinated
21-month-old boy developed a typical varicella rash. . . . On
March 1, he was taken to a local emergency department (ED) with
a high fever and was started on oral acetaminophen [Tylenol] and
diphenhydramine [an antihistamine]. On March 3, his primary-care
physician prescribed oral acyclovir [an antiviral]. On March 4,
his mother noted a new petechial-like rash. . . . [H]is
primary-care physician noted lethargy, a purpuric rash, and poor
perfusion [pulse]. He was transferred to a local ED. Fluid
resuscitation and intravenous ceftriaxone [an antibiotic] were
initiated, but the child continued to deteriorate rapidly,
requiring intubation, mechanical ventilation, and inotropic
[heart] support with dopamine [a morphine-like
neurotransmitter]. . . . [H]e suffered cardiac arrest and died.
The death was attributed to varicella." 21 (our italics)
What's interesting about this case is that it and two others
were specific examples published in a 1998 issue of the CDC's
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly to promote childhood
vaccinations. 22 The cases were from 1997 in Texas and Iowa .
It's unclear why these deaths were highlighted out of the
alleged 100 chickenpox deaths that year. However, it's crucial
to know that the second child, an asthmatic on the steroid
Prednisone, was also given an antipyretic (probably aspirin or
acetaminophen), and eventually developed and died from Group A
strep (GAS).
The third child was treated with five antibiotics: one
"unspecified," then methicillin and ceftriaxone, until he
developed penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus. He was then put
on nafcillin and gentamicin. Antibiotics can complicate
varicella. First off, varicella is a virus, against which
antibiotics are useless. Antibiotics may be necessary in
advanced cases against secondary bacterial infections, but, Gary
Krasner says, they impair the immune system-and the healing
process, since they kill the good bacteria along with the bad.
"After cells have been damaged, it is important for bacteria,
acting as scavengers, to attack and devour the weakened, injured
and dead cells. Otherwise, these dead cells would become
accumulated toxic waste themselves." 23
Antibiotics were recently found to increase the risk of
hemolytic-uremic syndrome when used for treatment of children
with E. coli. 24 Whether or not they also complicate varicella
remains unknown. Another issue to consider is that overuse of
antibiotics has led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Of note
are the relative prevalence of antibiotic-resistant
streptococcus pneumoniae in daycare centers, and the relative
prevalence of streptococcus pneumoniae in varicella
complications and deaths. 25
Krasner's theories are partially substantiated by a 1999 paper
by Benjamin Estrada, MD, of the University of South Alabama .
Estrada reports that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) such as aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxin, and ibuprofen
(Motrin, Advil, Nuprin) promote such GAS infections as
necrotizing fasciitis (NF) and streptococcal toxic-shock
syndrome-some of the major complications of varicella. The
correspondence is significant: doctors routinely prescribe
NSAIDs to lessen the aches and itching of chickenpox. 26
Estrada cites several studies. One found that development of
invasive GAS infection was 8.3 times more likely in patients who
used ibuprofen during the first five days after the onset of
chickenpox. Another, focusing on NF, found that ibuprofen use
led to twice as many hospitalizations as in control groups.
27-29
But with dangerous regularity, physicians prescribe NSAIDs such
as ibuprofen to children with chickenpox. Take online Parents
Place/Parent Soup "expert" Robert Steele, MD, for example. His
column was awarded Best of the Pediatric Internet by the AAP,
and Sesame Street magazine calls it one of the Best Health Sites
for Parents. Yet Steele happily promotes ibuprofen for "fever
control" during chickenpox because it's free of "sticky
theoretical considerations." 30 Theoretical? Estrada would
differ.
One other varicella-linked pharmacological danger is Reye's
Syndrome, a life-threatening condition that causes liver failure
and swelling of the brain. Epidemiological research links Reye's
Syndrome and the use of aspirin for treating the symptoms
(usually fever) of chickenpox. 31 Moreover, according to the
National Reye's Syndrome Foundation, "An epidemic of flu or
chickenpox is commonly followed by an increase in the number of
cases of Reye's Syndrome." 32 Symptoms include irregular
breathing and lethargy, two symptoms that often appear in case
studies of varicella deaths. Reye's Syndrome is often
misdiagnosed as encephalitis or meningitis, two complications
that often appear in case studies of varicella deaths. Is it
possible that aspirin is making a benign virus a killer?
Then there's the "death by misadventure" case of Lexie
McConnell, a nine-year-old girl from England . She, too, died of
chickenpox, but the coroner's inquest directly linked her death
to the steroid Prednisone. She had been prescribed the potent
anti-inflammatory drug for a pre-existing eye infection. Her
parents have since collected a 20,000-signature petition calling
for an inquiry into corticosteroid prescription in Britain, a
motion that has reached as high as the European Parliament. 33
The VAERS post-licensure study also faulted medical
practitioners for contributing to varicella complications by
simply administering the vaccine. "Pregnant women occasionally
received varicella vaccine through confusion with varicella
zoster immunoglobulin," 34 According to JAMA.
Besides these medical mishaps, there is another pattern in
chickenpox-related fatalities: pre-existing medical conditions.
Vaccine proponents often refer to a Reuters report that cites
six Florida deaths in 1998 linked to chickenpox. "Since all six
were good candidates for the vaccine, these deaths could have
been prevented." A closer examination of the cases reveals that
only two of the deaths were of children. One, an asthmatic, had
been on steroids and died on a respirator. The other had
leukemia and had been on immunosuppressive therapy since
receiving a bone-marrow transplant. Of the adults, one was also
an asthmatic on steroids (Prednisone again); another had
diabetes, asthma, and cirrhosis of the liver. 35 Also
interesting to note is that two of the adults who died were born
and raised in Cuba. Because varicella is susceptible to heat, it
is less easily communicated in tropical areas. People from the
tropics are less likely to acquire immunity in childhood, and
thus have higher rates of susceptibility as adults.
But we at the party knew all that. Our children were all
healthy. None had asthma or leukemia (that we knew of), and no
one was on steroids. Nor were we planning to give anyone
Tylenol, aspirin, or NSAIDS of any kind. It was our belief that,
given the correct circumstances, what we were doing was
acceptably safe, rationally prudent, and would give our children
a lifetime of immunity to a disease that could be dangerous in
adulthood.
Yes, we all lost a night or two of sleep with a fussy child-the
vaccine reportedly results in a milder version of chickenpox.
But we felt those missed hours were worth the preservation of
our children's health and well-being. Besides, they don't give
out party hats at the doctor's office.
NOTES
1. Jim Ritter, "Ties to Drug Company Raise Vaccine Questions,"
Chicago Sun Times, 27 January 2002 .
2. "Evaluation of Varicella Reporting to the National Notifiable
Disease Surveillance System: United States, 1972-1997," MMWR 48,
no. 3 ( 29 January1999 ): 55-58.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "Low Varicella Vaccine Effectiveness Identified at Day Care
Center ," Reuters Health, 19 December 2001 .
6. Avram Goldstein, "Chickenpox Cases Raise Questions,"
Washington Post, 2 February 2001 : B08.
7. "Chickenpox Vaccine Doesn't Ensure Protection," Reuters
Health, 11December 2002 .
8. Victoria Stagg Elliott, "Chickenpox Vaccine's Staying Power
Questioned," www.amednews.com , 20 January 2003 .
9. P. A. Brunell, T. Argaw, "Chickenpox Attributable to a
Vaccine Virus Contracted from a Vaccinee with Zoster,"
Pediatrics 106, no. 2 (August 2000): e28.
10. R. P. Wise et al., "Postlicensure Safety Surveillance for
Varicella Vaccine," Journal of the American Medical Association
284 (2000): 1271-1279.
11. Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC Press Release, 13 September 2000 .
12. Ibid.
13. Committee on Infectious Diseases, " American Academy of
Pediatrics: Varicella Vaccine Update," Pediatrics 105 (January
2000): 1, 136-141.
14. K. M. Severyn, RPh, PhD, "Profits, Not Science, Drive
Vaccine Mandates," Medical Sentinel 5, no. 5 (2000): 173-174.
15. S. L. Thomas et al., "Contacts with Varicella or with
Children and Protection Against Herpes Zoster in Adults: A
Case-Control Study," The Lancet 360, no. 9334 (2002): 678-682.
16. K. M. Severyn, RPh, PhD, "Chickenpox Vaccine: Does Everyone
Need It?." Ohio Parents for Vaccine Safety Newsletter (Autumn
1994).
17. Arthur Lavin , MD , letter to the editor, The Lancet 343,
no. 8909 (1994): 1363.
18. www.mercola.com/2001/feb/14/chicken_pox_vaccine.htm .
19. Anne A. Gershon, MD, "Varicella Vaccine: Still at the
Crossroads,"Pediatrics 90 (1992): 144-148.
20. Gary Krasner, "Chickenpox: Why Do Children Die?," Well
Beings Newsletter (January 1999).
21. "Varicella-Related Deaths Among Children: United States ,
1997," MMWR47, no. 18 ( 15 May 1998 ): 365-368.
22. Ibid.
23. See Note 20.
24. L. B. Zimmerhackl, "E. coli, Antibiotics, and the
Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome," New England Journal of Medicine 342,
no. 26 ( 29 June 2000 ): 1990-1991.
25. L. A. Mandell et al., "The Battle Against Emerging
Antibiotic Resistance: Should Fluoroquinolones Be Used to Treat
Children?," Clinical Infectious Diseases 35 (2002): 721-726.
26. Benjamin Estrada , MD , "Varicella and GAS: Do NSAIDs Fuel
the Fire?"Infect Med 16, no. 5 (1999): 307.
27. D. M. Zerr et al., "A Case-Control Study of Necrotizing
FasciitisDuring Primary Varicella," Pediatrics 103 (1999):
783-790.
28. T. Brogan et al., "Group A Streptococcal Necrotizing
FasciitisComplicating Primary Varicella: A Series of Fourteen
Patients," Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 14 (1995):
588-594.
29. C. L. Peterson et al., "Risk Factor for Invasive Group A
Streptococcal Infections in Children with Varicella: A
Case-Control Study," Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 15
(1996): 151-156.
30.www.parentsoup.com/experts/ped/qas/0,,200532_417014,00.html?arrivalSA=1&arrival_freqCap=1&pba=adid=6283455 .
31. "Reye's Syndrome-Ohio, Michigan ," MMWR 46, no.
32 ( 15 August 1997 ): 750-755. 32.
www.reyessyndrome.org/what.htm .
33. "Traumatised Parents Agree Payout," BBC News, 23 June 1999 ,
01:21 GMT02:21 UK .
34. See Note 10.
35. "Varicella-Related Deaths-Florida, 1998," MMWR 48, no. 18 (
14 May 1999 ): 379-381.
For more information about chickenpox, see the following past
issues of Mothering: "The Chickenpox Vaccine," no. 79 and
"Putting Up with Chickenpox," no.70.