Educated parents shun vaccines for their toddlers.

May 24, 2008

Friday, May 23, 2008

A growing concern

Vaccine, autism link explored

Fears that shots may cause condition push parents to action

Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP -- Heidi and Doug Scheer's decision to stop vaccinating their three children -- ages 4, 7, and 8 -- has been met with alarm and skepticism by outsiders.

But the couple said their choice to refuse additional childhood immunizations recommended by the U.S. government for their family has also brought them something else: a sense of relief and, unexpectedly, hope.

The Scheers, like a small but growing number of American families, believe vaccines may have triggered autism in their 7-year-old son, Gannon, and that avoiding future shots could spare their other children the same fate.

"There has been a definite shift in people's reactions," said Heidi Scheer, 41. "Everyone thought we were nuts. Now they say they agree, and it's not a closed door. People are becoming more aware of the dangers."

The issue of whether childhood vaccinations are linked to autism has sparked a fierce national debate between parents of autistic children who offer endless anecdotal evidence and the scientific and medical communities that say current data does not support a connection.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism. For boys the number is a staggering 1 in 94.

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others, according to the Autism Society of America. There is no known single cause for autism, but many doctors say there is a strong hereditary component.

Organizers of a national march taking place June 4 in Washington, D.C., are pushing for Congress to re-enact legislation that would eliminate mercury and other toxins from vaccines and study the prevalence of autism in vaccinated versus nonvaccinated children.

Rebecca Estepp, a spokeswoman for Talk About Curing Autism and a co-organizer of the "Green Our Vaccines" march, said the group is not anti-vaccine. It wants preservatives such as mercury and chemicals like aluminum, formaldehyde, ether and antifreeze removed.

"We are for vaccine safety reform. Children deserve to be protected from childhood diseases," Estepp said. "Then you find out these vaccines are full of preservatives that are toxic. We are injecting them right in our babies. We need to look at this."

Supporters say the increasing number of autism cases over the past 15 years mirrors the increase in the number of inoculations recommended. In 1983, the number of vaccines recommended for children from birth to age 6 was 10. In 1995, it had increased to 15. Today, the number is 36.

Curtis Allen, a CDC spokesman, said more shots are needed today because the CDC can protect children against more diseases such as rotovirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children. Flu shots -- starting at six months and one again for every year through age 6 -- were also added to the schedule in recent years, bringing the number up to the three-dozen mark.

"It's a good thing -- many of these diseases can be quite serious. They can be fatal," Allen said. "Although we don't see many cases in the United States, these diseases exist in many parts of the world. They are only a plane ride away. The last time we had a measles outbreak we had 55,000 cases -- 120 kids died."

Many parents point to a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal as the cause of their child's autism. CDC officials say the last dose of vaccine made with thimerosal expired in 2002 and that only flu vaccines still contain it. Other ingredients such as aluminum are there to make a vaccine more effective, Allen said.

"Everything that is in a vaccination has a reason to be there," he said. "It increases the vaccination's ability to provide protection."

The parents of two 10-year-old Oregon boys who believe vaccines caused their sons to develop autism brought their case to U.S. federal court in early May, arguing thimerosal caused a rare reaction.

Their case is being heard by a special court trying to determine if autism might sometimes be caused by vaccines. Nearly 4,900 cases have been filed by parents who believe vaccines may have caused autism in their children and are seeking payment under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Dr. David Tayloe, president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said 14 studies done in United States and around the world have determined there is no medical evidence of an association between thimerosal, vaccines and autism.

"If enough parents decide not to vaccinate, their children won't be the only ones who suffer. With 4 million births a year, we must continue to immunize until we have medical evidence that we are doing something wrong," Tayloe said.

Dr. John Dorsey, a Beaumont doctor and Beverly Hills pediatrician with 22,000 children in his practice, said parents have started asking more questions about vaccines.

One challenging factor is that signs of autism often appear around 15 months, during the time that a large number of vaccines are required, including the combined measles, mumps, rubella, or MMR, vaccine.

"Sometimes I see parents who come in who are really afraid," Dorsey said. "I delay that vaccine until age 2. It's a simple answer, and they are really relieved."

Dorsey said his approach is to listen to parents. In turn, they listen to him, he says, due to his 51 years of experience. That means almost all still get the shots for their children.

"Pediatricians have become very passionate about their patients receiving vaccines," he said. "We had a conference on the ethics of it, and it was emotionally charged. Some pediatricians will kick patients out of their practice if they don't get vaccines for their kids. They don't want to be responsible if the child gets sick."

Jennifer McLellan, a mother of two from Macomb County, said she has decided to take a slower approach to her children's vaccines, allowing only two shots -- instead of four to five -- to be given at any one time during their well visits.

"We have just decided to be conservative with vaccines. I was shocked when they wanted to give my daughter (a vaccine) in the hospital after she was born. They need a little more time to get their immune system going," McLellan said.

Scheer is attending the march in Washington and will meet celebrity Jenny McCarthy, who also has a son with autism.

Scheer believes the MMR vaccine coupled with a weak immune system triggered autism in her son Gannon when he was 15 months old. Her once babbling child lost all his speech, experienced chronic diarrhea and stopped communicating with his parents.

Scheer spent months changing his diet, began biomedical treatments and stopped all his vaccines. Today, Gannon, 7, is on the road to recovery.

"I think this is going to be a history-making event," Scheer said. "The CDC needs to listen: Get the toxins out. It's the most important thing we can do for our children now."

You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (248) 647-7402 or jchambers.