
The Pathological Optimist, a movie and my thoughts
Recently my husband and I watched a documentary on Amazon Prime (so it’s free on that platform) called The Pathological Optimist. It is a documentary about Dr. Andy Wakefield’s journey from successful doctor and researcher in the UK through the whole maze and nightmare of the vaccine and autism controversy. I have met Andy, been to a showing of Vaxxed where he spoke and have done considerable research on the subject. If you are interested in this topic I really recommend both movies. Vaxxed focuses more on the stories of people who have been harmed by vaccines. You may think you have made up your mind on the question of vaccines but have you taken the time to look at the body of research and the stories of people who have huge concerns about vaccines?
Andy and his wife Carmel live here in Austin. His kids attended Westlake High School. If you live in Austin you will recognize lots of the locations where they filmed including my original yoga home, Yoga Vida on Bee Cave Rd. The Wakefields moved to Austin after it was apparent that his career in the UK was destroyed.
Some highlights of what is covered (and true) : Andy never said in his original article published in the Lancet (he was not the lead author by the way, in fact he was the last author on the paper) that the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine caused autism. He is a gastroenterologist and how he became involved was because several mothers of children with significant GI symptoms had reached out to him to treat their children’s bowel symptoms, which they said occurred after their children received the MMR. A study was conducted and the paper concluded that this potential association ‘merited further study’. Neither he nor the paper ever state there was a causal relationship between MMR and autism. Wakefield never recommended delaying or forgoing vaccination. In fact he felt that vaccination for these childhood illnesses was important… but that rather than give the trivalent vaccine (all three in one, the MMR) he recommended parents opt for the monovalent vaccines, separate vaccines each for measles, mumps and rubella, given spaced out over time rather than given as a combined vaccine….his concern was that 3 vaccines given at one time might overwhelm certain vulnerable children’s immune systems and further investigation was important. These facts are crucial to understanding what happened to both Wakefield and to the investigation into vaccine safety.
Interestingly after all of this controversy the vaccine companies quit making the monovalent vaccines and only offer the MMR…period. The same has occurred with TDap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis). I am a nurse in an ER. I was taking care of a patient who had never been vaccinated and I contacted the pharmacist to see if he could be given plain tetanus toxoid. The pharmacist informed me it is no longer available. If you go to an ER with a skin injury or anything where a tetanus ‘booster’ is recommended know that you will get the TDap. ( As an ER nurse I feel I can say this with authority as this is now what is referred to as ‘the standard of care’) Personally, I think this is BS! A simple tetanus toxoid is all that might be necessary but that option has been removed…by the pharmaceutical industry.
In the documentary it states that over a 100 studies have been done into the association between vaccines and autism and no association has been shown as a result of these studies. On the face of things that sounds pretty conclusive. But I’d like you to just consider for one minute what the impact would be in our country, in the West, throughout the world, if scientific studies were conducted that do show an association between vaccines and autism ( and there are some, I can provide some references to those of you who are interested). Imagine the backlash! Imagine the outcries! Imagine the pain, suffering, heartbreak, fear and the rage! Consider what lies ahead now that the first case against Monsanto which has just had a $289 million judgment leveled again them for for the roll of RoundUp (glyphosate) in causing cancer! Scientists, doctors and researchers now have coined a term, “Wakefielded”, which refers to the fear of being forced out of medicine, having their license to practice taken away, their ability to be a doctor and earn a living removed, to having their professional integrity and credibility destroyed. Most of the people with the credentials to produce the studies that could show a relationship between neuro-developmental problems and vaccines do not want to be ‘Wakefielded’. It is professional suicide. Where do you suppose the money and support for the studies declaring vaccines ‘safe’ come from? Yep, the pharmaceutical companies that produce them.
Pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines cannot be held accountable for injuries due to vaccines….and they do occur. Can you fathom? This is true. In the late 1980’s when people were suing for injuries to their children or to themselves (flu vaccines in adults primarily) the companies that produce vaccines went to the government and basically said they would refuse to produce vaccines, period, unless they were protected from legal action and they were granted that immunity by our government. This legislation is called the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. It basically exempts these pharmaceutical companies from any liability. Parents can go before the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program which will compensate families for injuries (they have paid out over 3 billion dollars to families to date) but the funds do NOT come from the pharmaceutical companies. There is something about all of this that stinks…that wreaks actually.
Then in 2011 A U.S. Supreme Court decision gave drug companies total liability protection for injuries and deaths caused by government mandated vaccines.
In a 2014 survey conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 58% of pediatricians reported that parents are requesting modified or delayed vaccine schedules for their children. Parents are concerned. They should be! The question of vaccine safety has not be adequately answered and for all of those parents the issue is far from settled.
Draw your own conclusions. I am not categorically against vaccination. I want vaccine safety. However until it is apparent that the pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines are committed to the safety and efficacy of their products rather than in protecting their financial interests and their legal immunity, I will continue to decline vaccination.
