It was once believed that the antibody-mediated protection afforded by
vaccines lasted a lifetime, but this was no more than a presumption based on
rudimentary knowledge of the human immune system. Contrary to CDC estimates of
“lifelong” immunity from certain vaccines, Harvard trained doctor of Immunology
at Rockefeller University, Tetyana
Obukhanych explains that current science lacks the ability to reliably estimate the duration of
protection afforded by vaccines.1 In fact, evidence that vaccine-induced
protection is relatively short-lived is staggering.
Similar to G.A. Poland’s findings in 20122, Dr. Obukhanych‘s
analyses of measles outbreaks among highly vaccinated populations finds that a high percentage of MMR-vaccinated
children lose measles-neutralizing titer levels sufficient to protect them from
measles infection by the time they reach adolescence.1 3 While primary efficacy of the measles vaccine
appears to be relatively high (producing protective measles titers in more than
90% of vaccinees) secondary measles vaccine failure is observed in high numbers as
measles-neutralizing titers in the previously vaccinated fall below protective
levels.1 2 3
Such high rates of secondary measles vaccine failure (in part) explains
the prevalence of measles outbreaks in highly vaccinated populations and also
calls into question the claim that a growing number of unvaccinated children
are to blame for these outbreaks. The proportion of unvaccinated or partially
vaccinated children in the U.S. is estimated to be less than 4 percent (in some
areas, less than 1 percent) of the population.4
While public health authorities,
politicians and media personalities are all clamoring for higher MMR uptake
among children, high rates of secondary
measles vaccine failure means that properly vaccinated adults (not
unvaccinated children) account for the majority of susceptibles
during an outbreak (i.e. properly vaccinated adults are the most
significant vectors for infection and transmission of the measles virus).
Before mass-vaccination for measles, adults would have been the least likely
vectors for the measles virus, as the majority of adults would have acquired
lifelong immunity after natural measles infection during childhood. The
unforeseen effect of mass-vaccination for measles is that the distribution of susceptibles has been skewed towards adults and infants, those
most likely to experience measles morbidity and mortality. Meanwhile, children
are protected by the measles vaccine (temporarily) during the time when their
immune systems are best suited to handle the virus.3
Dr. Obukhanych’s
unique perspective on disease and immunology sheds light on some of the
fundamental differences between vaccine-conferred immunity and natural
immunity. Obukhanych explains that the protective
benefits of vaccines diminish over time (often called ‘waning immunity’), while naturally acquired immunity is generally lifelong
with the added benefits of maternally-conferred immunity to infants and ‘immune
boosting effects’ during cyclical re-exposure to disease.1 3 Obukhanych explains that suppression of natural disease by
vaccines in a population inadvertently leads to a marked loss of maternal
antibodies, leaving infants and young children more vulnerable to morbidity
and mortality from infectious diseases than ever. Studies consistently
demonstrate that mothers with natural immunity to disease confer more and
longer-lasting protection to their offspring than vaccinated mothers.5 With the most important form of disease protection
for infants coming from passive immunity conferred by the mother in utero and via breast milk, low levels of maternal
antibodies in the over-vaccinated mother can have devastating consequences for
the immune potential of infants.6 7
In summary, the U. S. saw an extreme
decline in measles mortality (>95 percent) before 1963 when the first
measles vaccine was introduced. After decades of mass-vaccination for measles,
experts observed
that the measles vaccine has a high rate of secondary failure, rendering it ineffective
at preventing measles outbreaks. Due to this “waning immunity”, properly
vaccinated adults are now the most significant vectors for infection and transmission
of the measles virus. Moreover, infants are at greater risk of measles
infection than they were prior to mass-vaccination, both because vaccinated
mothers cannot confer adequate measles protection to their babies and because
the MMR is not approved for routine use until 1 year of age. This, taken
together with the long list of side-effects associated with the MMR (which
include atypical measles infection and death) calls into serious
question whether mass vaccination of populations against measles is desirable
at all, let alone necessary.
References:
2.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905323/
3.
http://www.naturalimmunityfundamentals.com/herdimmunity
4.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/health/the-unvaccinated/
5.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/208/1/10.abstract
6.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/1/1.full
7.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1399-3038.2001.121404.x/abstract
Advances in Immunology
Using the
analogy of a spring, a book published
by Oxford University Press called “Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action” describes the human immune system
in the following way:
“If a spring is “sprung” too often over time, it will start
to lose its “elasticity”, and, thus its ability to return to the original shape
after being stretched. If the immune
system is too frequently and severely challenged over time…this process may prematurely age the system leading to
“dysregulation.”1 [emphasis mine]
The
human immune system is comprised of 2 trillion cells and has two components: an
innate system and an adaptive system. Dr. Donald Miller,
Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington explains that common
infectious diseases of childhood play an essential role in the maturation of
the adaptive immune system.2 The adaptive immune system is
managed by two types of helper-T cells: cellular T-cells (Th1); and humoral T-cells (Th2). Proper
development of the adaptive immune system depends on stimulation of both Th1
and Th2 components of this system in relative balance. 1 3
Overstimulation of the Th2 component of the
adaptive immune system has been associated with various autoimmune conditions
and diseases of immune dysregulation. 1 3
4
While natural exposure to common diseases
of childhood (like measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox) stimulate both the Th1 and Th2 components of the
adaptive immune system, vaccines stimulate primarily the Th2 component which
has the effect of both increasing Th2 development and inhibiting Th1
development.3
4 Because vaccines stimulate the
adaptive immune system in an unbalanced way, many scientists and doctors are
beginning to make the connection between overstimulation of the Th2 side of the
immune system early in life by vaccines, and a wide array of immune
dysfunctions and even cancer. Given that Th1
cells are essential in protecting against cancer, mechanisms that compromise
the development of the Th1 side of the immune system (including vaccines) are
suspected of increasing susceptibility to developing cancer later in life.2
The Th2 component of the adaptive immune
system is primarily concerned with the production of antibodies. Vaccines
appear to be very good at generating antibodies (at least in the short-term)
but do increased antibody levels necessarily mean ‘protection’? Contrary to the
long-held belief that antibodies are essential for protection against
infectious diseases, a recent study finds not only that high antibody levels do
not necessarily confer protection, but that antibodies are in fact not required for protection against
some viruses. A 2012 study published in Immunity Journal found that when mice were infected with vesicular stomatitis
virus, “antibodies are
neither needed nor sufficient for protection.”5 The results of this and other similar studies
suggest that the immunological mechanisms underlying protection from infectious
diseases are far more complex than previously believed.
References:
2. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/02/donald-w-miller-jr-md/more-dangerous-than-measles/
3. www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/13377/title/Distinguishing-Th1-and-Th2-Cells/
4. http://www.invivogen.com/review-vaccine-adjuvants
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.