A billboard against vaccines for babies is
located at Shannon Mobile Home Sales property, 4575 North U.S. 441.
JANNET WALSH/STAR-BANNER
OCALA - Not all Marion County parents are crowding into health
clinics seeking vaccinations for their children.
Wendy Callahan of Hawthorne proudly takes credit for the "Love Them, Protect
Them, Never Inject Them" billboard that appeared along North U.S. Highway 441
in Ocala.
The sign, posted since July 27 on the site of Shannon Mobile Homes Sales,
claims that vaccines can cause serious health problems such as autism, chronic
ear infections and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Callahan is not a doctor. She is a mother whose son, Chase, suffered three
months of seizures at age 15 months after receiving a round of vaccinations.
Her daughter Leah, she said, stopped breathing after receiving vaccinations at
age 2 months.
"This was when I was getting into the elevator afterward," Callahan recalled.
"I ran back and told them she had stopped breathing; they looked at me like I
was crazy. I actually had to shake her to get her to start breathing again."
Leah, now 7, is healthy, Callahan said, as is Chase, now 6. But Callahan has
joined a national movement of parents convinced that vaccines are toxic
substances that injure children.
"I want to get to the moms before they vaccinate their children and allow them
to make an informed choice," said Callahan, who paid $900 for the billboard,
funded largely through donations. She has enough money, she said, to keep the
sign up up for two more months, and is aiming for a year.
Callahan home-schools both of her children for fear that "the vaccine-mobile
will come to catch them up on their vaccines," she said. "One more could kill
my son."
Though rare, it is possible for seizures and other allergic reactions to
result from vaccinations, said Dr. Suzie Kerns, a pediatrician in Ocala.
That does not, however, negate their importance, she said.
"Vaccines are among the greatest medical advances in medical history," Kerns
said. "The diseases that used to claim our children back around the turn of
the century no longer do because of vaccines. The benefits are straightforward
and proven."
During the 1980s, Kerns said, she saw children with "devastating" problems
like meningitis due to infection of the Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib,
bacteria.
Vaccinations have since made Hib infections rare, she said. Meanwhile, studies
show that dangerous diseases gain strength when vaccination rates fall off.
In 1998, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blamed a measles
outbreak in an Alaskan school on students' failures to get second measles
shots. Health officials in Ireland attributed measles outbreaks in 2002 to
flagging vaccination rates.
"It's a parent's responsibility not only to protect their child but also to
protect others," Kerns said. "By their children not being vaccinated, it does
put some people at risk."
The debate is not new. For years, parents questioned whether thimerosal in
vaccines was contributing to the rise in autism. Thimerosal, a preservative,
contains a mercury compound related to another mercury compound proven to
cause learning disabilities.
Though studies failed to conclusively link autism with thimerosal, it was
mostly eliminated from child vaccines in 2001. Jo Pike, executive director of
the National Autism Association, said mercury continues to be her group's main
concern about vaccines - especially since some vaccines containing thimerosal
have not expired and continue to be administered.
On July 19, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
the Food and Drug Administration held a press conference where they urged more
autism research but disputed any link with modern vaccination, citing a recent
Institute of Medicine study.
Callahan rejects those assurances. Recently, she joined the board of the
Florida chapter of The Autism Autoimmunity Project, another anti-vaccination
group based in Davie.
TAAP chapter president April Oakes believes that a vaccination left her
daughter Casi autistic and ultimately led her to death at age 4 in 1999. "I
had to learn about vaccinations the hard way," Oakes said. "We are parents who
know without question that our babies are vaccine injured."
State health department officials stand by their federal counterparts.
"The Department of Health takes the safety of anybody vaccinated very
seriously," spokesman Doc Kokol said. "Because of that, we follow the true
experts in the field. Both the CDC and FDA have noted that these drugs are
safe, and that they are effective, and we will continue to follow their
guidelines."
Kokol added that concerned parents should speak with their doctors. "We would
hope they would use the best science and medical advice" in making their
decisions, he said.
__________ Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (352) 867-4119
or
Exemptions to immunizations
According to the Star-Banner's front page article of Aug. 4, "School
Preparations" by Rick Cundiff, "not getting immunizations isn't an option."
This statement is only half true. In all 50 states, there are exemptions
available to any parent who does not want to take a chance on injecting their
child with toxic substances.
In Florida, a religious exemption or medical waiver is accepted for filing
with the health department. If filed, a parent can still have their child
attend any government or private school or daycare.
When I made the decision to no longer immunize my children, I wrote out a
simple statement of my religious convictions against immunizations and filed
one for each child. I felt that injecting my children with potentially harmful
substances, toxic cocktails and cells derived from aborted babies, was an
irresponsible act as a Christian and dangerous from any angle.
Medical exemptions can also be obtained from sympathetic doctors or for
children with a known sensitivity to certain vaccine substances. When one
begins to research vaccine efficacy and safety, one has to ask the question:
How can something that is produced using mercury derivatives, potentially
contaminated animal cells and other toxins too many to name in this letter be
good for you?
Also, those of us that take a hard right-to-life stance should have a strong
philosophical objection to the fact that numerous vaccines were concocted
using the cells of precious babies lost through abortion.
According to Marion County School District mouthpiece, Kevin Christian, more
than 700 400 children were sent home due to not having immunizations. The
state cannot turn away a child who has on file with the health department an
exemption against immunization. That is information that seems to be less than
readily available to most parents.
Another question: If immunized children are indeed immune to the diseases they
were vaccinated for, why turn away the children that are not vaccinated? Could
it be possible that these required immunizations are really not as effective
as advertised?
My hat is off to Wendy Callahan, who has spent many hours of her time and
energy trying to inform the public about vaccine dangers. I am especially glad
she was able to secure a billboard on the highway that will reach many parents
and that the Star-Banner gave her coverage. She has a passion for informing
parents about the dangerous side effects of vaccines, and she should be
commended for the effort she has put forth.
Eileen Slattery
Belleview
Prevention or problem?
BY ALLISON SEAMAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BANNER
Charlie Parker Reeder, 2, in the arms of his father, John Reeder, is
vaccinated by Dr. Mac Van Gilder in his New York City office.
MARILYN K. YEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES FILE 2002
It never ceases to amaze me how few parents understand that their children
cannot be denied the right to an education simply because they refuse to
vaccinate their children.
A recent Star-Banner article said children would not be allowed to attend
school until proof of immunization is furnished. This scare tactic is patently
untrue and a misrepresentation of fact.
Florida recognizes a religious exemption waiver that any parent can obtain at
the health department when choosing not to vaccinate. You simply sign this
waiver and give a copy to your child's school for their permanent record. Why
is this right to opt out of vaccinating not commonly known and, quite frankly,
hidden from parents?
Parents are frightened to death by a medical community that makes a pretty
decent living selling vaccine.
It upset me to also read Dr. Suzie Kerns' statement that not vaccinating
children "puts some people at risk," implying parents opting out of the
current vaccination protocol are jeopardizing the health and safety of others.
Hogwash.
Most people would be interested to know that the incidence of life-threatening
disease was on a marked decline before the vaccination program's inception.
Also, there has never, ever been any long-term human trial on the efficacy of
the vaccination program - ever. So how is it that these doctors are so
emphatic about the safety of these vaccines? What do they really know about
them long term?
Further, it is interesting to note that the Amish, a historically unvaccinated
population for generations, have fared just fine over the years with no
significant epidemic of disease.
Conversely, our vaccinated population, adults and children, is suffering from
explosive numbers of people with autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic childhood asthma, rheumatoid
arthritis and other auto-immune diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome,
fibromayagia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia and Parkinson's.
Is it really so implausible for anyone to entertain that vaccinations might be
making our country sick? Give me a break, please.
The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and pharmaceutical companies for years have accused many very
reputable doctors of making unfounded claims linking vaccinations to injury.
What is the payoff?
Many have put their money, in funding of independent research, and reputations
on the line just to find out the truth, one way or the other. Meanwhile,
reputable doctors from very esteemed universities, hospitals and faculties
have had their reputations sullied by doctors working for pharmaceutical
companies or doctors who may just want to keep selling vaccine.
Drs. David and Mark Geier received a congressional order to use the existing
Department of Health and Human Services' Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting
System, or VAERS, vaccine injury data to get to the truth. But this data was
kept from them for years, thereby stalling the study. Why?
David Kirby's book, "Evidence of Harm," will enlighten any who chooses to
inform themselves about the Geier study and then some.
"Vaccinate because I say so" just isn't good enough anymore.
Being the mother of an autistic son damaged by his vaccines, I have earned the
right to shout that statement from the rooftops. Parents should not be
frightened into blindly following the herd vaccination program for fear their
children will be denied an education. Do your homework, and make an informed
choice in spite of the "big lie."
OCALA, Florida—VacLib Florida Chapter Director Wendy Callahan has been
dreaming about an anti-vac billboard for over two years. A year ago she vowed
to make the dream a reality and started squirreling money away—a dollar here,
five dollars there. Last May, when she was getting close to having enough
money, Wendy began calling around to find the right billboard company at the
right price.
In May Wendy informed the VacLib network that she had had priced the cost of
creating the artwork for the billboard and the cost per month to keep the
billboard up.
Wendy’s enthusiasm was infectious and caused a flurry of activity among
several people in the network to develop a powerful billboard message. VacLib
webmanager Dewey Duffel in Montana and VacLib Arizona Chapter Director Kim
Medlin really took the project to heart and can be credited with piecing
together various components into the excellent design that now graces Ocala.
Though the text of the billboard is altered from the original (as memorialized
in the VacLib postcards and business cards, available in quantities), the
message is clear and bold—and it’s so near a McDonald’s restaurant that a high
percentage of people in the area who need vaccine truth are going to find it.
The billboard cost about $900 for the first month and will cost $400 for each
additional month. At this time it appears the Lamar billboard company is
willing to keep the "Love Them. Protect Them. NEVER Inject Them" message up in
this location as long as the monthly rent is paid.
As you can see, the only contact number indicated is the VacLib website. Dewey
Duffel is monitoring the site to see whether or not there is an increase in
cyber traffic that can be attributed to the billboard.
Since the billboard went up, Wendy has been contacted by the local newspaper
and the big sign has made the evening news.
Vaccination Liberation - vaclib.org
Make money, help your country and support The Idaho Observer at the same time
by signing up as a NORFED Redemption Center.
August 8, 2005
Florida Mom Calls For End of Vaccinations
By Mara Burney
We might expect concerned parents to live by slogans like: "Love them, protect
them, tell them about the dangers of smoking" or "Love them, protect them,
make them wear their seatbelts" or "Love them, protect them, keep them away
from guns." But love them, protect them, never get them vaccinated? Huh?
Wendy Callahan, a concerned mother from Hawthorne, FL, has purchased billboard
space in Marion County, where she has erected a huge sign urging parents to
"Love Them, Protect Them, Never Inject Them." The billboard, which Callahan
hopes to leave up for an entire year, claims that vaccines can cause autism,
chronic ear infections, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Unfortunately, the
mere suggestion of risk can have a very profound effect on people's choices.
If the current media blitz continues, parents may be left with the impression
that their children are safer if left unvaccinated, and this dangerous
misinformation could lead to a resurgence of deadly pathogens which are
currently kept at bay by immunization (see ACSH's booklet Vaccinations: What
Parents Need to Know).
These predictions are not simply hypothetical. In 1974, Japan had completely
eliminated deaths from pertussis (whooping cough), with only 393 cases
reported that year for the entire country. However, as is happening today,
rumors began to spread that the vaccine was unsafe, and within a few years the
number of infants receiving the vaccine plummeted from 80% to 10%. In 1979, a
major pertussis epidemic ensued, with 13,000 cases nationwide resulting in 113
deaths over the next three years. Realizing that they had made a mistake when
they discontinued the vaccine, the Japanese Ministry of Health reinstituted it
in 1981, and the number of cases dropped again.(1)
When public health officials say that vaccines are "safe," they do not mean
that they are entirely risk-free. But as with any medical intervention, the
benefits and risks must be weighed. For instance, the Hepatitis B (HBV)
vaccine carries a risk of anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) of 1 in
600,000.(2) But compare this to the 1.2 million deaths per year worldwide that
result from HBV infections, and it becomes clear that to forego an HBV
vaccination would be unwise.(3) The same can be said of diphtheria, measles,
and other diseases. In other words, vaccines do carry some small risk, but the
benefits of receiving them (both for individual health and for population
health) are orders of magnitude greater.
Recent concerns about the safety of vaccines seem to center on two perceived
risks. The first and most widely discussed is thimerosal, a vaccine
preservative. There is no sound evidence linking thimerosal to autism or any
other disease. Even so, it has been eliminated from most childhood vaccines as
a precaution, and the last remaining stocks of thimerosal-containing products
were due to expire in 2003. A second concern that many parents have is that
the bacterial or viral components themselves in the vaccines may make children
sick, especially since so many vaccines are given together in the first few
years of life. However, infants are exposed to tens of thousands of new
bacteria and viruses after birth, so the amount contained in the eleven
recommended vaccines is miniscule when put in perspective. In fact, the
Vaccine Center of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia estimates that an
infant would have to receive about 10,000 vaccines to overwhelm its immune
system!(4)
Successful vaccination programs in the U.S. have all but eliminated diseases
such as measles, polio, and Hib meningitis, which used to cause thousands of
deaths and disabilities each year. Hopefully parents with concerns will go to
their pediatricians for advice, because the proven benefits of vaccines are
too numerous to place on one billboard.
