Justice for Thalia Vida Gardner: Father Arrested

In March of 2015, I came across a series of Facebook posts from the family of a beautiful black-eyed baby girl named Thalia Vida Gardner. Her parents claimed that she had died unexpectedly after a serious adverse reaction to vaccines. They were, via GoFundMe, requesting thousands of dollars to "prove" that her death was a vaccine reaction.

It didn't take me long to find evidence calling those claims into question-- most notably, posts from concerned members of Thalia's family, who pointed out that her diagnosis at her time of death was traumatic brain injury, and that she had opiates in her system.

The entire tragic story is chronicled on the following posts:

Did Vaccines Really Kill Her?
12 Questions About Thalia Vida Gardner's Death
An Open Letter to Karla Gardner
Updates on Thalia Vida Gardner

In the long months that have passed since then, I have not had much of a break from this story. I've been badgered and berated by people asking me why there was no arrest, since many internet users don't seem to understand that an investigation like this can take months or years. Thalia's paternal grandmother has emailed me about once a month, telling me that her son isn't in jail and demanding that I remove screencaps from my blog. Jaci Rizzo-- the grandmother-- has even emailed my friends and relatives demanding that they somehow force me to remove blog posts that speak poorly of her son.

Most painfully, Thalia's story has led to many people personally attacking me and my integrity. Several commenters on previous articles accused me of completely fabricating Thalia's entire story for the purpose of driving traffic to my blog, and a now-widely-circulated "Open Letter to Juniper Russo" claimed that I was being well-paid by pharmaceutical companies to attack a grieving family.

I did none of those things. I have never profited in any way from Thalia's death and have no allegiance to anyone-- or anything-- besides justice. My motive has been, since day one, to see justice served, and to see other innocent children spared painful and horrific deaths.

Until now, I had no answer when people asked me why there was no arrest yet. I am not judge, jury, or law enforcement-- I'm only a concerned citizen who saw vaccines being blamed for what appeared to be a death caused by child abuse. Now, I finally have an answer.

On July 14, 2016, Thalia Vida Gardner's father, Tyler Justin Gardner, was arrested. He was specifically charged with child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily or mental harm-- a felony charge that, in his jurisdiction, carries a sentence of 6-15 years in prison. He is being held on $80,000 bail.

Tyler hasn't been convicted yet and is legally considered innocent until proven guilty. However, if 16 months of thorough investigation revealed child abuse-- rather than a vaccine injury-- I think it's at least safe to say that Thalia's death was not vaccine-related.

I will update readers if and when there is a conviction. In the mean time, I ask that followers stop harassing me and my family, and that everyone keep those who loved Thalia in their thoughts and prayers.

5 Myths You Likely Believe About Fluoride

Fluoride is arguably one of the most important public health advances of the 20th century. It has attributed to a significant drop in tooth decay in the United States (18-40% among children and adults!) [1] for a low cost of only fifty-cents a year per person in larger communities, and three dollars a year per person in smaller communities. [2]

Unfortunately, fluoride gets a bad rap in a lot of holistic, alternative medicine and natural living communities, based on widely-spread myths. But I'm here to debunk some of those myths!

1. The Nazis used fluoride in concentration camps to pacify the Jews!

No they didn't.

Patricia Heberer, a historian who specializes in the German medical community and Holocaust-era experimentation, debunked this myth. Acorrding to Patricia, none of the Nazi experimentation that she knows of involved fluoride. 

Another form of this myth is that fluoride was delivered to Jewish ghettos for mind control. However, in the final days before the Nazi take over, the water lines rarely delivered any water.

Even other anti-fluoridation groups don't believe this myth.

Paul Connett, a chemist who directs the Fluoride Action Network, said himself : "We have done our level best to discourage opponents of fluoridation from using this emotive argument. The historical evidence for this assertion is extremely weak. It is sad that the U.S. media has done such a bad job of educating the public on this issue that it is so easy for crazy ideas to fill the vacuum." [3]


2.  Fluoride is toxic

Oh, holistic lovers and alternative med-heads alike. You sure love the word toxic. You throw it around like a dog with a bone. Like a young child with a ball...

"Everything written in red is toxic!"
"But EVERYTHING is in red!"

But like everything, the dose makes the poison. Even oxygen and organic kale is deadly if you get enough of it.

But how much fluoride would you need to ingest for it to harm you? A lot. A human, adult man at 155 lbs, would need to ingest 5-10 grams of sodium fluoride all at once for it to harm him. Doesn't sound like much? It is. It's more than 10,000 - 20,000 times as much fluoride as is consumed when drinking an 8oz glass of optimally fluoridated water. So, essentially, you would have to drink 10,000 glasses of water all at once for it to harm you. [4]

3. Fluoride causes cancer!

More than 50 epidemiologic studies have been preformed in different populations and at different times since the introduction of community water fluoridation. They have all failed to demonstrate an association between fluoridation and a risk of cancer.

This myth is largely based on one study that compared cancer death rates in ten large fluoridated cities versus ten large nonfluoridated cities in the United States. However, the results of this study have been refuted multiple times, and scientists at the National Cancer Institute analysed the same data, finding that the original investigators failed to adjust their findings for variables such as gender and age differences that drastically affect cancer rates. [5]


4.  Fluoride inhibits the activity of enzymes.

In the World Health Organization report 'Fluorides and Human Health", it states:
"No evidence has yet been provided that fluoride ingested at 1 ppm in the drinking water affects intermediary metabolism of food stuffs, vitamin utilization or either hormonal or enzymatic activity."

To produce significant inhibition of enzymes in labs, the concentration of fluoride used is a hundred times greater than the concentration present in body fluids or tissues. [6] This again brings up the point that the dose makes the poison.

5.  Fluoride is a neurotoxin and can lower your intelligence / turn your brain to mashed potatoes

This myth also comes from another flawed study. This one completed in 1995 on rats.

The rats were fed fluoride of up to 125 times greater than what is found in optimally fluoridated water. The study attempted to show that rats fed extremely high levels of fluoride showed behavioral changes and cognitive deficits.

However, two scientists who reviewed the study suggested that the observations of the study can be easily explained by mechanisms that do not involve neurotoxicity.  These scientists also found severe flaws in the foundation of the experiment itself, such as not including a control group to test validity.

A seven-year long study compared the health and behavior of children from birth to age 6 in communities with optimally fluoridated water with those of children without exposure to fluoridated water. The results? There was no evidence to indicate that exposure to properly fluoridated water had any detectable effect on children's health and behavior. [7]






Sources:

[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (2000). Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. National Institute of Dental Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health. Rockville, MD.

[2] http://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/advocating-for-the-public/fluoride-and-fluoridation/fluoridation-faq - "Why would communities want to fluoridate tap water?"

[3] http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/oct/06/critics-water-fluoridation/truth-about-fluoride-doesnt-include-nazi-myth/

[4] http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/fluoridation_facts.ashx - "Question 27. Is fluoride, as provided by community water fluoridation, a toxic substance?"

[5] http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/fluoridation_facts.ashx - "Question 28. Does drinking optimally fluoridated water cause or accelerate the growth of cancer?"

[6] http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/fluoridation_facts.ashx -  "Question 29. Does fluoride, as provided by community water fluoridation, inhibit the activity of enzymes in humans?"

[7] http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/fluoridation_facts.ashx - "Question 36. Does ingestion of optimally fluoridated water have any neurological impact?"


If you'd like to learn more about fluoride safety, visit the following:

• http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Member%20Center/FIles/fluoridation_facts.ashx
• http://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/advocating-for-the-public/fluoride-and-fluoridation/fluoridation-faq
• http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/fluoride.cfm
• http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/
• http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation
• http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/oct/06/critics-water-fluoridation/truth-about-fluoride-doesnt-include-nazi-myth/
• http://www.oda.on.ca/personal-oral-care/fluoride-in-your-tap-water
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=water+fluoridation
• http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/naturalhazards/en/index2.html
• http://www.health.gov/environment/ReviewofFluoride/default.htm
• http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571&page=R1
• http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301857

Geology Cured My Cancer! - The Crazy World of "Crystal Healing"

We all know that there are people out there so desperate to cure their ailments, that they will do anything to cure them. Except use modern medicine. Maybe because they believe in one of the many medical conspiracy theories out there, or because they want to do things "more naturally".

One of these many forms of alternative "healing" and "medicine" is crystal healing.

Crystal healing is, in the most simple of terms, the use of rocks precious and semi-precious stones to "heal" someone's ailments. What do these crystals heal, supposedly? Well, apparently EVERYTHING.

"Got scoliosis? There's a crystal for that!"

That's right, next time you get Taco Bell diarrhea or grandma starts getting so many wrinkles that she looks like a ringed out washcloth, there is really no need to call a doctor or hit up your local dermatologist! Just put some rocks crystals in your general vicinity and your bowel movements and grandma's skin will be rock solid.

The amount of attempts to even try to give proof to crystal healing are little. Mostly just "Hey, we've been doing this for a while now! And that's proof enough!" along with the claim that crystals all have magic frequencies that stimulate your body's own healing system.

The issue is, however, there is literally no proof of any of this other than crystal healers and sellers saying that it's true. And like many other holistic and alternative medicines, people aren't looking for a lot of proof or asking for it. They just hear "it's natural, non-traditional, ancient medicine!" and run with it. Even if their legs are cramping. 

Another issue? Different healers don't even agree on what each crystal does. There is, of course, no American Academy of Crystal Healing to try and keep things consistent and safe. So if Joe Blow Crystal Healer 1 says that amethyst can help with blood problems, breathing problems, and feeling more calmly, Mike Hunt Crystal Healer 2 will say that it will help your acne, eczema, tumors, and even telekinesis.

The closest thing that you can get to crystals actually healing you is the placebo affect. One study done in 2001 by the head of the anomalistic psychology research unit at the University of London gave 80 participants either fake or real crystals and asked them to hold them and meditate with them for 5 minutes. The results? "The researchers found that the effects reported by those who held fake crystals while meditating were no different than the effects reported by those who held real crystals during the study."

And here's the biggest catch of them all: We all know that the more insane a holistic treatment is, the more expensive it is. Well the purchasing of crystals can go from the cost of a cup of coffee to the cost of a 2006 Kia Sorento!  That's right folks, for the low, low price of $5,000 you can have your own 14lb Clear Quartz Specimen Cluster to help with your AIDS, toothache, inner child and friendships!

Crystal growing kit? Finally! Put this next to my pot plants and I'll have my own FARMacy!

Is crystal healing dangerous? No. So long as you don't use crystals like realgar which is packed full of arsenic.  You know, like the thing anti-vaxxers think is in vaccines but totally isn't. So, arsenic in realgar for "detoxification and reducing or removing dependency." and to "increase fertility and ameliorate sexual problems or lack of sexual energy." is good ,but arsenic in vaccines (which, again, isn't there) is bad?

But overall, the casual act of surrounding yourself with expensive, useless "gems" are only dangerous for your wallet, so long as you don't use them to replace modern medical treatments. But using them in place of medical care is dangerous, deadly, and stupid. 

Jeff Bradstreet Abuses Children, Commits Suicide

I normally have deep sympathy for suicide victims, but there are rare exceptions. For example, I wasn't sad when Ariel Castro offed himself, and I'm not particularly sad that Jeff Bradstreet-- a child-abusing quack who endangered dozens of kids' lives with his "alternative" treatments-- is dead.

Bradstreet was an example of a truly vile and disgusting human being who put his goal of profit far ahead of his oath to protect his patients.

He became famous when he published a series of studies, none of which made the cut for peer-reviewed scientific journals, stating that thimerosal-- a mercury compound once used as a preservative in vaccines-- is the sole cause of autism. I don't even need to cite studies to debunk his claims, since autism rates have continued to rise since thimerosal was removed from routine immunizations, and since my own daughter was autistic before she was ever vaccinated. But, for the record, 131 studies- 107 of them listed here-- have found no link between vaccines and autism.

Bradstreet's practices went far beyond simply encouraging parents to avoid vaccines, although that would be dangerous enough. He subjected children to painful and dangerous procedures that were entirely unnecessary and provided no benefit. One of thousands of victims was Colten Snyder, whose parents brought him to Bradstreet's office 160 times in eight years.

There was no reason to believe that Colten was suffering from  mercury poisoning. A hair test showed a low level of mercury in his hair-- less than average for his age-- while a urine test found no detectable mercury, and five blood tests over the course of six years showed mercury levels well within the normal range. But Bradstreet insisted that-- since mercury is the only cause of autism-- Colten was suffering from severe mercury poisoning.

What ensued can only be described as medical torture. Colten was subjected to numerous spinal taps, had scopes inserted into his stomach, and-- worst of all-- was forced into years of chelation therapy. Chelation therapy  is a last-resort treatment for serious forms of confirmed heavy metal poisoning. It is only used in extreme cases because it is an inherently dangerous process, even when medically necessary. When administered by quacks like Bradstreet, it routinely causes dehydration, malnutrition, kidney damage, liver damage, allergic reactions, anemia, cancer, and-- ironically-- developmental disabilities caused by the toxicity of the treatment.

Even Jeff Bradstreet himself admitted that Colten reacted poorly to chelation therapy. After each session, he would experience discomfort, illness, weakness, and developmental regression. Yet Bradstreet continued milking Colten's parents for money while administering abusive treatments for eight whole years. In 2009, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims determined that not only had Bradstreet engaged in dangerous and unnecessary mistreatment of Colten, but that Colten's treatment was indicative of a larger pattern of medical abuse of autistic children in Bradstreet's hands.

Bradstreet managed to continue practicing his corrupt and abusive form of medicine, but not without drawing the attention of the FDA. In June of 2015, the FDA raided Bradstreet's office with the help of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency. Although the FDA hasn't been clear about the reason for the search, the involvement of the GDNA suggests that he may have been involved in dealing controlled substances in addition to his long-standing career in the medical abuse of children. Whatever was found during the raid, it was damning enough that Bradstreet shot himself less than a week after the search, while the FDA carried out their investigation.

It's not surprising that conspiracy theorists have claimed that-- in some mind-blowing effort orchestrated effort by the Pharmaceutical Industry, the FDA, the GDNA, local and federal law enforcement, and an unspecified hitman-- Bradstreet was murdered. They say that this was to hide the success of his "treatments" and to continue covering up a link between autism and immunization. So far, I haven't heard anyone explain how murdering him could have possibly been necessary or beneficial to preserving anyone's profits, but conspiracy theorists aren't known for being the most sane or stable people.

I feel sorry for Jeff Bradstreet's family and loved ones. Losing a loved one is always difficult, especially when it happens through suicide. However, I have very little sympathy for Bradstreet himself. I don't feel sorry for people who become wealthy by abusing children and then make a cowardly escape when there a a threat of accountability. When child abusers die, it makes the world is a safer and healthier place for children. My sympathy goes only to his loved ones and his victims.

Updates on Thalia Vida Gardner

I was going to wait until there was an arrest to give further updates on this case-- a baby girl whose death was blamed on vaccines-- but it's been brought up recently in anti-vaccine groups and has gotten us a renewed wave of hate mail,  so I'll go ahead and share what (little) information I have. This information is based on what's publicly available on Thalia's mother, father, and grandparents' Facebook and crowdfunding pages.

Here is what I know:



-Tyler Justin Gardner is still awaiting and expecting criminal charges.

-Tyler does not have custody or care of his children right now; their son is in CPS custody.

-Tyler says he needs donations because he no longer has money to pay for the lawyer he was going to hire in his criminal defense.

-Karla and Tyler are no longer together.

Post by Thalia's grandmother. The translation is poor but the message gets through.

-Karla's family has a very negative opinion of Tyler and does not believe that Thalia's death was a vaccine reaction. They have not said much because they are legally limited in what they can say.

-The toxicology component of Thalia's autopsy is not yet complete. This process often takes months and it is not unusual that there is not an arrest yet.

-There is still no compelling evidence that Thalia died of a vaccine reaction.

-Tyler is still requesting money for a private autopsy to "prove" that his daughter died of a vaccine reaction. He clearly does not expect her initial autopsy to show a vaccine reaction, or he would not already be preparing for the outcome.

-In the months since Thalia's death, I have received hundreds of comments on the topic. They fall into three categories: rabid anti-vaxxers claiming that vaccines killed Thalia and that I'm a terrible person; angry (and, frankly, embarrassing) messages from Tyler and his mother showing wild inconsistencies in their story and claims about what happened... and dozens, like these, from people who say they are close to the family and know that vaccines did not cause her reaction. I have no way of confirming their authenticity, but they often include detailed information about the family that I was unaware of, that isn't public record.

No, there are no arrests or convictions yet. I can't say definitively that Thalia Vida was murdered by her father. But I can say that she absolutely, positively, did not die of a vaccine reaction, and that in the very least, the authorities have found reason to believe that her father is dangerous and an unfit parent. There will be no justice for Thalia until her toxicology results are complete and her father is given trial through due process, but I remain firmly by belief that her death had nothing at all to do with immunization.

For more information about this case, see our previous posts here.

10 Strangest Medical Conspiracy Theories

Over half of Americans believe in medical conspiracy theories. Some are only a little strange. Others are outright bizarre.

Seven years ago, I was working at a heath food store and heavily pregnant with my first child, when I was approached by a regular customer. I knew she was eccentric-- she had thirteen children and was looking for fertility-boosting herbs so she could have more-- but I didn't know just how eccentric she was until she urged me to avoid having my child tested for PKU in the hospital.

"When they draw the blood, they don't actually test for diseases," she informed me quietly, "The nurses actually steal the blood and sell it to witches to use in spells."

I wasn't sure at first if she was joking.

"Newborn baby blood is very valuable on the black market," she added.

Well, I consented to having my kids' blood drawn by those evil witches at the hospital, yet, to date, neither of them have fallen victim to a mysterious curse.

That conspiracy theory is pretty far out there, but it's not too different from the many bizarre conspiracy theories you can find just by poking around on the internet for a few minutes. Here are some of the others I've encountered.

1. The Government is Hiding the Cure for Cancer

This one is everywhere. Over a third of people believe it. It's launched tens of thousands of articles, hundreds of websites, and dozens of books-- and it's no truer now than it was a hundred years ago, when it first popped up. You'd think that the cancer-related deaths of people who believed this conspiracy, such as The Cure for All Cancers author Hulda Clark , might be a red flag for these conspiracy theorists, but the belief persists.

2. "They" Are Lying About Ebola

There were a few dozen variations of this conspiracy theory. One of the more popular claims was that ebola is a manufactured virus deliberately given to people for "population control" or other purposes. The claims echo similar legends in the 1980s about HIV. Another common rumor was that ebola doesn't exist at all, or that the government was hiding a cure until it spread to the industrialized world. An unintentionally hilarious conspiracy theory even speculated that The Simpsons were in on it.

"Is there something we are not being told? Is it by pure chance & coincidence that the Simpsons would do predictive programming? There has been numerous predictions from The Simpsons which revealed futuristic events which came to pass. What of the Ebola recurrence in 2014? Is it planned or is it just by natural means? Ebola was not in the 90's, but it happened long ago in the mid 70's... But The Simpsons reveal in late 90's Ebola virus... Interesting right?" 

3.  Products You Use Every Day Contain Dead Babies

If you go to pretty much any anti-vaccine website, you'll encounter this one. Some writers go so far as to claim that pregnancies are aborted for the sole purpose of using the fetuses to manufacture food, cosmetics, and medicine, even though no pregnancy has ever been aborted for such purpose and no approved foods or vaccines have ever contained fetal cells. This conspiracy theory was so prevalent that it actually led to a lawmaker pushing to ban fetuses in food. Glad our tax dollars are going to such good use.

4. You're Full of Worms

Conspiracy theorists love to blame medical problems on parasites that "they" are trying to hide. The cult of parents who treat autism with bleach enemas claim that rope worms-- chunks of intestine that come out when they fill their kids with bleach-- are behind autism, even though there is no such parasite. Assorted quacks on the internet, from Natural News to Organic Olivia to Modern Alternative Mama, give all sorts of advice amounting to, "You're full of parasites and they're causing all of your diseases." The idea can be traced to Hulda Clark... you know, the one mentioned above, who thought all cancer was caused by worms and then died of cancer.

5. The Government's Hiding a Scary Skin Disease

Delusional parsitosis-- the delusional belief that you are infested with parasites that aren't there-- is a condition that may be as old as humanity itself. Sure enough, it's the reason behind medical conspiracy #4. But its newest form, dubbed Morgellons disease, is a bit less known. Natural News and other conspiracy theorist websites claim that the condition, which involves feeling like you're covered in bugs, scratching yourself up, and getting little fibers from Band-Aids, blankets, and clothing in the scratches, say that it's a parasitic infection caused by GMOs and chemtrails, and that the CDC was involved in a cover-up to conclude that it was psychological.

6. Antidepressants Are Designed to Make You a Mass Murderer

One common medical conspiracy posits that SSRIs are a "gateway drug" designed to turn patients into violent monsters, either as part of a depopulation measure or to somehow churn more profits for Big Pharma. The evidence they give is that some murderers were taking antidepressants. You'd think that with all that money and research, Big Pharma would have done a better job coming up with pills to create killers. More than one in ten Americans takes an antidepressant, yet very few of us end up committing mass murder.

7. Mental Illness Doesn't Exist and They're Trying to Poison You

The sad reality behind this is that mentally ill people are by far the most likely people to fall for conspiracy theories and by far the most likely to be harmed by them.Take, for example, this conspiracy theorist, who says that bipolar disorder isn't real and that it was invented to push drugs on children. Or this one, who says the same thing about oppositional defiant disorder. Or the hundreds who have said it about ADHD. Or this guy, who says that he is the messiah and that his diagnosis of schizophrenia is part of a conspiracy to hide that. Need I say more?

8. Jews Are Killing and Experimenting On You

I touched on this a bit in Antisemitism in the Anti-Vaccine Movement, but the conspiracy theory runs much deeper and wider than the anti-vax movement itself. For example, conspiracy theorists often claim that routine infant circumcision is part of a Jewish conspiracy (strange, since Judaism doesn't command circumcising anyone besides Jews). They often blame specific Jewish families, like the Rothschilds and Goldman-Sachs, for all the world's ails. Failing that, they'll point to the State of Israel. One prominent medical conspiracy theorist blames pretty much every possible conspiracy on Jews, who he says worship Satan, poison dissenters with odorless gas, and control the medical industry through "biomedical terrorism."

9. The World is Being Depopulated

Supposedly, we are all being subjected to a "slow kill" to depopulate the Earth. This involves a number of intricate and intertwined conspiracies, from chemicals dumped out of airplanes to fluoride in our drinking water to birth control in our food. Some go so far as to claim that "they" are putting chemicals in our food to make people gay, thereby limiting birth rates. You'd think that all the world's leading scientists working together could do a better job: birth rates continue to climb worldwide, with no sign of a population crash any time soon.

10. Everyone's Getting a Tracking Device
This one started circulating decades ago, when microchips and GPS first came into existence. It picked up even more steam when the Affordable Care Act rolled out, leading many people to accuse President Obama of mandating microscopic tracking devices on all American citizens. This led to reignited fears of immunization, with many anti-vaxxers claiming that flu shots contain GPS trackers also used in war and even secret mind-control computers. Don't worry, though: other conspiracy theorists have plenty of suggestions for nullifying the effects of these tiny computers.

Start Here.

How Anti-Vaxxers Caused the Mexican "Vaccine Deaths"

In May of 2015, two babies died and thirty-one were sickened after receiving vaccines for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and rotavirus in the tiny Mexican village of La Pimienta. Four remain in serious condition. Tragedies like these are unnerving and devastating. The three viruses were spreading through impoverished rural villages like wildfire, and of course parents were willing to do anything and everything to prevent their children from being victims. How horrible, to think that something that was supposed to save lives ended up claiming them.

The most chilling reality of this situation is that the people who were most vocally upset by these deaths-- wealthy anti-vaccine activists in the United States, where deaths from tuberculosis and rotavirus are rare-- are actually the exact same people who were responsible for their deaths to begin with.

On May 12, Mexican authorities revealed that the babies sickened by the vaccine trio suffered from bacterial infections caused by contamination. Bacteria present in the multi-dose vials caused localized infections that, in some cases, led to sepsis and death. Although Mexico hasn't revealed the exact nature of the contaminants, or whether they were present during manufacturing or seeped into the vials later, the fact remains: these babies would most likely still be alive and healthy if it weren't for the anti-vaccine movement.

You see, science and history had already warned us that this is a risk of vaccination. Just as foods can get contaminated, so can vaccines. In the U.S. alone, 48 million are sickened, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die every single year from contaminated foods. And in 1928, a horrible tragedy occurred when a group of youngsters were immunized for diphtheria, a disease with a 1 in 5 death rate for kids in the dark world before vaccines. Forty-two received shots from one vial, and of these unfortunate children, twelve died. Their cause of death was determined to be a staph infection acquired from the contaminated vaccine.

But there was a solution. We didn't have to abandon these life-saving immunizations because of a contaminant. In 1968, the U.S. Code for Federal Regulations mandated that all vaccines in multi-dose vials contain preservatives to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria.

One specific compound seemed like the best option. Thimerosal, which had been introduced forty years prior, had a long-standing history of safe and effective use as a preservative. Unlike antibiotic preservatives, it was hypoallergic. It was also affordable and extremely effective, killing a massive variety of bacteria and fungi that might otherwise contaminate vaccines. Even better, it didn't weaken the effectiveness of the vaccines themselves, as many preservatives do. And it was safe. Animal tests and clinical trials showed that, in the amounts used in medicine, it was nontoxic: when injected into both humans and animals, the worst reaction recorded was localized swelling.

Thimerosal is about 50% mercury by weight, which, at first glance, might sound terrifying. But consider, also, that table salt is made of sodium combined with chlorine, which by itself would be acutely toxic. A compound can contain a poisonous element and yet, itself, be safe. When metabolized by the body, thimerosal turns into thiosaicylate (which is harmless, despite the scary-sounding name) and ethylmercury, which an organic mercury compound considered safe.

Ethylmercury is completely separate from, and far safer than, methylmercury, which is a neurotoxic compound with a similar-sounding name. Methylmercury, the "bad" kind of mercury, is found in things we're exposed to every day, including seafood and light bulbs, yet we survive this exposure with few ill effects. Its far safer counterpart, ethylmercury, can be consumed and injected in quantities much larger without any problems. In fact, science showed again and again that thimerosal-- and the compounds it breaks down into-- doesn't harm humans at any stage in development. Even fetuses, who can suffer brain damage from Mom eating too much tuna, can be exposed to thimerosal without any problem.

For decades, thimerosal saved lives. It allowed children to be given vaccines in multi-dose vials, making them affordable even to the poorest people in the poorest regions, without the risk of contamination. The human life expectancy in countries with high vaccination rates increased by nearly 50% in just a few short decades.

Then came Andrew Wakefield.

Wakefield was a doctor-- keyword here being "was," since he is no longer a licensed medical professional-- who was trying to patent three separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella, which had historically been combined into one safe and effective vaccine. He published a sketchy study in 1998 suggesting that the combination of the three vaccines, when given at once, somehow triggered a chain reaction of bowel disease that led to developmental regression in the form of autism.

Wakefield's study was fraudulent. To date, there have been 107 studies involving millions upon millions of children, finding absolutely no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. But that didn't stop Wakefield's study from having an effect. Parents, panicked by mis-reporting in the media and an apparent autism epidemic, began refusing vaccines. Specifically, they refused vaccines that contained life-saving thimerosal preservatives, mistaking thimerosal for neurotoxic mercury compounds and incorrectly blaming it for autism.

Today, no routinely recommended vaccines for children under six years of age contain thimerosal, with the exception of the live flu vaccine. That did absolutely nothing to slow the tide of vaccine refusal or the increasing rates of diagnosed autism. Rates of autism increased after thimerosal was removed from vaccines... and so did rates of vaccine contamination.

Without thimerosal as a preservative, vaccines given in multi-dose vials run the risk of contamination. And, unfortunately, there is no cost-effective way to immunize children in poor, rural regions without using multi-dose vials. Yet, because of one doctor's elaborate case of fraud, and because of the panic of his anti-vaccine followers, it is no longer included in the vaccines that need it most. Children have died as a result.

The Mexican "vaccine deaths" have been the target of mass fury from the anti-vax crowd. Some conspiracy theorists have gone so far as to speculate that the inoculations were given as part of a "depopulation" effort to reduce the number of children living in Mexico. Others have claimed media cover-up (despite wide reporting by all facets of international media). Others have attacked vaccine activists such as myself, asking if we've changed our minds now that there's an obvious case of children dying from vaccines.

I haven't changed my mind. Vaccines save lives. And the blood of those children isn't on my hands. It's on theirs.

Anti-Semitism in the Anti-Vaccine Movement

Antisemitism is rampant in the anti-vaccine community, and it goes a long, long way back. In 1932, an antisemitic magazine published a drawing of a smug-looking Jewish doctor immunizing a baby in a cartoon labeled, "Die Impfung," or "The Vaccination," with a caption reading: "It seems to me that poison and Jews seldom do good things."

We haven't moved much further beyond the early premise that vaccines are poisons concocted by a Jewish conspiracy. It's not a surprise, really: Judaism is the Kevin Bacon of conspiracy theorist culture. You just have to scratch the surface of any conspiracy theory to the Jews who are allegedly behind it. Children missing? Jews stole them and drank their blood. Recession? Must have been the Rothschild family. Problems on Wall Street? Jews did it. Federal Reserve conspiracies? Definitely Jews. Media cover-ups? Jews. Subliminal messages in Hollywood? Jews. 9/11? Jews. Chemtrails? Jews. Vaccines? Jews, of course.

I've encountered it time and time again in my passion for vaccine advocacy. People who might otherwise take me seriously latch on to mentions of my cultural background as evidence that I'm being paid by Big Pharma. After I'd seen a post that said that fellow vaccine advocate Dorit Reiss and I were "buddies," I sent her a message for the first time, introducing myself. I mentioned in passing that her maiden name, Rubinstein, is similar to my stepfather's name, Rubenstein, and said we could be distant relatives. Of course, I couldn't help but quip that we were both part of the Jewish shadow government.

It was literally one day later that I received a message from someone telling me that "Everyone knows your Aunt Dorit is feeding you money to peddle her lies." The day after I encountered fellow Jewish vaccine advocate, she was suddenly my wealthy aunt who was funding my advocacy for vaccines.

This is just the painless surface of antisemitism in the anti-vaccine movement. I've seen how ugly-- and how ridiculous-- it gets. Anti-vaccine activists have told me, you see, that it's my fault that my daughter has autism, because my "Jewish genes" from my "tribe" are full of "mental, physical, etc disabilities due to the years/centuries of inbreeding." (Joke's on them, anyway, since autism rates in Israel are half that of the U.S., and my daughter is culturally but not ethnically Jewish.)

They say that our children get special vaccines. One man, based on kids he's seen staring at him in Walmart, as arrived at the brilliant conclusion that Jews get special vaccines and that all other children get poisonous vaccines. 

If this were true, I'm a little upset that I missed the part of Hebrew school where I was supposed to learn the secret handshake to let my pediatrician know that I'm Jewish and that my kids should get the vaccines that don't cause them to stare when an antisemitic stranger is creeping on them in Walmart.

It's all part of a Zionist conspiracy, though-- so they say. These people envision a future dominated by  militant Jews with Magen Davids and the words "Zionist" written on their uniforms. This Jew-dominated future police state apparently involves vaccine checkpoints where mothers scream and are restrained as their babies are helplessly injected with lethal chemicals. 

And this panic over some future Zionist police state seems to bleed into every single discussion they have with Jewish vaccine activists. They tell us that we are just part of a plot.

...Something to do with the "Judaification of America." And they want us to go back to Russia and East Europe. You know, those places were we were slaughtered by the millions.

But they also want us to go back to Israel. They can't seem to make up their minds.

They call us "cockroach."

They call us communist, and in the same breath, call us fascist. They insult our appearance. They call us "mindless, money-driven, greedy heathens."

My, isn't that familiar.

The scary thing is that, the closer and closer anti-vaccine activists get to utter Nazism, the more they begin to claim that they themselves are victims of a modern Holocaust. They flippantly dismiss the actual horrors of the Holocaust-- the brutal deaths of 6 million innocent people by gas, disease, starvation, and labor-- by comparing their experience of refusing to immunize their kids to the experience of being a Jew in Nazi Germany.

"Their doing the same thing to us that they are they jews," one anti-vaxxer screamed, taking the time to edit her comment to eliminate one of her seventeen grammatical errors.

Meanwhile, one of the most popular articles cries, "First, They Came for The Anti-Vaxxers," a reference to a poignant poem about the Holocaust by Martin Niemoller. It implies that the anti-vaxxers are the "Jews" of today, the first victims in what will become a total Holocaust.

Although it was popular, it wasn't the first or only vaccine/Holocaust comparison to go viral. Amy Barajas, an insufferable schmuck of a mommy-blogger, posted an image of herself in Holocaust Chic, wearing a self-imposed anti-vaccine badge and comparing it to the badges my people wore to the gas chambers. The image spread like wildfire among anti-vaxxers with persecution complexes.

Another anti-vaccine activist compared his resistance to vaccines to August Landmesser's refusal to give a Nazi salute. August Landmesser was tortured for years in concentration camps because of his resistance to the Nazi party and his relationship with his Jewish wife. Anti-vaxxers, on the other hand, have yet to even be denied access to public health insurance and public school. Don't worry, though: he "don't mean to be insulting."

The anti-vaxxers know how much it stings when I, as a Jew, am told that they are victims of a modern Holocaust. They exploit this when speaking to me and my fellow Jewish vaccine advocates:

Anti-vaxxers aren't always hateful people. I know that because I used to be one of them. But I come from a culture that values reason. I was taught as a child that the highest mitzvah, or commandment, is to nurture human life-- that it goes above and beyond any other duty we have to ourselves and others. My background plays a role in my vaccine advocacy not because it's part of a global conspiracy, but because it's a culture that prizes science and human life.

 All joking and stereotypes aside, it's not a coincidence that a disproportionate number of Jews are drawn to careers in medicine. It's not (despite what some may say) because it's a well-paid career, but rather, because we tend to value science and its role in improving and strengthening the bodies that we're given. We are commanded not to accept human life as short and brutal, but to use our minds, and the minds of those who came before us, to build a better future.

I'm not a "good" Jew. I've got tattoos on both of my forearms, I'm queer as a ten-cent nickel, and my son's still got his foreskin. I have a Christmas tree and I get my daughter a real birthday cake every year even though her birthday tends to fall during Passover. Plus, I can't stand Benjamin Netanyahu or gefilte fish. But I know I'm at least doing one thing right. I'm standing up for the use of science to prolong and protect the lives of my children and others. 

Apparently, all other things aside, my vaccine advocacy combined with my Judaism mean that I am an ugly communist fascist money-grubbing Zionist cockroach shill. My reasons for advocating for vaccines are called into question, my children are labeled the defective products of incest, and my opinion is taken with a grain of antisemitic salt. 

The anti-vaxxers are right when they say that today sometimes looks suspiciously like 1932. But I think they're wrong about who among us is actually the target of hate. 

Extreme False Pregnancies- "I'm Three Years Pregnant With An Invisible Baby"

I know firsthand how heartbreaking false pregnancies are. After a loss in 2013, I continued having symptoms for three months afterward—amenorrhea, colostrum, nausea, weight gain, and even faint positive pregnancy tests. It wasn’t until a blood test found that the HCG levels were non-viable that my brain and body finally accepted that it was over, and the symptoms disappeared. False pregnancy feels real. I understand how jarring it is when your brain tells you that there is no baby, but your heart and body insist that there is.



So, when I saw a couple in a parenting group on Facebook saying that they were “certain” they were pregnant even though their tests were negative, I warmly explained that false pregnancy isn’t uncommon and that I wished them better luck next time. Then I heard them make some claims that were so outlandish that I prayed they were joking.


You see, they were “certain” that she was not just a little bit pregnant—they said she was full-term, and in early labor. They also said that they had never had a single positive pregnancy test and that all of the ultrasounds showed that her uterus was empty. They said that the mom-to-be had been having periods every 30-45 days. They said that the doctors and midwives they saw were “denying” the reality of their pregnancy. They posted photos of empty ultrasounds and negative pregnancy tests, swearing that they could see a full-term baby and a positive line on the tests. And here’s the kicker: they said that the baby was a miracle, since the father does not have testicles and can not possibly produce sperm.

This couple was deep in the throes of not just a false pregnancy, but a profound and disturbing psychotic delusion. The worst part is that they weren’t alone. I found an entire culture of medicine-denying, science-denying women and couples—all of them anticipating unassisted home births, since doctors are not to be trusted—who believe that they are experiencing pregnancies that are full-term and beyond, even though they have few or no signs of pregnancy and doctors tell them they are not pregnant. They call these “cryptic” pregnancies, which in mainstream medical language refers to pregnancies that the mother is unaware of. In this strange subculture's language, it means a pregnancy with absolutely no signs or symptoms except the mother’s psychic knowledge.



Self-proclaimed cryptic pregnancy expert Anne R. Wicks states that, “Many of the women experiencing cryptic or stealth pregnancies are highly aware, intuitive or psychic,” and says that actual false pregnancies are extremely rare and only “occasionally” psychological in origin, and that when they happen, it’s the body’s way of protecting against an abusive husband. Ms. Wicks insists that most people with pregnancy symptoms and no visible baby are actually pregnant with these magical “cryptic” fetuses. When they’re not born after weeks, months, years? Well, Wicks says, you can be pregnant with a cryptic baby for up to five years. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not pregnant just because you’ve been “pregnant” for years without peeing positive.



Wicks’ ideas about magical five-year gestations are far from uncommon, which is frightening. The Gilmour Foundation, which is run by another self-appointed expert in cryptic pregnancies, states that these hidden babies always take years to gestate: “You will be pregnant with a cryptic baby longer than 40 weeks. None of these babies have been born before 17 months and some have gone as long as three or four years.” And labor from a cryptic pregnancy, she says, “lasts for months” and is extremely painful, but you shouldn’t go to the hospital because those evil doctors and their evil science will tell you that it’s not real and will refer you for psychiatric treatment.


 With this kind of advice, it’s not surprising that cryptic pregnancy support groups are filled with women talking about being years into pregnancies that their doctors are denying the existence of. In one Facebook support group, which openly supports freebirth and condemns the “birth industry” and the use of, y’know, professional doctors and midwives, women share their stories and photos of their “baby bumps” that look suspiciously like good old-fashioned obesity.



 One woman in the group says that she is 85 weeks pregnant.

 Another says that she has been pregnant twenty times with babies that doctors could find no trace of.

The consensus seems to be that gaining weight or worsening posture are foolproof signs of pregnancy, even when the woman has been “pregnant” for a year and a half.

The Gilmour Foundation warns these women that they’re in for a world of stress and mistreatment if they seek medical attention:


“You will be told that the fetal movement you feel is gas, IBS, your bowels moving, your abs moving, worms, a parasite, cysts, fibroids, constipation, muscle spasms, the list goes on.


You will be diagnosed with IBS, gallbladder issues (they may even try to take it out), celiac disease, cysts, fibroids, UTIs (urinary tract infection),  a systemic infection, PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome),  pre-mature menopause,  menopause, peri-menopause, thyroid issues, and of coarse the famous “phantom pregnancy” this list goes on as well. They may even try to take out your ovaries and give you a total hysterectomy. 



 If you continue to push the issue with the same doctor or hospital, they will try to intervene and make you seek help from mental health professionals.  Women have been given “Interventions” by their Obstetricians and a Psychiatrists. 


 If you show them how your belly is growing, they will tell you that you are just fat and you need to stop eating gluten and sugar. 


 It will make no difference how you look or what you say, they will not believe you or help you as long as your blood tests are negative.  


 The people you know will not believe you and if they do, when you go over 42 weeks without delivering, they will stop. You have to be VERY careful about who you tell and how many people you tell. No one believes a pregnancy can go so long.



You will have to plan on delivering at home with out help. You can go to the ER when you do go into labor, but if you are not dilated enough to where they can see your baby in your cervix, they will do a pregnancy test, tell you that you are not pregnant, and send you home. This has happened often and this is why you MUST have a back up home birthing plan. You may not want to deliver at home, but you may not be given a choice.  DO NOT put yourself in a situation where you are turned away from the hospital and you have no information on unassisted delivery.  You MUST have a back up home birth plan. Please educate yourself as much as possible on unassisted delivery and home birth."

(Un)fortunately for these medical conspiracy theorists, there’s plenty of support to be found through the many informative mommybloggers who have shared their stories.


Crypticpregnancy.com collects the stories of the many women who are going through this, so they all know that they are not alone. Conspicuously absent from these collections are stories that end in births. 

So what happens when these women, years into their invisible pregnancies, don’t give birth? Well, that’s where my research turned from worrisome to deeply disturbing.

A  few women who believe in these magical invisible fetuses eventually realize that they were wrong and that there is no baby. The “pregnancy” blog of Becky Done, who was highly involved in the community and referenced often as a “real” cryptic pregnancy, eventually realized after a detailed abdominal CT Scan that she was suffering from a false pregnancy. She concluded her blog “amipregnantornot” with a heartbreaking, brave, and honest post that ends with a message for other women in her situation:


 “If you do find out that it is a false pregnancy, please know that we can recover from this. I have always relied on my logic and reason to guide me through life and even though my confidence is at an all time low and my grief is off the charts, my logic and reason tell me that help is available if I apply myself and that I will find love again if I prepare myself. With that in mind, I will sign off for now. I will write and update with anything significant, but I am going to focus on healing and moving forward with my life. I hope I have been some assistance to those of you going through this experience.”


Becky says that she is pursuing counseling and realizes that she still has a lot of life left, and although the grief is hard, she has accepted that her baby never existed. But many women’s stories don’t end so well. Theresa Porter, a clinical social worker, found at least 21 cases in the last 25 years of women in the U.S. who, in the throes of extreme false pregnancies, murdered moms-to-be in order to steal their unborn babies.


In the most famous case, Lisa M. Montgomery, a woman who was suffering from an “extreme pseudocyesis delusion” according to a neuropsychologist who treated her, strangled a pregnant mother and cut a premature baby from her womb. She is now on death row.


 Dozens of high-profile kidnap cases have involved women breaking into homes and even sneaking into hospitals in order to steal newborns from their mothers. Also often identified as part of “pregnancy fraud” on part of the mother, in many cases, such as that of Rayshaun parson, the kidnappers are sometimes themselves suffering under the delusion that they are pregnant, and seem to be to some degree unaware of their actions.



There’s a point to me bringing this disturbing trend to light. It’s not just to share something I stumbled upon in that weird part of the internet—it’s also to give an example of just how detached from reality people can become, particularly when encouraging each other in forums on the internet.

The web has become a breeding-ground for pockets of people who encourage each other’s shared delusions. I myself nearly got pulled into one of these pools when I first became a mother and believed the culture of “online mom friends” who told me, and each other, that vaccines caused autism, that fluoride was deadly, and that pediatricians are out to get rich by making kids sick. I denied science and evidence in favor of herd mentality and comforting lies. In that way, I’m not so different from the mothers who convince each other that they are five years into invisible pregnancies. I figured out my mistake. I hope that the rest of these women figure out theirs, before they or someone else become irreparably harmed.

12 Things the Anti-Vaccine Movement Got Wrong

I know the anti-vaccine movement like the back of my hand, because I used to be part of it. I believed nearly every lie they told, because the story they created-- one in which "childhood illnesses" were no big deal, and in which I could keep my kids safe with crystals and kale-- was comforting. But the more research I did (real research, from reputable sources) the more I found out that the anti-vaccine movement's most sacred lies were flat-out wrong. Here are ten of the worst, and most easily disproven, lies told by the anti-vax movement.

1. Myth: Vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue.
Fact: They don't, and never have.

Vaccines have never contained the tissues of aborted fetuses. The only tiny grain of truth in that claim is that aborted fetuses, from pregnancies terminated over fifty years ago, were used to cultivate cell lines that are still used today to manufacture vaccines. The cells have divided trillions of times since the original fetuses died. This is nothing new: cell lines are used all the time in medicine. Henrietta Lacks, who died in 1951, still has living cells that are still saving the lives of people daily. However, no trace of fetal tissue is present in vaccines, nor is there any trace of human DNA in vaccines. Even those who oppose abortion should not oppose this use of embryonic cells: not only have fetuses never been aborted for the purpose of using them in vaccines, but the MMR vaccine has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of fetuses, since rubella was once a leading cause of fetal death. I also doubt that most vaccine opposers would decline an organ transplant from a murder victim just because they ethically opposed the person's cause of death.

2. Myth: Disease rates have gone down because of improved hygiene, not immunization.
Fact:  Sanitation does not explain the decline of vaccine-preventable ilness.

There's actually evidence that improved sanitation caused outbreaks of polio. Safety protocols like handwashing and clean water are important, but that doesn't mean that vaccines aren't a necessary and causative factor in reducing disease. Most animals still live in the same degree of filth (or worse) compared to 300 years ago, yet we've seen diseases affecting them be eradicated or nearly eradicated. Rinderpest, which infects cattle, is the second disease after smallpox to be completely eliminated. To this day, ninety-nine percent of cases of rabies are caused by dog bites in areas with low immunization rates, but almost none occur in countries with mandatory vaccination of pets. If improved sanitation were the cause, I think my dogs missed the memo that it's now passe for U.S. dogs to lick their butts.

3. Myth: Today's vaccine schedule contains way more diseases than ever before.
Fact: Today's vaccines protect against more diseases than ever, but with less exposure to actual viruses and bacteria.

Science has refined vaccines so that children's immune systems can build a response to bacteria and viruses, without actually needing to be exposed to live or whole-cell germs. The American Academy of Pediatrics points out, "Although we now give children more vaccines, the actual number of antigens they receive has declined. Whereas previously 1 vaccine, smallpox, contained about 200 proteins, now the 11 routinely recommended vaccines contain fewer than 130 proteins in total. "  In other words, we expose kids to fewer bits of germs in eleven vaccines today than we did in just one vaccine a hundred years ago.

4. Myth: Too many vaccines at once will overwhelm the immune system. 
Fact: Vaccines can't and don't "overwhelm" the immune system.

Not only is there much less to react to than ever before, but children's bodies are very resilient and can tolerate receiving many vaccines at one time or in rapid succession. Kids are exposed to hundreds of germs on any given day, but we don't worry that they will be "overwhelmed" by germs crawling on the monkeybars at the playground. The AAP also points out that the side effects from a single vaccine given by itself are about the same as the side effects from six at one time. Why make your child suffer the same uncomfortable reaction six times when his immune system could tackle them all at once?

5. Myth: Vaccines "shed" and can sicken those who are around a recently vaccinated person.
Fact: Only two standard childhood vaccines can possibly cause "shedding" and the risk is infinitesimal.

Vaccines can only "shed," or spread viruses and bacteria to the people around the recently vaccinated person, if very specific circumstances are met, and they almost never are. The only vaccines that shed are live vaccines, and only two live vaccines are typically given to children in the US, the rotavirus vaccine and the chickenpox vaccine. Rotavirus only spreads post-vaccination if an immunocomprimised person touches the recently-vaccinated baby's poop and then doesn't wash their hands. Chickenpox only spreads post-vaccination  if a child is one of the very few people who develops a mild chickenpox infection from the vaccine, and if an immunocomprimised person who has never caught or been vaccinated for chickenpox touches the rash. How often does this happen? Well, it's only been recorded five times with chickenpox out of 55 million vaccines administered. So the odds are roughly one in eleven million and only apply if someone is immunocomprimised and plans on touching baby poop or chickenpox rashes. And, by the way? Those five people who caught shed chickenpox had very mild infections and were fine.

6. Myth: Vaccines are injected directly into the bloodstream.

Fact: Vaccines are injected into muscle tissue.

People who claim that vaccines are dangerous typically point to the idea that we don't know what effect "chemicals" might have on children if those chemicals are injected directly into a child's bloodstream. Well, there's good news on that: not a single vaccine is administered intravenously, and never has been. Vaccines are injected into muscle tissue, where they are absorbed a bit more gradually (that's why your child might have a little bump at the site of the injection). Vaccines never enter a child's bloodstream directly.

7. Myth: Vaccine-preventable illnesses are almost always mild.

Fact: Most vaccine-preventable illnesses are very serious, and all can cause death.

Every mother wants to believe that so-called childhood illnesses are just a fact of life, and a harmless one. But they're not. Let's look at diphtheria, for example. My grandmother's sister was one of the 1 in 5 victims of diphtheria who succumbed to the disease. Over 28% of children under five who contract measles need to be hospitalized, while anywhere from 11-78% of people with tetanus die. The worst is rabies, which claims the lives one hundred percent-- that's right, one hundred percent-- of people who are exposed who aren't quickly vaccinated against the disease. Even if all these diseases really were harmless, they are in the very least unpleasant. Why make your children suffer when it's preventable? Vaccine-preventable diseases are a big deal.

8. Myth: Vaccines contain mercury.

Fact: The standard children's immunization schedule has not contained mercury since 2001.

Children's vaccines used to contain thimerosal, a compound that contains mercury. It was an important ingredient because it prevented fungi and bacteria from growing in vaccines and causing serious side effects. Although there was never any evidence that thimerosal caused autism or other adverse effects, it was withdrawn from all children's vaccines in the United States in 2001 as a precaution. It remains an ingredient in the flu shot but is no longer present in any other recommended childhood vaccines. Yet rates of autism continue to increase. 

9. Myth: Most people who catch vaccine-preventable diseases are vaccinated.
Fact: Not really, and that doesn't matter.

Someone failed Statistics 101. It is true that, in some cases of disease outbreaks, a fair number of vaccinated people have gotten sick. This is no surprise to anyone: everyone knows that vaccines don't prevent 100% of cases (which is why herd immunity is so important). But the thing to bear in mind is that a tremendously disproportionate number of people who are unvaccinated get sick.  Think of it this way: out of a hundred kids, let's say six aren't vaccinated. Five unvaccinated children get sick, while ten unvaccinated children get sick. It's true in this casethat most of the sick kids were vaccinated, but it's also true that being unvaccinated correlates with getting sick. This is the way the statistics have played out in every VPD outbreak in modern history. This is basic knowledge that was discovered and taken to heart when vaccines were developed.

10. Myth: Death and autism are listed as vaccine side effects on the package inserts, so they must be real side effects.

Fact: Death and autism are not side effects of vaccines, and the package insert doesn't change that.

Vaccine manufacturers are required by law to include all possible side effects of their vaccines on the package inserts, including those that were not confirmed by actual scientific research. The Vaccine Averse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, is the FDA's method of collecting anecdotal reports about vaccine injuries. In other words, anyone can file a VAERS report saying whatever they want. If a parent has a child who is diagnosed with autism months or years after a vaccine, she can report it to VAERS as a side effect. The same is true of the exhaustive list of other VAERS reports, which include things like "automobile accident" and "drowning." Dr. James R. Laidler illustrated this by submitting "Turning into the Incredible Hulk" as a vaccine side effect (and was approved!). Anyone can report anything to VAERS. That doesn't make it valid science.

11. Myth: If your kids are vaccinated, you shouldn't care whether or not mine are.

Fact: Yes, I should.

For one thing, I don't want your kids to die. The fact that they're not my kids doesn't mean I don't care about their safety. I have been a scared anti-vaccine mom before, and my children survived my mistakes, but I am upset by stories of other parents making the same mistake I did and not being so lucky. Furthermore, when you don't vaccinate your children, they become carriers who can infect people who can't be vaccinated: infants, the immunocomprimised, the elderly, and those with genuine allergies to vaccine ingredients. These people are at a very high risk of dying from vaccine-preventable illnesses, and you are to blame if your children transmit them.

12. Myth: People who support vaccines are shills paid by Big Pharma.

Fact: We are real people and we aren't being paid.

I have been a vaccine advocate for four years. I have been featured in national and international news. I have had millions of views of my articles about vaccine advocacy. And I haven't been paid a single dime. My "real" writing career isn't spent advocating for vaccines because there is no money in this. The one time I was contacted by a pharmaceutical company about giving a speech, they apologetically explained that they were not legally allowed to compensate me. This is a labor of love, and there isn't much (if any) money in it for me. The same is true of every other vaccine advocate you know: your doctor, your friends, your online enemies. We do what we do because we care, not because we're out to get rich. I am a vaccine advocate because I care about children's lives.