THIS POST HAS MOVED TO http://thefeministbreeder.com/who-says-romance-is-dead/
Please update your bookmarks!
November 11, 2009
November 07, 2009
November 05, 2009
October 20, 2009
October 11, 2009
October 07, 2009
The Big, Hairy Vaccination Post and My Visit to GlaxoSmithKline
In case you're just tuning in, GlaxoSmithKline invited TFB and some other (what they call) "Social Media Influencers" to their vaccination production facility in Marietta PA last week. They took care of our flights, meals, and hotel, and treated us with mucho respect as they gave us insight into their business. I know you're wondering why they would do this, and that's a valid question. I can imagine some people equating this to the "Nestle Family" blogger scandal, but the two are nothing alike and I'll tell you why. We all went because it was educational, because it was a good opportunity to see some other bloggers and see how they felt about this issue, and because the general public never gets invited into these buildings so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were not giving us free goodie bags filled with their products, and they are not splashing us around their advertising in an effort to use our brand to promote their brand - unlike the Nestle Corporation. I owe GlaxoSmithKline nothing for this trip - not even a nice review.
So why were we invited then? As I understand it, pharmaceutical companies are intensely regulated about what they can say to consumers, whereas the people who tend to argue against vaccinations are hardly regulated at all. Because of this, GSK wanted to bring in a few consumers (who happen to have a voice) to share the way GSK feels about the vaccination debate (in the most benign, can't-get-sued way.). That's my assessment of the situation. Their lawyers had their lips locked pretty tight, too. They would not allow them to mention the name of any product they make (so we had to deduce) and we were not allowed to take any pictures on the property (fair enough.)
They hosted us for a little over 4 hours, the first 2 hours being a presentation about the benefits of vaccinations. In this presentation, we were given information about how vaccinations are developed, manufactured, tested, and finally released to the public. We were also shown some graphic images of the effects of various diseases, and given statistics about the rates at which these diseases had been eradicated since the introduction of the vaccination. For example: in what they call the "Pre-Vaccination Era" there were an estimated 16,316 cases of Polio annually*. Since the introduction of vaccinations, 0 cases. I think we can all agree that's a huge step forward for humanity, and given those kind of statistics it's not hard to see why the employees of GSK are so proud of the vaccinations they develop and distribute.
But having said that, I couldn't let those statistics go without asking some tough questions. I asked them if they had any data on hand to show the number of cases of Autism in the Pre-Vaccination Era vs. Today. They did not. I also asked them what they could tell me about Thimerosal and why it was still being used in some vaccinations given what some science suggests about it. They said that the manufacturers have removed Thimerosal from most vaccinations, but not because they believed any of the science that suggests it's harmful. They say they removed it because of the public concern, and they'd rather not have people avoiding their vaccinations just because they think there's something harmful in them. I don't necessarily believe that, but it sounds like a fair enough answer. I also wanted to know what they thought of the health care professionals who are publicly condemning the new H1N1 shot, but GSK claimed no knowledge of such incidents. To be fair, I do think they were bound by legalities that prevented them from discussing the issue with me further.
The second 2 hours of the visit was the tour of the facility itself. If you've ever watch that show "How It's Made" you'd think was pretty cool. To enter the packaging room, we had to dress head to toe in clean room clothes (<---we looked something like that) and it was quite amusing. This was the part where we were really bummed that we couldn't take pictures of ourselves dressed in this garb. After watching the dozens of steps these little vials go through before they can be shipped, I can honestly say that GSK takes quality control with the utmost seriousness. They said over and over, public safety is their highest concern. I was actually very refreshing to see a team of people (scientists/pediatricians/professionals) taking such pride in their product, and showing such great concerned about the people who will ultimately be receiving these drugs.
That was the gist of those 4 hours, so let's talk now about how I feel about the vaccination debate itself.
I rarely, if ever, bring up the topic of vaccinations on my blog. For starters, I don't have much fiery passion about the them, and secondly, I'm just not as educated about debate as I am other debates. I can point you toward absolute science that proves unnecessary cesareans are dangerous, and that breastfeeding is the best way to feed baby. I don't think there's much to argue about there (although the uneducated masses sure find ways to).
But when it comes to vaccinations, there is a lot of science, and a lot of questions, and a lot of smart people cannot agree at all on which side to listen to. So many health professionals disagree with which vaccinations are truly necessary, and which may have adverse effects on a certain population. I can see both sides of the issue. I understand why we should vaccinate, and I understand why some people refuse to. Given that there is some room for debate in this area, I don't feel comfortable making a judgment call on it. I do what I do and hope for the best.
I, personally, do believe that vaccinations have saved many lives and have completely eradicated some horrifying illnesses. I think even the most hardcore anti-vax'er would agree with that. And yes, it does scare me when I see an epidemic of people not vaccinating because I do think it is a public health issue. Some other family's decision can have a direct impact on my family, and that's concerning, to say the least. I will unabashedly say that I was quite upset 2 years ago when I was freshly pregnant with my second son, and there was a chicken pox outbreak at my first son's daycare. Jonas had been vaccinated so I wasn't worried about him coming down with it, but I WAS worried about him carrying it home. I never had chicken pox, and if I was infected that could have proved lethal for my unborn child. I was a hysterical mess trying to figure out what I could do to keep from catching it and keep my fetus safe. As it turned out, one of those millions of tests the doctor runs on you when you first show up pregnant is to test to see if you have immunity to the Varicella virus (because it is such a huge problem for pregnant women), and luckily the test showed I was safe. I must have been exposed at some point in my life without knowing and developed an immunity. My family tells the story of how I had chicken pox in my throat (but nowhere else) when I was a baby, but I never really believed it. However, the fact that I even had to worry about this potentially hurting my child made me very angry. People think of Chicken pox as being such a harmless little external rash, but it's not so harmless if it severely cripples or kills an unborn child.
Having said all of that, I do not think that the lives saved are a free pass for pharmaceutical companies to do whatever they want. When I spoke with a friend about this (who has an Autistic son and therefore no longer vaccinates her children) she brought up a very good point. Pediatric health experts advise us to give only breastmilk and no other substance to a child less than 6 months of age. Furthermore, when we do introduce the pees and carrots, we are instructed to introduce one at a time for fear that there could be some life-threatening allergic reaction, and we need to know exactly which one caused it. Yet at the same time, some of the same experts advise pumping dozens of vaccinations (consisting of formaldehyde, egg protien, Thimerosal, monkey kidney tissue, and a myriad of other ingredients) into babies just an hour/a week/a month old? That seems counter-intuitive to me. But I'm no microbiologist. Most of us aren't. Of course, that's never prevented me from looking at evidence based information and making my own decision about something. I just wish the experts could get on the same page so we don't all have to do their job for them.
From what I can gather about the debate, it's not that anti-vax community loves Polio and want their children to have it. I'm pretty sure they realize what a devastating illness that is. I think that the main issue anti-vax'ers (or even just skeptical vax'ers) have is with the number of vaccinations, the timing of them, and the ingredients of them. If we can protect ourselves from plagues SAFELY - without causing autism, and without any adverse side effects - then we all win.... right?
I dunno, you tell me.
______________________________________________I'm asking you all to pretty-please be respectful in your commenting, and don't rag on me because I may or may not think any one thing about vaccinations. I'm just not in the mood this week and your comment will never see the light of day. But if you have something respectful, thoughtful, and/or informed to add to this discussion then I/we cannot wait to hear it. Comment away!
TheFeministBreeder
Rocker Mom. Lactivist. VBACtivist. Feminist. And all that may imply.
Recent Comments