WTF Health Canada licenses homeopathic vaccines

[Thor]

http://www.bcmj.org/council-health-p...athic-vaccines

Vaccines stand out as one of the most cost-effective health in#terventions in modern medicine.[1] It is estimated that immunizations have saved more Canadian lives over the last 50 years than any other health program.1 Vaccines are credited with reducing the death rate from infections in Canada to only 5%[2]—a far cry from the situation 100 years ago when infectious diseases were the leading cause of death.

But there is a downside to the near eradication of vaccine-preventable illnesses. Most Canadians were born too recently to see the night-and-day difference in public health brought about by immunizations—individuals who witnessed the horrors of the polio epidemics of the 1950s first hand are now well into old age, and many have passed away. Good health can be taken for granted when the public does not properly understand the link between that same good health and the measures that made it possible, and unfortunately, history and science cannot always conquer misinformation, mistrust, and fear.

..........................Natural health products are big business, and the voice of providers is never far from the ear of government. While patients are free to make health decisions, government has a duty to ensure that false or misleading claims do not interfere with consumers’ ability to make an informed choice. Nowhere is the case more clear than in the realm of unproven vaccines for serious illnesses. When it comes to homeopathic vaccines, Health Canada needs to stop diluting its standards.
—Lloyd Oppel, MD
Chair, Council on Health Promotion

[Yasa]

Yeah but vaccines are dangerous. For every child they save, I believe 0.0000000000001% have a chance to possibly contract undesirable results. And needles are icky.

[Thor]

National post does a great post against these nuts...

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05...4-th-vaccines/

An actor, former Playboy model and now ex-partner of Canadian-born actor Jim Carrey, Ms. McCarthy is arguably the most vocal face of the anti-vaccination lobby. Blaming her son’s autism on vaccines, since 2007 she has repackaged Mr. Wakefield’s claims into a series of influential books and talk show appearances.

Yet, as the Centre for Inquiry’s opponents go, the anti-vaccine movement is among the least structured, with no centralized body and few visible spokespeople.

No organized resistance seems to have arisen to oppose the likes of Ottawa Public Health. The children of hardcore vaccine holdouts can return to school after a 20-day suspension, on the condition that they will be immediately sent home in the case of an epidemic.

According to the Centre for Inquiry’s executive director, Michael Payton, the movement’s scattered nature makes it more dangerous than ever. Instead of fighting against coordinated public campaigns, pro-vaccinations must do battle against a faceless network of blogs and social media posts.

“I would be very glad to say that the anti-vaccination movement is dead and buried, but I really don’t think it is,” he said. “It will continue to have a very different sort of presence that is much more difficult to combat because it is so disorganized.”

Last week, researchers at the University of Guelph announced that they had discovered a vaccine to combat Clostridium bolteae, a gut bug that causes painful gastrointestinal issues — and is particularly prominent in sufferers of autism.

Asked about the wonderful irony of an autism-fighting vaccine, Guelph Professor Mario Monteiro replied in a Friday email to the Post, “our sole aim is to improve the quality of life of autistic patients through the design of well defined vaccines.”

“Any non-science aspects of this issue are not on our scientific mission radar.”

[evman150]

Originally Posted by Thor

National post does a great post against these nuts...

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05...4-th-vaccines/

Good piece. Went to high school with the writer. Had no idea he's writing for the National Post. Good for him.

These threads are so frustrating. It's buoying, however, to know that most of us are on the same page.

Vax-deniers are absolute scum, as far as I'm concerned. Have your horoscopes, psychic readings, homeopathic "medicine", but don't (not) do something that invariably ends with helpless children enduring terrible disease and dying horrible deaths.

[Jake]

While patients are free to make health decisions, government has a duty to ensure that false or misleading claims do not interfere with consumers’ ability to make an informed choice.

This is a massive problem in the pharmaceutical industry. It is so poorly regulated (not at all). Most professionals have a governing body that looks for misleading claims and disciplines those who make them, however the "natural product" industry does not seem to have one at all.

[photon]

Well by licensing homeopathic vaccines Health Canada certainly is protecting us against unwanted side effects.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by evman150

Good piece. Went to high school with the writer. Had no idea he's writing for the National Post. Good for him.

These threads are so frustrating. It's buoying, however, to know that most of us are on the same page.

Vax-deniers are absolute scum, as far as I'm concerned. Have your horoscopes, psychic readings, homeopathic "medicine", but don't (not) do something that invariably ends with helpless children enduring terrible disease and dying horrible deaths.

Many people actually believe the vaccines are inherently dangerous. Some actually believe they are evil.

I agree that they are scum, but from what I've seen, education is key.

[metallicat]

And this sort of thing from an official government body doesn't help one bit.

[Tinordi]

Meanwhile the Harper government is muzzling scientists. Oh Canada!

[Thor]

What is the best way to protest this, online petitions, writing specific people?

[Daradon]

Well often a petition is paired by writing someone. (MP, PM, etc.)

[TorqueDog]

I wrote to the Minister of Health and the opposition MP Libby Davies.

http://www.stopnosodes.org/

[West Karma]

But if we banned nosodes then what would the politicians and the scientists give their kids?

[To Be Quite Honest]

What about homeopathic sewer systems?

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by evman150

Vax-deniers are absolute scum, as far as I'm concerned. Have your horoscopes, psychic readings, homeopathic "medicine", but don't (not) do something that invariably ends with helpless children enduring terrible disease and dying horrible deaths.

Slight tangent, but I stumbled across a FB blog page linked to on my cousin's page - it was about a little girl in Calgary dealing with some sort of brain cancer. What pops up on a couple of posts? Some yutz saying they should really let her come in with her essential oils because she just knows she can really help her cancer with them.

Uh, WTF? More power to the mother, because she didn't eat that dingdong alive for those comments. Couldn't believe it.

[To Be Quite Honest]

While there is no scientific evidence to support my claim, that I am aware of, I believe that the Autism increase is a direct result of diet. What the mother eats when she is pregnant. We have become much more lazy with preparing home cooked meals over the last 20 years that we are malnourished people birthing malnourished offspring. It's not inoculations that cause autism, but perhaps the food we eat during brain development. We need to eat more raw foods especially while preggers to get the most nutrients into what's most important, our babies.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

While there is no scientific evidence to support my claim, that I am aware of, I believe that the Autism increase is a direct result of diet. What the mother eats when she is pregnant. We have become much more lazy with preparing home cooked meals over the last 20 years that we are malnourished people birthing malnourished offspring. It's not inoculations that cause autism, but perhaps the food we eat during brain development. We need to eat more raw foods especially while preggers to get the most nutrients into what's most important, our babies.

I sincerely hope this is a greentext post.

[troutman]

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/AutismPrevalence/

At CDC, we know that people want answers to what is causing this increase, and so do we. The reasons for the increase in the identified prevalence of ASDs are not understood completely. Some of the increase is due to the way children are identified, diagnosed, and served in their local communities, although exactly how much is due to these factors is unknown. Also, it is likely that reported increases are explained partly by greater awareness by doctors, teachers, and parents. To understand more, CDC will keep guiding and conducting research into what is putting our children at risk.

However, the data tell us one thing with certainty—more children are being identified as having ASDs than ever before and these children and their families need help.

It is very unlikely that any of the pregnancy and birth factors included in the study could have been responsible for such a large increase in ASDs from 2002 through 2006.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I sincerely hope this is a greentext post.

Okay, I had just gotten back from the first night on 3 days of dissent and I had a few pops. There is a pattern here for me that I should really look into...

I believe our diet has declined and most of the population is malnourished and this malnourishment has a negative effect on the brain development for the unborn child. Not necessarily a direct link to Autism in general but malnourishment is directly linked to many diseases and Autism could be one of them.

Key Effects on Early Brain Development

Nutrition is a primary non-genetic factor affecting brain development. The effects of under-nutrition (and malnutrition) on the developing brain are long-lasting, leading to permanent deficits in learning and behaviour.
A predominant cause of hindered fetal brain development is maternal malnutrition, including placental insufficiency. Protein seems to be the most critical element for development of neurological function, and prenatal protein deficiency can impact brain development at critical junctures.2
Both nutrition and environment affect the ability and performance of the central nervous system. Maturation of the central nervous system is not linear. A decisive period of development represents a once-only window of opportunity that can neither be repeated nor reversed. The entire developmental period of the brain has subcritical periods, each of which may be disrupted and thereby affect the maturation and organization of the brain.2
Nutritional deprivation seems associated with varying degrees of intellectual disturbance such as cognitive impairments and attention deficit disorders. Failure of the fetus to develop optimally because of nutritional deprivation does not lead to immediate brain dysfunction. Rather, consequences can remain hidden, or manifest only as predispositions until a time when the system is stressed by unusual circumstances.2
Nutrition is perhaps the most influential non-genetic factor in fetal development. A complete balanced diet to support both maternal and fetal health is necessary throughout pregnancy and breast-feeding. With so much at risk during fetal development, it is crucial to maximize the health of mother and fetus through adequate nutrition. At times, supplementation may be helpful to promote the health of both. Proper nutrition provides the optimal environment for development in all aspects.

You can't birth a healthy baby eating McD's everyday whilst pounding Slurpee in between.