11-18-2004, 12:24 PM
http://www.mlive .com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1099932606257390.xml
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, November 08, 2004
By Shantell M. Kirkendoll
skirkendoll@flintjournal .com • 810.766.6366
QUICK TAKE
# Too much of a good thing?Children can end up with too many vaccinations or be denied entry to school if state records are not updated. Parents should be sure their doctor or clinic reports vaccines to the Michigan Childhood Vaccination Registry within seven days of a child's appointment, and keep a paper record of vaccinations as backup.
***
FLINT - Syrus Davis' mother wanted him protected from measles, mumps, hepatitis and polio, but at age 6 he's had nearly twice as many immunizations needed to protect him from those diseases.
It's been too much of a good thing, said Yashica Neal of Flint. She said she believes the childhood vaccines poisoned Syrus, who was recently diagnosed with autism.
She blames her pediatrician's office for failing to report vaccinations on time to a state registry designed to prevent overvaccination. Because of the snafu, Syrus received more shots than he needed, she said.
"He changed after all those shots," Neal said. "He's gloomy and lost."
While most children need only four doses of the polio vaccine, Syrus has had six doses, according to state records. By 1999, he had five doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, when he only needed two.
It's been only recently that Syrus started talking. Late speech is a classic sign of autism in which children are socially withdrawn and lack language skills.
Like many parents and autism groups, Neal contends the mercury in vaccines is linked with autism. That contention is hard to dismiss because of a marked increase in autism in the past decade that experts cannot explain.
Research has been little help. The Institute of Medicine issued a report in May concluding no causal link between vaccines and autism, but a month later, a study published online by the journal Molecular Psychiatry showed it did cause autism-like symptoms in some newborn mice.
But "no one has studied what happens when children are overvaccinated," said Neal, 29. "It couldn't have been good for him."
Syrus was born in 1997, the same year the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry went into effect. All health care providers who give vaccines are required by law to report every vaccine they give a child.
It's supposed to help parents keep track of vaccines administered at multiple places such as a clinic or doctors' offices. MCIR is considered more reliable than paper records, which can be lost or destroyed.
"But when you look up in the system, the shots from the pediatrician are not there," she said. "I think that's what's been going on."
Neal took care of Syrus' shots with a pediatrician her family had used for years, but she claims his office reported shots weeks after appointments or not at all.
After Syrus was born, Genesys Home Health and Hospice's Maternal Infant Support Service came to Neal's home to check on his well-being and hers and, based on the MCIR records, gave Syrus vaccinations.
A Genesys spokeswoman said Friday that nurses use MCIR as the "gatekeeper" for children's records, and follows federal guidelines for when children need vaccines.
"I remember the day (the nurse) came to the house," Neal said. "He'd already had the shot last month. I knew that, but she said the state record showed he hadn't. Who was I to deny medical help for my son? I listened to her."
Most children will have five doses of vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, but Syrus has had seven doses, according to his MCIR record.
Parents may also feel strong-armed into getting vaccines because children cannot attend school or preschool unless records show they have all their shots.
Neal became alarmed about the shots when Syrus' preschool told her in June he wouldn't be able to attend school because state records showed he needed another measles-mumps-rubella shot. Syrus' doctor's records show he had the shot in October 2001.
Syrus' pediatrician did not return calls seeking comment. Neal has contacted an attorney who may file a lawsuit against him, she said.
"Making sure the data is there is something providers have to buy into," said Wendy Nye, director of the local MCIR region. "Most recognize it as a wonderful tool for tracking vaccinations."
Compliance may be affected by an office's volume of vaccinations to be entered or turnover of staff trained to do it, she said.
She said 95 percent of Genesee County doctors are connected to the registry and vaccinations must be on the registry within seven days.
"Occasionally parents dispute MCIR, and that's usually when a child has more shots on their (immunization card) from the doctor's office than the registry," she said.
Generally, schools will accept a doctor's note or record as proof of a vaccination, even if MCIR shows otherwise, Nye said.
Health officials say few vaccines given U.S. children today contain the preservative thimerosal, which is used to store multiple doses of some vaccines such as for hepatitis B. Thimerosal contains mercury.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999 recommended a switch to mercury-free vaccines.
Most of Syrus' shots were given more than two years before the switch.
"The amount of shots Syrus has gotten is unacceptable," said LaQuantus Cardwell, 30, his aunt and an office manager in a pediatrician's office. "No one knows whether it was intentional, but we do know Syrus will be this way for the rest of his life."
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, November 08, 2004
By Shantell M. Kirkendoll
skirkendoll@flintjournal .com • 810.766.6366
QUICK TAKE
# Too much of a good thing?Children can end up with too many vaccinations or be denied entry to school if state records are not updated. Parents should be sure their doctor or clinic reports vaccines to the Michigan Childhood Vaccination Registry within seven days of a child's appointment, and keep a paper record of vaccinations as backup.
***
FLINT - Syrus Davis' mother wanted him protected from measles, mumps, hepatitis and polio, but at age 6 he's had nearly twice as many immunizations needed to protect him from those diseases.
It's been too much of a good thing, said Yashica Neal of Flint. She said she believes the childhood vaccines poisoned Syrus, who was recently diagnosed with autism.
She blames her pediatrician's office for failing to report vaccinations on time to a state registry designed to prevent overvaccination. Because of the snafu, Syrus received more shots than he needed, she said.
"He changed after all those shots," Neal said. "He's gloomy and lost."
While most children need only four doses of the polio vaccine, Syrus has had six doses, according to state records. By 1999, he had five doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, when he only needed two.
It's been only recently that Syrus started talking. Late speech is a classic sign of autism in which children are socially withdrawn and lack language skills.
Like many parents and autism groups, Neal contends the mercury in vaccines is linked with autism. That contention is hard to dismiss because of a marked increase in autism in the past decade that experts cannot explain.
Research has been little help. The Institute of Medicine issued a report in May concluding no causal link between vaccines and autism, but a month later, a study published online by the journal Molecular Psychiatry showed it did cause autism-like symptoms in some newborn mice.
But "no one has studied what happens when children are overvaccinated," said Neal, 29. "It couldn't have been good for him."
Syrus was born in 1997, the same year the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry went into effect. All health care providers who give vaccines are required by law to report every vaccine they give a child.
It's supposed to help parents keep track of vaccines administered at multiple places such as a clinic or doctors' offices. MCIR is considered more reliable than paper records, which can be lost or destroyed.
"But when you look up in the system, the shots from the pediatrician are not there," she said. "I think that's what's been going on."
Neal took care of Syrus' shots with a pediatrician her family had used for years, but she claims his office reported shots weeks after appointments or not at all.
After Syrus was born, Genesys Home Health and Hospice's Maternal Infant Support Service came to Neal's home to check on his well-being and hers and, based on the MCIR records, gave Syrus vaccinations.
A Genesys spokeswoman said Friday that nurses use MCIR as the "gatekeeper" for children's records, and follows federal guidelines for when children need vaccines.
"I remember the day (the nurse) came to the house," Neal said. "He'd already had the shot last month. I knew that, but she said the state record showed he hadn't. Who was I to deny medical help for my son? I listened to her."
Most children will have five doses of vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, but Syrus has had seven doses, according to his MCIR record.
Parents may also feel strong-armed into getting vaccines because children cannot attend school or preschool unless records show they have all their shots.
Neal became alarmed about the shots when Syrus' preschool told her in June he wouldn't be able to attend school because state records showed he needed another measles-mumps-rubella shot. Syrus' doctor's records show he had the shot in October 2001.
Syrus' pediatrician did not return calls seeking comment. Neal has contacted an attorney who may file a lawsuit against him, she said.
"Making sure the data is there is something providers have to buy into," said Wendy Nye, director of the local MCIR region. "Most recognize it as a wonderful tool for tracking vaccinations."
Compliance may be affected by an office's volume of vaccinations to be entered or turnover of staff trained to do it, she said.
She said 95 percent of Genesee County doctors are connected to the registry and vaccinations must be on the registry within seven days.
"Occasionally parents dispute MCIR, and that's usually when a child has more shots on their (immunization card) from the doctor's office than the registry," she said.
Generally, schools will accept a doctor's note or record as proof of a vaccination, even if MCIR shows otherwise, Nye said.
Health officials say few vaccines given U.S. children today contain the preservative thimerosal, which is used to store multiple doses of some vaccines such as for hepatitis B. Thimerosal contains mercury.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1999 recommended a switch to mercury-free vaccines.
Most of Syrus' shots were given more than two years before the switch.
"The amount of shots Syrus has gotten is unacceptable," said LaQuantus Cardwell, 30, his aunt and an office manager in a pediatrician's office. "No one knows whether it was intentional, but we do know Syrus will be this way for the rest of his life."