 |
| Harold Buttram, MD |
A name can lend credibility to an organization, when it
really shouldn’t. The International Medical Council on Vaccination posted an
article earlier this year written in 2011 by Harold Buttram, MD and Catherine
Frompovich stating that vaccines are turning children’s immune systems inside
out. Citing the research of Russell Blaylock, the article claims that repeated
stimulation of the brain’s immune system results in intense reactions. All of
this is completely false.
The International Medical Council on Vaccination sounds like
a legitimate organization, but looking through the history of their site,
Vaccine Watch found they aren’t. They have a history of not publishing debates and articles that don’t
support their views. Many of the professionals on the International Medical
Council on Vaccination site, chiropractors, homeopaths, and doctors, are
anti-vaccine activists.
Buttram has been advocating against vaccines for years.
Earlier in his career, he blamed Shaken Baby Syndrome on vaccines. The first
three sources of the article are all from Russell Blaylock, MD, who claims on
his personal website that alphabet organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can’t be
trusted.
The article details cellular and humoral immunity. Buttram
contends that vaccination establishes the humoral system as dominant, which he
claims is the reverse of the natural immunologic scheme that humans evolved
with. He further claims that immune systems may be going through progressive
atrophy from disuse without the challenges of “minor childhood diseases.”
Buttram goes on to state, “As a matter of opinion,
vaccinations for chickenpox and mumps were totally uncalled for, as they were
almost always benign illnesses that likely were serving a useful and positive
role in priming and strengthening cellular immunity and response mechanisms.”
Buttram never had to deal with the painful and uncomfortable situation children
with mumps or chicken pox face.
He then states that death from diseases like measles and
whooping cough declined before the vaccines were introduced and that
improvements in sanitation and the introduction of antibiotics were more
important than vaccines. Again, this is a false statement.
The CDC addresses many of the misconceptions Buttram brings
up on their website. For instance, looking at a graph on the rate of measles in
the United States from 1950-2001 you see peaks and valleys and the disease rate
holding steady in the range of 500,000 cases per year. When the vaccine was introduced the
rate dropped down to near 0 and has remained there.
Every day, the immune systems of babies and children
successfully fight off millions of antigens. Vaccines have antigens from a weakened or killed germ in a
fraction of the number that the normal child encounters every day. Vaccination saves
lives and prevents serious disease outbreaks. Distorting facts and spreading
misinformation like the article in International Medical Council on Vaccination
is irresponsible. Parents with
questions about vaccination should speak with their child’s physician.
