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Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
www.aapsonline.org
1. The AAPS opposes
mandating Hepatitis B for school children.
Overall, the annual
incidence of hepatitis B in the U.S. is currently about
4 per 100,000 (15). The risk for most young children
is far less. In 1996, the number of deaths from
viral hepatitis (of all types) reported in children
under the age of 14 was 11, and in children under the
age of 1 year was 1 (16). The number of reported cases
of hepatitis B in children under age 14 was 85 in 1993
(17) and 279 in 1996, according to CDC figures, or
between 2 and 6 per million.
There may be a genetic
predisposition to adverse effects. Although much of
the vaccine testing was done in Alaskan natives and
Asians, adverse events in the United States have been
predominantly among Caucasians (8). Nearly 80
percent of adverse events associated with hepatitis B
vaccine alone involve women, who are more susceptible to
autoimmune reactions. This female predominance deserves
serious study, not off-hand dismissal ("nurses tend to
overreport," said a CDC official) (18).
2. The AAPS opposes mandating
Chickenpox for school children.
Indeed, the chickenpox
fatality rate is among the lowest of all known diseases,
with only about 100 dying out of millions who contract
chickenpox each year. Moreover, most of those
fatalities are in adults rather than children....
But what we object to
here is the forcing of children to take this vaccine at
public expense. Children have nothing to fear from the
disease, and should not be forced by law to undergo
unnecessary medical treatment. The varicella vaccine
is still relatively new and unproven, both in safety and
efficacy. Forcing millions to receive this vaccine,
at substantial expense, would constitute an experiment
on the public. Given the scarcity of money for medical
care, our dollars are much better spent where people
actually want the services.
3. The AAPS passed a resolution
"calling for a moratorium on all government mandated
vaccines."
"Our children face the
possibility of death or serious long-term adverse
effects from mandated vaccines that aren’t necessary or
that have very limited benefits," said Jane M. Orient,
MD, AAPS Executive Director.
"This is not a vote
against vaccines," said Dr. Orient. "This resolution
only attempts to halt blanket vaccine mandates by
government agencies and school districts that give no
consideration for the rights of the parents or the
individual medical condition of the child."
"It’s obscene to
threaten to seize a child just because his parents
refuse medical treatment that is obviously unnecessary
and perhaps even dangerous," said Dr. Orient. "AAPS
believes that parents, with the advice of their doctors,
should make decisions about their children’s medical
care -- not government bureaucrats. This Resolution
affirms that position."
For more information, read
AAPS Opposes Mandatory Vaccines.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons are not
an anti-vaccine group. They are in favor of informed
consent on medical procedures. |
