Can You Spot the Anti-Vaccine Propaganda in This Post About a Measles Vaccine Death?
Peter McCullough exploits the death of a child to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.
Not surprisingly, even as measles cases are soaring, and we have started to see deaths in these outbreaks, anti-vaccine influencers are doubling down with propaganda pushing the idea that measles vaccines are bad.
The latest is from Peter McCullough, in a post that a measles vaccine killed a previously healthy baby.
Can You Spot the Anti-Vaccine Propaganda in This Post About a Measles Vaccine Death?
Tragically, a child did die, but there is more to the story than McCullough let on.
“We report a fatal case of vaccine-associated measles encephalitis in an immunocompromised child in California, USA.”
Vaccine-Associated Measles Encephalitis in Immunocompromised Child, California, USA
The child was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia about a week after getting her MMR vaccine, at her 12-month visit.
She began induction treatment and about four months later had a stem cell transplant.
“One month after the transplant, she experienced altered mental status; magnetic resonance imaging showed abnormal signals, and positron emission tomography showed hyperperfusion involving the insula and thalamus (Appendix Figure 1)… Despite treatment with intravenous ribavirin, intrathecal interferon-α, and inosine pranobex, the patient experienced persistent dysautonomia, respiratory failure, and myoclonus; without conceivable neurologic recovery, she was extubated and died shortly thereafter.”
Vaccine-Associated Measles Encephalitis in Immunocompromised Child, California, USA
Tragically, she had developed vaccine-associated measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE).
Before you say that McCullough was right, you must consider the rest of his post.
“Very rare deaths with measles must be weighed with equally rare cases of vaccine deaths. It is exceeding difficult for the human mind to factor in any event occurring less than one percent of the time. As a result, parents and doctors should have a complete free choice on the issue of vaccination with no pressure, coercion, or threat of reprisal for whatever decision is made.”
Measles Vaccine Death in Previously Healthy Baby after Leukemia Develops
That’s the propaganda!
“Measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) following wild-type measles infection has also been reported in children and young adults, but MIBE secondary to vaccine-strain MeV is an extremely rare entity with only 1 prior reported case that occurred 8.5 months after vaccination in a child with an undiagnosed primary immunodeficiency with CD8 deficiency and dysgammaglobulinemia.”
Vaccine Associated Measles Complicated by Suspected Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis in a Pediatric Leukemia Patient and Stem Cell Transplant Recipient: A Focus on Clinical Evolution and Management
He is equating an extremely rare vaccine death, the first of this type to ever be reported, with the hundreds of measles deaths that we will see if we continue on his Go Natural childhood immunization schedule.
“To our knowledge, this is the first case of vaccine-strain MeV with MIBE in a HSCT recipient. The present manuscript adds to the extremely limited literature surrounding this rare but possible complication of wild-type or vaccine-strain MeV in immunocompromised pediatric patients and highlights management and diagnostic challenges.”
Vaccine Associated Measles Complicated by Suspected Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis in a Pediatric Leukemia Patient and Stem Cell Transplant Recipient: A Focus on Clinical Evolution and Management
But aren’t measles deaths rare, after all, only one unvaccinated child has died with measles this year?
Sure, measles deaths are rare — when most people are vaccinated and protected!
As vaccination rates drop, mostly because people are misled and scared by anti-vaccine influencers, we will see more and more cases and outbreaks.
This is especially dangerous for immunocompromised patients, as with fewer people getting vaccinated, it will increase the risk that they will be exposed to measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
And that’s one more worry for parents when their kids are undergoing chemotherapy or a stem cell transplant — trying to avoid measles because of more and more cases and outbreaks.
Also note that McCullough doesn’t mention your risk of developing SSPE, which is similar to MIBE, but is caused by natural measles infections, is much more common, and is always fatal. Oh, and you can also get MIBE after a natural measles infection — in fact, that happens much more commonly than vaccine-associated MIBE!
“We strongly support ongoing public vaccination efforts that provide important herd immunity for immunocompromised patients and prevent wild-type measles outbreaks, which would place individuals at much higher risk of acute MeV and associated complications.”
Vaccine Associated Measles Complicated by Suspected Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis in a Pediatric Leukemia Patient and Stem Cell Transplant Recipient: A Focus on Clinical Evolution and Management
So while McCullough suggests you make your vaccine choice without coercion, by only giving you scary information about vaccines, he is essentially making the choice for you.
Don’t let him! Do your own research about vaccines, be more skeptical, and get out of the trap of being made anxious by anti-vaccine propaganda.
References
Costales C, Sahoo MK, Huang C, Guimaraes CV, Born D, Kushner L, Gans HA, Doan TA, Pinsky BA. Vaccine-Associated Measles Encephalitis in Immunocompromised Child, California, USA. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Apr;28(4):906-908. doi: 10.3201/eid2804.212357. PMID: 35318930; PMCID: PMC8962891.
Kushner LE, Kamens J, Bertaina A, Shyr D, Gans HA. Vaccine Associated Measles Complicated by Suspected Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis in a Pediatric Leukemia Patient and Stem Cell Transplant Recipient: A Focus on Clinical Evolution and Management. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2024 Jun 1;43(6):582-586. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000004299. Epub 2024 Feb 21. PMID: 38380931.
Freeman AF, Jacobsohn DA, Shulman ST, Bellini WJ, Jaggi P, de Leon G, Keating GF, Kim F, Pachman LM, Kletzel M, Duerst RE. A new complication of stem cell transplantation: measles inclusion body encephalitis. Pediatrics. 2004 Nov;114(5):e657-60. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-0949. PMID: 15520095.
Measles Vaccine Death in Previously Healthy Baby after Leukemia Develops. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/measles-vaccine-death-in-previously
I saw McCullough speak at one of these infernal anti-vaccine conferences and all he basically did was gish gallop all over the place. And all the anti-vaccinationists mistook his high-speed talking for actual intelligence which it wasn't.
This case is indeed exceptionally rare. And not only is vaccine encephalitis exceedingly rare, but so is the probability that a child would get a vaccine just at the time he develops acute leukemia which means the attenuated (live) virus was introduced into a child with zero immune response to deal with even the challenge posed by an attenuated virus.
Live virus vaccines are contraindicated in the immunosuppressed for a reason.