Crosstalk: February 19, 2015

Barbara Loe Fisher is the president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit organization she co-founded with parents of DT vaccine injured children in 1983. For over 30 years she has led a national grassroots movement and public information campaign to institute vaccine safety reforms and informed consent protections in the public health system. Barbara is the author of numerous articles and books including, 'Reforming Vaccine Policy & Law: A Guide' published in 2014. She is the mother of three grown children. Her oldest son suffered a convulsion, collapse and brain inflammation within hours of his fourth DPT shot in 1980 when he was 2-1/2 years old and was left with multiple learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. Barbara began by reminding listeners about the 51 measles cases in the news that were traced to a visitor to Disneyland according to public health officials. The number of cases has increased to 141 in 17 states with 80% of those traceable back to Disneyland. Interestingly only 18 California measles cases (not vaccinated) occurred in school aged children, children whose parents would have been eligible to exercise a non-medical exemption. So the mass hysteria in the news is all about 18 children who weren't vaccinated. The result is that 12 states have introduced legislation in the last week to take away the religious and conscientious exemptions in all state laws which leaves only a very narrow medical exemption. Barbara also commented on deaths by measles vs. death after vaccination, the reluctance of medical trade organizations to defend informed consent, Senator Patty Murray's desire to see what Congress can do to encourage broader use of vaccines, the latest on the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine and much more.