Page 74 - Winter2020

“The federal hours and encephalopathy or encephalitis (brain Fisher explains, “it has become extremely rare

government damage) occurring within seventy-two hours for any vaccine-injured child to qualify for
of a DPT shot. By adjusting the government’s uncontested compensation.” Most children
14
14
has vaccine injury compensation table, any child (or adults) who file a claim come up against a
systematically who suffered classic reactions to DPT vaccina- DOJ with the resources to fight against them;
betrayed tion (generally due to the pertussis portion of the as a result, vaccine injury claims typically take
vaccine)—such as collapse, shock, high-pitched years to adjudicate and are often unsuccessful.
14
the public’s screaming, a bulging fontanelle, or seizures— Despite these barriers, the NVICP has paid out
trust by was no longer presumed to have suffered a vac- over four billion dollars to date to those injured
17
failing to keep cine injury, even if the reaction occurred within and killed by vaccines.
Fisher says, “The reality today is that
seventy-two hours of vaccination and even if
the promise the child was left with permanent neurological nobody developing, manufacturing, selling,
14
made to damage and seizures. This left the children licensing, recommending, mandating or giving
parents in the ineligible for uncontested, expedited compensa- vaccines in the U.S. has real incentive to prevent
tion in the federal program.
vaccine injuries and deaths. The federal govern-
1986 Act.” The 1995 rule changes meant that whenever ment has systematically betrayed the public’s
HHS and DOJ refused to award compensation trust by failing to keep the promise made to
for classic DPT reactions leading to permanent parents in the 1986 Act.”
18
damage, attorneys were faced with the tall order The liability shield given to vaccine manu-
of having to prove causation in the U.S. Court facturers and doctors administering vaccines
of Federal Claims. In the intervening years, unleashed by the 1986 Act has had a profound

DIPHTHERIA, PERTUSSIS AND TETANUS TODAY
The various DPT, DTP, DTaP and Tdap vaccines are meant to provide protection against three potentially serious
conditions: diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. Diphtheria, associated with strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium
diphtheriae, most commonly affects the upper-respiratory system, potentially causing weakness, sore throat, mild
fever and swollen glands. In more severe cases, this form of diphtheria (as opposed to a rarer form called cutaneous
diphtheria) can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis and sometimes death. Diphtheria is associated with
poverty, poor sanitation and hygiene, crowded living conditions and chronic health conditions such as alcoholism.
63
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the respiratory version of diphtheria was the leading cause of
childhood death around the world, including in the U.S., but nowadays it is virtually non-existent in America, with an
64
average of one to two cases per year. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported under nine thousand cases
65
of diphtheria worldwide in 2017. 66
Pertussis, commonly referred to as “whooping cough,” is a respiratory disease associated with the bacterium
Bordetella pertussis and thought to be highly contagious. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common
cold, including hoarseness, watery eyes, runny nose, dry cough and fever; these can be followed by severe cough-
ing fits that can make it hard to breathe. Following a coughing fit, a high-pitched “whoop” or gasp may occur as the
person breathes in. The coughing phase can last for ten or more weeks (hence the other nickname, the “hundred-day
cough”). Pertussis can affect people of all ages but is worse in those who are undernourished, lack clean water and
proper sanitation or have chronic conditions such as asthma. 67,68 Pertussis can be serious and sometimes fatal for ba-
69
bies less than one year old. The WHO estimates that about one hundred sixty thousand children under age five die
70
from pertussis complications annually, mostly in Africa. In 2019, the CDC reported nine deaths and roughly fifteen
thousand cases of pertussis in the U.S. 71
Tetanus, commonly referred to as “lockjaw,” is a condition associated with a bacterium called Clostridium tetani.
Spores of the tetanus bacteria are usually found in soil, dust and manure. The spores on contaminated objects enter the
body through broken skin, usually through injuries sustained from a deep cut or even a burn. However, tetanus bacteria
do not survive in the presence of oxygen, so puncture wounds which bleed do not provide a suitable environment
for the disease. Symptoms of tetanus can include jaw cramping, sudden involuntary muscle tightening, painful muscle
stiffness, trouble swallowing, seizures, headache, fever and changes in blood pressure and heart rate. More serious
complications include involuntary tightening of the vocal cords, lung problems and death. An estimated one out of ten
cases is fatal. Like diphtheria, tetanus is uncommon in the U.S., with only about thirty cases reported each year. 72
72
72 Wise Traditions WINTER 2020