It would seem that Jenny McCarthy has been expanding and refining her knowledge base in the field of immunology.
After being ardently anti-vaccine for years (and doing who knows how much damage during that time), she now maintains that she is pro-vaccine, but ¦
In an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times, she defends herself against her anti-vaccine reputation, saying My beautiful son, Evan, inspired this mother to question the one size fits all philosophy of the recommended vaccine schedule.
ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom, who has been a vocal critic of McCarthy in the past says, Keep in mind that McCarthy blamed Evan s autism on the vaccines he got back in 2005 and started a campaign two years later, which promoted chelation therapy as a way to remove the mercury preservative which was found in some vaccine. When it was shown that the mercury theory was completely without merit, she (as well as many other vaccine opponents) switched the blame to the vaccines themselves.
McCarthy, in her op-ed also says, This is what I believe: I believe in the importance of a vaccine program and I believe parents have the right to choose one poke per visit. I ve never told anyone to not vaccinate. Should a child with the flu receive six vaccines in one doctor visit?
Dr. Bloom wonders, why, when she never knew what she talking about in the first place, should anyone assume she does now? Call me obstinate, but I think I ll take the advice of world-renowned vaccine expert (and ACSH trustee) Dr. Paul Offit, of the Children s Hospital of Philadelphia, rather than that of a former model with no medical training.
Dr. Offit offers a very compelling argument about why delaying or spacing out vaccines is not logical: [I] often encounter parents who are afraid that too many vaccines will overwhelm their child s immune systems. But the contents of the vaccine are nothing compared to all the germs one encounters daily. The shots are a drop in the ocean of what your body does every single day.
Yet, McCarthy maintains I will continue to say what I have always said: One size does not fit all. God help us all if gray is no longer an option.
Perhaps we should rephrase that, says Dr. Bloom. Perhaps God help us all if we are taking medical advice from former models that appear on daytime TV. might be more appropriate.