Скачать или смотреть ASK 13: Vaccine Controversy

News 13 took your questions about measles and the controversy over vaccinations to local pediatrician Dr. Charlotte Riddle to get you the answers.

Dr. Riddle is a pediatrician at Park Ridge Hospital.

Shell Silva asked "Why don't doctor's inform patients that SIDS is a possible side effect of vaccines?"

"SIDS is not a possible side effect of vaccines," Dr. Riddle said. "There is a time frame when we see SIDS, which is the same time frame when we vaccinate our children so coincidentally, they occur at the same time but there's no proven link."

Susan Sparks asked "What makes a person a non responder?"

"There will be about 5 percent of the population who will not respond to that first measles vaccine, and so your body just doesn't recognize those foreign proteins that are introduced for whatever reason and that is why we do a booster."

Rhonda Fox said she had a booster or she had a shot when she was younger, but wondered if she could still get the measles at age 50.

"Potentially, it could be that you were a non-responder and if you were exposed to measles that you could then acquire measles, so that's something to consider, which is why when I came to work here I got a measles booster," Dr. Riddle said.

Vickie Kelley Foxx asked "Is this a new strain of measles? Do we need to be vaccinated and what age group?"

"This is not a new strain of measles," Dr. Riddle said. "We typically vaccinate at 12 months because we know that is when people are going to respond to the best."

Barbara Covington asked "When the FDA says there's no safe level of mercury in a child's body, but the multiple does flu vaccines are kept fresh with thimerosal, what's a concerned mom to do?"

"What we do. We have single dose flu vaccine that doesn't have thimerosal," Dr. Riddle said. "So our vaccines since 2001 have been thimerosal free and we have single dose flu vaccine to avoid thimerosal in our office. Knowing that, we don't feel like the small amounts of thimerosal that traditionally were in vaccines are dangerous to children."

Is there something you've see around town that you want to know more about? Now it's time to Ask 13!

We are starting a new segment on our news where we take your questions and get you the answers. It's as easy as emailing your question to [email protected].

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