Innoculate this: Amanda Peet, Jenny McCarthy's verbal vaccine war

Whose side are you on, dear reader? Team Amanda Peet or Team Jenny McCarthy?

Amanda Peet, a spokeswoman for vaccine advocacy group Every Child by Two, recently referred to parents who choose not to vaccinate their children as “parasites” in an interview.

She has now apologized, saying, “I believe in my heart that my use of the word 'parasites' was mean and divisive; I completely understand why it offended some parents, and, in particular, parents of children with autism who feel that vaccines caused their illness. For this I am truly sorry."

But Jenny McCarthy, whose 6-year-old son has autism and who is fighting to educate parents  about what she contends is a connection between vaccines and autism, is still really, really angry.

"She has a lot of [nerve] to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she's completely wrong,'' McCarthy tells the upcoming issue of Spectrum.

Autism United, a national advocacy group, is also angry and calling for a boycott of the actress’ movies.

"We want to send a clear message to her," the organization’s executive director, John Gilmore, told Fox News Pop Tarts. “Ms. Peet's comments are deplorable and an apology will not suffice. We applaud Jenny McCarthy's continued efforts and for speaking up for our community."

How did new mom Peet get involved with the Every Child by Two group?

Word is that the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a casting call for a star representative to combat McCarthy's anti-vaccine campaigning. Peet, in a word, auditioned for the role.

What do you think? Should children be vaccinated?

Photos of Peet, left, and McCarthy: WireImage

Comments

[Angela]

I can't belive Ms Peet, so having a child all of a sudden makes her an expert on autism. Her best bet would be to shut up and maybe read about autism, then she might realize that her comments are stupid. And, Jenny just wants a different schdule for vaccines, not to do away with them.

[nhokkanen]

What a poorly-phrased question. The argument is not "either/or" -- it's about SAFETY. Jenny McCarthy vaccinated her child. She has repeatedly stated that she is not anti-vaccine. She suggests that parents read extensively before submitting their child to the current one-size-fits-all vaccination schedule. Why can't reporters get their brains around the concept that vaccine safety is like any other product safety? Just because a parent objects to exploding automobile gas tanks, that parent is not anti-car. Sheesh!

[Maurine Meleck]

Autism families are on the side of their chilren and the person who represents the tens of thousands injured by vaccines. Jenny has lived through what we have and still do and Amanda Peet knows only what Paul Offit tells her and has no understanding of what autism is. We have seen our children regress after vaccines;Amanda hasn't.
Therefore, she should not be a spokesperson. I might add that Paul Offit knows nothing about autism either.

[Sue Leake]

No, greed is the real reason our children are being forced to be vaccinated. Follow the money and you will see how new drugs get approved and then mandated. And why.

[tannim]

The idea of inducing antibody production from a dead bacteria or virus is the basic idea of vaccines.

The problems are twofold: the bugs are not totally dead in the vaccines, and the chemical additives in the vaccines.

Both are preventable, but neither are being prevented.

The chemicals and toxic heavy metals are the biggest problems and are the root cause of a lot of neural problems in both pediatric and geriatric people. Has anybody noticed that the symptoms of Alzheimer's and ASDs are almost identical?

Lose the chemicals.

As for the unkilled bugs, even simpler: UV light the vaccines to kill the bugs.

If you must vaccinate, use titers, not shots.

But above all, practice good hygiene and nutrition to boost the immune system naturally.

[Dawn]

Five victims in my family due to vaccine injury. Go Jenny!!

http://vaccinesexposed.blogspot.com/

[Lynne]

Jenny McCarthy is speaking from her heart and from personal experience. She is advocating for safer vaccines and a safer schedule. If we are on the side of safer vaccines, how can we be wrong? Every parent has the right to choose what is best for their own child and should decide for themselves if and when to vaccinate. My son regressed after his vaccinations and has never recovered. We fight the battle for recovery every single day.

[Krazi]

Couple of hags argueing about the puppies they squeezed out. Maybe they used to be hot but now they're wrecked anyway....

[Heathero]

Amanda Peet is merely a paid mouthpiece for the big PHARMA.

Here's the disclaimer her new campaign:

Every Child By Two's Vaccinate Your Baby campaign is made possible through an unrestricted, educational grant from sanofi pasteur.

http://www.vaccinateyourbaby.org/about.cfm

The question should not be about to vaccinate or not, it should be about vaccine safety. Those of us who join Jenny McCarthy’s in demanding, “Too Many, Too Soon, Too Toxic", are very educated in vaccine and autism research. We read articles from Pub Med, meet with legislators, attend cutting-edge medical conferences, and attend government meetings. We demand this because we’ve vaccinated our children and now they are vaccine injured.

[Chris]

If anyone gets their vaccine advice from Jenny McCarthy or Amanda Peet, they deserve autistic children.

By all means, do your own research, but for the love of all that is holy, speak to your pediatrician who will prescribe the appropriate course of action.

That said, I'd very much like to see Amanda and Jennie kiss and make up...preferably nude.

[Troy]

This decision should be an INFORMED one, not a "do it 'cause they say so". There are always risks putting toxin's into your body. BTW, how much $$ do you think the vaccinating of EVERY child makes the medical industry? Probably enough to help buy some of those TV adds for the NEW drugs to battle what the old one's caused! With a friend who has a child that suffers with autism, and an advocate for the safety of ALL children, I side with Jenny on this issue 100%

[A Chicago Entrepreneur]

I am a stooge.

I am made of moss.

Who am I?

Hint (A shill).

[Amy Pisani, Exec. Director Every Child By Two]

For the Record - Ms. Peet contacted Every Child By Two after she investigated the science behind vaccines when trying to make the decision about whether to vaccinate her own child. Ms. Peet wanted to become a voice for the science behind vaccines and so we developed a campaign to provide parents with similar unfounded concerns with the scientific evidence they need to make an educated decision about the health of their child(ren). The Academy of Pediatrics decided to endorse our public service announcements only after they were fully developed and later agreed to help us spread the message during our press conference. They did not play any role in helping us to "attain a spokesperson". We at Every Child By Two are grateful to the AAP and Ms. Peet for speaking out on this critical issue.

[Kelli Ann Davis]

To Amanda Peet:

I think it’s imperative for organizations like Voices for Vaccines, Families Fighting Flu, Every Child By Two and their like to remember these three facts:

1.) Classifying parents of vaccine-injured children as "anti-vaccine" and referring to them as "parasites" is misleading and false. Our children were injured because they *were* vaccinated;

2.) Promoting vaccine safety has absolutely nothing to do with the issue of whether vaccines are successful in protecting against infectious diseases -- they are two separate issues; and

3.) It's only when safety issues are ignored that parents are eventually forced to weigh the risk of safety against the risk of infectious disease and the two issues come together.

Please remember these facts when speaking about the parents of children with autism.

Kelli Ann Davis
D.C. Political Liaison for Generation Rescue

[Sullivan]

As the parent of a child with autism, I thank Amanda Peet greatly for stepping forward.

When she did step forward, it was obvious the press wanted exactly this sort of cheap conflict. Ms. Peet declined the opportunity to make this a celebrity battle and stayed with the issues. That showed a level of class that we need in our autism advocacy.

Amanda Peet may not have a family member with autism--but she still speaks for many of us who do. On the other hand, Jenny McCarthy has a child who was diagnosed with autism and doesn't speak for many of us who do.

Again, this autism parent thanks Amanda Peet and apologizes to her for the reception my fellow autism parents have afforded her.

[transplant_mom]

I completely agree that vaccines need to be safer. I think that people need to be careful what they are preaching because there are many parents that think she (Jenny) is saying to NOT get vaccinated. That is not what she is saying. She wants people to be more proactive and lobby for people to produce safer vaccines. I have a 10 year old that had a kidney transplant when he was 2. He could not get the MMR booster because he is no longer allowed to have a "live" vaccine because he is immuno suppressed. He is a happy healthy 4th grader. Still in and out of the hospital, and normal colds last weeks and high temps with everything. We are now having a measles outbreak, and if my son is exposed to measles because some idiot did not get their child vaccinated, he will die! I am not exaggerating. Just last year he ended up in PICU because he got septic from a urinary tract infection, and he almost died then. Parents should absolutely do research, but not vaccinating is not a good enough answer. So to all of you who think that vaccinations are a bad idea, thanks from all of us that are parents of immuno compromised kids. I will bet you don't hear about their deaths on the news near as often as we hear about autism.

[Gayle]

How many babies have to die immediately after their two and four month "well visit" vaccinations in order for people to understand that vaccines, like all other medical procedures and medicines, carry risk? I vote for Jenny, all the way, and my husband and two vaccine injured children and would agree with me. Count that as four votes for Jenny. Amanda Peet is clueless.

[Dana]

I Personally Amanda Peet must be RETARDED opps I mean mentally handicapped for thinking that she has any knowledge about what vaccine's do to the brain, underdeveloped immune system etc. Until you walk in the shoe's of someone like Jenny or myself that has gone the traditional route thru the current vaccine schedule and watched you child strike a 105 within hour's of the day they were just vaccinated with numerous vaccine's and then watch your totally normal child, who pointed, spoke, engaged, loose everything first language immediately following the vaccine's, then pointing, becoming ill, crying all night long, meanwhile your doctor or medical professional's who just signed off that your child was normal on the day the shot was giving and previously on schedule developmental now has his nurse hand you a fricking sheet that the CDC has on that Vaccine's and Autism has been proven not to exist. Walk in our shoe's Miss Peet and I think you'll never walk the same again...God Bless you and your ABSOLUTE Stupidty!
Dana

[Mary]

I am very sorry that Jenny McCarthy has a sick child but she needs to do some research on the number of children whos lives are saved by vaccines. We have mostly seen the mild post-vaccine versions of illness like measles but these diseases have killed. I suspect that autism has been around for a long time but these children were likely the first to die of these illnesses becasue they couldn't articulate their symptoms.

Go Amanda Peet! You are doing the right thing.

[Ken]

Amanda Peet is correct. We must ensure we do everything possible to inoculate doctors, public health officials and vaccine makers from any liability and stay profitable at all costs.

If some are damaged well we can just have the taxpayers bail them out.

Modern medicine and profitable pharmaceutical companies must not be bothered by regulations or concerns for safety.

[Sylvia]

Jenny has lived through the horrors of seeing her son suffer a vaccine injury. And she has decided to help give other parents a voice, even though some will criticize her for doing so. But she is speaking the truth - thousands of other parents have experienced the same tragedy, but because of her celebrity, the issue is getting national attention.

Amanda Peet is a judgemental know-it-all.
She has been lucky that her daughter hasn't been vaccine injured yet. I find her attitude sickening.

[Sullivan]

"How did new mom Peet get involved with the Every Child by Two group?

Word is that the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a casting call for a star representative to combat McCarthy's anti-vaccine campaigning. Peet, in a word, auditioned for the role. "

Why don't you go to the source--Amanda Peet. She makes it very clear how she got involved. While she was pregnant, she called a relative with questions about vaccines. Her relative works at the same hospital where Dr. Paul Offit works--and Dr. Offit works with Every Child By Two.

The "casting call" bit is the sort of statement we have not heard from Amanda Peet. She avoided the celebrity war approach, and I applaud her for that.

[GrammaKnows]

SAFETY!

No child should be inoculated until they are able to do away with the stand-by Epi-Pen!

Enough with the "anti-vax" vs the Offit Groupies...the parents who want vaccines to be safe and to be a slower schedule because their child has autism ALL had the vaccines - right on schedule.

Is anyone even listening, or is it too much fun to try to turn the attention from devastated children into a popularity contest?

[Flip Wilson]

I'm glad these medical professionals / biological scientists have had an opportunity to express themselves. But when are actors going to get a chance to voice their opinion? I really want to know what Paris thinks about this, her voice matters to me.

[Candyce]

It's a bit of a no-brainer,Neuro toxin in a baby. This is a recipe for disaster. Soon everyone will know the motive behind vaccines. Who would have thought money would be the motivation behind vaccines, and the vaccines being mandated. People need to take responsibility for their own healthcare and not have blind faith in the CDC and the AAP. Listen to Jenny, she speaks proof of what can happen to our children.