FACT CHECK: Daily Caller claims lack of vaccines is causing a return of polio to Venezuela … but so far the grand total is just ONE patient

Venezuela’s crumbling socialized healthcare system has been making headlines as the government has struggled to dole out the funds being demanded for vaccines. Propagandists are already inciting outrage, claiming that low vaccination rates in the South American nation will lead to epidemics of disease. In a recent piece that smacks of pro-vaccine fake news, The Daily Caller claimed that a lack of vaccines was causing polio to return in Venezuela, but is that really true?

A single child from the Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro has displayed one symptom of polio, according to reports. More importantly, however, is the fact that this alleged case of polio has not been officially confirmed, according to a statement from the World Health Organization. “[A]n acute flaccid paralysis case is currently being investigated,” the WHO told CNN.

“Final results are expected over the coming weeks. Acute flaccid paralysis is caused by a number of different causalities, poliovirus being just one of them,” the WHO explained in their statement.

Acute flaccid paralysis is a common symptom of polio; it’s described as the sudden onset of weakness or loss of mobility in any part of the body in children under age 15. But, as the WHO contends, until lab testing is completed and the results are in it’s too early to know if this child has polio or another condition.

In other words, all these vaccine-happy media outlets are jumping the gun, inciting fear and outrage for no reason. The notion that this child has been afflicted with a not-yet-determined illness because they weren’t vaccinated is fear-mongering at its finest. The Daily Caller, it seems, is pushing pro-vaccine fake news just like the corporate-run media.

Other diseases can look like polio

Not long ago, there were fears that polio had returned to the United States, too. Recall the great polio scare of 2014 and 2015, when dozens of children were afflicted with mysterious and sudden paralysis. It was ultimately determined that while the illness was similar to polio and was part of the same viral family, the affected children did not have polio.

In 2014, multiple children came down with polio-like symptoms in the state of California. Dr. Keith Van Haren, a pediatric neurologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, wrote a report on five of the cases.

All five children had received the polio vaccine.

Beyond the fact that the alleged case of polio in Venezuela could be anything but, it’s also important to look at the cold, hard truth about polio vaccinations.

Polio vaccines as a source of disease

While the mainstream media is reluctant to report on the truth about the polio vaccine, it turns out that the polio vaccine can be even more dangerous than the actual disease. In 2017, it was revealed that polio vaccinations were causing more paralysis than wild polio.

Mutant strains of the disease spread by vaccination led over 20 children to experience paralysis last year — while just six children were infected with wild polio.

No nation showcases the potential harms of polio vaccines like Syria. In 2017, dozens of children were harmed. World Health Organization representative Elizabeth Hoff reported,  “As of 18 August 2017, 33 children under the age of five have been paralyzed.” But, as usual, the response from global health organizations was to deepen their efforts at vaccinating more children.

Raul Andino, a professor of microbiology at the University of California at San Francisco conducted research which explains how and why vaccine-derived polio causes disease. The virus is capable of replicating and mutating fairly quickly in the human intestinal tract, within just a month or two of vaccination. “As the virus starts circulating in the community, it acquires further mutations that make it basically indistinguishable from the wild-type virus. It’s polio in terms of virulence and in terms of how the virus spreads,” Andino said.

In areas with poor sanitation, this means vaccine-derived polio can spread with ease. Even if the child affected in Venezuela does have polio, there is a substantial chance that it’s actually vaccine-derived polio. Past numbers show that more children get vaccine-derived polio than wild polio. Furthermore, Venezuela is under extreme duress and basic health supplies are hard to find. Discover more truth about inoculations at Vaccines.news.

Sources for this article include:

DailyCaller.com

NPR.org