photo #8764521

A California ER Nurse Sounds the Alarm: Over-Vaccination and the Autism Crisis in Immigrant Families For a decade, Rena Maculans worked the front lines of emergency medicine in Northern California. Today, as a claims reviewer for Partnership HealthPlan, serving nearly 1 million Medi-Cal families, she is witnessing a pattern that demands urgent attention. In an exclusive interview with Children’s Health Defense, Maculans reveals a troubling practice: children of migrant farmworkers, often lacking verifiable vaccination records due to disrupted journeys, are routinely given double or triple doses of vaccines in a single visit. Providers, operating under a “catch-up” protocol, assume redundancy is harmless. Maculans now knows better. “We were all under the impression that if you double up, it’s a good thing—extra protection. But after reviewing thousands of autism therapy claims, I see the fallout,” says Rena Maculans, RN. The numbers are staggering. One in 12.5 California boys is now diagnosed with autism (CDC, 2024). There is a disproportionate surge in claims from Spanish-speaking families, and regressions are often traced to the same day as aggressive “catch-up” schedules, up to 13 vaccines in one appointment. Real stories bring the crisis into sharp focus. Sa’Niya, age 1, received 6 shots covering 12 antigens at her wellness visit. Twelve hours later, she was gone. A mother featured on CHD’s The People’s Study shared how her son’s MMR record was “lost” during a system upgrade. He was re-vaccinated. Days later came fever, seizures, and a lifelong Asperger’s diagnosis. Immigrant parents on the Vaxxed bus tour described children who received duplicate MMR upon U.S. entry and then showed developmental delays absent in unvaccinated siblings. Expert voices add weight to these accounts. Dr. Elizabeth Mumper, a pediatrician, explains, “Multiple simultaneous vaccines can trigger mitochondrial stress in genetically susceptible children, leading to neurological regression.” Neil Z. Miller, a vaccine researcher with 40 years of study, observes, “I’ve never met a parent who regretted under-vaccinating, only those who followed aggressive catch-up schedules.” Dr. Paul Thomas, a retired pediatrician, confirms, “This is routine in migrant clinics. The incentives reward volume, not caution.” The system itself enables the problem. Federal law requires 13+ vaccines for immigrants with no proof accepted. Medi-Cal providers earn bonuses for hitting vaccination quotas. Record-keeping fails due to lost documents in transit, language barriers, or system errors. Alternative options such as antibody titers or parental history are rarely used. Maculans offers a clear path forward: • Accept parental testimony and medical history. • Order antibody testing before re-vaccinating. • Space out doses for high-risk children. • End financial incentives tied to volume over safety. Every child deserves a voice in their care, especially those already navigating displacement and distrust.