This is forefront in my mind right now because we just had Kian's 12 month appointment and again are (still) vaccine free. They are mostly willing to just let me be and make my decisions. They haven't really pressured me at this point to do anything, which is nice. I, straight up, told the NP that I first delayed because of my own reactions as a child, I am not in the "Autism is caused by vaccine" camp, (although I think there are connections) and now my opposition is to the chemicals, aborted fetal tissues and mouse tissues that are in vaccines. She didn't say much, just said okay, let them know where I'm at with it next visit. It's nice to not be pressured, although I'm sure they talk about the 'wacky mom' after I leave.
Anyways, I've been doing more research about the delayed vaccine schedule. Obviously, Kian would be severely delayed in his vaccine schedule even if I were to start now. That is not the point. The point is that this delay or spacing out of vaccines is wonderful and I want to share it for everyone else! It gives parents who may not know a lot about vaccines, who are nervous about them, but do want vaccines, to get some help and not overload their child's system. Dr. Sears' "The Vaccine Book" is the best bet, but others out there are sharing their schedules, based on this book, along with tips to help vaccines go smoothly with both child and parent.
First, tips for the best possible immunization outcome:
*When you do get them vaxed, dose them up on probiotics before and after. (I'll do a post on probiotics soon, Kian and I take them daily!)
*Make sure your kid is "abundantly healthy" on vax day - postpone if your kid is ill, might be coming down with something, has a fever or is recovering (within the last two weeks) from illness.
*Make absolutely sure that the vax is new and has no thimerosal!
*If your kid can take supplements, Vitamins A, C, and Zinc can be used as immune boosters, starting up to two weeks before and going up to two weeks after shots are received.
*Try for one-at-a-time (he recommends spacing the MMR, for example).
*Monitor for any symptoms of illness after vaccination carefully. (if your child was ill when they received the vaccine you won't know if it's from a virus, an allergy, or the vaccine. ANY symptom out of the ordinary should be noted and watched!)
*If your child has any adverse reactions, by all means postpone until they're older and their immune system is more developed.
*If the child is experiencing any allergy symptoms (such as seasonal/pet allergies), postpone the shots until symptoms have subsided.
*Hep B on the day of birth is only appropriate if the mom is Hep B positive. (I skipped this because my newborn was not a drug addict or promiscuous sexual being!)
*If your child has food allergies or you suspect food allergies, eggs and yeast can be present in some vaccines, which should be avoided by children allergic to those substances. (probiotics help control and regulate yeast in the intestines and body)
*If you breastfeed, by all means continue through the vax schedule - it will definitely help their immune system.
*Research! and be assertive as the parent of your child.
Symptoms of Reactions: For a child it may vary from soreness, simple rash, fever, diarrhea, projectile vomiting, lack of appetite, sleepiness, crying or malaise. In more advanced cases the infant may cry uncontrollably, scream for hours, or just stare into space. The child may lose motor control and not be able to sit, crawl or walk. In even worse cases brain damage, mental deficiency or death. *for inconsolable crying lasting more than 3-4 hours, high fever, loss of skills, any neurological symptoms, get help right away! call doctor with any oddities, unusual symptoms!
Why:
Here's why spacing them out, or giving one at a time, separating combos (separating shots like measles one time, mumps one time and rubella another instead of the straight MMR shot): if your child reacts at all, even slightly, to one of these vaccines that are a combo shot, or when he's received at least 4 pokes on the same day, HOW are you going to know WHICH one caused the reaction? It's an overload to the system. A newborn has some antibodies from mom, especially if breastfeeding, but putting 4-8 virus in his tiny 10 lb body all at once will cause his immune system to freak out.
Delayed schedules:
Dr. Sears' recommended (and very popular) schedule:
2 mo DTaP, Prevnar
4 mo DTaP, Hib
6 mo Hib, Prevnar
9 mo DTaP, Prevnar
12 mo Hib
15 mo Hib, Prevnar
5 years Tetanus booster
Recommends giving them only 1 or 2 at a time to decrease the chances of side effects, use of Vitamins A and C prior to and after the shots to help decrease the chances of a reaction.
Meningitis and Pertussis to be the most possible and most serious for infants. He considered Meningitis possible AND serious for toddlers, but rare beyond age 2.
Polio, heb b, diptheria, and tetanus as diseases that are very serious, but that your young child would NOT catch them.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella as rare and not serious for infants and toddlers.
Chickenpox to be common and not serious.
If you plan to travel outside the US, that the following shots were important, Polio- Africa and Asia: Tetanus- wounds more likely on vacation, and less access to a shot while traveling
Ask for blood tests to see if the teen had developed natural immunity already to Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Chicken Pox.
*Hib, rare but serious meningitis. safe ingredients, side effects minimal, no mercury, rated 4/5 score , recommended
*DTaP, pertussis serious under age 1, side effects minimal, beef extract the only worry, tripedia vaccine is low mercury in single vial dose (less than .3 micrograms). recommended for pertussis, 4/5 score recommended
*Prevnar, common and serious meningitis, safe ingredients, more chance of side effects, 4/5 score recommended
*MMR, disease usually mild in kids, fairly rare, side effects and ingredients considerable, 50 cases of Measles per year in CA, rubella shot can cause arthritis in women, this shot has the most serious side effect profile. 1/5 score (essentially saying, there's no good reason to give this to your child)
*Heb B, STD, rare in kids, but serious if caught, side effects considerable, ingredients safe, does contain residual formaldehyde, kids 2/5 score, (again no good reason to give to your child)
*Chicken pox, disease mild but common, side effects and ingredients considerable, used to have 55 deaths per year, disease waning, kids 2/5 score, (not entirely necessary)
*Polio, diseases not in Western Hemisphere, side effects safe, but ingredients questionable, 2/5 score (not entirely necessary for your child)
"SortaCrunchy" has a helpful list on her blog about the delayed schedule.
1.Hep B-Delay until the year before starting school, although we may consider starting the series as early as two and half if we are considering preschool at the time.
Hib4 mo, 6 mo, 8 mo, 17 mo
IPV4 mo, 6 mo, 8 mo, 17 mo (booster at 4 years)
DtaP5 mo, 7 mo, 9 mo, 15 or 18 mo (booster at 4 years)
Pneumococcal (PREVNAR)one dose at age 2
Varicela (Varivax)Age four, if at all
MMRMumps – 15 mo Rubella – 27 mo Measles – 39 mo Booster – age 5
2.DTaP (only Daptecel brand with no cow extract and a smaller dose of the pertussis component)- 2,4,6,18 months (booster at 4 years)
Prevnar and HIB- 3,5,7,15 months
IPV-9,12,24 months (booster at 4 years)
Mumps (by itself)- 12 months
Rubella (by itself)- 2 years
Measles- (by itself)- 3 years(boosters at 5 for MMR after titers have been checked)
Hep B (and possibly A)- probably start at 2 1/2
Chickenpox- not doing until grade school
Chew on this:
If a “dirty bomb” exposed a large segment of US citizens simultaneously to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza B, three strains of polio viruses, 3 strains of influenza viruses, measles, mumps, and rubella viruses, the chickenpox virus, and 7 strains of Streptococcus bacteria, we would declare a national emergency. We would call it an “extreme act of BIOTERRORISM”. The public outcry would be immense and our government would act accordingly.
And yet, those are the very organisms that we inject through vaccines into our babies and our small children, with immature, underdeveloped immune systems. Many are given all at the same time. But instead of bioterrorism, we call it “protection.” Reflect a moment on that irony. ~Dr. Sheri Tenpenny
Final thoughts:
1. Low infection rates and high vaccination rates should not be the cornerstone of our public health policy. Vaccine reactions should not be discounted, whatever their numbers. Further, the true cost-benefit of the vaccination program must be considered, and what has been presented is barely the tip of the iceberg.
2. Parents, and all adults, must retain their right to refuse vaccines. They are not without risk, and those “rare” complications can result in significant costs, both economic and in terms of human life.
3. Children, and all adults, who refuse to be vaccinated are being discriminated against. They are losing their rights:
a. Rights and access to a public education.
b. Rights to access to health care, as doctors discharge them as patients.
c. Rights to food because often moms on Medicaid are refused food stamps.
These rights—including the right to refuse—must be ensured.
When we give government the power to make medical decisions for us—and force us to vaccinate and medicate our children in the name “health” and “policy” and for “the greater good” we, in essence, accept that the state owns our bodies, and, apparently, our children.
Dr. Sheri Tenpenny
Showing posts with label immunizations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immunizations. Show all posts
A good vaccine read:
(I found this while researching and put some * and boldface in there for my own comments)
A User-Friendly Vaccination Schedule
by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MDby Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD
Vaccination is a controversial subject, and many parents worry about subjecting their children to them. Readers of my article "Mercury on the Mind," about vaccines and dental amalgams, have asked what vaccines I would recommend their children receive. This article addresses that question.
In the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule put out by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 12 vaccines are given to children before they reach the age of two. Providers inject them against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus (lockjaw), pertussis (whooping cough), polio, pneumococcal infections, Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), chickenpox, and influenza (the flu).
Infectious disease was the leading cause of death in children 100 years ago, with diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, and pertussis accounting for most them. Today the leading causes of death in children less than five years of age are accidents, genetic abnormalities, developmental disorders, sudden infant death syndrome, and cancer. A basic tenet of modern medicine is that vaccines are the reason. There is growing evidence that this is so, but perhaps not quite in the way conventional medical wisdom would have it.
A 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the CDC decides which vaccines should be on the Childhood Immunization Schedule. It calls for one vaccine, against hepatitis B, to be given on the day of birth; 7 vaccines at two months; 6 more (including booster shots) at four months; and as many as 8 vaccines on the six month well-baby visit. Before a child reaches the age of two he or she will have received 32 vaccinations on this schedule, including four doses each of vaccines for Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis – all of them given during the first 12 months of life. Seven vaccines injected into a 13 lb. two-month old infant are equivalent to 70 doses in a 130 lb. adult.
The schedule states, "Your child can safely receive all vaccines recommended for a particular age during one visit." Public health officials, however, have not proven that it is indeed safe to inject this many vaccines into infants. What's more, they cannot explain why, concurrent with an increasing number of vaccinations, there has been an explosion of neurological and immune system disorders in our nation’s children.** (this keeps me in a job, sadly)
Fifty years ago, when the immunization schedule contained only four vaccines (for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and smallpox), autism was virtually unknown. First discovered in 1943, this most devastating malady in what is now a spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders afflicted less than 1 in 10,000 children. Today, one in every 68 American families has an autistic child. Other, less severe developmental disorders, rarely seen before the vaccine era, have also reached epidemic proportions. Four million American children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. One in six American children are now classified as "Learning Disabled."
Our children are also experiencing an epidemic of autoimmune disorders – Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and bowel disorders. There has been a 17-fold increase in Type I diabetes, from 1 in 7,100 children in the 1950s to 1 in 400 now. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis afflicts 300,000 American children. Twenty-five years ago this disease was so rare that public health officials did not keep any statistics on it. There has been a 4-fold increase in asthma, and bowel disorders in children are much more common now than they were 50 years ago.
Health officials consider a vaccine to be safe if no bad reactions – like seizures, intestinal obstruction, or anaphylaxis – occur acutely. The CDC has not done any studies to assess the long-term effects of its immunization schedule. To do that one must conduct a randomized controlled trial, the lynch pin of evidenced-based medicine, where one group of children is vaccinated on the CDC’s schedule and a control group is not vaccinated. Investigators then follow the two groups for a number of years (not just three to four weeks, as has been done in vaccine safety studies). Concerns that vaccinations in infants cause chronic neurological and immune system disorders would be put to rest, and their safety certified, if the number of children who develop these diseases is the same in both groups. No such studies have been done, so vaccine proponents cannot say that vaccines are indeed as safe as they think they are. **This is exactly my point, if you can do this study and prove it to me I'll be 100% for it, but they won't do it, refuse to do this study, they're scared of the results and the money they'd lose...)One proponent, interviewed by Dan Rather on 60 Minutes, who has financial ties to the vaccine industry that he did not disclose, claims that vaccines "have a better safety record than vitamins." He neglected to mention that the U.S. government has paid out more than $1.5 billion in its Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to families of children who have been injured or killed by vaccines.
There is a growing body of evidence that implicates vaccines as a causative factor in the deteriorating health of children. The hypothesis that vaccines cause neurological and immune system disorders is a legitimate one – vaccines given in multiple doses, close together, to very young children following the CDC’s Immunization Schedule. This hypothesis should be tested by a large-scale, long-term randomized controlled trial.
Rather than obediently following the government’s schedule, there is now sufficient evidence, grounded in good science, to justify adopting a more user-friendly vaccination schedule, one which is in the best interests of the individual as opposed to what planners judge best for society as a whole.
New knowledge in neuroimmunology (the study of how the brain’s immune system works) raises serious questions about the wisdom of injecting vaccines in children less than two years of age.
The brain has its own specialized immune system, separate from that of the rest of the body. When a person is vaccinated, its specialized immune cells, the microglia, become activated (the blood-brain barrier notwithstanding). **this is important: Multiple vaccinations spaced close together over-stimulate the microglia, causing them to release a variety of toxic elements – cytokines, chemokines, excitotoxins, proteases, complement, free radicals – that damage brain cells and their synaptic connections. Researchers call the damage caused by these toxic substances "bystander injury." (Pediatricians and other professional colleagues who question this should read these two reviews by the neurosurgeon Russell L. Blaylock: "Interaction of Cytokines, Excitotoxins, Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species in Autism Spectrum Disorders," in the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association [JANA 2003;6(4):21–35], with 167 references. And "Chronic Microglial Activation and Excitotoxicity Secondary to Excessive Immune Stimulation: Possible Factors in Gulf War Syndrome and Autism," in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons [JAPS 2004;9(2):46–52], posted online, with 54 references.)
In humans, the most rapid period of brain development begins in the third trimester and continues over the first two years of extra uterine life. (By then brain development is 80 percent complete.) Until randomized controlled trials demonstrate the safety of giving vaccines during this time of life, it would be prudent not to give any vaccinations to children until they are two years old. From a risk-benefit perspective, there is growing evidence that the risk of neurological and autoimmune diseases from vaccinations outweigh the benefits of avoiding the childhood infections that they prevent. An exception is hepatitis B vaccine for infants whose mothers test positive for this disease.
A user-friendly vaccination schedule prohibits any vaccines that contain thimerosal, which is 50 percent mercury. Flu vaccines contain thimerosal, which is reason enough to avoid them. (See my article "Mercury on the Mind" for more on this subject.)
One should also avoid vaccines that contain live viruses. This includes the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine; chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, and the live-virus polio (Sabin) vaccine. This stricture would not apply to the smallpox vaccine (also a live-virus one), if a terrorist-instigated outbreak of smallpox should occur.
Finally, a user-friendly vaccination schedule requires that vaccinations, after the age of two, be given no more than once every six months, one at a time, in order to allow the immune system sufficient time to recover and stabilize between shots.
Which vaccines should be put on this schedule (among those that do not contain live viruses or thimerosal) is not entirely clear. The top four would be the pertussis (acelluar – aP – not whole cell), diphtheria (D), and tetanus (T) vaccines – given separately (not together, as is usually the case); and the Salk polio vaccine, with an inactivated (dead) virus, one that is cultured in human cells, not monkey kidney cells. Perhaps it should only contain these four vaccines. A good case can be made (for example, see Gary Null’s Vaccines: A Second Opinion) for avoiding the three other newer vaccines on the CDC’s schedule – the hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7), and Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines.
Your pediatrician will not like this schedule. They are taught in medical school and residency training that childhood immunizations are essential to public health. As one pediatrician puts it, "Achieving adequate and timely vaccination of young children is the single most valuable thing a doctor can do for a patient." They do not question what their professors teach them, nor are they inclined to critically examine studies in Pediatrics and the New England Journal of Medicine that tell them vaccines are safe.
There were 482,000 cases of measles in the U.S in 1962, the year before a vaccine for this disease became available. Now, with all fifty states requiring that children be vaccinated against measles in order to attend school, there were only 56 cases of measles in a population of 290 million people in 2003.
These facts are well known and proudly cited by vaccine proponents. What is less known, and doctors are not taught, is that the death rate for measles declined 97.7 percent during the first 60 years of the 20th century. The mortality rate was 133 deaths per million people in the U.S. in 1900, and had dropped to 0.3 deaths per million by 1960. Measles caused less than 100 deaths a year in the U.S. before there was a vaccine for this disease (in 1963). The same thing happened with diphtheria and pertussis. Mortality rates dropped more than 90 percent in the early 20th century before vaccines for these diseases were introduced. This was due to better nutrition (with rapid delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to cities and refrigeration), cleaner water, and improved sanitation (removing trash from the streets and better sewage systems), not to vaccines. The World Health Organization promotes mass vaccination, but knowing these facts states, "The best vaccine against common infectious diseases is an adequate diet" – fortified, one might add, with vitamin A.
Since the measles vaccine came into widespread use in this country this disease has virtually disappeared, and it has prevented 100 deaths a year. But now, instead, several thousand normally developing children become autistic after receiving their MMR shot. Termed "regressive autism," it accounts for about 30 percent of the 10,000 to 20,000 children who are diagnosed with autism in this country each year.
To put to rest concerns that MMR vaccination might cause autism (in a small percentage of children), the New England Journal of Medicine, in 2002, published a population-based study from Denmark, where its authors concluded, "This study provides strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccination causes autism." The NEJM did not disclose that the "Statens Serum Institut," where three of the authors work, is a for-profit vaccine manufacturer, Denmark’s largest, or that four other authors have financial ties to this company. Only one of the eight authors is not associated with this institute, and the CDC employs him. The study compares the prevalence of autism in 440,000 MMR vaccinated and 97,000 unvaccinated children in Denmark born in the 1990s. A statistical slight-of-hand in age adjustment makes the study show no causal effect; but when unmasked and reformatted, the data actually shows a statistically significant association between MMR vaccine and autism (as Carol Stott and her coauthors make clear in "MMR and Autism in Perspective: the Denmark Story," in the Fall 2004 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, posted online).
Pediatrics and the Journal of the American Medical Association also have published studies like this supporting U.S. vaccine policy, written by authors with similar, undisclosed conflicts of interest. Looking elsewhere, however, one comes across a number of disquieting facts about vaccines. Investigators have found, for example, live measles virus in the cerebral spinal fluid in children who become autistic after MMR vaccination. Antibodies to measles virus are elevated in children with autism but not in normal kids, suggesting that virus-induced autoimmunity may play a causal role. A study published in Neurology this year implicates hepatitis B vaccine as a causative factor in multiple sclerosis.
A communitarian ethic increasingly governs health care in the U.S. It places a greater value on the health of the community, on society as a whole, than on the health of particular individuals. Public health officials have put together a vaccination schedule designed to eliminate infectious diseases to which the population is prey. These officials recognize that these vaccines will harm a small percentage of (genetically susceptible) individuals, but it is for the common good. The communitarian code posits that it is morally acceptable, if necessary, to sacrifice a few for the good of the many. Or as one observer more bluntly puts it, "Individual sheep can be sheared and slaughtered if it is for the welfare of their flock."
In this framework, health care providers become agents of the state charged with injecting vaccines into people that the central planners deem necessary. Physicians who remain true to their Hippocratic Oath and place the interests of their patient above that of the herd are considered to be out of step with the times, if not an anachronism.
Like central planners everywhere, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) promulgates a self-serving, one-size-fits-all vaccine policy. Members of this committee have ties to vaccine makers, such that the CDC must grant them waivers from statutory conflict of interest rules. Even so, and with little evidence to show that it is safe to subject young children to the ACIP’s crowded immunization schedule, states nevertheless dutifully make its vaccine recommendations compulsory.
All 50 states require children to be immunized against measles, diphtheria, Hemophilus influenzae type b, polio, and rubella in order to enroll in day care and/or public school. Forty-nine states also require vaccination against tetanus; 47, against hepatitis B and mumps; and 43 states now require vaccination against chickenpox. In order to shield themselves from any liability for making vaccinations compulsory, all states provide a medical exemption and 47, a religious exemption. Nineteen states allow a philosophical exemption. Some require only a letter from a parent and others, from a physician or church leader. (To see the exemptions allowed in your state, their wording and requirements, click here.) Parents, of course, can refuse vaccination; but if they want to enroll their child in public school they will need to obtain one of these exemptions.
Doctors who conclude that the risks of the government’s immunization schedule outweigh its benefits are placed in a difficult position. If they counsel parents not to have their children follow it, health care plans, which track vaccine compliance as a measure of "quality," will find them wanting. And if their patient should contract and develop complications from the disease the vaccine would have prevented they may find themselves confronting a lawsuit. If a child becomes autistic following a vaccination, however, the doctor is protected from any liability because the government requires it and the child’s parents, if they had chosen to do so, could have obtained an exemption. (Anti-vaccine advocates call developing autism, asthma, and Type I diabetes after vaccinations "vaccination roulette.")
Parents should have the freedom to select whatever vaccination schedule they want their children to follow, especially since health care providers and the government (except via its Vaccine Injury Compensation Program) cannot be held accountable for any adverse outcomes that might occur. But if parents elect to not follow the CDC’s immunization schedule, delaying some vaccinations, refusing others, or avoiding them altogether, then they must accept the risk that their child might contract the disease that the vaccine against it most likely would have prevented. *I fully accept this, I think we can handle measles and chicken pox and flus more easily than Autism, learning problems and neurological problems**
One consideration, which vaccine proponents do not address, is this: Could contracting childhood diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox play a constructive role in the maturation of a person’s immune system? Or, to put it another way, does removing natural infection from human experience have any adverse consequences?
Our species’ immune system – a one-trillion-cell army that patrols our (100-trillion-cell) body – serves two main purposes. It destroys foreign invaders – viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. And it destroys aberrant cells in the body that run amuck and cause cancer. Behind the barricades of skin and mucosa, our innate immune system (composed of phagocytes, natural killer cells, and the 20-protein complement system), which all animals have, is the body’s first line of defense. It reacts to invaders lightening fast and indiscriminately, but it is not very good at eliminating viruses and cancerous cells. Vertebrates have evolved a second line of defense – the adaptive immune system. It targets specific viruses and bacteria and has better artillery for eliminating cancerous cells. This system matures during childhood, and it has a cellular (Th1) and humoral (Th2) component (Th = helper T cell).
The viruses that cause measles, mumps, and chickenpox have infected countless generations of humans, akin to a rite of passage for each member of our species. Contracting these diseases strengthens both parts of the adaptive immune system (Th1 and Th2 ). Mothers who have had measles, mumps, and chickenpox transfer antibodies against them to their babies in utero, which protect them during the first year of life from contracting these infections. Vaccinations do not have the same effect on the immune system as naturally acquired diseases do. They stimulate predominantly the Th2 part of this system and not Th1. (Over-stimulation of Th2 causes autoimmune diseases.) The cellular Th1 side thwarts cancer, and if it does not become fully developed in childhood a person can be more prone to have cancer as an adult. Women who had mumps during childhood, for example, are found to be less likely to have ovarian cancer than women who did not have this infection. (This study was published in Cancer.) Could the fact that cancer has become a leading cause of death in children be a result of vaccinations? Only a randomized controlled trial can conclusively answer this question
With rare exception, a well-nourished child who contracts measles will recover smoothly from the infection. Fifty years ago almost all children in the U.S. had measles. And after contracting this disease, one has life-long immunity to it. The protection provided by vaccination is temporary. Adults who contract measles (when the protective effects of the vaccine wears off) are much more likely to have neurological, testicular, and ovarian complications. Likewise, rubella is a benign disease in children, but if a woman acquires it during pregnancy fetal malformations may develop. One can argue, heretical as such an argument may be, that it would be better to let children have measles, at an age when the infection helps the adaptive immune system mature in a balanced Th1/Th2 fashion and complications from this disease are minimal, rather than vaccinate them against this disease (especially considering the risks of vaccination).
Pertussis and Diphtheria are a different matter. These diseases are more virulent. Children who contract whooping cough (pertussis) can be incapacitated for more than a month. Polio can be devastating in susceptible individuals. And no one wants to get tetanus (lockjaw). A user-friendly vaccination schedule would include vaccines against these diseases.
Whatever vaccination schedule one chooses, mothers should breast-feed their child for as long as possible – a year or more. Failing that, add Omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA (docosahexanoic acid), to the child’s formula.
In summary, this is a vaccination schedule that I would recommend:
No vaccinations until a child is two years old.
No vaccines that contain thimerosal (mercury).
No live virus vaccines (except for smallpox, should it recur).
These vaccines, to be given one at a time, every six months, beginning at age 2:
Pertussis (acellular, not whole cell)
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Polio (the Salk vaccine, cultured in human cells)
American children are the most highly vaccinated kids in the world. This schedule is an alternative to the one that rules our "vaccine nation" (as the Village Voice terms it). In contrast to the CDC’s immunization schedule, it is user-friendly.
December 10, 2004
Donald Miller (send him mail) is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle and a member of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness and writes articles on a variety of subjects for LewRockwell.com, including bioterrorism. His web site is www.donaldmiller.com.
Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com
A User-Friendly Vaccination Schedule
by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MDby Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD
Vaccination is a controversial subject, and many parents worry about subjecting their children to them. Readers of my article "Mercury on the Mind," about vaccines and dental amalgams, have asked what vaccines I would recommend their children receive. This article addresses that question.
In the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule put out by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 12 vaccines are given to children before they reach the age of two. Providers inject them against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus (lockjaw), pertussis (whooping cough), polio, pneumococcal infections, Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), chickenpox, and influenza (the flu).
Infectious disease was the leading cause of death in children 100 years ago, with diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, and pertussis accounting for most them. Today the leading causes of death in children less than five years of age are accidents, genetic abnormalities, developmental disorders, sudden infant death syndrome, and cancer. A basic tenet of modern medicine is that vaccines are the reason. There is growing evidence that this is so, but perhaps not quite in the way conventional medical wisdom would have it.
A 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the CDC decides which vaccines should be on the Childhood Immunization Schedule. It calls for one vaccine, against hepatitis B, to be given on the day of birth; 7 vaccines at two months; 6 more (including booster shots) at four months; and as many as 8 vaccines on the six month well-baby visit. Before a child reaches the age of two he or she will have received 32 vaccinations on this schedule, including four doses each of vaccines for Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis – all of them given during the first 12 months of life. Seven vaccines injected into a 13 lb. two-month old infant are equivalent to 70 doses in a 130 lb. adult.
The schedule states, "Your child can safely receive all vaccines recommended for a particular age during one visit." Public health officials, however, have not proven that it is indeed safe to inject this many vaccines into infants. What's more, they cannot explain why, concurrent with an increasing number of vaccinations, there has been an explosion of neurological and immune system disorders in our nation’s children.** (this keeps me in a job, sadly)
Fifty years ago, when the immunization schedule contained only four vaccines (for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and smallpox), autism was virtually unknown. First discovered in 1943, this most devastating malady in what is now a spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders afflicted less than 1 in 10,000 children. Today, one in every 68 American families has an autistic child. Other, less severe developmental disorders, rarely seen before the vaccine era, have also reached epidemic proportions. Four million American children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. One in six American children are now classified as "Learning Disabled."
Our children are also experiencing an epidemic of autoimmune disorders – Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and bowel disorders. There has been a 17-fold increase in Type I diabetes, from 1 in 7,100 children in the 1950s to 1 in 400 now. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis afflicts 300,000 American children. Twenty-five years ago this disease was so rare that public health officials did not keep any statistics on it. There has been a 4-fold increase in asthma, and bowel disorders in children are much more common now than they were 50 years ago.
Health officials consider a vaccine to be safe if no bad reactions – like seizures, intestinal obstruction, or anaphylaxis – occur acutely. The CDC has not done any studies to assess the long-term effects of its immunization schedule. To do that one must conduct a randomized controlled trial, the lynch pin of evidenced-based medicine, where one group of children is vaccinated on the CDC’s schedule and a control group is not vaccinated. Investigators then follow the two groups for a number of years (not just three to four weeks, as has been done in vaccine safety studies). Concerns that vaccinations in infants cause chronic neurological and immune system disorders would be put to rest, and their safety certified, if the number of children who develop these diseases is the same in both groups. No such studies have been done, so vaccine proponents cannot say that vaccines are indeed as safe as they think they are. **This is exactly my point, if you can do this study and prove it to me I'll be 100% for it, but they won't do it, refuse to do this study, they're scared of the results and the money they'd lose...)One proponent, interviewed by Dan Rather on 60 Minutes, who has financial ties to the vaccine industry that he did not disclose, claims that vaccines "have a better safety record than vitamins." He neglected to mention that the U.S. government has paid out more than $1.5 billion in its Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to families of children who have been injured or killed by vaccines.
There is a growing body of evidence that implicates vaccines as a causative factor in the deteriorating health of children. The hypothesis that vaccines cause neurological and immune system disorders is a legitimate one – vaccines given in multiple doses, close together, to very young children following the CDC’s Immunization Schedule. This hypothesis should be tested by a large-scale, long-term randomized controlled trial.
Rather than obediently following the government’s schedule, there is now sufficient evidence, grounded in good science, to justify adopting a more user-friendly vaccination schedule, one which is in the best interests of the individual as opposed to what planners judge best for society as a whole.
New knowledge in neuroimmunology (the study of how the brain’s immune system works) raises serious questions about the wisdom of injecting vaccines in children less than two years of age.
The brain has its own specialized immune system, separate from that of the rest of the body. When a person is vaccinated, its specialized immune cells, the microglia, become activated (the blood-brain barrier notwithstanding). **this is important: Multiple vaccinations spaced close together over-stimulate the microglia, causing them to release a variety of toxic elements – cytokines, chemokines, excitotoxins, proteases, complement, free radicals – that damage brain cells and their synaptic connections. Researchers call the damage caused by these toxic substances "bystander injury." (Pediatricians and other professional colleagues who question this should read these two reviews by the neurosurgeon Russell L. Blaylock: "Interaction of Cytokines, Excitotoxins, Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species in Autism Spectrum Disorders," in the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association [JANA 2003;6(4):21–35], with 167 references. And "Chronic Microglial Activation and Excitotoxicity Secondary to Excessive Immune Stimulation: Possible Factors in Gulf War Syndrome and Autism," in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons [JAPS 2004;9(2):46–52], posted online, with 54 references.)
In humans, the most rapid period of brain development begins in the third trimester and continues over the first two years of extra uterine life. (By then brain development is 80 percent complete.) Until randomized controlled trials demonstrate the safety of giving vaccines during this time of life, it would be prudent not to give any vaccinations to children until they are two years old. From a risk-benefit perspective, there is growing evidence that the risk of neurological and autoimmune diseases from vaccinations outweigh the benefits of avoiding the childhood infections that they prevent. An exception is hepatitis B vaccine for infants whose mothers test positive for this disease.
A user-friendly vaccination schedule prohibits any vaccines that contain thimerosal, which is 50 percent mercury. Flu vaccines contain thimerosal, which is reason enough to avoid them. (See my article "Mercury on the Mind" for more on this subject.)
One should also avoid vaccines that contain live viruses. This includes the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine; chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, and the live-virus polio (Sabin) vaccine. This stricture would not apply to the smallpox vaccine (also a live-virus one), if a terrorist-instigated outbreak of smallpox should occur.
Finally, a user-friendly vaccination schedule requires that vaccinations, after the age of two, be given no more than once every six months, one at a time, in order to allow the immune system sufficient time to recover and stabilize between shots.
Which vaccines should be put on this schedule (among those that do not contain live viruses or thimerosal) is not entirely clear. The top four would be the pertussis (acelluar – aP – not whole cell), diphtheria (D), and tetanus (T) vaccines – given separately (not together, as is usually the case); and the Salk polio vaccine, with an inactivated (dead) virus, one that is cultured in human cells, not monkey kidney cells. Perhaps it should only contain these four vaccines. A good case can be made (for example, see Gary Null’s Vaccines: A Second Opinion) for avoiding the three other newer vaccines on the CDC’s schedule – the hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7), and Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines.
Your pediatrician will not like this schedule. They are taught in medical school and residency training that childhood immunizations are essential to public health. As one pediatrician puts it, "Achieving adequate and timely vaccination of young children is the single most valuable thing a doctor can do for a patient." They do not question what their professors teach them, nor are they inclined to critically examine studies in Pediatrics and the New England Journal of Medicine that tell them vaccines are safe.
There were 482,000 cases of measles in the U.S in 1962, the year before a vaccine for this disease became available. Now, with all fifty states requiring that children be vaccinated against measles in order to attend school, there were only 56 cases of measles in a population of 290 million people in 2003.
These facts are well known and proudly cited by vaccine proponents. What is less known, and doctors are not taught, is that the death rate for measles declined 97.7 percent during the first 60 years of the 20th century. The mortality rate was 133 deaths per million people in the U.S. in 1900, and had dropped to 0.3 deaths per million by 1960. Measles caused less than 100 deaths a year in the U.S. before there was a vaccine for this disease (in 1963). The same thing happened with diphtheria and pertussis. Mortality rates dropped more than 90 percent in the early 20th century before vaccines for these diseases were introduced. This was due to better nutrition (with rapid delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to cities and refrigeration), cleaner water, and improved sanitation (removing trash from the streets and better sewage systems), not to vaccines. The World Health Organization promotes mass vaccination, but knowing these facts states, "The best vaccine against common infectious diseases is an adequate diet" – fortified, one might add, with vitamin A.
Since the measles vaccine came into widespread use in this country this disease has virtually disappeared, and it has prevented 100 deaths a year. But now, instead, several thousand normally developing children become autistic after receiving their MMR shot. Termed "regressive autism," it accounts for about 30 percent of the 10,000 to 20,000 children who are diagnosed with autism in this country each year.
To put to rest concerns that MMR vaccination might cause autism (in a small percentage of children), the New England Journal of Medicine, in 2002, published a population-based study from Denmark, where its authors concluded, "This study provides strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccination causes autism." The NEJM did not disclose that the "Statens Serum Institut," where three of the authors work, is a for-profit vaccine manufacturer, Denmark’s largest, or that four other authors have financial ties to this company. Only one of the eight authors is not associated with this institute, and the CDC employs him. The study compares the prevalence of autism in 440,000 MMR vaccinated and 97,000 unvaccinated children in Denmark born in the 1990s. A statistical slight-of-hand in age adjustment makes the study show no causal effect; but when unmasked and reformatted, the data actually shows a statistically significant association between MMR vaccine and autism (as Carol Stott and her coauthors make clear in "MMR and Autism in Perspective: the Denmark Story," in the Fall 2004 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, posted online).
Pediatrics and the Journal of the American Medical Association also have published studies like this supporting U.S. vaccine policy, written by authors with similar, undisclosed conflicts of interest. Looking elsewhere, however, one comes across a number of disquieting facts about vaccines. Investigators have found, for example, live measles virus in the cerebral spinal fluid in children who become autistic after MMR vaccination. Antibodies to measles virus are elevated in children with autism but not in normal kids, suggesting that virus-induced autoimmunity may play a causal role. A study published in Neurology this year implicates hepatitis B vaccine as a causative factor in multiple sclerosis.
A communitarian ethic increasingly governs health care in the U.S. It places a greater value on the health of the community, on society as a whole, than on the health of particular individuals. Public health officials have put together a vaccination schedule designed to eliminate infectious diseases to which the population is prey. These officials recognize that these vaccines will harm a small percentage of (genetically susceptible) individuals, but it is for the common good. The communitarian code posits that it is morally acceptable, if necessary, to sacrifice a few for the good of the many. Or as one observer more bluntly puts it, "Individual sheep can be sheared and slaughtered if it is for the welfare of their flock."
In this framework, health care providers become agents of the state charged with injecting vaccines into people that the central planners deem necessary. Physicians who remain true to their Hippocratic Oath and place the interests of their patient above that of the herd are considered to be out of step with the times, if not an anachronism.
Like central planners everywhere, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) promulgates a self-serving, one-size-fits-all vaccine policy. Members of this committee have ties to vaccine makers, such that the CDC must grant them waivers from statutory conflict of interest rules. Even so, and with little evidence to show that it is safe to subject young children to the ACIP’s crowded immunization schedule, states nevertheless dutifully make its vaccine recommendations compulsory.
All 50 states require children to be immunized against measles, diphtheria, Hemophilus influenzae type b, polio, and rubella in order to enroll in day care and/or public school. Forty-nine states also require vaccination against tetanus; 47, against hepatitis B and mumps; and 43 states now require vaccination against chickenpox. In order to shield themselves from any liability for making vaccinations compulsory, all states provide a medical exemption and 47, a religious exemption. Nineteen states allow a philosophical exemption. Some require only a letter from a parent and others, from a physician or church leader. (To see the exemptions allowed in your state, their wording and requirements, click here.) Parents, of course, can refuse vaccination; but if they want to enroll their child in public school they will need to obtain one of these exemptions.
Doctors who conclude that the risks of the government’s immunization schedule outweigh its benefits are placed in a difficult position. If they counsel parents not to have their children follow it, health care plans, which track vaccine compliance as a measure of "quality," will find them wanting. And if their patient should contract and develop complications from the disease the vaccine would have prevented they may find themselves confronting a lawsuit. If a child becomes autistic following a vaccination, however, the doctor is protected from any liability because the government requires it and the child’s parents, if they had chosen to do so, could have obtained an exemption. (Anti-vaccine advocates call developing autism, asthma, and Type I diabetes after vaccinations "vaccination roulette.")
Parents should have the freedom to select whatever vaccination schedule they want their children to follow, especially since health care providers and the government (except via its Vaccine Injury Compensation Program) cannot be held accountable for any adverse outcomes that might occur. But if parents elect to not follow the CDC’s immunization schedule, delaying some vaccinations, refusing others, or avoiding them altogether, then they must accept the risk that their child might contract the disease that the vaccine against it most likely would have prevented. *I fully accept this, I think we can handle measles and chicken pox and flus more easily than Autism, learning problems and neurological problems**
One consideration, which vaccine proponents do not address, is this: Could contracting childhood diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox play a constructive role in the maturation of a person’s immune system? Or, to put it another way, does removing natural infection from human experience have any adverse consequences?
Our species’ immune system – a one-trillion-cell army that patrols our (100-trillion-cell) body – serves two main purposes. It destroys foreign invaders – viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. And it destroys aberrant cells in the body that run amuck and cause cancer. Behind the barricades of skin and mucosa, our innate immune system (composed of phagocytes, natural killer cells, and the 20-protein complement system), which all animals have, is the body’s first line of defense. It reacts to invaders lightening fast and indiscriminately, but it is not very good at eliminating viruses and cancerous cells. Vertebrates have evolved a second line of defense – the adaptive immune system. It targets specific viruses and bacteria and has better artillery for eliminating cancerous cells. This system matures during childhood, and it has a cellular (Th1) and humoral (Th2) component (Th = helper T cell).
The viruses that cause measles, mumps, and chickenpox have infected countless generations of humans, akin to a rite of passage for each member of our species. Contracting these diseases strengthens both parts of the adaptive immune system (Th1 and Th2 ). Mothers who have had measles, mumps, and chickenpox transfer antibodies against them to their babies in utero, which protect them during the first year of life from contracting these infections. Vaccinations do not have the same effect on the immune system as naturally acquired diseases do. They stimulate predominantly the Th2 part of this system and not Th1. (Over-stimulation of Th2 causes autoimmune diseases.) The cellular Th1 side thwarts cancer, and if it does not become fully developed in childhood a person can be more prone to have cancer as an adult. Women who had mumps during childhood, for example, are found to be less likely to have ovarian cancer than women who did not have this infection. (This study was published in Cancer.) Could the fact that cancer has become a leading cause of death in children be a result of vaccinations? Only a randomized controlled trial can conclusively answer this question
With rare exception, a well-nourished child who contracts measles will recover smoothly from the infection. Fifty years ago almost all children in the U.S. had measles. And after contracting this disease, one has life-long immunity to it. The protection provided by vaccination is temporary. Adults who contract measles (when the protective effects of the vaccine wears off) are much more likely to have neurological, testicular, and ovarian complications. Likewise, rubella is a benign disease in children, but if a woman acquires it during pregnancy fetal malformations may develop. One can argue, heretical as such an argument may be, that it would be better to let children have measles, at an age when the infection helps the adaptive immune system mature in a balanced Th1/Th2 fashion and complications from this disease are minimal, rather than vaccinate them against this disease (especially considering the risks of vaccination).
Pertussis and Diphtheria are a different matter. These diseases are more virulent. Children who contract whooping cough (pertussis) can be incapacitated for more than a month. Polio can be devastating in susceptible individuals. And no one wants to get tetanus (lockjaw). A user-friendly vaccination schedule would include vaccines against these diseases.
Whatever vaccination schedule one chooses, mothers should breast-feed their child for as long as possible – a year or more. Failing that, add Omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA (docosahexanoic acid), to the child’s formula.
In summary, this is a vaccination schedule that I would recommend:
No vaccinations until a child is two years old.
No vaccines that contain thimerosal (mercury).
No live virus vaccines (except for smallpox, should it recur).
These vaccines, to be given one at a time, every six months, beginning at age 2:
Pertussis (acellular, not whole cell)
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Polio (the Salk vaccine, cultured in human cells)
American children are the most highly vaccinated kids in the world. This schedule is an alternative to the one that rules our "vaccine nation" (as the Village Voice terms it). In contrast to the CDC’s immunization schedule, it is user-friendly.
December 10, 2004
Donald Miller (send him mail) is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle and a member of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness and writes articles on a variety of subjects for LewRockwell.com, including bioterrorism. His web site is www.donaldmiller.com.
Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com
Wordless Wednesday with a twist
This week's theme: Color! Go on over to Rachel's blog to check out the other participants and don't forget to vote for your fave!
Yellow of Sunny Daffodils
Since it is still very brown in upstate NY, I had to make do with what colors I could find:
Pink of a baby's hand
Green of basil being eaten by a cat
Yellow of Sunny Daffodils
Blue of a baby's first spring
White of a naughty, screen-climbing cat
Purple of Crocuses pushing through frozen ground
Green of cat eyes and fuzzy blankets
And just because I love my crocuses:
Check out this bee! He was warming up his wings in the sunshine:
Wordless Wednesday with a twist
Even though I am not even close to having awesome pictures like the rest, I figured I'd join in again for Rachel's Fotofest. Enjoy! (some are old because, well in 2 feet of snow and 15 degree weather, I just couldn't get out to get pictures!) Then go to her page and check out everyone else's pictures!
Wordless Wednesday ?
Although I can't promise there won't be more posts today, and I'll be putting some recipes up at Krysten's Kitchen. Which is so NOT Pioneer Woman Cooks. She's way cooler, has a much more expensive camera, and cooks better. But I am going to make her cinnamon rolls again today! Cheers!
I love this boy.
I love this boy.
Wordless Wednesday & a contest!
I've decided to participate in Rachel's Wordless Wednesday contest.
Mostly because I just like posting pictures! I had too many to pick out, but this one is my favorite of my cranky boy. Please note I do not have a special, cool camera!
I call it "Don't take my picture!"
Mostly because I just like posting pictures! I had too many to pick out, but this one is my favorite of my cranky boy. Please note I do not have a special, cool camera!
I call it "Don't take my picture!"
The Great Vaccination Debate
By request: My controversial vaccination debate, which will draw much judgement, criticism and comments I'm sure. So I'll just get it out of the way and say: No, I have not vaccinated Kian. And I'm not sure if I will. If I do decide to, it will not be until the age of 2, and I'll explain why later. I am not judging those who do, just providing my reasoning for doing what I'm doing, and some research and other evidence to just make people think. I think an educated approach to this is what is needed, whether you choose to vaccinate or not.
First, let's preface this post with the fact that there is no actual written law stating you MUST vaccinate your child, contrary to what other people, doctors and schools would have you believe. Schools who take parents to court to make them vaccinate children--which I found highly unethical and ridiculous. So, parents do have the right to choose, to vaccinate or not, to give some vaccinations but not others, to wait, whatever they want.
There are many reasons for not vaccinating: religious, philosophical, moral, health, opposition to ingredients, Autism theory, and of course-those "hippie" people. I do not side with any one theory, but rather I researched all these reasons and compiled my own list of why I don't choose to vaccinate at this time. My reasons are: my own DPT reaction as an infant; ingredients in vaccinations; possible harm/Autism reactions; research showing reactions, ages that are better for vaccinations; how FDA approves vaccines; so called 'immunity' that wears off; etc. There is also theories that vaccines can cause auto-immune disorders, unexplained pain and other symptoms, and possibly even caner. One doctor from the early 1900's said he'd never seen cancer until cowpox/smallpox vaccine was becoming mandatory/routine. Interesting...
About the Autism theory, I am not sure exactly where I stand on that issue. I honestly feel that the government and pharmaceutical companies will never give us a clear answer. I feel their studies are not honest or objective enough. They stand to lose too much-money and otherwise. Working in Early Intervention (EI) I had many Autism cases. There was a couple children you could tell in infancy (8 or so months) that were developing Autistic tendencies. Most children were not diagnosed until 18-24 months. They did not develop symptoms until 15/18 months, coincidentally about the time the MMR vaccine is given. This was my first introduction to vaccine debates. Some parents adamantly insisted their child never exhibited symptoms until they received the vaccine. There are some studies that show that the MMR vaccine can cause reactions and neurological symptoms similar to Autism. So, I don't think we'll really get the true answer. My own theory is that some children are predispose, be it genes or whatnot, to Autism and these vaccines and/or reactions 'unlock' the symptoms in them. But, I don't want to take the chance of that happening to my already social, affectionate, extremely vocal child.
Secondly, when I became pregnant I became more aware of what I was putting in my body and the affects of things. I also did lots of research. My mom told me how I had a severe reaction to DPT, so I researched more. I wanted to avoid any reactions in my child. This prompted me to look up delaying vaccines, DPT vaccines, etc. (Note that most reactions to vaccines are to the DPT ones, according to research I've read.) I just didn't want to put something in my child that could cause "inconsolable, uncontrollable, high-pitched screaming/crying; high fever; reactions; rashes; death; paralysis; etc."
This led me to research the ingredients that could cause these reactions. I was absolutely disgusted with what I found. From formaldehyde to cow blood, from monkey kidney tissue to green dye, from mouse proteins to fetal (monkey or human) tissues and acids and all sorts of junk! http://www.909shot.com/Vaccine%20Excipients%20CDC.pdf This website lists every vaccine and what chemicals, animal parts and other additives are in it. I guess I was ignorant thinking that a vaccine was a simple saline solution with dead virus in it. Gross.
Then, I wanted to know how could all these things get into vaccines and be allowed. I mean, how was the FDA, government, medical professionals and people in general okay with their bodies being injected and even poisoned with this stuff? So I did more research about how vaccines are made, tested and commercialized. What I found was incredible and not in a good way. Every time you take an Advil for a headache, neosporin for your cut, you know that this product was tested and screened by the FDA before being allowed in the store or your home. So you feel safe. All drugs, prescription and over-the-counter have to be tested by a double blind study, and several of them, before the FDA approves them. But, guess what? Vaccines do not have to adhere to that. They figure it's unethical to 'test' vaccines on people. Hmm. (A double blind is where neither the tester nor participant know if they receiving the drug or placebo.) So, they think it's unethical to test vaccines on people to see if they work, see if there's reactions, but we'll just inject them in babies anyway? I think they're afraid to see if they'll fail. (*side note-the 'testing' they do to disprove the Autism/vaccine theory is that they look at medical records. They just say 'x many kids have been vaccinated and only x of them have Autism' there's not been many 'real' studies with placebo groups, etc.)
So, now I had this thing fully loaded with animal parts, dyes and chemicals, that is not as thoroughly tested as your toothpaste, could cause reactions and who knows what else, that you wanted to inject into my baby. Convince me why. So I went to Kian's appointment and told the doctor I wanted to wait, I wasn't sure how long but I wanted to wait. His response "okay, but some of these vaccines are only good for babies" Why? "because it's rare that children get this illness under the age of 2, but it can be worse if they do get it". Wait, you want me to give him this junk for an illness he probably won't ever get, especially at this age? "yes". No. I believe that was the Hib one that causes infection or swelling of the airways. I've never even heard of it before.
After thinking some more, especially about how many injections they give and how often I read up on immunities. Vaccines do not guarantee 100% immunity, but the doctors argue "well if you get it at least it won't be as bad". Didn't sell me. That's why they need to continue to give booster shots to kids, teens and adults, to continually try to ensure immunity. And they are finding more of these wear off and are beginning to recommend that every person get even more shots and boosters throughout their life. Now, I had chicken pox, I had the flu, and I was fine. In fact those are the two I would be least likely to ever select. The flu strains vary from year to year, and pharmacies cannot predict which strain will be prevalent that winter. This means that you can get a flu shot for one strain and be subjected to others and still get the flu. I don't think it hurts anyone to get chicken pox either...but that's just me. It's interesting to note that when hygiene and sanitation and plumbing came about all these diseases began declining, before vaccines were routinely administered.
Another thing I did was to research my butt off. I also found research for other countries. Japan for one, has changed it's policy and they do not give the DPT vaccine until age two. They found that incidentally, this caused a remarkable decline in SIDs deaths. (DPT is the vaccine that causes the most reactions.)http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/postpartum/dispelling/index.php "One study found the peak incidence of SIDS occurred at the ages of 2 and 4 months in the U.S., precisely when the first two routine immunizations are given,[4] while another found a clear pattern of correlation extending three weeks after immunization. Another study found that 3,000 children die within 4 days of vaccination each year in the U.S. (amazingly, the authors reported no SIDS/vaccine relationship)" This one struck me and it actually made sense. SIDs label is given to cover a multitude of infants death. Who's to say vaccines and/or their reactions didn't cause some of that?
In the hospital I had to sign that I didn't want Kian receiving the hepatitis vaccination. I saw no reason for that. I had the Hep series in high school and through prenatal testing knew I didn't have it and my baby wouldn't have it. Now, unless my newborn was going to become a druggie or become sexually promiscuous immediately, there was no reason for it. There are a lot of side affects with the Hep shot too. I didn't see that necessary at all for a newborn.
Now, I'm sure many people are saying: isn't it hypocritical to not vaccinate and then think it's okay to use medicines to treat or heal? I say no. My though is that God designed our bodies to heal itself, God also provided natural remedies for us (why don't we use them anymore?) and didn't man and sin create sickness anyway?
The body is more able to take on and attack a virus it comes in contact with than an injection of one. "When your contract a virus naturally, the virus invades your body through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth). This is your body's alarm system. A message is then sent to your brain and body to fight off the invaders. Your body reacts by producing mass amounts of antibodies. When, however, we vaccinate, that normal system of defense is bypassed completely. Instead of the virus entering through mucous membranes (our alarm system), it is injected directly into the bloodstream. Now the body has no time to react. It bypassed the alarm system and now is attacking in full-force. Not only is your body not producing the antibodies needed but your immune system is actually compromised. "
I just feel that to me, to my child, the risks outweigh the benefits at this point. There may be a time when I feel otherwise. I don't know. I don't have all the answers. What I have is research, and statistics from other countries (cuz the good ol' US wouldn't want us to know the whole truth), and my gut feeling. It says my baby was created perfectly, it says he came into this world perfectly and at this point I don't feel I need to change anything about him. I don't want to risk him, his personality, skills or development at this point for something that could harm him, now or later, and not even protect him from what it was designed for. I just can't bring myself to inject that junk into him at this point. I'm not trying to be judgemental about those who do vaccinate, just like those who choose not to breastfeed, or anything else. We all make decisions based on what we know, what we feel and what we think will be or is best for our child(ren). I think that's all we can do. And what's good for me and my family may not be good for yours, and it's okay. All I think is that everyone needs think and research a little -this goes for everything in life, discipline, exercise, food you eat, house you buy, anything.
One final thought: the ridiculous amount of money pharmaceutical companies make on vaccines. Wonder why they push it? *I am not saying anything against Gardisil, this is an example:
"Sales of the cervical cancer vaccine GARDASIL increased 17% from the previous quarter, as the company launches the vaccine in more countries. Merck’s overall sales were up 12% to $6.1 billion of which vaccines totaled $1.2 billion. Gardasil accounted for 35% or $418 million of its vaccine sales exceeding many analysts’ expectations. " Did you get that 418 million dollars. Oh and Merck has about 7 more vaccines they're waiting approval on.
So...with that here's a few more links:
This shows graphs of when disease declined and when vaccines came about, very intriguing: http://www.vaccinationdebate.com/web1.html
"Another doctor states that "There is a widely held belief that vaccines should not be criticized because the public might refuse to take them." http://www.advancedhealthplan.com/vaccination.html
One interesting article titled, "A Pharmacist Questions Vaccines " appeared in the December 1994 issue of The American Chiropractor. Some alarming statistics were listed in this article. For example, within a thirty-nine month period ending in November of 1993, the F. D. A. Vaccine Adverse Reporting System collected nearly 32,000 reports of adverse reactions following vaccination, with more than 700 deaths. DPT vaccine was associated with more than 12,000 of these reports, including 471 of the related deaths. "The F. D. A. acknowledges that this voluntary reporting underestimates the actual number of reactions." The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) was passed in 1986, establishing the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of July 5, 1994, the program has paid $452.5 million for vaccine injury or death, and is back-logged with more than 2,600 claim cases--all of which will not be settled for several years.This information doesn't give me much faith in the medical profession's preventative care program. I am not writing this as a for or against position -- just advising that one should make an educated decision on vaccines, whether for children or for animals. ~ Dr. Regan Golob
http://www.909shot.com/
This lady says it best: "I don't believe the medical community is telling people about the real dangers, and I don't believe society has the right to make me take risks with my child's health for the sake of a perceived benefit to the common good," she says. "I'm obligated to take care of my own child first." http://www.parenting.com/parenting/baby/article/0,19840,670870_2,00.html?
First, let's preface this post with the fact that there is no actual written law stating you MUST vaccinate your child, contrary to what other people, doctors and schools would have you believe. Schools who take parents to court to make them vaccinate children--which I found highly unethical and ridiculous. So, parents do have the right to choose, to vaccinate or not, to give some vaccinations but not others, to wait, whatever they want.
There are many reasons for not vaccinating: religious, philosophical, moral, health, opposition to ingredients, Autism theory, and of course-those "hippie" people. I do not side with any one theory, but rather I researched all these reasons and compiled my own list of why I don't choose to vaccinate at this time. My reasons are: my own DPT reaction as an infant; ingredients in vaccinations; possible harm/Autism reactions; research showing reactions, ages that are better for vaccinations; how FDA approves vaccines; so called 'immunity' that wears off; etc. There is also theories that vaccines can cause auto-immune disorders, unexplained pain and other symptoms, and possibly even caner. One doctor from the early 1900's said he'd never seen cancer until cowpox/smallpox vaccine was becoming mandatory/routine. Interesting...
About the Autism theory, I am not sure exactly where I stand on that issue. I honestly feel that the government and pharmaceutical companies will never give us a clear answer. I feel their studies are not honest or objective enough. They stand to lose too much-money and otherwise. Working in Early Intervention (EI) I had many Autism cases. There was a couple children you could tell in infancy (8 or so months) that were developing Autistic tendencies. Most children were not diagnosed until 18-24 months. They did not develop symptoms until 15/18 months, coincidentally about the time the MMR vaccine is given. This was my first introduction to vaccine debates. Some parents adamantly insisted their child never exhibited symptoms until they received the vaccine. There are some studies that show that the MMR vaccine can cause reactions and neurological symptoms similar to Autism. So, I don't think we'll really get the true answer. My own theory is that some children are predispose, be it genes or whatnot, to Autism and these vaccines and/or reactions 'unlock' the symptoms in them. But, I don't want to take the chance of that happening to my already social, affectionate, extremely vocal child.
Secondly, when I became pregnant I became more aware of what I was putting in my body and the affects of things. I also did lots of research. My mom told me how I had a severe reaction to DPT, so I researched more. I wanted to avoid any reactions in my child. This prompted me to look up delaying vaccines, DPT vaccines, etc. (Note that most reactions to vaccines are to the DPT ones, according to research I've read.) I just didn't want to put something in my child that could cause "inconsolable, uncontrollable, high-pitched screaming/crying; high fever; reactions; rashes; death; paralysis; etc."
This led me to research the ingredients that could cause these reactions. I was absolutely disgusted with what I found. From formaldehyde to cow blood, from monkey kidney tissue to green dye, from mouse proteins to fetal (monkey or human) tissues and acids and all sorts of junk! http://www.909shot.com/Vaccine%20Excipients%20CDC.pdf This website lists every vaccine and what chemicals, animal parts and other additives are in it. I guess I was ignorant thinking that a vaccine was a simple saline solution with dead virus in it. Gross.
Then, I wanted to know how could all these things get into vaccines and be allowed. I mean, how was the FDA, government, medical professionals and people in general okay with their bodies being injected and even poisoned with this stuff? So I did more research about how vaccines are made, tested and commercialized. What I found was incredible and not in a good way. Every time you take an Advil for a headache, neosporin for your cut, you know that this product was tested and screened by the FDA before being allowed in the store or your home. So you feel safe. All drugs, prescription and over-the-counter have to be tested by a double blind study, and several of them, before the FDA approves them. But, guess what? Vaccines do not have to adhere to that. They figure it's unethical to 'test' vaccines on people. Hmm. (A double blind is where neither the tester nor participant know if they receiving the drug or placebo.) So, they think it's unethical to test vaccines on people to see if they work, see if there's reactions, but we'll just inject them in babies anyway? I think they're afraid to see if they'll fail. (*side note-the 'testing' they do to disprove the Autism/vaccine theory is that they look at medical records. They just say 'x many kids have been vaccinated and only x of them have Autism' there's not been many 'real' studies with placebo groups, etc.)
So, now I had this thing fully loaded with animal parts, dyes and chemicals, that is not as thoroughly tested as your toothpaste, could cause reactions and who knows what else, that you wanted to inject into my baby. Convince me why. So I went to Kian's appointment and told the doctor I wanted to wait, I wasn't sure how long but I wanted to wait. His response "okay, but some of these vaccines are only good for babies" Why? "because it's rare that children get this illness under the age of 2, but it can be worse if they do get it". Wait, you want me to give him this junk for an illness he probably won't ever get, especially at this age? "yes". No. I believe that was the Hib one that causes infection or swelling of the airways. I've never even heard of it before.
After thinking some more, especially about how many injections they give and how often I read up on immunities. Vaccines do not guarantee 100% immunity, but the doctors argue "well if you get it at least it won't be as bad". Didn't sell me. That's why they need to continue to give booster shots to kids, teens and adults, to continually try to ensure immunity. And they are finding more of these wear off and are beginning to recommend that every person get even more shots and boosters throughout their life. Now, I had chicken pox, I had the flu, and I was fine. In fact those are the two I would be least likely to ever select. The flu strains vary from year to year, and pharmacies cannot predict which strain will be prevalent that winter. This means that you can get a flu shot for one strain and be subjected to others and still get the flu. I don't think it hurts anyone to get chicken pox either...but that's just me. It's interesting to note that when hygiene and sanitation and plumbing came about all these diseases began declining, before vaccines were routinely administered.
Another thing I did was to research my butt off. I also found research for other countries. Japan for one, has changed it's policy and they do not give the DPT vaccine until age two. They found that incidentally, this caused a remarkable decline in SIDs deaths. (DPT is the vaccine that causes the most reactions.)http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/postpartum/dispelling/index.php "One study found the peak incidence of SIDS occurred at the ages of 2 and 4 months in the U.S., precisely when the first two routine immunizations are given,[4] while another found a clear pattern of correlation extending three weeks after immunization. Another study found that 3,000 children die within 4 days of vaccination each year in the U.S. (amazingly, the authors reported no SIDS/vaccine relationship)" This one struck me and it actually made sense. SIDs label is given to cover a multitude of infants death. Who's to say vaccines and/or their reactions didn't cause some of that?
In the hospital I had to sign that I didn't want Kian receiving the hepatitis vaccination. I saw no reason for that. I had the Hep series in high school and through prenatal testing knew I didn't have it and my baby wouldn't have it. Now, unless my newborn was going to become a druggie or become sexually promiscuous immediately, there was no reason for it. There are a lot of side affects with the Hep shot too. I didn't see that necessary at all for a newborn.
Now, I'm sure many people are saying: isn't it hypocritical to not vaccinate and then think it's okay to use medicines to treat or heal? I say no. My though is that God designed our bodies to heal itself, God also provided natural remedies for us (why don't we use them anymore?) and didn't man and sin create sickness anyway?
The body is more able to take on and attack a virus it comes in contact with than an injection of one. "When your contract a virus naturally, the virus invades your body through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth). This is your body's alarm system. A message is then sent to your brain and body to fight off the invaders. Your body reacts by producing mass amounts of antibodies. When, however, we vaccinate, that normal system of defense is bypassed completely. Instead of the virus entering through mucous membranes (our alarm system), it is injected directly into the bloodstream. Now the body has no time to react. It bypassed the alarm system and now is attacking in full-force. Not only is your body not producing the antibodies needed but your immune system is actually compromised. "
I just feel that to me, to my child, the risks outweigh the benefits at this point. There may be a time when I feel otherwise. I don't know. I don't have all the answers. What I have is research, and statistics from other countries (cuz the good ol' US wouldn't want us to know the whole truth), and my gut feeling. It says my baby was created perfectly, it says he came into this world perfectly and at this point I don't feel I need to change anything about him. I don't want to risk him, his personality, skills or development at this point for something that could harm him, now or later, and not even protect him from what it was designed for. I just can't bring myself to inject that junk into him at this point. I'm not trying to be judgemental about those who do vaccinate, just like those who choose not to breastfeed, or anything else. We all make decisions based on what we know, what we feel and what we think will be or is best for our child(ren). I think that's all we can do. And what's good for me and my family may not be good for yours, and it's okay. All I think is that everyone needs think and research a little -this goes for everything in life, discipline, exercise, food you eat, house you buy, anything.
One final thought: the ridiculous amount of money pharmaceutical companies make on vaccines. Wonder why they push it? *I am not saying anything against Gardisil, this is an example:
"Sales of the cervical cancer vaccine GARDASIL increased 17% from the previous quarter, as the company launches the vaccine in more countries. Merck’s overall sales were up 12% to $6.1 billion of which vaccines totaled $1.2 billion. Gardasil accounted for 35% or $418 million of its vaccine sales exceeding many analysts’ expectations. " Did you get that 418 million dollars. Oh and Merck has about 7 more vaccines they're waiting approval on.
So...with that here's a few more links:
This shows graphs of when disease declined and when vaccines came about, very intriguing: http://www.vaccinationdebate.com/web1.html
"Another doctor states that "There is a widely held belief that vaccines should not be criticized because the public might refuse to take them." http://www.advancedhealthplan.com/vaccination.html
One interesting article titled, "A Pharmacist Questions Vaccines " appeared in the December 1994 issue of The American Chiropractor. Some alarming statistics were listed in this article. For example, within a thirty-nine month period ending in November of 1993, the F. D. A. Vaccine Adverse Reporting System collected nearly 32,000 reports of adverse reactions following vaccination, with more than 700 deaths. DPT vaccine was associated with more than 12,000 of these reports, including 471 of the related deaths. "The F. D. A. acknowledges that this voluntary reporting underestimates the actual number of reactions." The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) was passed in 1986, establishing the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of July 5, 1994, the program has paid $452.5 million for vaccine injury or death, and is back-logged with more than 2,600 claim cases--all of which will not be settled for several years.This information doesn't give me much faith in the medical profession's preventative care program. I am not writing this as a for or against position -- just advising that one should make an educated decision on vaccines, whether for children or for animals. ~ Dr. Regan Golob
http://www.909shot.com/
This lady says it best: "I don't believe the medical community is telling people about the real dangers, and I don't believe society has the right to make me take risks with my child's health for the sake of a perceived benefit to the common good," she says. "I'm obligated to take care of my own child first." http://www.parenting.com/parenting/baby/article/0,19840,670870_2,00.html?
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