Vaccination, Immunization, and Children

[Guest guest]

Very informative and balanced article. It has lots of clickable links in

its original format, available at:

http://www.adz2go.com/mailmgt/templates/JonBarron/Mar08PC2/newsletterlink.html

 

Here's a topic that Jon is frequently pressed to write about --

childhood immunizations and vaccinations. Are they safe or aren't they?

Kristen

 

Vaccination, Immunization, and Children

by Jon Barron (baselinenutritionals.com)

 

In the wisdom of modern medicine, we have created vaccines to " pre-build

memory " for our immune systems -- memories of significant diseases we

have never had, such as measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, small pox,

etc. Vaccines contain a weakened sterilized version of microorganisms

(or proteins from those microorganisms) that is capable of producing an

immune response in the body without inducing a full-blown onset of the

disease itself. Although vaccines have played a significant role in

helping reduce the number of deaths among children, this benefit has not

come without cost.

 

As I mentioned in Lessons from the Miracle Doctors, I have a strong

emotional attachment to this issue, which makes it impossible for me to

be objective. My youngest brother, Peter, was one of those " small

percentage " of children who responded badly to the series of

immunization shots he received back in the early 60s. I was there after

the first two shots when he ran high fevers and cried all night. I was

there when my mother called the pediatrician each time, only to be

reassured that it was nothing to worry about. And I was there after the

third shot, when my mother and I took turns holding Peter and rocking

him to try and comfort him as he screamed at the top of his lungs for

hours on end, ran a fever of 105, and convulsed. As it turns out, the

pediatrician was wrong. My brother, along with thousands of other

children (unfortunately, even a small percentage, when applied to a

large number, still equals thousands of children), reacted to the shots

that ultimately left him severely retarded.

 

Although the manufacturer of the vaccine had indications that this was a

possibility, they had not made it clear to the pediatricians who used

it. Also, before 1990, doctors were not legally obligated to report

adverse reactions to vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control; and,

even with the current legal obligation, it's estimated that only 10% of

doctors report the damage they see to the CDC. This sort of reaction to

a vaccine and this sort of irresponsibility by a pharmaceutical company

are not as anomalous as you might think.

 

Paralytic Polio

 

The polio vaccine is considered one of the great success stories of

modern medicine. Maybe yes, maybe no! Jonas Salk testified before a

Senate subcommittee that since 1961, except for a few importations from

other countries, all cases of polio have been caused by the Oral Polio

Vaccine. In fact, over a number of years, Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin

each accused the other's vaccine of causing polio. Unfortunately, they

were both right!

 

First, Jonas Salk's vaccine was responsible for one of the worst

pharmaceutical disasters ever. Just two weeks after the release of his

" miracle " polio vaccine, a series of telephone calls about a strange

outbreak of paralysis in children in California started pouring in. In

each case, paralysis occurred in the arm that was inoculated with Salk's

vaccine, and in each case the vaccine was made by Cutter Laboratories.

Cutter's vaccine was immediately recalled, but 380,000 doses had already

been administered -- mostly to healthy first- and second-graders. Within

months, the Communicable Diseases Center in Atlanta found that Cutter's

vaccine had caused 40,000 cases of mild polio, 200 cases of permanent

paralysis, and 10 deaths. It was one of the worst pharmaceutical

disasters in American history.

 

But the Salk vaccine was not alone in causing polio. Salk was correct

when he implicated the Sabin oral vaccine in causing polio. The oral

polio vaccine contains a weakened version of the poliovirus, activating

an immune response in the body.  As it turns out, in rare instances,

the virus in the vaccine can mutate into a form that can paralyze. When

this virus regains the ability to circulate, it is called a circulating

vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). As I said, it is rare -- about 200

cases in the US over the last decade. But if you're one of those cases,

rare doesn't matter.

 

And finally, there is strong evidence that the original polio epidemic

itself in the late 1940s was caused (or at least greatly exacerbated) by

another vaccine. The early triple vaccine against diphtheria, whooping

cough, and tetanus has been shown beyond doubt to cause paralytic polio

in some children to whom it was administered. The incidence of polio in

children vaccinated with this shot was statistically greater than in

unvaccinated children. This scandal broke in Britain during 1949, an

epidemic year for polio; other reports soon followed from Australia.

 

SV40

 

But it's not just polio, there's also SV40, the monkey virus. The polio

vaccine that was given to children in the 50s and 60s was not as

sterilized as originally thought. In fact, when better test equipment

was later used, it was found that there were over 140 live viruses in

those early versions of the polio vaccine. This is not speculation. A

1999 study affirmed that unique strains of SV40 in commercial polio

vaccines from 1955 were not readily identifiable with then current

testing for SV40 infection. With what result? Well for one thing, SV40

is strongly implicated in a number of cancers, including brain cancer.

 

In 2002, three leading SV40 experts (Drs. Gazdar, Butel and Carbone)

published their findings that SV40 should be included in the list of

group 2A carcinogens. For perspective, Group 2A includes: Human

papilloma virus and Kaposi's sarcoma herpes virus/human herpes virus.

 

In their book, The Virus and the Vaccine: The True Story of a

Cancer-Causing Monkey Virus, Contaminated Polio Vaccine, and the

Millions of Americans Exposed, Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher state

that between 1997 and early 2003, more than 25 published studies found

SV40 in human mesotheliomas; 16 others found the virus in brain and bone

cancers, lymphomas, and other cancers, and in kidneys and peripheral

blood. As of 2003, SV40 had been found in human tumors in 18 developed

countries. Bookchin and Schumacher claim that the rates of SV40-positive

tumors seem highest in countries that used the greatest amount of

contaminated Salk polio vaccine, including the UK, USA, and Italy.

 

Thimerosal

 

In addition to the " active " part of the vaccine, the vaccine includes

substances such as ethylene glycol (antifreeze), formaldehyde (a known

carcinogen), and aluminum & hellip;and, of course, thimerosal, the mercury

based preservative.

 

Every couple of months, a new study or medical pronouncement is released

" claiming " that thimerosal is safe -- that it doesn't cause autism. But

the claims of safety are inaccurate, and the claims related to autism

too limited.

 

Recently, for example, an Argentinean study was released that found,

" the levels of thimerosal [in childhood vaccinations] don't go very high

and they go down right away. By the time it's time for the next dose of

vaccine, the levels are right back to where they were at the beginning. "

The study found that the half-life of ethyl mercury in the blood -- the

time it takes for the body to get rid of half the mercury, and then

another half, and so on -- was 3.7 days. That's significantly less than

the half-life of methyl mercury, the kind found in fish, at 44 days.

Bottom line: according to the study's authors, the study proved that the

controversial mercury-containing preservative thimerosal is rapidly

excreted from babies' bodies and can't build up to toxic levels.

 

Unfortunately, the data showed no such thing.

 

According to the study's methodology, the infants in the study were put

into three age groups and their blood-mercury levels were tested both

before and after vaccinations were given to newborns, and at their two-

and six-month checkups.

Excuse me, but let's use our brains here for a moment -- assuming they

haven't been damaged by exposure to mercury.

Just because blood levels of mercury drop doesn't necessarily mean that

the mercury has been excreted from the body -- only that it has left the

bloodstream. Those are two very different conclusions. Since the study

didn't monitor urine levels of mercury, there's no way to tell if it

left the body. In fact, experience tells us that mercury does not easily

leave the body, that it in fact " electrically binds " with soft tissue,

bones, and even brain matter. If anything, the study should potentially

raise alarm bells -- indicting that ethyl mercury binds with cellular

tissue and locks into the body far faster than methyl mercury. Without

the urine testing, there's no way to know.

 

Bottom line: Mercury does not easily " metabolize " and pass out of the

body. It remains for years and years locked to body tissue. If you want

to get rid of it, you have to chelate it out. Make no mistake, this

study has not proven thimerosal safe. It may not cause autism, but that

doesn't mean that it's safe.

In fact, it's no secret that mercury is one of the most toxic metals

known. Numerous studies have shown its impact on health. There is strong

evidence that mercury lowers T-Cell counts. This, alone, implicates it

in cancer, autoimmune diseases, allergies, Candida overgrowth, and

multiple sclerosis. In fact, due to other studies that showed mercuric

chloride increased several types of tumors in rats and mice, and methyl

mercury caused kidney tumors in male mice, the EPA has determined that

mercuric chloride and methyl mercury are possible human carcinogens. It

has also been shown that mercury cuts the oxygen carrying capacity of

blood by half. This would account for many instances of chronic fatigue.

 

Mercury also has an affinity for brain tissue and is implicated in brain

tumors and dementia (think mad as a hatter). And, finally, mercury has

an affinity for fetal tissue, which accounts for its implication in

birth defects. In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences found strong

evidence for the toxicity of methyl mercury to children's developing

brains, even at low levels of exposure. A 2005 study from the Centers

for Disease Control found that as many as 637,233 American children are

born each year with mercury levels of more than 5.8 µg/L (5.8

micrograms per liter), the level associated with brain damage and loss

of IQ.

 

To be sure, some study may ultimately prove that injecting infants with

the second most toxic metal known to man (just behind plutonium) is

safe, but no study so far has proven that -- not by a long shot (all

puns intended)..

And of course, there is the recent court ruling on Hannah Poling that

found that the vaccinations she received " significantly aggravated an

underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in

cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive

encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder. "

VICP

 

On October 1, 1988, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986

(Public Law 99-660) created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation

Program (VICP). Officially, the VICP was established to ensure an

adequate supply of vaccines, stabilize vaccine costs, and establish and

maintain an accessible and efficient forum for individuals found to be

injured by certain vaccines. In reality, it was designed to protect

vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits so that they would not feel

" legally " constrained in their ability to produce vaccines as necessary.

Indeed, it was established in response to a liability crisis centering

around children's vaccines -- specifically, the same DTP immunization

shots which had destroyed my brother's brain some years earlier. The

VICP is a no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for

resolving vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to people

found to be injured by certain vaccines.

 

To date, over $1.5 billion has been paid out ( post-1988 and pre-1988).

That's a surprisingly large number for injuries caused by vaccines

promoted as perfectly safe -- and it doesn't begin to tell the real

story. As it turns out, over 75% of all claims for permanent immune

system and brain damage following immunization of the mandated vaccines

are rejected for payment by the fund. That would put the true cost in

the US alone at over $6 billion dollars, not to mention the far larger

number of people who do not even know the fund exists and, therefore,

never file at all. Total it up and you're now looking at a rather

frighteningly high injury cost for " safe, mandated childhood

vaccinations. "

Note: On average, in the United States, children are now required to

receive some 33 doses of 9 different vaccines in order to attend school.

 

The success of vaccines

 

Okay, we've dealt with the myth that vaccines are perfectly safe and

looked at their downside. But there is also a myth that vaccines do not

work, and that is equally untrue.

 

12 vaccine preventable diseases and disease rates have been reduced by

99% in the U.S. These include mumps, measles, diphtheria, whooping

cough/pertussis, and tetanus to name a few.

 

50 years ago in the United States, polio paralyzed more than 16,000

children and killed nearly 2,000 annually. That doesn't happen any more

 

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by the World Health

Organization, Rotary International, the CDC and UNICEF, was begun in

1988. That year, an estimated 350,000 children were paralyzed with polio

worldwide; in 2004, polio cases had fallen to just over 1,200 cases

globally.

 

And Smallpox.

 

On the other hand, much of this success may not be related to

vaccinations at all. Statistical evidence clearly indicates that the

mortality rates of most of the diseases that vaccines have claimed

victory over were already dropping precipitously even before the vaccine

was introduced. In fact, in most cases, you can't even notice a

statistical blip after the introduction of vaccines. To be fair,

mortality rates are not the same as incidence rates and can be

reflective of better medical care.

 

Parents opting out of immunization

 

There is now a fairly substantial movement of parents who wish to avoid

childhood immunizations. To be sure, all states except Mississippi and

West Virginia allow a religious exemption to vaccination for those

people who hold a sincere religious belief opposing vaccination such

that it would be an infringement on their right to exercise their

religious beliefs. Some 20 states also allow exemptions for parents

whose " personal beliefs " prompt them to skip vaccination for their

children. In 1991, approximately 1% of children in the US went

unvaccinated. By 2004, that number was up to 2.5%. At first glance, 2.5%

might not seem like a big deal, but with approximately 40 million

children under the age of 10, you're talking upwards of 1 million

unvaccinated children.

 

The downside

 

Yes, there is a downside. One of the main reasons that parents can

successfully opt their children out of vaccination programs is because

those programs have been somewhat successful.

 

Last month in San Diego, 12 kids fell ill with the measles, a once

common childhood disease now rarely seen in this country. Nine of the

kids had skipped vaccination because their parents objected; the other

three were too young to receive the vaccine. As Dr. Mark Sawyer, a

pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's

Hospital in San Diego, told the New York Times, " The very success of

immunizations has turned out to be an Achilles' heel. Most of these

parents have never seen measles, and don't realize it could be a bad

disease so they turn their concerns to unfounded risks. They do not

perceive risk of the disease but perceive risk of the vaccine. "

 

On the other hand, Dr. Sawyer would have a harder time using lack of

immunization as an excuse for an outbreak of mumps in 2006 that infected

over 400 people, considering that all but one of the infected Kansas

students had received two doses of the Measles/Mumps/Rubella vaccine.

 

And then, of course, a whooping cough outbreak in Children's Hospital in

Boston in 2006, also had nothing to do with lack of immunizations, but

rather, appears to have been caused by a surgeon who contracted the

disease while on military reserve duty and brought it back to the

hospital.

 

Conclusion

 

So where does that leave us?

 

In opposing ideological war rooms, we find the anti-vaccination movement

that sees no benefit in any vaccination program and the medical

establishment that believes, like Dr. Sawyer, that no possible vaccine

should be left unused.

 

And on the actual battlefield, we find parents like Sybil Carlson, who

is quoted in the NYT article as saying, " I refuse to sacrifice my

children for the greater good " opposed by government bureaucrats who

look to mandate an ever increasing number of questionable vaccines.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

 

Unfortunately, the answer is not clear cut.

And even what is known is far more nuanced than black and white. Even

Mr. Spock's logical dictum from Star Trek " The needs of the many

outweigh the needs of the few " is not black and white in this case. Why?

Consider what we've discussed.

 

Yes, you can make the case that childhood vaccinations have dramatically

helped to reduce infant mortality.

 

On the other hand, statistical evidence shows that they deserve far less

credit for reducing this mortality than they receive.

And yes, as Mr. Spock would say, society has the right to protect itself

from massive outbreaks of disease even if a small percentage of children

are harmed.

But do society's representatives have the right to deliberately lie

about the dangers inherent in mandated vaccinations?

And where does it stop? Does the government have the right to mandate

that preschoolers get vaccinated for the flu every year, or for HPV, or

even for HIV before a vaccine is even proven to work?

 

And what do you tell the thousands of children throughout the world (as

small as the percentage might be) when their brains are destroyed, or

they get cancer, or asthma? What should I have told my brother, whom I

was very close to, before he passed away -- that he died for the greater

good?

 

Look, I'm not saying vaccines should be eliminated (besides, that's not

going to happen anyway) -- just that we should use a lot more

discrimination than we are at the moment in their application.

 

Eventually, it's possible that new techniques of genetic engineering, by

being able to totally isolate the offending antigen, may be able to

offer a safer form of vaccine. But until that day & hellip;

We need to be a lot more selective as to which vaccines are mandated and

which are discretionary.

 

We need to remove any ingredients like Thimerosal that give rise to any

question concerning their safety. Wasting time on studies " proving " that

thimerosal may not cause autism is unconscionable. Let's get real here.

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man. Its effects

are cumulative. It doesn't easily leave the body. Just because it may

not cause autism doesn't mean it isn't slowly killing you. Thimerosal

can be easily replaced in any vaccine. Not doing so undermines any

credibility the medical community has regarding their concern for public

safety.

 

We need to have full disclosure on the true benefits of vaccination

programs -- not the inflated propaganda numbers currently touted. And we

need full disclosure concerning the side effects and resultant injuries.

 

And finally, we need to update programs like the VICP that keep their

figures artificially rosy by rejecting ¾ of all injury claims.

 

And for those of you who choose not to immunize your children, there is

a cautionary that may alter the equation. As long as most of the

children in your neighborhood are getting immunized, then the likelihood

of your child contracting a serious childhood illness is minimal -- and

in most first world countries that has been true for some time. But with

the increase in globalization, the increase in travel from third world

countries as economies shift, the increase in immigration from poorer to

wealthier countries, that protective cocoon is disappearing. Every day,

the risk of exposure to long absent childhood diseases is increasing.

You now have to weigh that increasing, but unknown, risk against the

very real risks inherent in many of the vaccines now available that

might offer a modicum of protection. And that's your call -- not mine,

nor the government's (at least for now).

 

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