Vaccination is a procedure that most of us do not
think to question, even when becoming a new parent.
Officials from the health department often state
that the vast majority of parents have their babies
vaccinated, which is true. However this statement
does not reflect the main reason behind such a high
uptake. Most parents take their children to be vaccinated
in the belief that the procedure and all the many
vaccines on offer must be extremely safe and effective.
As a first-time mother, about 13 years ago, it didn't
even cross my mind to look into this issue, instead
I diligently reported to my surgery for all of my
baby's vaccinations.
Parents naturally want their babies to be safe,
healthy and assume that it is essential to 'protect'
their children from the numerous virus and bacteria
that surround us. Fear of the germ has been propagated
since Louis Pasteur came up with the 'Germ Theory
of Disease' and this belief system has flourished
since. It is interesting to note that Pasteur, himself,
declared on his death-bed that 'the seed (germ)
is nothing, the soil (body) is everything'.
It wasn't until my second child was 12 months old
that I started to investigate this subject, which
was triggered by a 2-page article entitled 'Vaccination
The Hidden Facts'. I began to wade my way through
a great deal of literature on this, what I would
now term, highly questionable procedure.
The subject is vast and impossible to cover in
this article, but I would like to focus on a few
important points that are often neglected.
One important aspect that is rarely raised is the
procedure itself and parents are often told that
receiving a vaccine is like having a mild dose of
the disease. This is totally incorrect as in normal
circumstances virus or bacteria enter the human
system through the mouth or nose, triggering a natural
immune response. By vaccinating, our first line
of defence, the skin, is punctured and the vaccine
is introduced directly into the body by-passing
one branch of the immune system entirely.
In recent years, because of the growth in knowledge
on the immune system, there is a growing concern
amongst some scientists that wrongly stimulating
the immune system could lead to a skewed system.
The implications of skewing the Th1/Th2 immunity
is explained simply by Hilary Butler, a vaccine
researcher. She explains - 'The Th1 system is the
"search and destroy" defence of the body
and "sets in motion a clear sequence of events
which have the focus of 'find that thing, collect
it, show us what it is and at the same time destroy
it".
The Th2 is the other side of the linking circle.
It is called humoral immunity, and takes place further
down the line than cellular (Th1) immunity. About
the same time as the Th1 immune system is surrounding,
killing and getting rid of the problem, particles
of the 'problem' are being presented to the cells
which make antibodies. In order for there to be
a long-lasting antibody response, there must be
a strong Th1 response. These immune responses work
hand-in-hand, but a healthy immune system is Th1
focused, since "search and destroy" is
the most needed capacity of the immune system in
every day life.
'Vaccines injected into babies do not in any way,
shape or form resemble an inhaled or swallowed germ
because they are changed, attenuated, and injected
as multi-antigens into the body. Consequently, because
of the by-passing of the Th1 branch of the system
there is over-stimulation of the Th2 branch, which
teaches the body to be in a chronically reactive
mode. People who have allergies, asthma and auto-immune
disease have what is known as a Th2-skewed immune
system.'
So it is important to bear this in mind when deciding
on any one of the injectable vaccines on offer,
as they will all trigger this unnatural response
to take place. Antibody production must also be
questioned because parents are led to believe that
if their child is vaccinated they will develop a
certain level of antibodies and therefore be protected.
This again is incorrect. Whilst it is true that
antibodies play a role in immunity, even the World
Health Organisation admit that antibody level does
not equal protection. In other words some individuals
with high levels of antibodies can still develop
disease. So when the statement is made that a vaccine
'takes' on 90-95% of its recipients, this simply
means that the majority will develop a certain level
of antibodies. This should not be misconstrued to
mean that the majority will be 'protected', as many
outbreaks of disease occur in highly vaccinated
populations. Another area which is often greatly
overlooked are the contents of the vaccines. Many
parents go to great lengths to study the ingredients
of baby foods, drinks and toiletries and yet rarely
question what products are being injected into their
babies bodies. Highly toxic substances such as mercury,
aluminium and formaldehyde, along with various animal
and bird products are commonly used in vaccine manufacturing.
The use of tissue from other species will always
carry the risk of contamination, and this is not
theoretical, as even in the 1950s the use of monkey
kidney cells in the polio vaccine were found to
be contaminated by a cancer-causing monkey virus,
SV40. The above points are just the tip of an enormous
iceberg but I hope this will give you a thirst for
finding out more and reaching a decision you feel
confident with. Reactions are not so rare, but the
reporting of them is, and there are many health
problems emerging amongst today's children which
appear to stem from a weakened immune system.
Do vaccines play any role in making our children
healthy?" It's for you to find out.
By Magda Taylor, Co-ordinator of The Informed Parent,
April 2001.
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