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Vaccination is a procedure which most parents do
not question. We have all been led to believe it
is an absolute necessity and one of the great successes
of orthodox medicine this century.
However, there was a major decline in all infectious
diseases, before any vaccines were introduced. This
was due to better and less-crowded living conditions,
improved nutrition and clean water. It is well-documented
that the mortality rates for diseases, such as measles,
whooping cough, TB and diphtheria show dramatic
declines before the vaccines were introduced.(The
Role of Medicine, T. McKeown.
Scarlet fever was a very serious disease early
this century and yet fell into major decline and
became much milder without the introduction of a
vaccine.
It can be argued that the vaccination programmes
have reduced the number of cases of a specific disease.
This too is highly questionable since it is known
that many cases of a disease go unreported, and
that the vaccination status of a child affects GPs'
diagnoses, for example, when a vaccinated child
develops measles and is diagnosed as having a non-specific
viral infection.
The effectiveness of the vaccines is also debatable,
since 'success rates' are based on the false assumption
that everyone is susceptible to any disease. This
does not take into consideration those with 'natural
immunity'. Also, there are numerous well-documented
outbreaks of a particular disease in highly vaccinated
communities. During the 1993 whooping cough epidemic
in Cincinnati, USA, where 6,335 cases were diagnosed,
vaccination records revealed that 74% of the cases,
in children aged 19 months to 12 years old had received
four or five doses of the vaccine.(NEJM, 1994;331:16-21).
Vaccines are said to trigger the body into immediately
producing specific antibodies against a particular
disease. It is assumed that the production of certain
antibodies will guarantee protection. However, it
has been documented that individuals with high levels
of these antibodies have still contracted a specific
disease, whilst others showing low levels have not.
(Medical Research Council, Report 272, HMSO, 1950)
The World Health Organisation admit that '...there
is not a precise relationship between sero response
and protection..." and that immunity can be
demonstrated in individuals with very low or no
detectable levels of antibodies.(Letter from WHO
to The Informed Parent, Oct. 1995).
When naturally contracting these diseases, the
immune system produces other lines of defence, prior
to the production of these specific antibodies.
However, when vaccinating, this 'Trojan horse' approach
could act as a trauma to the immune systems of young
babies, as it bypasses all the other lines of defence
and enters the system without any warning. Richard
Moskowitz, MD, states that 'when the vaccine is
introduced directly into the circulation, it is
given free and immediate access to the major immune
organs and tissues. Having gained access, elements
of the vaccine can stay for prolonged periods or
even permanently, and this constant presence and
the body's repeated attempts to expel these foreign
substances can lead to a dramatic weakening of the
immune system'.
Instead of providing protection against acute disease,
vaccination may drive the disease deeper into the
system and cause the body to harbour the disease
chronically. It is possible that the increase of
degenerative and auto-immune diseases later in life
could be a result of early vaccination programmes.
In fact a letter, recently published in the BMJ,
commented on the lack of long-term studies on vaccination
and that diabetes, asthma, allergies and immune-mediated
cancers have risen rapidly and may be linked to
immunisation. (BMJ, Vol 318, 16/1/99, p193).
Most other types of medicine appear to look at
the childhood infections as beneficial to the child,
as they are strengthening and maturing the immune
system, as well as providing natural immunity to
the specific disease. An article in the New Scientist,
18/7/98, focused on the increase of allergies and
commented that children were not being exposed to
enough infections to create strong immune systems.
It also mentioned the fact that most vaccines provide
exactly the wrong sort of stimulation against allergies.
Indeed, by over stimulating just one branch of the
immune system most vaccines may make matters worse.
The components of a vaccine are rarely discussed,
even though substances, such as, formaldehyde, a
mercury derivative and aluminium hydroxide are present.
In addition, various animal and bird products are
used as mediums in vaccine production, e.g. monkey
kidney tissue, chick embryo, dog kidneys and rabbit
brain tissue. This opens the door to the possibility
of viruses from other species crossing into the
human system and creating new diseases. SV40, a
cancer-causing monkey virus was found to be contaminating
the polio vaccine in the late 50's and a vaccine-screening
programme was set up in the early 60's. However,
possibly due to the contaminated vaccines, it seems
that the SV40 virus has jumped species and become
a human virus and evidence is accumulating that
it is involved in several forms of human cancers.
(Journal Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., Nov.1998; 116,
p854-9).
Only the most obvious and undeniable side-effects
from the vaccines are ever recognised and even then
it can be a long battle to have these acknowledged
by the medical establishment. Most reactions go
unreported and are put down to a 'coincidence',
as GPs are loathe to admit any links between the
administration of a vaccine and the onset of a particular
condition.
It has been accepted that the whooping cough vaccine
can cause severe brain damage, consequently this
would indicate that it has the potential to cause
varying degrees of brain damage. If an eight week
old baby experiences a bout of high pitched screaming
directly after a vaccination, it could easily go
unreported, even though this may indicate a small
percentage of brain damage. When that same child
reaches school and is diagnosed as dyslexic, will
anyone think to question why this child should have
developed this condition?
Ultimately, the decision whether to vaccinate or
not should be based on a logical judgement of the
wide spectrum of information available and not on
fear, emotional blackmail, and the one-sided information
available at the surgeries. Most GPs have only been
presented the case for vaccination during their
medical training and are under immense pressure
to toe the official line. I would strongly urge
each and every parent to study the facts and exercise
their right to an informed choice.
Magda Taylor. Co-ordinator of The Informed Parent
March, 1999 Written for 'Alternatives' magazine.
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