Ineffective, Inappropriate, Unsafe Vaccines Make Parents Question Whether to Vaccinate at All
Last week, I participated in a community-based conversation about vaccinations at our local library that included two of our medical center’s nursing staff and a bunch of smart, well-researched, concerned moms. Though I’ve written two previous posts about vaccinations, I was compelled to write yet another to share the conclusion I and others came to at the end of this community discussion.
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In my opinion, there are three vaccines that are clear examples of the government and the pharmaceutical industry pushing needless vaccines on the general public. These examples make me and other moms distrust the vaccination industry and the CDC, paralyzing us in our decision-making process about whether or not to vaccinate our kids and, if we do, for what diseases:
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The chickenpox vaccine:
As Dr. Sears mentions in The Vaccine Book, chickenpox, though bothersome to go through, is almost never a life-threatening disease. Getting the virus, in most cases, provides lifelong immunity whereas the vaccine, if given according to the CDC’s recommended schedule, can wear off by the time a child reaches adulthood, when chickenpox can have more severe symptoms. Often vaccinated kids get chickenpox anyway because the vaccine is not completely effective. Further, the chickenpox vaccine is made with a number of controversial ingredients, including human and animal cells, cow fetus serum, and MSG. Lastly, severe cases of chicken pox are treatable with antivirals like acyclovir. Why give your kid a vaccine that is not very effective, wears off by adulthood putting the vaccinated individual at higher risk, and is full of controversial ingredients, when the disease is not deadly and getting it actually produces life-long immunity? I say bring on the chicken pox party!
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The Hep B Vaccine:
Here’s a silly one…we’re giving a vaccine for a sexually and intravenously transmitted disease to all newborns just as they arrive (unless you tell the hospital you don’t want it which many parents don’t know they can do). Since it is unlikely that a newborn will contract an STD or shoot heroin, it doesn’t make sense to me that we would blanket newborns with a vaccine that has a much higher than normal frequency of severe side effects. What gives?
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Gardisil, the HPV vaccine:
Gardisil, the Human Papillomavirus Virus vaccine, has had a great deal of news coverage of late. HPV causes genital warts and certain strains can cause cervical cancer. The vaccine is given to 11-12 year old girls in hopes of inoculating them before they become sexually active. Problem is, studies have shown that the vaccine wears off within 3-5 years, just as many girls actually start to become sexually active. Further, this vaccine which, like the H1N1 vaccine, was fast-tracked through the FDA approval process, is causing a high percentage of serious side effects. Lastly, cervical cancer can be caught with regular pap smears, and usually successfully treated; warts can be removed. So, why give your daughter a vaccine that has proven ineffective, and is causing a much higher than normal percentage of severe side effects, for a disease that is preventable via other non-harmful methods?
Every single word you have said could be mine! Very good post!
Ditto!!!
I’m right there with ya!
xo
Eco Mama
I’m with you on the chicken pox, hep, and guardisil shots and after doing a lot of reading about vaccines in the last three years since having our first son, my husband and I plan to use an alternate schedule for our second baby due in 11 weeks.
You mention squalene in the H1N1 vaccine. Can you please share with me which drug company and shot has squalene in it. I’m aware of the mercury in some and the preservative-free options available, but I haven’t seen an ingredients list containing squalene…wondering if I’ve overlooked something.
Word for word is exactly how I feel. Thank you so much for sharing this.
From what I’ve read from the CDC, the H1N1 vaccine does not contain any squalene.
“According to current federal plans, only unadjuvanted vaccines will be used in the United States during the 2009 flu season. This includes all of the 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines that will be available for children and adults in both the injectable and nasal spray formulations. None of these influenza vaccines will contain adjuvants.”
http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/vaccine_safety_qa.htm
Am I missing something?
Thanks for the post . . . good to know I’m not alone! I absolutely do not trust the pharmaceutical industry, and knowing that vaccines have some very questionable additives, I chose not to vaccinate my baby. However, I have always had a little concern in the back of my mind about my decision . . . “what if she is struck with a virus/disease and a vaccine may have prevented it?”, but to that question I think “what if the vaccine is more risky than the disease that she’s unlikely to contract?”
At this point, I feed my daughter an organic diet, with locally-grown food (as much as possible), and do my best to eliminate toxins from her environment. In doing so, my hope is that she will develop a strong immune system based on her own good health, and will be able to fight-off viruses naturally.
I also have gained a lot of information about vaccines from a newsletter I subscribe to: Mercola.com - Dr. Mercola is an osteopathic physician (a complete physician, who takes a naturopathic approach to medicine) and I really trust his insight. He always backs-up his findings with published research and clinical studies, which I appreciate. He has a tremendous amount of information on his sight, and is very well-informed about vaccines, so you may want to check it out!
Thanks again!
oops, I meant “site”, not “sight”!
I have started to follow this topic quite a lot and I am surprised by the vehemence in which it is met. I have been listening to NPR recently and have heard talk over and over about the H1N1 vaccine and its safety. There is also a constant undercurrent that people who chose not to vaccinate or pick and choose are playing a deadly Russian roulette game with their children’s lives. I would for once like to hear someone speak intelligently on the topic to us like we can understand English and in an adult tone.
My son has a milk allergy and I spoke to his doctor about the DTaP vaccine, which is cultured in milk proteins, he denied it. I do not know if he actually lied to me or if he honestly did not know. I just find it hard to believe that I know more about the vaccine and the ingredients that he would… but apparently that is the case. We have doctors assuring us without any hesitancy whatsoever and they do not know the facts.
I read a statistic the other day that 90% of doctors do not use the Vaccine Reporting system and that those who do only report severe reactions. So the facts are even skewed further. I hate this, more than anything. You want to do what is right and you just cannot.
Tiffany, As far as I know, only the nasal spray version of the H1N1 vaccine will not have an adjuvant. Instead, it is a live vaccine, which provides a host of other concerns. The shots will either have mercury or squalene in them as the adjuvant. I hear that the first batches (likely the ones in use through the end of this year) will contain mercury but the next batches will contain squalene as the adjuvant.