Vaccination Discussion Board

I was just wondering what the attitude was amongst the Earth Clinic Community toward flu shots. I am a teacher and have gotten them in recent years. I am not in any a high risk category; in fact my immune system seems to be working pretty good. But it is time to decide whether to get one or not. Just looking for some insight.

** This was copied from Dr. Douglas' site - would love to see it posted on EC where it would reach many women and parents of young girls.

"Dear Friend,

What will it take for Big Pharma to stop pushing their dangerous and useless vaccines? Apparently, one death a month is not going to be enough.

That's the rate at which women who have had Merck's cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, are dying, according to a new report. This is especially tragic because Gardasil is far and away the most unnecessary vaccine that's currently on the market (and that's really saying something).

An FDA report on Gardasil was recently obtained by Judicial Watch, a public interest group that campaigns against government corruption. They used the Freedom of Information act to show that the FDA has received reports of 10 deaths associated with Gardasil since September of 2007. Merck has come under fire for "fast-tracking" Gardasil to market without proper testing in order to be the first to offer this repulsive, needless vaccination.

In addition to the deaths, the report unearthed by Judicial Watch also noted a large number of other medical incidents involving Gardasil, including 140 serious adverse reactions (which included such pleasantries as anaphylactic shock, grand mal seizures, foaming at the mouth, coma, and paralysis %uFFFD of these, 27 cases were considered life threatening), 10 spontaneous abortions, and six cases of Guillian-Barre Syndrome, a debilitating nerve disorder.

Sounds great, huh? But the above description is incredibly sanitized. The report found by Judicial Watch is a catalogue of horrors that includes the near instant death of many otherwise perfectly healthy women who died soon after their inoculation with Gardasil.

To Jae: The comment you refer to was not mine, but rather was made by "Fran". However, the public outcry you mention is not nearly loud enough. Handing parents a piece of paper before vaccinating children is not enough. I know of many parents who do opt out of many vaccinations for their children, but it is extremely difficult. Many, if not most, public schools will not allow a child to attend if their vaccination records are not current and complete. Most parents are not able to home school, and other options can be equally impractical. While I do see the necessity to protect children against crippling diseases such as polio where the benefit clearly outweighs the risk, I feel the government has taken a good thing too far and now mandates vaccinations against practically everything that we have vaccines for. My grand daughter (5 y.o.) was recently vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B (with her mother'sapproval, not mine) per her pediatrician's recommendation and (possibly) the school's insistance. What are the chances of her contracting either form of Hepatitis? Slim to none. While some parents are finding alternatives, the VAST majority blindly follow their doctor's recommendations, still unaware of the potential threat of side effects -- despite a piece of paper or verbage given to them in haste. I suspect if the same cautions were given to pet owners in this fashion, most would still find out the hard way like myself and many others have.

I suppose my point is that vaccinations in pets could and should be made safer. Doses need to be adjusted for weight, not "one size fits all". Vets also need to talk with pet owners as to which vaccinations their pets actually need rather than give them all "just to be sure". Vets make big bucks on shots, though, and until enough animal lovers are aware of (and angry about) the potential side effects, pet owners will blindly follow their vet's advice. Look at the original post that sparked this particular debate: "my kitty died of distemper and you're wrong to tell people not to get shots". So I reiterate, I feel pets should not be indiscriminately vaccinated -- we're over-doing a good thing. Some vaccinations are a necessary evil, but all are not without risk. We, as pet owners, must weigh the risk against the potential benefit.

As for humans, we're over-doing on that front as well, in my most humble opinion. My husband contracted a disabling auto-immune disorder at age 48 one month after a tetanus booster, and three months after the flu shot. Coincidence?? Try convincing a doctor of that.

08/24/2008: Jae from Spanish Fork, Utah replies: "In response to Mary's post that "many children DO have severe reactions to vaccines, but so far there is still no public outcry. Like most vets, most doctors will not admit that the symptoms are related to vaccinations. Our health care system - people & animals - does NOT put the interest of the patient first. Just an f.y.i." I completely disagree with this comment. Prior to the administration of any vaccine in children, a parent or guardian must be given a written information sheet on the risks, benefits and alternatives to vaccines. This includes verbage on the side effects of vaccinations, and includes even rare side effects. At that point, the parent has the option to decline the vaccine. Further, prior to the vaccine being administered, the guardian must sign that they have received information on the vaccine and its side effects. This does not occur in animals. I have never been told of side effects of vaccinations in animals. Furthermore, there currently IS a public outcry by parents who are fearing that vaccines cause autism in children (which hasn't been validated). Although new to the subject of veterinary health, I am not new to human healthcare, and with transparency in quality and cost becoming the overwhelming focus, there is no alternative to putting patients first."

08/21/2008: Fran from Spartanburg, SC replies: "To Mary: Mary, many children DO have severe reactions to vaccines, but so far there is still no public outcry. Like most vets, most doctors will not admit that the symptoms are related to vaccinations. Our health care system - people & animals - does NOT put the interest of the patient first. Just an f.y.i.

Hello Mary, Just thought I'd let you know that there is a lot of hullabaloo going on about children and vaccinations. For starters go to educate-yourself.com and read about vaccinations - then travel on to International Medical Veritas Assn. (IMVA) and read "The Terror of Pediatric Medicine", a free down-loadable book. Are you aware that our federal government has made it a "no-no" to sue the vaccine manufacturers for damages from their vaccines, however I recently read in the newspaper that our federal government had settled a suit filed for damages to their child from vaccines. Yesterday I read in the The Tennessean (Nashville) a news release by federal health authorities in Atlanta (CDC?)on Thursday, which stated that measles cases were at highest level in decade. Of the l3l measles cases reported in the first 7 months of this year, "nearly half" of these cases were children of parents who rejected vaccines for fear that the vaccines cause autism. Worried doctors are concerned about the trend causing a further increase. If my grade school math is still intact, what I get from the above is that if "nearly half" of these measles cases are unvaccinated children, then more than half of these l3l children must have been vaccinated. If this is so obvious, how could those worried doctors have missed this, because it would indicate that the unvaccinated children's immune systems were functioning at least slightly better than the vaccinated children's were. Now I am very concerned that these worried health authority doctors are making health decisions for you, me, and all our loved ones.

08/17/2008: Mary from Southaven, MS replies: "Julie, I think if you read all the stories here, the overall message is not saying to stop all vaccinations on all pets. However, if these reactions were happening in children, someone somewhere would be conducting a study and there would be massive publick outcry. Pet owners should research and decide which vaccinations are needed for their pets. If an animal is immune to rabies from a prior vaccination, for example, giving it boosters will not make it "more" immune. Also, the dosage should be adjusted in most cases, and combo vaccines are especially hazardous. I'm thankful I found this site before I blindly followed my vet's advice to give unnecessary additional vaccinations.

Like I saw in one comment, I believe "less is more."

Hi Christa,

My daughter 21 months has severe food allergies. She is allergic to all tree nuts, wheat and soy. We don't have a family history for any allergies. She has got all her vaccines till date and am not sure whether vaccines has caused her food allergies. But i read somewhere that vaccines do cause some food allergies in some children.

I am trying to research some cure for her food allergies and would really really appreciate if anyone can help us with this. I know there are so many people who have food allergies and are looking for some cure.
Thanks.

My daughter is now almost three. I am very regretfull of any danger that I may have put her in by giving her all vaccines during her first years of life. My question is, what is your take on vaccines? I have heard so many horrifying stories on the dreadful irraversable illnesses that vaccines have caused. Do you think that they are needed still, can they prevent life threatening diseases better than if my daughter isn't given any at all? If you feel that they are not safe, are there any preventative measures that I should take to insure her health safety and well being? I would just like to know the pros and cons of vaccines. Are they even worth the risk? Any knowledge or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.