Everybody knows that you should have your children vaccinated; it
protects them from horrible diseases, keeps the diseases from being
spread to others, and besides, immunizations are completely safe and harmless. Or,
are they?
Consider this:
Japan has done away with the MMR immunization, instead
having children receive individual ("monovalent") forms of the measles,
mumps, and rubella vaccines, because of known complications related to the
MMR which include brain swelling and, some believe, autism.
The DPT vaccine has the lowest rate of efficacy, and the highest
rate of serious adverse reactions. The efficacy rate is only about
70%. After having been constantly reassured that these vaccines are
safe for our babies and children, a new acellular version of the DPT
(specifically the P [Pertussis] portion) was introduced because
it is safer, and less problematic (causing fewer adverse reactions) than
the older, whole cell version. But why replace it with a safer version
if the old version was, as we were told, perfectly safe? [In reality children
have *died* from the DPT!]
Medical and goverment officials have steadfastly insisted that the
immunizations administered in the United States are safe, and do not
damage children. So why has the government established a Vaccine
Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)? Why have 1300 families been
awarded $920,000,000 under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation
Program? And Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David
Kessler stated in 1993 that only about one percent of serious vaccine
reactions are even reported! Of the adverse reactions reported to VAERS
every year, fully 15% describe serious events, such as seizures, high fever
life-threatening illnesses, or deaths!
One thing that many people don't realize is that you can insist on the
monovalent (one disease only) form of vaccines, where available!
For example, measles, rubella, and mumps vaccines are available
separately from Merck & Co. The measles-only vaccine is called
Attenuvax, the rubella-only is Meruvax, and the mumps-only is
Mumpsvax. With all the concern over the MMR, some parents are assessing
which diseases they are most concerned about, and vaccinating for that
disease only. For example, mumps, while no fun, is not generally a
fatal or life-altering disease if contracted as a child, so some parents
are choosing to hold off on the mumps vaccine until the child is older
(but before the age when contracting mumps can be problematic),
when the child's immune and general system are better able to handle yet
another vaccine.
Many parents are now also insisting on thimerosal-free, individual
vaccines, due to the serious and legitimate concern about the
thimerosal/mercury poisoning, and its possible link to autism and other
problems. (Thimerosal is a preservative, used to preserve the
vaccine in a large, multi-use vial of vaccine.)
If your pediatrician won't allow you to make informed immunization
decisions, or will not order monovalent vaccines for you, or
thimerosal-free versions where available - well, your pediatrician can
always be replaced - your child can't.
Articles and Resources about Immunizations Generally
Vaccine Adverse
Event Reporting System (VAERS)
The Law Creating
the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
National Vaccine Injury
Compensation Program Vaccine Injury Table (list of recognized
acknowledged injuries from vaccines for which the government may
compensate parents!)
Gannet News Service's
"Vaccination Nation: Children On The Frontline"
Stan Lippman's law
school paper, "The Law of Vaccination - Toward Radical
Reform"
The Thimerosal Issue
Joint
Statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United States
Public Health Service re: Thimerosal
Thimerosal in
Vaccines: An Interrim Report to Clinicians [American Academy of Pediatrics]
Limiting Infant Exposure to Thimerosal in Vaccines and Other Sources
of Mercury by Neal A. Halsey, MD, Institute for Vaccine Safety,
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md., as
printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association
Letter
by Dr. William T. Redwood, and Mrs. Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN, CRNP to
Dr. Neal A. Halsey, Division of Disease Control, regarding
recommendation to remove Thimeresol from vaccines, and their own
autistic child.
Is There a Connection Between the MMR and Autism?
Joint House Panel Asks for Study of Possible
Link Between MMR and Autism!
Testimony
of Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Before House Committee on Government
Reform April 6, 2000
Testimony
of Vijendra K. Singh, Ph.D., Before House Committee on
Government
Reform April 6, 2000
Testimony
of Dr. Andrew J. Wakefield, Before House Committee on Government
Reform April 6, 2000 [NOTE: This link is to a pdf file; you need
to have Adobe Acrobat installed to view it.]
Autism
and MercuryA paper prepared by Sallie Bernard, Albert Enayati,
B.S., Ch.E., M.S.M.E., Heidi Roger, Teresa Binstock, Lyn Redwood, R.N.,
M.S.N., C.R.N.P., Woody McGinnis, M.D.
The
Redwood's Excellent "Austim and Mercury" website
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