There are many things to consider regarding the vaccine controversy. Many have claimed that the ever increasing vaccination schedule is part of the reason childhood illnesses are rising at alarming rates. In the 1980’s more vaccines were given earlier in infancy and combined together rather than as separate vaccines. Many feel that this combination plus using mercury based preservatives contributed to the increase of diseases such as autism and ADD.
Statistics show that the cases of people in the US having diseases such as mumps, measles, polio, ect… has dropped dramatically since the 1960’s. It went from hundreds of thousands of cases per year to under 50 cases in current years, and those few cases were mostly from foreign travelers that brought it here to the US. Almost eliminating once epidemic diseases in the US is certainly a benefit and one that should not be taken lightly. Polio used to cripple thousands of children a year and almost everyone used to get measles prior to vaccinations. We certainly don’t want to go back to having what could be preventable diseases.
I am not anti-vaccine by any means but my issue with them is that there is absolutely no reason that they should contain any toxic chemicals or mercury based preservatives. The drug companies should be held accountable for what they are giving our kids and we as parents shouldn’t have to choose between protection of diseases or possibly causing harm to our children.
So what is in a vaccine that makes it so bad? Vaccines are cultured in animal tissues and therefore the body is encountering foreign animal proteins from the vaccine. This would only normally occur in our digestive system so when it’s injected into our blood stream these proteins can have the potential to wreak havoc on the body. The second concern about the animal tissue is that its possible for the vaccine to have unwanted animal viruses mixed in.
As if this wasn’t enough vaccines can contain dangerous chemicals used to preserve them. This is only done because of the drug companies trying to be cost effective. Since doctors have vials of multi-dose vaccines they have to contain a preservative so they don’t become contaminated with bacteria. I don’t know about you but I would prefer to pay more and know that the vaccine my son is receiving is safe of toxic preservatives like mercury based substance, acetone and formaldehyde. Many of these chemicals are neurotoxic and lead to a whole range of other health issues such as autism, ADD, and other developmental problems. These toxins are built up over time and some children are not able to rid their bodies of them.
According to the US Dept of Health and Human Services, none of the routine vaccines given to children in 2008 contain thimerosal (mercury based preservative) except the flu shot. Funny that my pediatrician never mentioned any risks when they asked me about my son having the flu shot, but thankfully since he is home with me I declined him getting it. If you look closer the truth is actually that there are “trace” levels of thimerosal in many of the vaccines but they consider this not enough to warrant a warning of any sort to the parents. The question then becomes when combining all these vaccines are children subjected to higher levels of mercury than they should be? I have read many articles by parents that had bright happy children one day and after receiving their vaccine the next day were staring at a wall unable to speak. The doctors will say there is no conclusive evidence of this but they are often basing this on scientifically flawed data that is given to them by the pharmaceutical industries. Even though most vaccines may not contain thimerosal, many still contain formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen.
The government sticks by their claims that there is no conclusive evidence that thimerosal contributed to autism or any other developmental problems, but in recent years they have worked to phase out the use of thimerosal in routine vaccines. Why if there was no evidence are they removing this substance from vaccines? I’m sure we will never hear the real answer to that question…they claim its just a precautionary measure.
I am now facing this decision to continue to vaccinate my son since learning all this information. Why am I working so hard to give him all organic foods if I am just going to be forced to inject him with toxic chemicals? In our state he will be unable to attend public school if we don’t get him vaccinated. I will write more to let you know what I decide to do but as of now I am going to discuss a delayed vaccination schedule with my pediatrician and see what he thinks. As always keep your family safe!
July 14, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Hi, I have a 4.5 year old who has autism and a 21 month old who does not. Your comments were very well thought out and well researched, a great summary of the concerns that I’ve seen on vaccines. I believe all states have a medical or religious exemption for vaccines and many also have a philosophical exemption. My older child was fully vaccinated up until we found out he had autism (at age 3 – he’d had 23 vaccines by the age of 2) and none since then. My younger child has had a few doses of the DTaP, Polio and one Hib (which he had a bad reaction to and hasn’t had any additional vaccines). So far I’ve been getting away with my older child going to school (the preK autism program with my local school district) on a medical exemption (which I got from my son’s DAN! – defeat autism now – doctor and just says he’s okay with my decision not to vaccinate) and I’ll continue that as long as possible. My younger child is in an at-home licensed daycare situation with 5 other kids. I basically just had to give them a letter documenting which vaccines he was getting and an alternative vaccine schedule (which currently says he won’t be receiving any additional vaccines until someone convinces me it won’t give him autism). If it becomes a real issue, I’ll be a member of the “Church of Tera is afraid to vaccinate her children.” They can’t force you to vaccinate your child. You have the option to not vaccinate your child and you have the option to vaccinate your child at a much slower rate than the typical schedule (do kids really need 23 doses of vaccines before age 2?). You can find some really good info here http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/
here http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/faqs/faq033.asp
and of course you can google. Dr Mercola also has some good info but he’s rather fanatical.
Good luck to you in making your decision. But remember NO ONE CAN FORCE YOU TO VACCINATE YOUR BABY. If you opt to vaccinate, it is your decision. Educate yourself and don’t let anyone scare you into it. Obviously there are risks to not vaccinating but there are also risks to vaccinating. It is a matter of deciding which risks you prefer to live with.
But as the mom of a child with autism, I have to say it is absolutely heartbreaking and I wouldn’t wish it on any child or any family.
Peace to you,
Tera
July 16, 2008 at 3:16 am
Not sure if this will help or not, but a few other tidbits to toss into the pot while you are considering your options.
Have you had your little one checked for allergies? My mother now swears the reason I was sick for so much of my childhood can be traced to allergies and chemical sensitivites that would spike in severity with each new vaccine.
As an adult, I felt both stupid and angry when, as the cheery lady in white had already stuck the needle into my arm and then chirped “Now, of course you aren’t allergic to eggs… right?” as she prepared to give me my flu shot. Startled, I told her I was, why?
I was stuck in the chair for 20 minutes with a needle hanging out of my arm as she zoomed around trying to find someone who could tell her if as I WAS allergic should she just pull out the needle or was there a set protocal to follow. Finally, I pulled the dang thing out myself and began to demand some answers for myself.
I don’t think vaccines are evil, but I do think we’ve jabbed some pretty questionable materials into our systems over the years.
All in all, what I think is this – research (but pull back and take your son for a walk when the hysteria begins to decend), talk to your doctor (if he makes light of your concerns – go to another doctor), and see where your son is health wise now.
If he is leaving the country, heading to school, or associating with a known polio carrier… it can always be reassesed as the need comes up. You have time to think, consider, pray (and wait for more info.).
Good luck.
July 18, 2008 at 6:52 pm
We go with all the traditional vacines, but we push them off until our children are a bit older, and we do one vacine at a time. We feel our daughters’ bodies need time to develop, and giving a bunch of vacines at one time stresses the body.
We had one doctor who didn’t like us questioning his judgement and stopped seeing us. He wanted to give several shots at one time. We found another doctor who was happy to accomidate us.
July 24, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I took my son to the pediatrician yesterday and found out that he only had two more shots and was finished until age 4. I guess I should’ve researched this all alot earlier but I just didn’t know about it until he was already almost a year old. I am just lucky that he didn’t have any bad reactions to any of the vaccinations. I think its a very hard decision and the best advice I have is to research all options and decide what is best for your family. If I had to do it all over again I would insist on doing less shots each time and spreading it out over a longer period of time. If we ever have a baby#2 then I will stay on top of it, now that I know the risks involved.