Vaccination Issues

I consider myself very lucky. When I had my first child in 1991, we took her to our Homeopath GP for her 2 month check up. He asked what we had decided to do about vaccinations, as her first were due. Not having given the subject much thought, we shrugged and said we’d get them…, we supposed. Luckily for and unbeknown to us, our doctor was a respected lecturer on the subject of immunisations, and advised us against getting them that day and loaned us a book on the matter. The Immunization Decision, by Randell Neustaedter , opened the door and our eyes to this hotly debated issue and gave us the knowledge to make an informed choice about our child’s health. We will always be grateful to Dr. David Fabrey for his good advice.

Gathering Information

Every mainstream parenting magazine I’ve read suggests asking your doctor or health visitor for advice concerning vaccines. Public doctors and health professionals are paid to give advice that reflects the views of the NHS. The NHS wants you to vaccinate your child. You will not get unbiased advice from most health professionals. Do not rely solely on the recommendations of them when making a decision. It is true there are a growing number of health professionals that are questioning the safety of vaccines, but we are still a fair way from receiving independent advice. It is a shame you cannot completely trust your family doctor or health visitor, but they are only as knowledgeable as the information they are given. Check out our Bookshop for a good Vaccine Guide.. Another good source of information is available at Mothering . There is an overwhelming amount of research and evidence (NOT sponsored by the vaccine manufacturers!) that exposes the dangers of vaccines. Please research as much as you can.

The situation with vaccination is similar to branded drugs whose effectiveness is overexaggerated. There is no great difference between brand-name and generic drugs. Besides, it becomes possible to buy generics through an online service located even in another country. To my mind, every person is up to decide what drugs to choose and what vaccinations to get.

Money, Ignorance and Madness.

Unfortunately, the message to vaccinate is not a simple case of the medical establishment wanting to protect your child from “harmful” childhood diseases. There is a bigger picture here. Drug company influence is a major part of the campaign to immunise and that’s all about money. I think a lot of people including health professionals are basically un-knowledgeable about the many issues of immunisation.

Some basic facts we’ve discovered:

  1. Vaccines are big business. Vast sums of money are spent developing new (and usually useless) vaccines 1 . Some doctors receive benefits for the number of children they vaccinate, thereby required to fill a “quota”.
  2. Not all childhood illnesses lead to complications. The vast majority of illnesses can be treated successfully with alternative or conventional medicines and the only side effects may be life long immunity to the disease.
  3. Vaccines are dangerous. Side effects are very common. These can range from fever and crying to brain damage and even death 2 . The truth is, few doctors report the side effects their patients complain of so these do not get investigated 3 . Therefore, how can drug companies and health officials claim vaccine safety when these complaints are not considered? A doctor dispensing advice on vaccinations in a recent leading parenting mag 4 described “serious vaccine side effects may be worrying and upsetting” for the parent. Try describing those feelings to a mother of a brain dead child caused by vaccines ! His words were irresponsible and disrespectful to the many parents whose children have suffered such serious side effects.
  4. The incidence of serious childhood diseases were actually on the decline before widespread vaccines were being administered. This lesser know fact thereby refutes the validity of health officials that claim mass vaccination is responsible for the lack of these diseases today. 5

It’s your choice.

We are lucky here in the UK, that vaccination is not law as it is in the USA. Parents there who wish to send their child to school must fill out an exemption form stating their reasons for non-vaccination. They can be refused admission.
Here I have found my health visitor and doctor quite respectful of my decision ( of course they understand they cannot sway me ! ). We chose to vaccinate against polio and tetanus only at 12 months of age. This allows for the child’s natural immune system to develop sufficiently to cope with the vaccine. We also chose to use the killed polio injection as opposed to the live polio drops routinely given. The only way polio is contracted in the western world today is through the live drops. Why do they continue to administer them??? !!! Parents have been targeted in the media for going abroad to vaccinate their children how they choose, but these parents should be respected for their devotion to their children and courage to stick to their decision. If we request more information and safer vaccine alternatives, health officials will have to listen.

Controversy.

I have read so called advice from a health professional that told parents who choose not to immunise, “keep your child away from other babies too young to be immunised”, her logic being that our unvaccinated child will put other children at risk of contracting disease. “How would you feel if your child was the one who put others at risk?” she dared ask !!! 6 . As stated above, it is ONLY the polio vaccinated baby that spreads polio in the Western world ! Therefore it is MY unvaccinated child that is at risk ! Until my baby is 18 months old, I am unable to take him to a public swimming pool or use a baby changing facility due to the risk of contracting polio from other children. I resent people attempting to make me feel guilty for doing what I believe is the right thing. Using the safer killed virus injection would eliminate all risk and probably polio from our country altogether.

More to Learn.

I have not gone into any detail much about individual vaccines, but one that is in the news lately is MMR. The UK government is considering withdrawing this vaccine from use. More than 2000 damages claims are against the UK government on behalf of children killed or injured by this vaccine since 1994. In sanskrit, Measles literally translates to “visited by a Goddess”. Since antiquity, it has been noticed that children who experience a measles infection have developmental leaps afterwards. 7 . Part of the insanity of immunisations is that a substantial percentage of children who receive them are still able to catch those diseases. Protection is not guaranteed.

WITH ALL VACCINES – THE LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS ARE UNKNOWN

I shall certainly continue to research and learn as much as I can to keep my children safe and healthy. new information is available all the time, but the basic facts of vaccine safety are plainly seen.


Updates

These updates will basically consist of new information as I learn it. There is plenty of information on the Internet for anyone to do their own research, so my information may not be “new”, just new to me !
It’s almost time for my youngest to recieve our standard chosen course of Tetanus and killed Polio. He’s 12 months now, but not yet walking, so I feel I have an excuse to delay his first jabs. Something makes me feel that he should at least be able to “stand on his feet” before his immune system is bombarded with disease. My hesitancy this time round is causing me to question what exactly is bothering me about making that appointment for him. I decided to do more research. Knowledge is power. It had been 2 years since I last had a child vaccinated and new research is available all the time. I figured I needed to brush up on these two vaccines.
My search brought me quickly to Mothering Magazine’s collection of Vaccination Articles . They have always been known for their good information and comprehensive coverage of this issue. I found some new (to me) information on Tetanus. Besides the vaccine containing many harmful substances such as aluminium, there is more controversy over this vaccine than I was aware of. It has certainly made me think more seriously about what is considered one of the “safest” vaccines. I have added new resources of UK specific information on my LINKS page.

Something to think about from our Atlantic cousins: From 1990 through 1995 there have been an average of 49.6 cases of tetanus per year in the United States. Compared to total population, that means approximately 1 in 5,198,200 people contract tetanus. There is a 20% mortality rate for tetanus if properly treated. That means that approx 1 in 25,000,000 people will die of tetanus in any given year. About 1800 people per year are struck by lightning and there is a 25% morality rate for this event. 1 in 143,240 are struck by lightning and 1 in 573,000 die.
This is a lot of numbers BUT: You are 44 times more likely to die from lightning than from tetanus.


1. Mothering magazine # 84, Peggy O’Mara editorial
2. Immunization Decision, Randell Neustaedter.
3. Mothering #84
4. Dr. Harry Brown, Babycare & Pregnancy Magazine May 2000
5. Mothering #84
6. Jenny Green, Babycare & Pregnancy magazine April 2000
7. Compleat Mother Magazine, Australian Vaccine Network