WHAT ARE VACCINATIONS?

What Are Vaccinations?

A Vaccination is a medical procedure which theoretically works on the principle that artificially stimulating the immune system with small amounts of inactivated (killed) viruses and bacteria or attenuated (partially inactivated) live viruses will make the body immune to infectious diseases. Vaccines produce antibodies (small molecules of protein) that are supposed to attack and challenge the virus or bacteria in the same way that recovery from a natural infection produces antibodies to protect the body from future challenge by a virus or bacteria.

However, vaccines do not work to stimulate antibodies in the same way as natural disease. When bacteria or viruses enter the body normally, such as through the respiratory system, the body produces a type of natural immunity which is often permanent. When lab-altered viruses and bacteria are injected into the body through vaccines, an artificial, temporary immunity is created.Also, vaccines can contain additives, such as aluminum, mercury, MSG,formaldehyde, antibiotics and other chemicals, which do not enter the body during natural infection.

Sometimes vaccines fail to provide any long-term immunity at all. That is why multiple doses of most vaccines are required in order to “boost” and extend protection.

Along with better sanitation, nutrition and health care, mass vaccination programs in the U.S. and other modern countries have contributed to the eradication or steep decline in childhood infectious diseases such as smallpox, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. However, while the numbers of vaccines and vaccination rates have increased and once-common childhood infectious diseases have decreased, there has been a corresponding rise in  chronic disease and disability in children:asthma, learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) have doubled; diabetes has tripled; and autism has increased 200 to 500percent in every state in America in the past quarter century.

Many scientists, doctors and parent groups are questioning whether the routine practice of giving children three dozen doses of nearly a dozen different vaccines before age five is contributing to the unexplained rise in chronic disease in children, along with overuse of antibiotics and exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides. Every vaccine, like every drug, has side effects. It is important to be fully informed about the risks and complications of infectious diseases and the risks and complications of vaccines and make an educated vaccination decision.

For more information, contact the National Vaccine Information Center, anon-profit, educational organization dedicated to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education at www.909SHOT.com.

References:

, HLCoulter,Fisher, BL. 1985, 1991. A Shot in the Dark.New York: Avery Publishing Company.

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, University Disability Statistics of California, San Francisco. 1996. Trends in disability rates in the United States, 1970-1994.US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Disability Statistics Abstract 17: November.

Fisher, BL.1997. The Consumer’s Guide to Childhood Vaccines. Washington, D.C.: National Vaccine Information Center (www.909SHOT.com)

Institute of Medicine. 1994. Adverse Effects Associated with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

. 1996. The Vaccine Guide: An Informed Choice. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.Making ,R Neustaedter

Vaccine Reactions - Weighing the Risks

Every vaccine, like every drug, carries a risk of injury or death. Some vaccines have been reported to be associated with higher numbers of reactions than other vaccines. For example, one government study showed that 1 in 875 DPT shots is followed by a convulsion or collapse shock reaction.

Between 12,000 and 14,000 reports of hospitalizations, injuries and deaths are made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) every year. But it is estimated that these reports represent only one to ten percent of all vaccine-related serious health problems because so few doctors are willing to report them.

Vaccine reactions can range from very mild, such as a sore arm or slight fever, to severe, such as brain inflammation, seizures and shock. Some vaccine reactions take a few minutes, hours or days to appear and others take several weeks or months to develop. Vaccine reactions can cause no lasting harm or can result in permanent brain and immune system damage or even death.

Vaccine reactions are not well understood but are thought to be due to a combination of factors, including:

• the general health of the individual at the time of vaccination;
• genetic predisposition;
• whether there are high risk factors such as a history of previous vaccine reactions;
• the type of vaccine(s) given;
• vaccine quality variability.

In 1991 and 1994, the Institute of Medicine analyzed the medical literature and issued three historic reports that concluded vaccines can cause a wide range of brain and immune system damage, including death. Their most significant finding was a “lack of adequate data regarding many of the adverse events under study” and “many gaps and limitations in knowledge bearing directly or indirectly on the safety of vaccines.”

Because medical science does not have a good understanding of how vaccines work in the body or why they can cause reactions, there are many outstanding questions about vaccine safety. In order to protect vaccine manufacturers and doctors from being sued when vaccines cause injury and death, Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. In the past decade, more than one billion dollars has been paid out to about 1,000 families whose loved ones suffered serious vaccine reactions during the past decade. However, this represents only one out of four vaccine victims who apply to the program - three out of four are turned away.

When making a vaccination decision, it is important to be fully informed about the risks of diseases and risks of vaccines and make an educated decision. For more information, contact the National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education at www.909SHOT.com.

References:

Coulter HL, Fisher BL. 1985, 1991. A Shot in the Dark. New York: Avery Publishing Company.

Fisher BL. 1997. The Consumer’s Guide to Childhood Vaccines. Washington, D.C.: National Vaccine Information Center (www.909SHOT.com)

Institute of Medicine. 1991. Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Institute of Medicine. 1994. Adverse Effects Associated with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

Institute of Medicine. 1994. DPT Vaccine and Chronic Nervous System Dysfunction: A New Analysis. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Neustaedter, R. 1996. The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.

Vaccine Laws and Making Vaccination Decisions

 All 50 states in the US have laws which require proof of vaccination with certain vaccines for individuals to attend daycare, elementary and high school or college. Although in the early part of the 20th century, only one vaccine (smallpox) was required to attend school, in the past two decades the number of vaccines required in most states has grown to 33 doses of 10 vaccines with more that will be added in the next few years. Most states require children to receive vaccines for diphtheria, , tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussishaemophilus influenzae B, hepatitis B, and chicken pox to attend school.

All states have exemptions to vaccination for “medical” reasons, but these medical exemptions can only be written by a medical doctor (M.D.) or doctor of osteopathy (D.O.). It is difficult to obtain a medical exemption because national vaccine policymakers recognize few health conditions as contraindications to vaccination. Most medical doctors do not want to give medical exemptions that do not conform with national vaccine policies issued by the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics.

All states but two (Mississippi and West Virginia) allow religious exemption to vaccination and this exemption can be interpreted broadly or narrowly depending upon how the law is written in each individual state. Although some state laws stipulate that a parent seeking a religious exemption for a child must belong to a church with a tenet opposing vaccination, most state high courts have upheld a parent’s right to hold sincere personal religious beliefs that do not require the parent to belong to a specific church opposing vaccination.

Fifteen states allow philosophical, personal belief or conscientious belief exemption to vaccination. Some states allow parents to selectively oppose certain vaccines and others require parents to oppose all vaccinations in order to qualify for this exemption.

When considering vaccination, it is important to be fully informed about the risks and complications of infectious diseases and the risks and complications of vaccines and, with an understanding of the law in your state, make an educated vaccination decision. You and your family are the ones who will live with the consequences of the decision you make and you have the ethical and legal right to voluntary, informed consent to any medical procedure which carries a risk of injury or death. You should always be comfortable with any health care choice you make and never feel pressured into acting until you are confident in your decision.

For more information, contact the National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to preventing vaccine injuries and deaths through public education at www.909SHOT.com.