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Vaccinations

Vaccinations are an increasingly sensitive subject.  There are at least two sides in complete disagreement:

1. Parents and researchers who believe that vaccines can be dangerous and harmful to some children (quite a number of children)
2. The AMA (American Medical Association), FDA (Food & Drug Administration), CDC (Center for Disease Control) and other governmental agencies that claim there is no/very low risk of harm from vaccinations and the ingredients they contain/contained.

While I cannot offer a recommendation about vaccinations, I would like to share some information I feel is very important as you reach your own conclusions.

Most vaccines contain mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, or other substances that are known to be toxic, especially to the brain.  Doctors today will typically say that the mercury has been removed. This is not entirely true. While a great deal has been removed, most still contain “trace amounts.”  This is deceiving because “trace amounts” is still about 3 mcg of mercury per shot.  For infants or children that often receive several vaccines per visit, this can still be a very dangerous amount of mercury and other additives.  You may ask to see the vaccination packaging and label to confirm that it is FREE of mercury, or if it contains trace amounts of mercury.

Some people ask “If vaccinations were harmful, wouldn’t everyone would have autism?” This would be true if all people were identical. There are some people that cannot detoxify the additives, and others that cannot process the vaccination properly (often the immune system is not functioning well enough to create antibodies or kill the weak live strains which can create chronic infection and inflammation in the gut). Researchers are finding many biochemical similarities in people injured by vaccinations – many so in people with ASDs or a predisposition to an ASD.

I am not implying that vaccinations not be given to children – that is your own personal decision.  Only you can decide the risks you are willing to take. I am suggesting that you do your own research on vaccinations, weigh the pros and cons, and decide for yourself if there are any vaccines you would like to give your children and at what age.

For those that have read recent studies conducted in Denmark that conclude no association between vaccinations and autism, I highly recommend you read the book Evidence of Harm by David Kirby.  He clearly presents the flaws in those studies and makes some important associations between mercury damage from vaccinations and autism.

If you choose not to vaccinate your children, do not be pressured by other parents and the school or medical system to go against your personal choice.  Most people are misinformed into believing that vaccinations are required to get into public school.  They are not. Most states, including California, allow for exemptions based on religious, medical or philosophical reasons - See the National Vaccine Information Center for details on your state laws and recommendations. 

For the cautious or unsure, the following are some guidelines* you may want to discuss with an open-minded pediatrician.  These are suggestions or areas to consider, THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE:

• Consider separating combination vaccines (such as the MMR and DTaP). MMR is available in individual shots - where measles, mumps, and rubella can be given in separate shots at different doctor visits. 
• Separate vaccinations by as much time as possible
• Research at what age you want to begin vaccinations, or receive particular vaccinations.  Certain systems such as the brain and nervous system are not fully formed, or do not undergo significant growth, until 2 years of age.  Some infections are most dangerous to infants.  Weigh the pros and cons of waiting.
• Use “mercury-free” vaccines.
• Demand to see the package and label to ensure the proper mercury-free vaccine.
• Ask about single-dose vials from which to draw the vaccine – the dose is more uniform.
• Do not vaccinate your child if he or she is sick, recovering from an illness or infection, or on antibiotics.
• Wait on vaccines if your child has been around or cared for by someone with an immune system disorder like cancer, AIDS, or leukemia (for the sake of the ill person).
• Consider delaying vaccines if your child has had treatments that tax the immune system, such as x-rays, cortisone, or other steroid drugs.
• Get a copy of the Vaccine Information Statement from your physician before the next vaccine so you can have time to read about it.  Also, do your own homework and study the risk of serious illness or death vs. the risk of the vaccine.
• Discuss giving vitamin A (in the form of cod liver oil) and vitamin C and anything else your doctor may recommend to your child to boost immune function. 
• Prioritize vaccines in order of greatest chance of exposure.  For example, there is a much greater chance that school children might be exposed to hemophilus influenza type B(HiB) and polio both which can have serious effects on children, vs. hepatitis B which is transmitted through IV drug use, sexual intercourse, and when the mother is already infected.  Since the chance of an infant or child getting hepatitis B is very rare (except when the mother is infected and those tests are routinely performed), why would a child be given this vaccine?  Even more alarming is the fact that it is recommended in the pediatric immunization schedule to be given at birth (within hours or days of life)!  Discuss which are priorities.
• Have your child’s level of antibodies checked instead of blindly giving the additional recommended boosters.  Testing can tell you if boosters are required – often they are not. 
• Discuss avoiding re-immunization with a vaccine after a previous bad reaction by the child or a sibling.
• Mothers should also be careful with vaccinations while pregnant, postpartum, and while breastfeeding.
• Read “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations,” by Stephanie Cave M.D.

*Compiled from works by Drs. Elizabeth Cave, Jon Pangborn, and Sidney Baker, and others including Gary Null