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There has long been a controversy about vaccinating children. Ooops, that's not true. There has recently (in the last 20 years) been a controversy about vaccinating children. Why?
Before answering that question, I want to talk a little about what prompted this post. There was an article in the New York Times a few weeks ago about a child who had an underlying mitochondrial disorder and after receiving "five shots against nine infectious diseases... she developed a fever, cried inconsolably and refused to walk" at the age of 19 months. Within the next year she continued to decline in function and was given the diagnosis of autism. She was later found to have a mitochondrial disease. "The government has conceded that vaccines may have hurt Hannah, and it has agreed to pay her family for her care." (To read the full article, click here.)
After reading this article, I met with some friends for our monthly book group and before we started discussing the book I talked with them about their opinions on vaccination. It was an interesting discussion. I realized some were very informed and well-read about vaccinations and their risks, and others were not worried about the controversy.
Nearly every thought I had about childhood immunization is presented in another NYT article; a group of parents choosing not to vaccinate places my children at risk, people who can't be vaccinated do reap the benefits of those who are but because of the HUGE success of this public health initiative other parents have the "luxury" of choosing - the diseases don't cause as much morbidity or mortality anymore.
As for the scare that vaccination causes autism, multiple studies have not shown a connection. I can believe that biologically a child predisposed could have an immune reaction that leads to autoimmunity and that might be related, but I have no evidence to support that hypothesis. As a friend from our book group wrote:
...vaccines are not completely safe for every child. the problem is: we don't know those children for whom vaccines would not be safe. the real debate is how many of these at-risk kids there really are.
Really, I believe that children SHOULD be vaccinated; the benefits for society in addition to the individual outweigh the general risks. Of course, if a child has an adverse reaction or is allergic, etc. then that child shouldn't be, and how wonderful he can still benefit from vaccination! That being said, I also encourage all parents to carefully and prayerfully consider what is the best plan for their children, but also for their friends, and their friend's children. We no longer live in a small village.
10 comments:
This is Dr. Seth Gambee. I enjoyed reading your posting.
It's easy to see why so many parents have a hard time trying to decide one way or another with all the information out there supporting both sides. Not to mention all the pressure being put on parents from well-meaning friends and family, churches, schools, etc.
You're right, there has been a controversy on vaccines for the last 20-25 years. When vaccinations first began, there was no way to tell if there would be any long-term ill effects of the shots. Now with the dramatic increase in diseases "with no known cause", such as adult-onset diabetes, and a host of other auto-immune diseases such as Autism, more information and studies are coming forth that shows that vaccines may not be as safe as originally thought.
For example, did you know that when x-ray machines were first invented, they were used to help size people up for new shoes? Can you imagine how many women were exposed to high amounts of radiation trying on new shoes? If a shoe salesman today recommended taking an open x-ray of your foot to figure out your shoe size, what would you tell him?
You'd probably look at him like he's crazy. Why? Because it's basic common sense now to know that there are harmful effects to too much radiation exposure.
The same thing is happening with vaccinations. More discoveries, studies and knowledge are coming out that are making people ask a few more questions, and rightfully so.
There's a reason why the Japanese, for the most part, don't vaccinate their children until they're at least 2 years old, if at all.
What have they discovered that we're a little slow to realize?
My wife and I have 2 children, a 6-year old girl and a 1-year old boy, neither of whom have received any vaccinations. My wife is due with our 2nd son in about 1 week, and we've already decided that he will not be vaccinated either. My daughter is in 1st grade, and has never missed a day of school due to an "outbreak" or personal sickness.
I find it amusing when I hear other Dr's saying that un-vaccinated children "benefit" or "piggyback" from being around vaccinated children. As if they're taking some kind of a "short-cut" or "borrowing" their classmates' "health".
Following that logic, I guess all someone has to do to lose weight or get in shape is go hang out at the gym. You don't have to actually lift any weights or get on the treadmill, you just have to be "close" to someone who does, and you can "piggyback" your way to health and fitness.
If another parent or doctor were to blame me or my child for exposing their "vaccinated" children to increased risks of disease, my response would be simple:
By vaccinating your child, you're actually increasing the number of new strains of viruses and diseases out there, which will cause more and more children more and more problems because their shot-weakened immune systems just can't keep up.
The other problem here is that many parents who DO vaccinate their children wrongly assume that their kids are "protected" or "healthy", and don't pay as much attention to their kid's diets and exercise habits, both of which are proven to have a more powerful effect on immune system health than any drug or shot.
There's no short-cut or "quick fix" to health, ESPECIALLY IN AN INFANT OR CHILD. A healthy immune system takes time and effort to build.
For my kids, I'll take a nap-a-day-watch-their-sugar-intake and-eat-healthy-foods over a "shot" any day.
Thank you for presenting argument for the anti-vaccination side. I appreciate your comments.
I agree with you about the rise of idiopathic diseases. I agree that it is very disconcerting that autism continues to rise in prevalence, as do many other diseases.
And yet, I have to disagree with some of your conclusions.
Unlike your example of exercising, everybody benefits from what is referred to as herd immunity; the more people vaccinated against a disease, the less chance that particular disease has in finding a niche to start and then propagate and spread. The evidence for that is the drastic decrease in incidence of "childhood diseases". For me, the most striking in my lifetime are the Haemophilis influenza type B (HiB vaccination) and chicken pox.
To infer that vaccinations are the cause of other diseases has yet to be shown in retrospective studies, or in prospective studies. There is currently no scientific evidence despite the fact that people are looking for it.
I respect that you do not want to vaccinate your children. I am glad that you are aware of your choices. We should ask questions, become informed, and understand what we are doing, what is known, and what is still being questioned.
I also agree that as parents we need to encourage good activities for our children, and teach them good eating habits so they can avoid obesity and the risk of other adult diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, some cancers, etc.) Being healthy is more than just doctor visits, or vaccinating or not; it's a lifestyle and one that comes from habit.
Herd immunity really shouldn't be applied to humans. Come on, animals with no choice,interest or capability of reason, and humans with every opportunity,ability, variable & diverse exposure etc...
I really want my children to get chicken pox...they haven't been vaccinated against it (or anything else). There was a school outbreak and 15 of the 16 children who contracted chicken pox were immunized against it. Vaccinations are not the cure all, and very often the culprit.
I agree that it is a personal decision and frankly if vaccinations are not right for my children, I won't vaccinate for anyone else's. And, if someone really believes it is a personal decision they won't try to burden or guilt another person into vaccinating for the community.
How can anyone who is really exploring the options say "there is no eveidence" to support the connection of vaccinations and diseases (autism, diabetes, brain damage etc)?
Court
Wow!! What a great debate. Of course I have had Andrew vaccinated and seen no adverse reactions--thank goodness, but this discussion does lead me to something Greg and I were discussing last night.
Greg has been going to a chiropractor in our ward each week. It seems to have been beneficial. A few weeks ago when Greg was at a trade show they had massage therapists there giving massages for free. Greg went in to have a little massage. The therapist was shocked to hear that he went to the chiropractor once a week and said that he really should only be going once a month and then doing massage twice a month. I realize that he was talking to a massage person, but this has led us to this conclusion...
Medicine is a PRACTICE. What is right for one person's body may not be right for another person's body. Nadine, I liked what you said about the importance of doing research and then putting it to prayer to know what is right for the individual. Medicine is not perfect. We read an awesome book about this for our book group! Running may be the perfect exercise for my body, but it might not be for someone else's. I find that it is difficult sometimes to make those decisions because there is SO much information out there supporting both sides, but hopefully I am making the best decisions possible for me and my family. Great discussion!!
I would Love to read any scientific articles that link vaccinations to disease! I have not been able to find anything but anecdotes. All of the searches I've look for in scientific journals continue to say there is no evidence of a link between vaccination and autism or other disease. Please post the links here or send me an email.
BTW, "Herd Immunity" is the scientific/mathematical term used to determine what percentage of a population (of which people can be considered a group) is required to be vaccinated in order to provide the best protection against infection.
You're absolutely right, true health is a lifestyle built on sound decisions and habits, not just doctor visits or shots.
I understand the premise behind "herd immunity". However, this theory is based on the assumption that vaccines actually work.
Let's get right to the basics, and then I'll share some actual medical findings that you requested.
The human body's first 4 lines of
defense against pathogens are:
1. The skin
2. The mucous membranes
3. The digestive tract (which contains approx. 70% of our total immune system)
4. The lymph system
This is a brilliant design, because when you think about it, how are the vast majority of diseases contracted? Through the mouth, nose, air particles, skin, stuff we eat, etc.
However, vaccines bypass all 4 of our body's natural barriers to disease and go straight to the blood stream.
How can you ask the body to do it's job and build an effective immune response when you override it's defenses?
If you think about it in everyday terms, that'd be like asking a Quarterback to run an offense... but only after you took away his linemen who protect him.
Real life doesn't work that way, and neither does our body.
I've seen all the charts that show the supposed links to vaccines and the decrease in diseases.
But I've also seen the charts that go back an extra 50 years that show that the true decline in these diseases started decades before vaccines entered the picture. Along with the much stronger relationship to improvements in diet, sanitation, etc.
A few examples from some simple Google Searches:
In an October 1999 statement to Congress, Bart Classen, M.D., M.B.A., founder and CEO of Classen Immunotherapies and developer of vaccine technologies, stated, "It is clear ... that the government's immunization policies ... are driven by politics and not by science."
Regarding the "herd immunity theory", Dr. Classen (quoted above) has also stated, "My data proves that the studies used to support immunization are so flawed that it is impossible to say if immunization provides a net benefit to anyone or to society in general."
"Former public health officials in France are serving prison sentences following findings that they did not follow the law to ensure the safety of the vaccine, and school-age Hep B vaccination has been discontinued."
From the U.S. Military studies:
" ... four letters from the FDA/Public Health Service ... clearly reveal that the anthrax vaccine was approved for marketing without the manufacturer performing a single controlled clinical trial."
December 1994 Medical Post, Dr. Guylaine Lanctot, MD, stated, "The medical authorities keep lying. Vaccination has been a disaster on the immune system. It actually causes a lot of illnesses. We are actually changing our genetic code through vaccination...100 years from now we will know that the biggest crime against humanity was vaccines."
"After critically analyzing literally ten's of thousands of pages of the vaccine medical literature, Dr. Viera Scheibner concluded that "there is no evidence whatsoever of the ability of vaccines to prevent any diseases."
I could go on and on...
This took me 10 minutes to find online- I find it hard to believe you can't find any information saying there might be problems with vaccines. It's all over the place, in medical studies, reports to Congress, etc.
lol. When originally introduced into scientific literature, herd immunity meant that groups of cows, sheep etc. enjoyed freedom from disease because of improved sanitation. Now the medical/pharmaceutical establishment is changing the definition of herd immunity to 'freedom from disease because of mass vaccination.' This method of changing terminology is propoganda, not science.
Herd immunity, by your definition, is based on reason by analogy. It does not take into consideration the many, many variables that are present in any specific individual and circumstance.
People need to be encouraged to make well-thought out, intelligent, individual decisions and not guilted into their 'choices' by the 'experts.'
Mass vaccination proponents are not in favor of free thinking individuals.
There is also herd mentality. If you only look for information in the pharmaceutically paid for research, you will not get the facts, you will only get what they want you to know. There is plenty of information, research and documentation verifying the link between vaccinations and disease.
Its been fun.
court
The bottom line in my book-
No matter where we stand, we need to respect the rights of parents to make their own educated choices for their families. No force, no guilt necessary. Our kids are not the village's kids, not the herd's kids, not the governments' kids, not the school's kids, not even the Church's kids. They're YOUR children and MY children. I consider them MY sacred responsibility, as I'm sure you do, too.
We all make mistakes in one area or another. Isn't it hard enough to be a parent today without unnecessary pressures? (No matter how well-intended it may be.)
If my kids get sick, I won't blame the vaccinated kids or anyone else- I'll take responsibility.
If your kids get sick, don't blame the un-vaccinated kids or anyone else.
Deal?
Good, it's been a great discussion!
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