A few weeks ago, I took my kids in to have their physicals. It had been years since we went to an MD. We always went to NDs (Naturopaths). We had 3 MDs in town that moved away and so we took it as a hint that maybe it wasn't necessary to go. I decided to try again with an MD after paying out of pocket for 3 paps and blood tests for myself and thought I could maybe utilize the health insurance that we have for this type of thing. So we found an MD that is knowledgeable in homeopathy, herbs and other forms of complimentary care and figured this was a good compliment to OUR mainstream healthcare which is whole body centered focusing on food, herbs, homeopathy, lifestyle, diet, exercise, etc. My son is 12 and my daughter is 10. I wanted to talk to the MD about tetanus because the school was saying it was time for a booster. I was shocked to learn that there are 2 other shots that are now being given to kids age 11 - 13: the HPV vaccine and the meningitis vaccine. My first thought was, "geezum! how many vaccines are being given to kids and when does it end?" The HPV is 3 shots within a 6 month period, tetanus is 1 and meningitis is 1. So this is FIVE more shots that they would get to the huge number of shots from their infancy/childhood had they received all of them. OY! I'm an ingredients person. In my life journey so far, I am aware now of preservatives, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, genetically modified ingredients, synthetics, chemicals, flavorings, artificial and "natural" and real ingredients found in food. I'm aware of the above-mentioned ingredients found in our clothing that we wear, the make up that women and men use, in the hair care and body care products that we use. I'm aware of the chemicals used in the electronics that we have in our homes and cars. And the list goes on. I work diligently to know the ingredients that I am putting in and on my body. I deny dentistry that uses artificial sweeteners in their cleaning products because I keep them out of my daily diet. I make my own minimally-processed food so that I know what I'm eating - it's cheaper, easier, healthier and safer for me to do this. I use beauty products whose ingredients are that which I could eat. I'm into organic and biodyanmic foods because those are the closest to the nature that I want to live in. It's sobering to once again research vaccines. Here's something that is supposed to help people and communities and when you read the ingredient lists, it's unconscionable to see the ingredients getting injected into babies so young, developing kids and pre-teens. Honestly, I'm trying to imagine just HOW many vaccines get injected and how many times a baby/child has to deal with formaldehyde, aluminum, mercury, preservatives, lactose, etc in their developing bodies and immune systems. There are 10-12 childhood diseases that kids now could receive vaccines on and among those 10-12, there are anywhere between 1 and 4 shots each. A minimum of 12 shots and a maximum of 48 shots potentially, if you just did the math. It's really somewhere around 25-30 shots or so if you went thru the full gamut. YIKES I started this research yesterday for an hour and I've been at it for 2 hours this morning. I am dumping what I found here on the 3 vaccines mentioned above. Just when I thought that I wouldn't have to think more on the vaccine subject, I realize that it is still prevalent. And it doesn't end for many who decide to then continue to have flu vaccines and various job vaccines for being a teacher or nurse, etc. OY. I don't feel anger or fear. I feel sober and sad, to be quite honest. Here goes:
"One hundred years ago, children received 1 vaccine (the smallpox vaccine). Forty years ago, children received 5 vaccines routinely (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and smallpox vaccines) and as many as 8 shots by 2 years of age. Today, children receive 11 vaccines routinely and as many as 20 shots by 2 years of age (Table 1)." http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/109/1/124/T1.expansion.html My notes:
-
ASK TO SEE THE INGREDIENT LIST OF ALL VACCINES so you can see if you have any allergies to the components and to see what your child is ingesting. (The cumulative ingredients of multiple vaccines need to be looked at, too. Doctors have never asked us if we are allergic to the ingredients. The little piece of paper they give you AFTER the shot is given says to make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients before you receive the shot.)
-
ASK TO SEE THE DRUG INSERTS OF ALL THE VACCINES PRIOR TO GETTING THE SHOTS. There you will see spelled out interesting tables of allergies and other health issues that have come up in people who have taken the vaccines. But this is only on SOME of the newer vaccines. The older ones don't have this information. Older vaccines also may or may not have ingredient listings.
-
GET THE NAME OF THE VACCINE to study on prior to deciding on whether you are receiving them or not. For some diseases, there are a few to chose from so best to know what they are going to administer. Better still is to read on all the vaccine names related to the disease and then pick the one you want, if you want any.
TETANUS - I'll start here because I thought I had done my research on this before and made my decision in good conscience to receive the tetanus boosters for myself and vaccines/boosters for my kids.
Tetanus vaccine contains aluminum, formaldehyde and thimerisol (mercury)
"Each 0.5 ml dose of MassBiologics’ Td is formulated to contain the following active ingredients: 2 Lf of tetanus toxoid and 2 Lf of diphtheria toxoid. Each 0.5 ml dose also contains aluminum adjuvant (not more than 0.53 mg aluminum by assay), < 100 mcg (0.02%) of residual formaldehyde, and a trace amount of thimerosal (not as a preservative) from the manufacturing process." - this comes from the drug insert which I found here:
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm My daughter had a slight fever and pain in the location of her arm for about 2 days from the Tetanus shot she just received. I'm actually happy that she had a fever because I willingly allowed for mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum to be injected into her body. My son had no reaction and while others would think that's good, I'm upset that his body didn't find this invasive. I never looked up the ingredients on the shots before and I will from now on. ++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm - link for good majority of US licensed vaccines... ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meningitis Vaccine. The doctor told me that they used to give this vaccine to kids beginning college but I don't recall getting this vaccine before going to college. He said kids going to camp can also get it.
"Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Most cases are caused by bacteria or viruses, but some can be due to certain medications or illnesses. "Bacterial meningitis is rare, but is usually serious and can be life-threatening if not treated right away. Viral meningitis (also called aseptic meningitis) is relatively common and far less serious. It often remains undiagnosed because its symptoms can be similar to those of the common flu." http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/meningitis.html "The meningitis vaccine is about 85% effective against certain strains of bacteria. It does not protect against viral meningitis. .... Bacterial meningitis can be treated with a number of effective antibiotics. It is important, that treatment is started early" http://healthcenter.ucdavis.edu/topics/meningitis.html So it looks like the vaccine only works 85% of the time for bacterial meningitis and not for the more common viral strains of meningitis. It looks like if you contracted bacterial meningitis, you'd get a course of antibiotics to treat it.
Menomune vaccine: This the drug name for the meningitis vaccine. The ingredient list is NOT listed on the drug insert so I had to do a search to find the ingredient listing online. Turns out there is latex in the vial stopper of the vaccine, lactose in the vaccine, thimerisol (mercury) as a preservative in the vaccine.
"Menomune®- A/C/Y/W-135, Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine, Groups A, C, Y and W-135 Combined, for subcutaneous use, is a freeze-dried preparation of the group-specific polysaccharide antigens from Neisseria meningitidis, Group A, Group C, Group Y and Group W-135. N meningitidis are cultivated with Mueller Hinton agar1 and Watson Scherp2 media. The purified polysaccharide is extracted from the Neisseria meningitidis cells and separated from the media by procedures which include centrifugation, detergent precipitation, alcohol precipitation, solvent or organic extraction and diafiltration. No preservative is added during manufacture. "The 0.78 mL vial of diluent contains sterile, preservative-free, pyrogen-free distilled water and is used for reconstitution of product supplied in 1 mL vials. The 6 mL vial of diluent contains sterile, pyrogen-free distilled water to which thimerosal (mercury derivative) 1:10,000 is added as a preservative. The 6 mL vial is for reconstitution of product supplied in 10 mL vials. After reconstitution with diluent as indicated on the label, the 0.5 mL dose is formulated to contain 50 µg of “isolated product” from each of Groups A, C, Y and W-135 in an isotonic sodium chloride solution." http://www.rxlist.com/menomune-drug.htm +++++++++++++++++++ When I posed the question to my local mama yahoo group, it was interesting to note that the feedback I received was on HPV only, and I'm guessing because HPV is spread sexually. It's also the newest vaccine and there's more on the controversy of the testing and efficacy of this vaccine. So here's what I found...
Some things I pulled from one of the links Allison sent (one of the moms on the yahoo group): 2 strains of HPV account for 70% of cervical cancer. Gardasil protects against 4 strains of HPV (2 strains for cervical cancer and 2 for genital warts.) Gardasil does not protect against the various other strains of HPV. Gardisil doesn't protect against all types of cervical cancer. (Cervarix vaccine protects against 2 strains of HPV that can cause cervical cancer.) (My question is how do they know it protects everyone. How is a person tested to see if they really are immune. I'm curious as to the process. I guess it's a blood test but I'm not sure.) The effect of HPV vaccine and the incidence of cervical cancer will take about 20-30 years to see the efficacy.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmCeWwNKr6FmdDVWSW5OUEhZTHpieVRESDR6bVpHMFE&hl=en_GB#gid=3 "GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone, nor will it protect against diseases caused by other HPV types or against diseases not caused by HPV." http://www.gardasil.com/vaccine-for-cervical-cancer/gardasil-and-hpv/ "You should not get GARDASIL if you have, or have had: "• an allergic reaction after getting a dose of GARDASIL. "• a severe allergic reaction to yeast, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, polysorbate80."
http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/g/gardasil/gardasil_ppi.pdf "GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone, nor will it protect against diseases caused by other HPV types or against diseases not caused by HPV. GARDASIL does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it’s important for women to continue routine cervical cancer screenings. GARDASIL does not treat cancer or genital warts. GARDASIL is given as 3 injections over 6 months." http://www.gardasil.com/ from the drug insert on gardisil that Erin sent (another mom on the yahoo group): There's 2 interesting tables on page 9 and 10 of the drug insert which shows people who got other health conditions (systemic autoimmune disorders) after taking the vaccine. Those tables talk about the number of people who got those conditions with the vaccine vs. the control group. It's when the two numbers differ widely that we should pay most attention. Arthritis (Arthralgia/Arthritis/Arthropathy) had the biggest numbers. 10 cases of celiac with the vaccines vs 6 without, etc.
"Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a vaccine cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another vaccine and may not reflect the rates observed in practice." "There was no clear evidence of protection from disease caused by HPV types for which girls and women were PCR positive regardless of serostatus at baseline." What is PCR positive? What does this mean? I've got a question in to a friend about this...
INGREDIENTS: "Each 0.5-mL dose of the vaccine contains approximately 225 mcg of aluminum (as Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxyphosphate Sulfate adjuvant), 9.56 mg of sodium chloride, 0.78 mg of L-histidine, 50 mcg of polysorbate 80, 35 mcg of sodium borate, <7 mcg yeast protein/dose, and water for injection. The product does not contain a preservative or antibiotics." THE FIRST INGREDIENT IS ALUMINUM. The aluminum is used to kick in the immune system and acts as a kind of carrier to the protein in the vaccine. Link for some side effects of ingesting aluminum
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/janak/080406 Another link with information on side effects of aluminum sulfate:
http://www.inchem.org/documents/ukpids/ukpids/ukpid34.htm A public forum on Gardisil side effects:
http://www.gardasilhpv.com/2010/04/gardasil-and-aluminum-vaccine-adjuvants.html - this page has a bit of information on aluminum, if you scroll down to the halfway point or more on this page. ++++++++++++++++++ Potentially dangerous ingredient lists commonly found in vaccines:
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/the_vaccination_debate_%E2%80%93_part_1_dangerous_ingredients_in_your_childs_vaccines_that_your_doc - this has good information without the use of fear or some other agenda in the mix. There's a bunch of websites with information like this that show ingredient lists to watch out for and their possible side effects another one:
http://poisonevercure.150m.com/ingredients.htm - this site seems to have compiled a BOAT LOAD of information into one place. wow. I didn't navigate through this site to see if it has a religious bias but the information content of the tables on this page was clear to view and understand. I'm assuming from the photos used on this site that is has some ethical, political or religious undertones to it but I didn't navigate through the site to see if my assumptions were true. I found this site by doing a search on vaccine ingredients and this is what came up. It has enough on this page to make me stop and think about all the various components of what our children receive nowadays in the vaccines. And this is where I'll end for now. There is enough just in the ingredient list alone that makes me pause to consider if this is the best way to protect our kids from diseases.
The questions arise: Is the disease worse than the vaccine? What is the prevalence of the diseases now? What is the prevalence of diseases in a daycare environment? In a home environment? What is the long term effect of the vaccine ingredients? How can we know - it seems that we won't know for 20-30 years unless there are more reports of auto-immune problems, etc. How can you really tell that they came from a vaccine and not from the chemicals in the food, water, air, clothes, homes, etc. If these vaccines are necessary and important, can they be made without heavy metals, preservatives and the other crap in them? Too many questions. I still find it easiest to work under the notion that I'm going to look at the ingredients of anything that I'm going to put in/on my body or the kids bodies. I wouldn't ever willingly put this crap in my body or the kids' bodies. I feel very sorry for the few vaccines that we've done knowing what I know now. I'm hopeful that because it was not a lot and we eat a clean diet that their bodies can overcome the ingredients of these. I'm hopeful we can continue to clean up our environments and our diets so that we use less of these things, that our bodies have a naturally strong defense system and at the VERY LEAST that we all become aware of these ingredients and make the pharmaceutical companies change them. Ignorance is not bliss for me.
Please begin/continue your own awareness of the ingredients in your food, in your drugs/vaccines/pharmaceuticals, in your clothes, in your make up, in your beauty care, in your supplements, in your homes, in your life and your kids' lives. ++++++++++ A friend sent this to me. I'm adding the links here because I found them interesting and I suspect others would as well.
http://www.vaccineinjury.info/vaccinations-in-general/vaccinatedunvaccinated.html the original link that my friend sent here:
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/10/14/big-study-vaccinated-kids-2-5-more-diseases-than-unvaccinated/ She got it from the health freedom alliance website. I wasn't aware of this website either so I'm interested to poke around more on that one, too. It looks huge. ***update*** read this RANT on natural news and while it's a bit harsh, I love that Mike Adams can getcha thinking. I have similar questions about these things that gets said about vaccines (which he writes about in a very "in your face" kind of manner) - read and see what you think. The article is def geared toward shaking things up:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034452_flu_shots_vaccines_immunity.html
