Some might feel this is harsh criticism for a product with supposedly lofty ideals. Others may think it is not harsh enough. They have good reason to feel that way.
The vaccine debate maintains a long and sordid history, although too few people
are aware of this fact. Due to the controlling interests of government
agencies and their puppeteer, the pharmaceutical industry, public awareness
has been manipulated, via the media, to its present state of indifference.
Why does no one question the authority of injecting agents of unknown toxicity
into their body? The general public is apparently satisfied with the
information (or more accurately, the lack of information) provided by the
government, unless presented with a specific reason not to be. Unfortunately,
now is the wrong time for apathy. We are on the verge of vaccine mania,
and by the time our wake up call comes, it just may be too late.
The controversy began two centuries ago, when Dr. Edward Jenner experimented
on an eight year old boy, using cowpox pus in an attempt to lessen the severity
of subsequent smallpox infection. He achieved limited success at first,
but even from the beginning, failures and severe reactions were common.
Nevertheless, one would surmise that his motives, at least, were honorable.
The vaccine industry has evolved immensely since then. Regrettably, so
has its motives. The worldwide market for human vaccine use has been
projected to exceed $7 billion by the year 2001. Profits are now the
number one priority, the underlying purpose cloaked in the guise of protecting
public health.
Researchers who once labored to rid populations of lethal plagues are now
churning out vaccines for every imaginable complaint, no matter how benign. Hundreds
of new vaccines are being developed, along with dozens of ways to administer
them, and as long as the profit margin is acceptable we can expect to encounter
them in the very near future. This industry would even have every young
child vaccinated for sexually transmitted disease, assuming that child will
engage in risky behavior in the future, and without any assurances that the
vaccine won't have worn off by then. The lack of long-term research into the
safety of immunization is being conveniently white-washed by the appearance
of "new and improved" products. But the fundamental problems
still exist, and the many facets of vaccine imperfection must be examined.
ARE VACCINES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
Supporters of vaccination would like to take credit for the control of infectious Disease, but the simple truth is that vaccination has had precious little, if anything, to do with controlling disease epidemics.
Epidemics of infectious disease had undergone a dramatic decline long before
any mass immunization programs took place. Many childhood diseases had
all but disappeared before a vaccine was even developed for them. According
to Metropolitan Life Insurance company policies, in 1911 the four leading
causes of death covered by the company in those aged 1 to 14 were diphtheria,
measles, scarlet fever and whooping cough. The standardized death rate
for these was 145 per 100,000 in 1911, but dropped to 7 per 100,000 by 1945
-- a decline of over 95%, before mass immunization began in the United States.
[1]
Similarly, in England and Wales between 1850
and 1940, deaths from these four diseases declined by 90%. The first
vaccine available for diphtheria wasn't until the early 1940's, whooping cough
in the early 50's and measles in the late 60's. No vaccine was provided
for scarlet fever, yet it somehow managed to disappear on its own. In
fact, many plagues disappeared without the benefit of vaccines -- cholera,
bubonic plague, yellow fever, for example -- all are virtually unheard of
today, and without the assistance of mass immunization.
Strangely enough, plagues of disease also disappeared simultaneously in countries
which rejected vaccination as well as those which implemented it. European
countries that refused immunization for smallpox and polio saw their epidemics
end as well as those countries that mandated it.
[2]
In fact smallpox and polio vaccines, both the proverbial
golden children of vaccine supporters (i.e. what kind of horrible crippled
state would we all be in without them?), actually increased the incidence
of those diseases.
In England, the highest death rate from smallpox for any two year period (before
compulsory vaccination laws in 1853) was 2,000 cases. After years of
mandatory vaccinations 23,000 people died in 1870 and 1871 alone, and 124,000
died during the same period in Germany. All had been vaccinated.
[3]
In Australia, where the government terminated compulsory
vaccination after two children died from their smallpox shots, the disease
virtually disappeared -- three cases in 15 years.
[4]
In 1920s England, only two towns rejected smallpox
inoculation during an epidemic -- Leicester and Dewsbury (relying instead
on stringent hygiene and sanitation). These two towns had the lowest
death rates in the country.
[5]
Cases of polio in the one year ending August 30,1954 (before mass immunization)
compared to the one year ending August 30, 1955 (after immunizing) were reported
as follows: In Connecticut, 144 cases before -- 276 cases after (92% increase)...in
New Hampshire, 38 cases before – 129 cases after (239% increase)...in Vermont,
15 cases before -- 55 after (266% increase)...Rhode Island, 22 before -- 122
after (454% increase)..... and in Massachusetts, 273 before -- 2027 after
(642% increase!).
[6]
Polio had been declining for decades before
the advent of the vaccine -- the CDC admits that all current cases are caused
by the vaccine.
But if immunization has had little to do with controlling plagues of disease, then what did alleviate them? The answer is simple, and still the best solution -- improvements in hygiene and nutrition. The poverty, filth and squalor of urban life up to the early 1800's gave way to sanitation reforms, fresh water supplies and plumbing (no more raw sewage running in the streets...), less crowding/proper isolation, central heating etc., all of which radically changed public health standards. Add to this an increasing awareness of nutrition, better food preservation and the ability to import fresh fruits and vegetables in the winter months (no more lard pies day in and day out...) and you can begin to see how people were better able to fend off disease. These two factors are what truly control contagious/infectious disease.
Airborne viruses were not meant to be injected directly into the bloodstream. They normally enter through the nasal passages where the body's defence system initiates a process of filtration. Coughing, sneezing and secretion of a local antibody in the respiratory tract is followed by involvement of the tonsils, lymph nodes and other immune organs. But when the normal port of entry is bypassed and viruses are injected directly into muscle tissue, they are driven deep into the body and given immediate access to all internal organs, including the brain, where they can do unrestricted damage. Further, attenuated and "killed" viruses will not provoke the body's major inflammatory response nor its non-specific immune defences. Therefore this form of virus, found in vaccines, remains in the body and causes continuous antigenic stimulation of the immune system which weakens immune defences and can lead to cancer, leukemia and autoimmune disease. [7]
Viruses and the human body have co-existed for millennia, and over that period of time attained a state of equilibrium (as is nature's way until man interferes). The relationship, if not symbiotic, may in some ways be mutually beneficial. Obviously viruses are reliant on the human body, but conversely, research is beginning to indicate that the human body also depends on certain viruses for maturation of its immune system.
Vaccination and the subsequent lack of contagious infectious disease in early
childhood may foster the development of asthma and other autoimmune disorders
later in life. A study in New Zealand reports that of 1,265 children
born in 1977, 23 received no childhood vaccinations and none suffered childhood
asthma. Among the 1,242 who got polio and DPT shots, 23% later had episodes
of asthma, 23% had asthma consultations and 30% had consultations for other
allergic illness.
According to information published in The Lancet in 1996, certain findings
indicate that measles infection prevents allergic sensitization. After comparing
two groups of young adults in West Africa, one which had recovered from a
natural measles epidemic while the other had not contracted measles and were
later vaccinated, researchers found that the vaccinated group had twice the
rate of allergic conditions than the group who had recovered from measles. In
addition, according to WHO statistics, those who are inoculated against measles
have a 15 times greater chance of contracting the disease than those who are
unvaccinated.
[8]
However, due to vaccination, the infection may be
atypical measles which is an especially vicious form that resists treatment,
or it may be the so-called "mild measles" with under-developed rash
-- the type that does not provoke a full inflammatory response and so remains
latent in the body and may result in chronic or degenerative disease, including
cancer.
[9]
In December 1988, an article was published in the New York Times by Dr. John
Walker-Smith of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. This expert on
intestinal diseases had found a sharp increase of Crohn's disease in children
of East Indian origin who had grown up in Great Britain. In India the
disease is "very, very rare". Dr. Walker-Smith concludes that
the lack of many childhood infections may allow children in the West to grow
up without the vigorous development of their immune system such infection
would normally promote.
[10]
Diabetes is another autoimmune disorder that has increased substantially in
the last three decades, coinciding with the significant increase in childhood
immunizations. The pertussis vaccine in particular is known to cause
diabetes in mice, and medical literature as early as 1949 reported that some
children injected with the pertussis vaccine had reduced blood glucose levels. Dr.
J. Barthelow Classen, former researcher at the U.S. National Institutes of
Health, states that juvenile diabetes increased 60% following a massive Hep
B vaccination campaign for babies six weeks or older in New Zealand from 1988
to 1991.
[11]
Also, Finland's incidence of diabetes increased
147% in children under five after three new vaccines were introduced in the
1970s and diabetes increased 40% in children aged five to nine after the addition
of the MMR and Hib vaccines in the 1980s.
[12]
More recently, in September 00, Dr. Classen presented data at the International Public Conference on Vaccination proving vaccines are the largest cause of insulin dependent diabetes in children. His data indicated that vaccines cause approximately 80% of cases in children who have received multiple vaccines starting at two months of age. Amazingly, a week later the CDC also presented data at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy that supported Dr. Classen's findings. Diabetics have been advised to seek counsel before their right to compensation expires.
The burgeoning incidence of autism may also be correlated with rampant vaccine
use. Although genetic factors are well accepted, there are variants
of autism and it is known as an etiologically heterogeneous, or multi-causal,
disorder. For some children, genetic vulnerability may interact with
insults on the developing nervous system to lead to autism.
[13]
There is increasing evidence of immune system abnormalities
in autism. A substantial number of reports on this subject have appeared
in medical journals since the 1980s and most of these articles present data
that appear to support the theory of a connection between immune system dysfunction
and some cases of autism.
[14]
Infectious agents in the prenatal or postnatal period may be a factor in the
development of autism. The most common mechanism appears to be a direct
toxic effect on brain cells from infection (encephalitis).
[15]
Strangely enough, viral infections are
considered causal for autism if they occur 'naturally', as in measles encephalitis,
but not if they occur after vaccination. Yet the Cure Autism Now (CAN)
foundation in Los Angeles relates that approximately one-half of the hundreds
of parents who call their office each month report that their child became
autistic shortly after receiving a vaccination.
Evidence for an autism pandemic is mounting. In California there was
a 273% increase in the number of children with autism from 1987 to 1998 and
in Florida it's up 571%. According to U.S. state education data, we have
seen increases of 876% in 8 years in New Jersey, 627% in 6 years in Illinois,
1200% in 10 years in Broward, Miami and a 13-fold increase in 6 years in Colorado. In
1992 the education authority of Wakefield, West Yorkshire in the U.K. had
five autistic pupils. Just seven years later in 1999 that number had
jumped to 111, a 22-fold increase!
Autism is a relatively new disorder, first diagnosed in the mid 1940's. When
the first cases began to appear, researchers were puzzled by the high incidence
of autistic children in well-educated, upper class families. Of course,
these were the families who could afford private doctors and would request
the latest advancements in medicine for their children -- in this case the
latest medical marvel was the pertussis vaccine. As would be expected,
as soon as free vaccinations became available at public health clinics across
the country, autism became an equal-opportunity disease.
[16]
Another recent addition to childhood disorders is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity
disorder -- ADHD. It spread rapidly among school children in the 1950's
and in 1963 was officially dubbed MBD (minimal brain dysfunction). It
was soon noted that this disorder appeared to lie at the root of nearly every
type of childhood behavior problem, with children typically exhibiting symptoms
related to neurological damage.
[17]
Today, it is thought that one out of five children
have learning disabilities, hyperactivity and associated developmental disabilities.
Teachers complain that their students are cognitively inferior and have shorter
attention spans than those they taught in the 1960's, and that "kids'
brains must be different these days".
[18]
In fact, SAT scores for verbal and math skills,
as well as IQ levels, have steadily declined since 1964. Sadly, neurological
damage is often a harbinger of social violence and crime. Nearly ninety percent
of juvenile delinquents suffer from learning disabilities and in one study
of hyperactive children it was found that they were twenty times more likely
to end up in a reform school than their peers.
Even those considered among the country's elite are not exempt from vaccine
injury. Despite military and FDA assurances that the anthrax vaccine
is safe (believe it or not, the FDA reports that it "has fewer side effects
than some childhood immunizations"), a war is raging over the hazardous
effects it may have on a recipients health, and the rights of military personnel
to refuse it on that basis. It seems the producer of the vaccine, BioPort
corp., is also having its share of difficulties. After separate recommendations
by the House subcommittee and Congress earlier this year to suspend the anthrax
vaccination program (which the Pentagon ignored), the vaccine was recalled
by its maker last month due to 'labelling problems'. Amidst audits,
missing documents, and lack of FDA approval for renovated labs, BioPort has
just been hit with another controversy. Their anthrax vaccine has been
implicated in the death of one of their employees. Richard Dunn had been required
to take the anthrax vaccine because his work involved the monitoring of test
animals. His death in July was due to "an inflammatory response
to the vaccine throughout his body" according to Chief Medical Examiner
Dr. Robert Joyce. BioPort officials are "shocked and puzzled"
by the coroner’s findings. A month after his last dose, Dunn had been
complaining of fatigue and swelling. He was sent to the company's doctors
who examined him three times and determined there was no connection to the
vaccine.
Gulf War Syndrome is a seriously debilitating condition that has NOT been
taken seriously by military bureaucrats. From the outset, many have
categorically denied its existence, let alone having anything to do with its
cause. Not surprisingly, one simple fact speaks for itself -- of the
28 coalition countries that sent troops to the Gulf, only French troops are
not exhibiting symptoms of GWS. France is the only country that did not vaccinate
their troops.
[19]
The Journal of Degenerative Diseases