Vaccinations

Children are being removed from parental custody for the purpose of mandatory vaccinations

You think it couldn't happen to you or your family? It already has in Arkansas. And, there are those who want to make it mandatory at a Federal level.

Vaccination is being touted as a safe and effective means of reducing overall healthcare cost in America. The latest figure I heard was that for every dollar spent on vaccination, ten dollars in future healthcare costs would be saved. In the best interests of everyone, the argument goes, let's mandate universal vaccination. The assumption is that vaccination has no ill effects and that only benefits can accrue. How accurate are those assumptions?

Did you know that the introduction of measles vaccine thirty years ago was responsible for the measles epidemic in 1989 through 1991? Fifty-five thousand were affected; 20% of them required hospitalization; and 13 died, most of them infants. Suddenly, instead of a relatively common and benign childhood illness we now had a serious, life-threatening epidemic. Why? The measles vaccine was supposed to impart lifelong immunity: however, it failed. Furthermore, unlike naturally acquired immunity, vaccination doesn't provide immune factors that cross the placenta to the fetus. Therefore, there was an entire generation of susceptible infants and a large group of adults whose artificial immunity had "worn out." So, instead of eliminating measles, the vaccine shifted the disease to two groups-infants and adults-for whom it is a far more serious and life-threatening disease. The CDC is now advising a second measles vaccination for everyone born after 1957. And then what? A third? (Health Facts, Volume XVIII, No. 171, August 1993)

Other, little known facts regarding vaccination include:

1. Most of the disease for which vaccines have been developed had already lost their virulence before the introduction of the vaccine. Outstanding examples include polio, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles.

2. Polio is a disease of vaccination. Dr. William F. Koch, M.D., PhD. stated that "(T)he injection of any serum, vaccination or even penicillin has shown a very marked increase in the incidence of polio: at least 400 %." (emphasis added) Repeatedly, in the U.S., mass immunization programs have been followed by an outbreak of polio.

3. Pertussis vaccine caused an adverse neurological reaction in a large test population in 1 in every 389 cases.

4. Unfortunately, a great deal of money is invested in this issue. More is at stake here than the public interest. Barbara Fisher, who served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee at the request of the Secretary of Health and Human Services and who worked for ten years with staff from the FDA, the CDC and other policy makers to reform the mass vaccination system puts it this way: "We have bad science and bad medicine translated into law to insure that vaccine manufacturers make big profits... As the drug companies have often stated in meetings I have attended, if a vaccine they produce is not mandated to be used on a mass basis, they do not recoup their R & D costs and don't make the profits they want." (Foregoing data from The Chiropractic Journal, September 1993.)

Now, there's a new vaccine available - for Hepatitis B - and the CDC is recommending universal immunization for infants. However, the Pediatric News recently reported that a majority of pediatricians are opposed to the vaccination. (Health Facts, August 1993) Hepatitis B is a lifestyle disease - one acquired by high risk behaviors. Why subject all babies to a vaccine very few may need - particularly when there is practically no long-term information on the risks and benefits of the vaccination? Currently, many infants are being vaccinated in the hospital and the parents don't even realize it.

I have drawn much of my information from two lengthy articles I have in my office. It is impossible for me to provide the wealth of data these articles contain in this limited space. You truly need to read them for yourself. Send a self-addressed business sized envelope with 2 stamps to RFHC, and we will send you your copies immediately.

If your parental concerns are not satisfied by the materials and references, please contact my office for a personal consultation on this subject.

 Does this apply to you? If so, see our information on Consultations.

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Infant Vaccinations

As many of you know, vaccinating infants and small children can be very dangerous. Until now, there has never been an adequate means of tracking the true extent of the problem. The newly established National Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, in its first ever report, revealed 17,221 serious adverse reactions, including 360 deaths, in the 20 months ending July 31, 1992. However, the fear is that the true incidence is still being underreported, with some physicians not complying and others masking adverse reactions by the concomitant prescription of Tylenol.

BE AWARE; A child that runs a high fever (102 to 103 degrees) in response to a vaccine, one who cries shrilly and inconsolably; or one who suddenly becomes apathetic and lethargic may be having an adverse reaction to the vaccine. The dangers include brain damage and even death. A child who has reacted to one of the series of vaccines is at greatly increased risk when given the next of the series. Standard medical practice now mandates over 18 separate vaccinations.

Recently, hepatitis B vaccine has been publicized in the public schools and by pediatricians. The goal is global immunization, yet there is no spread of the disease except by contact with infected blood-infected blood getting into a healthy body, via injection, dirty drug needles, an open wound or possibly the mucous membrane of the eye. The latest recommendation is that newborns be vaccinated in the hospital. How wise is that? Who is truly benefiting from this policy, when you consider the risks of actually getting the disease?

Many of you are aware of the risks of the Pertussis vaccine. The issue was widely publicized when the manufacturer refused to produce vaccine unless indemnified by the government from claims due to vaccine reactions. However, other vaccines are dangerous too. Most noticeably: measles, mumps and rubella.

Until now, in California, parents who do not wish their children immunized have been protected by the First Amendment. A waiver can be obtained from the local board of education stating that vaccinating is contrary to the family's personal beliefs. However, all of that may change.

Hillary Clinton, early in her husband's administration tried to reform the nation's healthcare system. The program she had earlier instituted in Arkansas included the toughest mandatory vaccination law in the nation. Children are being removed from parental custody to enforce the vaccination law and many parents are moving out of state to protect their children. What would happen if vaccination is mandated on a federal level? At what point will universal vaccination become one of the cornerstones of a national effort to reduce healthcare costs?

If you want further information or wish to get involved in this important fight, contact National Vaccine Information Center 512 W. Maple Ave., Suite 206 Vienna, VA 22180 -703-938-3783.

If you are being exposed to this information for the very first time, you may want to read the book Vaccines, Are They Really Safe and Effective? - A Parent's Guide to Childhood Shots, by Neil Z. Miller. This book is also available through National Vaccine Information Center or the new Atlantean Press. You may also order the book through your local bookstore.

Inform yourself. Weigh the benefits and risks. Protect yourself and your family.

 Does this apply to you? If so, see our information on Consultations.

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Vaccines?

How long have alternative health care practitioners been warning against the dangers of vaccines for children? To me, it seems like forever. We’ve been assured and reassured that the vaccines are perfectly safe for our innocent children. Well, have you heard the latest? Now that President Bush wants to reintroduce universal small pox vaccinations, the American Academy of Pediatrics is warning that the vaccine is unsafe, and may be life-threatening in certain cases. This after a world-wide campaign to eradicate small pox via vaccination. Didn’t the risks to people in other parts of the world matter? And, what about all of us who received the vaccine in the 50’s? Was our health also unimportant? I actually have a different question: If the smallpox vaccine is unsafe for the United States population as a whole, what makes vaccines safe for children? The incidence of side effects is very similar. Does anybody else notice how illogical this is?

Along the same line, there is an interesting article in the November issue of Discover magazine. Human DNA differs from chimpanzee DNA by less than 5%. (I just can’t remember whether it’s 1% or 3%!) The human genome project has revealed some interesting data. Our DNA is littered with bits of “junk” DNA that serve no clearly defined function; those scraps account for nearly one-half of our genome. For some time, scientists have believed that these bits were introduced by viruses incorporating themselves into our DNA. In comparing human DNA to primate DNA, the scientists compared a specific family of these “junk” segments and discovered that only one of them is present in humans, but not in chimps. So, the new thinking is that this one element caused humans and chimps to diverge and essentially making us human. Even without the evolutionary argument, the question remains: What are we doing, introducing attentuated viruses directly into the blood stream of our children? When vaccines were first developed, the virologists (scientists who specialize in the study of viruses) were appalled. Their contention was that we were introducing foreign DNA into the human genome and with unknown long-term consequences. The argument remains valid; and, this latest information only strengthens it.

Does this apply to you? If so, see our information on Consultations.

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Herbal Alternative to Flu Shots

Cold and flu season is upon us again. I would like to make some recommendations to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy during this time of year. It will probably come as no surprise to you that I don't think a flu shot is a good idea. Let me share with you some of the reasons why.

In the first place, the influenza virus mutates almost as fast as the common cold. Every year, vaccine makers play a guessing game as they try to predict which strain of the flu will be making the rounds this year. Since it takes several months to prepare a large quantity of flu vaccine, there is a pretty slim chance that the match will be good (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 14 May 1993.)

You may have missed the fact that in 1976 there was a huge public health fiasco when the flu vaccine actually paralyzed 565 infants with Guillain Barré Syndrome. Hundreds more suffered major side effects and the government eventually paid out more that $400 million in damages to the victims' families when it was proven that the government had foreknowledge that this particular vaccine was dangerous. When a top research scientist, J. Anthony Morris, tried to warn the public, he was fired by the Division of Biologic Standards, the federal agency in charge of vaccine safety! (Coulter, H., Fisher, B., A Shot In The Dark, Avery Press, 1991)

What you may not know is that there is a statistically significant connection between flu shots and Alzheimer's Disease. Hugh Fudenburg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticist who has published about 850 peer-reviewed professional papers, explains: "If an individual had 5 consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980, the chances of Alzheimer's disease was 10 times greater than those getting . . . no shots." [NVIC International Conference, Sept 1997)

Much of the information contained in this letter is contained in the book The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is Not Immunization by Tim O'Shea. I highly recommend it as a well-researched and documented indictment of America's public health policy on vaccination.

Instead of flu shots, I recommend that you improve your own immune function. In fact, I have patients with the flu in my office every season - yet, I seldom develop the flu. One approach is to take the extremely potent Echnicacea we carry from Medi Herb, which is distributed in America by Standard Process. It's called Echinacea Premium and is more than twice as potent as over-the-counter Echinacea preparations. If you have some on hand, put a bit of it on your tongue. If it doesn't tingle, it's missing essential active ingredients.

Echinacea is safe to be taken prophylactically. It is not like golden seal, which contains an alkaloid that can damage the liver with long-term use. Echinacea simply revs up the immune system. Should you start to feel ill, immediately add our St. John's Wort to your protocol. The Medi-Herb product is, again, different from over-the-counter preparations. American processed St. John's Wort is processed only to maintain the active ingredient which is believed to be anti-depressant. However, Medi-Herb St. John's Wort which is produced in Australia preserves the anti-viral fraction, as well. The result: a potent anti-viral compound that is extremely effective against a wide range of viral illness, including herpes, influenza, colds, chronic fatigue associated with viral infections such as Cytomegalovirus, etc. It is not effective against "naked" viruses, like wart viruses.

So, to protect yourself, get started on Echinacea Premium right away. We keep a supply of it and the St. John's Wort on hand at all times. I hope this fall season you stay well; if not, call us so that we can help you get back on your feet as soon as possible.

Does this apply to you? If so, see our information on Consultations.

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Hepatitus B Vaccine

The recent media blitz regarding school children and Hepatitis B vaccine is of extreme concern to me.

Hepatitis B vaccine is mandatory before registering your 7th grader in school. (For those of you who are unaware, Hepatitis B vaccine is also administered in the hospital to newborns.) What you didn't hear is that, in California, you can request a waiver based upon personal conscience and belief.

Even more importantly, no one is publicizing the controversy surrounding this vaccine. Recently, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (MPS), an independent organization representing more than 4,000 medical doctors, recommended an immediate moratorium on mandatory Hepatitis B vaccinations for school children pending further research about possible dangerous side effects.

In the first place, Hepatitis B represents a health risk to only certain high risk populations: those who are sexually promiscuous; people who, at work, have contact with human blood; and intravenous drug users who commonly share needles. Hemophiliacs, who receive blood factors via transfusion and babies whose mother is infected are also at risk. Hepatitis B cannot be spread by casual contact, through food, or water.

In 1998, according to the New York Times, France suspended Hepatitis B vaccines for schoolchildren due to fears that the vaccines were causing multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders. In March of 1999, the World Health Organization issued a follow-up report stating that the vaccination program had been discontinued, with no current plan to reinstate it.

In the US, the National Vaccine Information Center, a parent group based in Washington, DC, issued a report that of the millions of children born in the U.S. between July 1, 1990 and October 31, 1998, a total of 24,775 adverse events, including 439 deaths were allegedly linked to the vaccine. The raw data links the vaccine to long-term multiple sclerosis-like symptoms, including joint pain and cognitive problems. The FDA, of course, disputes these findings.

In June, Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of AAPS, testified before Congress and called for an immediate halt to the vaccine. The AAPS is attempting to publicize the fact that, based upon data taken from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System that children younger than 14 are three times more likely to die or suffer adverse reactions after receiving Hepatitis B vaccines than to catch the disease.

It is the position of the AAPS that the process of mandating vaccines is riddled with special interest groups and "incestuous ties with agencies that stand to gain power." Further, the AAPS makes the case that school districts which require vaccination are practicing medicine without a license.

If you want to be proactive, here are some actions you can take: if you live in California and are currently pregnant or have school age children, you can avail yourself of the waiver provision in California law to protect your children from this potentially dangerous and unnecessary procedure. In other states, you will have to check your local regulations. Check directly with the school board, asking if they have a waiver based upon personal beliefs (it is a First Amendment exception). Furthermore, if you feel strongly about this issue, contact your Congressmen and Senators (federal and local), informing them of your dismay that medical decisions are being taken out of the hands of parents.

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