Originally posted by Allison Wolff on Eco Child’s Play on October 15, 2009

Last week, I participated in a community-based conversation about vaccinations at our local library that included two of our medical center’s nursing staff and a bunch of smart, well-researched, concerned moms. Though I’ve written two previous posts about vaccinations, I was compelled to write yet another to share the conclusion I and others came to at the end of this community discussion.

In my opinion, there are three vaccines that are clear examples of the government and the pharmaceutical industry pushing needless vaccines on the general public. These examples make me and other moms distrust the vaccination industry and the CDC, paralyzing us in our decision-making process about whether or not to vaccinate our kids and, if we do, for what diseases:

• The chickenpox vaccine: As Dr. Sears mentions in The Vaccine Book, chickenpox, though bothersome to go through, is almost never a life-threatening disease. Getting the virus, in most cases, provides lifelong immunity whereas the vaccine, if given according to the CDC’s recommended schedule, can wear off by the time a child reaches adulthood, when chickenpox can have more severe symptoms. Often vaccinated kids get chickenpox anyway because the vaccine is not completely effective. Further, the chickenpox vaccine is made with a number of controversial ingredients, including human and animal cells, cow fetus serum, and MSG. Lastly, severe cases of chicken pox are treatable with antivirals like acyclovir. Why give your kid a vaccine that is not very effective, wears off by adulthood putting the vaccinated individual at higher risk, and is full of controversial ingredients, when the disease is not deadly and getting it actually produces life-long immunity? I say bring on the chicken pox party!
• The Hep B Vaccine: Here’s a silly one…we’re giving a vaccine for a sexually and intravenously transmitted disease to all newborns just as they arrive (unless you tell the hospital you don’t want it which many parents don’t know they can do). Since it is unlikely that a newborn will contract an STD or shoot heroin, it doesn’t make sense to me that we would blanket newborns with a vaccine that has a much higher than normal frequency of severe side effects. What gives?
• Gardisil, the HPV vaccine: Gardisil, the Human Papillomavirus Virus vaccine, has had a great deal of news coverage of late. HPV causes genital warts and certain strains can cause cervical cancer. The vaccine is given to 11-12 year old girls in hopes of inoculating them before they become sexually active. Problem is, studies have shown that the vaccine wears off within 3-5 years, just as many girls actually start to become sexually active.  Further, this vaccine which, like the H1N1 vaccine, was fast-tracked through the FDA approval process, is causing  a high percentage of serious side effects.  Lastly, cervical cancer can be caught with regular pap smears, and usually successfully treated; warts can be removed. So, why give your daughter a vaccine that has proven ineffective, and is causing a much higher than normal percentage of severe side effects, for a disease that is preventable via other non-harmful methods?

These examples make me wonder about all vaccines, but particularly the  H1N1 vaccine.  I can’t help but put this one in my “suspicious” category as well, even though it hasn’t been around very long. Everything I read about this one smells like someone making money. The southern hemisphere has already gone through flu season and swine flu ran its course. So far the swine flu is no more deadly than the regular old flu that comes through year after year. The shot is full of controversial ingredients, including mercury or squalene as the adjuvant (squalene is the ingredient in the soldier-mandated anthrax vaccine from the first Gulf War and the cause of Gulf War Syndrome). The H1N1 vaccine is another fast-tracked vaccine which means it has undergone very few safety studies. They are finding that 2-4 shots must be given to ensure effectiveness. That can mean up to 48mcg of mercury, more than 3 times the “safe” amount for an adult that weighs 125lbs (if the shot you get uses Mercury as the adjuvant). Lastly, I think it’s interesting that one of the U.S.’s most famous doctor’s wife and children will not be getting the H1N1 vaccine. Check out this clip of Dr. Oz on CNN (sounds like his wife wears the pants in their family): Dr. Oz\’s Children Will NOT be Receiving H1N1 Vaccine

A nurse at our community meeting said it best: “Probably the best thing you can do this flu season is make sure you are prepared to hunker down at home for 2-4 weeks if the swine flu hits your home town hard. That means having enough food, tylenol, and anything else you need so that you don’t have to leave the house.” Personally, I’m more worried about the long-term effects of the vaccine than I am getting the virus. We plan to be prepared  to stay home vs risking putting a highly controversial vaccine into our or our baby’s bodies.

Here’s the problem with “suspicious” vaccines: mindful, research-oriented parents like me are beginning to distrust the entire vaccination industry and government recommendations because of the controversy surrounding vaccines that are pushed by the CDC yet have been proven ineffective (Gardisil, chickenpox), are inappropriate (Hep B), where the disease can be prevented by less risky means (Gardisil), or where the risks from getting the vaccine could be worse than getting the disease itself (all vaccines mentioned above).  Many of us parents have become paralyzed, only partially vaccinating or not vaccinating our kids at all.

Unfortunately, there are no clear answers, and, given the dynamics of big business and government pockets, it is hard to know who to trust. Dr. Mercola recently wrote an article pleading with parents to not give their children the H1N1 vaccine due its potential dangers and the unwarrented fear of the flu itself. In it, he mentions the size of government contracts for H1N1 producers. I know someone needs to produce (neccessary) vaccines and they should be paid for it, but, at what point, does greed come into play?

One of the main reasons I am generally tentative about vaccinations is that, in addition to my fears of short-term severe reactions, I am increasingly more concerned about the long-term effects of vaccines on our health, given the rise of unexplained autoimmune disease, autism, and neurological disorders that seem to have risen in parallel with the number of vaccinations we are administering to our children. Frankly, given these concerns plus the CDC push of seemingly unnecessary vaccines, I am having a hard time signing up to give my daughter any vaccines.  Yet I and many other mothers I talk to are concerned that, perhaps, some vaccines warrant being given. We wonder how stupid we will feel if our child contracts one of the actually deadly diseases because we chose not to vaccinate for it. We are on our own, as usual, taking our and our children’s health into our own hands.