Vaccines: A Friend's Reply

Here are some comments I found somehow in my spam from a respected friend and medical intern.  These comments are in regard to my post on Vaccines which brought up some areas of debate.  I unfortunately didn't see them earlier and thought it would be fair for me to share without any alterations, edits, or reply. I respect his position and hope this encourages an open forum -


As mentioned before, I believe your intentions are honest and your desire to provide health advice pure, even if we disagree on several points. You are correct to believe that there has been and continues to be a link between medical training and pharm companies, but I think this relationship is much smaller and less profound than you believe it to be. During my first two years of school, anyone lecturing on pharmacology had to disclose any conflicts of interest. At all national and international meetings where new research and treatments are presented, presenters and authors disclose any conflicts of interest as a matter of routine. Failing to disclose this information or fraudulently denying ties to the pharm companies carries serious consequences and will essentially ruin the career of anyone who does it. As a whole, the medical community is sensitive to this issue because there have been problems in the past, and many changes have been made and regulations put in place to control these problems. (You'll often hear doctors complain they don't even get free pens anymore) Several years ago I read about a Harvard medical student who called out his professor because he failed to disclose his ties to the industry and gave biased lectures. Harvard has since changed policies to keep this from happening again. (Surprisingly, most medical schools already had these policies in place, way to lead the way Harvard) I'm not naive enough to believe there won't ever be problems again at any medical school, and I actually believe some industry money is a good thing provided it is closely monitored and drives innovation and new research. Any education I've received regarding drugs during medical school has been couched in terms of safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and mechanism of action. Occasionally the price of the drug is brought into the discussion, but only in terms of trying to save the patient money with an equally efficacious and safe generic. I honestly can plead ignorance as to who manufactures almost any of the drugs I've come in contact with during medical school.

Regarding diabetes, diet and exercise, or "lifestyle modification" is always the first step undertaken when treating a patient with diabetes and exists in many official standard of care algorithms used by physicians. I have witnessed this first hand while working in a family practice clinic last year. (This clinic even had a diabetes nutritionist on staff to help educate people with a new diagnosis or anyone who needed further help) As you very well know, not everyone actually modifies their lifestyles, and short of going to their homes and forcing them spit out their sprinkled donuts, there's not much else we can do for people who don't have the desire to change. I'm glad I'll have more than just a hammer in my tool belt when I encounter those patients. When diet and exercise fails, I'll have a wide variety of pharmacological tools to employ, and can actually tailor my therapies in accordance to various co-morbid conditions a particular patient might have. It is true that for patients whose HbA1c levels are off the charts, we will start some drugs right away, but we do try some some prevention before reaction in this instance. For a humorous account about why medicine does tend to be more reactive than proactive, read this link. http://www.pandabearmd.com/2007/04/25/pie-will-out/ a small taste: Most education, like most preaching, is ineffectual. The parson can talk himself blue in the face but the bars will still be open and the fancy women will have no shortage of customers because unless people have some strong personal motivation for change, a motivation which cannot be accessed by the usual uninspired preacher or government scold, they will continue to indulge their immediate gratification at the expense of of some unknowable future punishment. Late at night, when the motivational speakers have gone home and the skinny lady from the university has stopped trying to extract impossible promises, the siren call of the pecan pie in the refrigerator is irresistible. Pie will out. This simple yet seductive desert will trump our best efforts. When you’re three hundred pounds hoping to lose the fleshy equivalent of a couple of sixth graders, the smooth seduction of caramelized Karo syrup and the smokey crunch of jumbo pecans offers immediate gratification with which no nebulous promise of low blood pressure can hope to compete. It was my mistake to bring up the autism link as you did not, and I didn't mean to imply that you did. I should have stated instead that one can't dismiss any and all research showing benefit from vaccines because one believes they are funded by pharm companies. As we both acknowledge, the bias goes both ways. I think we will have part ways about our positions on the flu vaccine. To be clear, your stance in one of opinion and not logic. (Although I whole heartedly admire and acknowledge that your stance on the matter is a rather ballsy one) To believe as you do, that "it is impossible to have any valid vaccine to prevent the flu" is to believe that legions of employees from the CDC, World Health Organization and pharmaceutical companies, as well as countless pediatricians and physicians, most of whom are rather well educated folks who routinely get the flu vaccine themselves, are motivated not by compassion but by greed, and are all in on some massive conspiracy aimed at getting unsuspecting victims to fork up 20 bucks once a year to get thimerosol injections. It is also to believe that all the research supporting the use of the influenza vaccine is written by dishonest people willing to not only gamble their professional credibility, but are willing to inject even their own children to keep the charade alive, year after year. I can't possibly believe that, but I respect the level of conviction needed to.

Vaccines- Let's Discuss

I first feel like I need to apologize for doing a vaccine post. I told myself that this was one subject I wasn't going to touch on, and I've gone back and forth on this decision.  I know my choice may open up debate, and subject myself to criticism, but hey, at least I might finally get a comment on my blog.

I usually post information I have learned in class or other forms of information provided in my education.  I am on break right now, so this is not a lecture of some sort.  Rather, I have had much exposure to vaccine education and I will try to provide as much research and articles I can on certain subjects, mixed with my own honest opinions.  And when I say honest- I will come out and say that I am not for nor am I against vaccines.  This is not an idle position.  I have my own stance on the subject, planted firmly with conviction, but I feel that I do not have the right to force people one way or the other.  It is my responsibility however to provide complete information that will allow for others to make their own choices using reason and logic and not fear and persuasion.  I admit, I may sound a bit bias in this blog, but that's part of the reason for this post.  I recently have read on article which resembles how people are sadly misled and misinformed. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/cost-vaccine-refusal/

This article put blame on the unvaccinated people for starting a measle outbreak and costing $800,000 for the government to contain it.  Sounds pretty scary.  Really?  This article is filled with fear and misleading and incomplete information.  Was anyone seriously hurt?  I counted one in the ICU and another had sever asthma attacks, but that was only 2 people out of how many? 14? 21? 363? Their numbers seem to vary. And I failed to read anyone dying.  And I love how they bring in the children and mention someone with Down Syndrome and someone with Brain Cancer to play with the reader's emotions and yet never really say what happened as a result.  Probably because nothing did.  Let me see if I can fill in the missing sentence. "And infected, among others someone with brain cancer and someone with Down Syndrome . . . who came down with a fever, cough and cold for a fews days and soon fully recovered." Hmm, sounds very serious. And my favorite- How much is $800,000?  Is it a lot?  It sounds like a lot, but it's interesting how the article never explains anything or puts it into any comparison.  So it costs $800,000 unnecessarily spent to contain a disease that had no real threat.  Let's compare.  How much does it cost to vaccinate?  How much does it cost to pay to treat the side effects of these vaccinations? And how much money goes right into the pockets of the Pharmaceutical companies?  Funny how the article doesn't mention any more numbers.  Sounds incomplete to me, but most bias and fear based articles are.

It's articles like these that make me frustrated, only telling one side of the story and completely ignoring the other side.  But I say again I am not bias.  If there was an article saying that vaccines were evil and had no benefits- I would be the first to raise my hand and ask, "Did you forget about Polio and Small Pox?"  So, it's not a matter of whose right and whose wrong, it's a matter of being fair to the reader and provide the whole truth.  And if an article is going to attack one side, it's fair game to be put into question- as it should be.  But the one second I question this article, I get put with the stigma of, "You're just trying to stir controversy"  Really?  I never questioned vaccines, nor did I say anything "Controversial", I was just simply questioning the integrity of the article.  If one is going to be offensive over being questioned, sounds a little fishy to me.

My comments were called "controversial" by a friend who just recently graduated as an RN.  I was soon humbled by her vast knowledge on the subject and incredible research. (when I say "vast", I mean copied and paste and when I say "research", I mean studies manipulated by the pharmaceutical companies).  I was then asked to share my research.  First, I prefer logic over manipulated research.  Second, even if I did share any research, it would be labeled "unreliable" before even reading it.  Sorry, I'm not going to play "My dad is stronger than your dad" game.  I don't play those games.  Rather, I would like to play the, "Your dad is a dishonest Billionaire who takes advantage of his consumers for his gain who sacrifices health and ethics over money" game.  Let's play

What Are Vaccines?
          Vaccines are "a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease." (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vaccine)
"A suspension of attenuated or killed microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, or rickettsiae), or of antigenic proteins derived from them, administered for prevention, amelioration, or treatment of infectious diseases"
(http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/vaccine).  It was Edward Jenner who first discovered the idea of vaccines over 200 years ago when he noticed that the milkmaids who often became sick with cow pox, never got sick with small pox.  He put this to a test, injecting the neighbor's boy who had never been exposed to cow or small pox with the cow pox disease.  Weeks later, he injected the same boy with small pox and the boy never developed symptoms.  This was the beginning of modern day vaccines. (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/vaccines/research/Pages/cowsVaccines.aspx).  Since then, through the several decades when society has been plagued by a disease, vaccines have been formed to help protect the public, which includes Yellow fever, Typhoid fever, Tuberculosis, Tetanus, Small Pox, Rubella, Rabies, Polio, Pneumonia, Mumps, Measles, Lyme's Disease, Hepatitis, Diptheria, Influenza, and several others that have recently developed.  I agree with Dr. Jennifer Barham-Floreani when saying that "Vaccination makes a lot of sense and the intention is honorable."

What Are The Results?
          This is the debatable issue, each side arguing one way or the other.  Using the MMR (Mumps, Measles and Rubella) vaccine, since this is the one in question from the article and often the most debated, the product insert stated on the Merck website states, "For measles, 894,134 cases reported in 1941 compared to 288 cases reported in 1995 resulted in a 99.97% decrease in reported cases; for mumps, 152,209 cases reported in 1968 compared to 840 cases reported in 1995 resulted in a 99.45% decrease in reported cases; and for rubella, 57,686 cases reported in 1969 compared to 200 cases reported in 1995 resulted in a 99.65% decrease."  Sounds impressive.  Even certain websites show graphs of dramatic decline in cases since the introduction of vaccines. (http://vaccinateyourchildren.wordpress.com/graphs-and-data).  While on the other hand, other websites argue that these same diseases were already in decline before the vaccines were administered. (http://www.vaccineinitiative.org/?p=290).  While both of these websites seem to be impressive one way or the other, in reality these websites are both flawed.  While those against vaccines show a decline before vaccinations, they only refer to deaths and not the number of cases.  Those pro vaccinations ignore the decline in deaths, but show the number of cases remained the same until the vaccinations were administered.  They argue that even though deaths were low, some of these cases included serious complications.  What they don't tell you is that these serious complications are rare.  In most cases, these diseases are treatable and soon recoverable.  "The decline in infectious diseases in developed countries had nothing to do with vaccinations, but with the decline in poverty and hunger." -Dr Buchwald, M.D.
But if vaccines have declined incidence, then there should be nothing to treat anyway.  Sounds good to me.  Graphs show a decline in cases of most of these diseases, but I question- At what price?

What Are The Effects Of The Disease vs Vaccination?
          This is where it gets interesting.  The CDC states that symptoms and complications of the Measles include fever, runny nose, cough, and rash with complications of ear infection, pneumonia, encephalitis, miscarriage in women who are pregnant, and possible death (in undeveloped countries). (http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/overview.html)
More complications include Strep, Blindness, Bronchitis, Hepatitis, SSPE, deafness, convulsions, and paralysis.  However, this same source states that the Measles primarily occur in children ages 6-15 years of age, where before vaccines almost every child had and recovered from Measles before the age of 15 yrs.  Following that statement, we read, "measles in teenagers and adults or in very young infants can be much more severe with serious complications." (http://www.nvic.org/Vaccines-and-Diseases/MMR.aspx).  So before vaccines, the measles were in children who often recovered without complications.  Now due to vaccinations, most cases of measles are now found in older children and adults which have more serious effects.  It also mentions the infants as well, but studies show that vaccines don't protect the infants anyway.  Vaccines are not supposed to be administered to children under the age of 15 months, and have never been studied for the effects of the vaccine under the age of 12 months.  And the mother who is vaccinated does not pass on antibodies to the child, while the mother who had natural measles will pass on antibodies to protect the child for the first year of life.  So, who is hurting the newborn child?  The natural measles where the mother passes on antibodies to protect the child, or vaccines where the infant is left with no antibodies for protection. I'll let you decide
So what about the effects of vaccines- looking at the MMR.  Here we go.  Panniculitis; atypical measles; fever; syncope; headache; dizziness; malaise; irritability; vasculitis; pancreatitis; diarrhea; vomiting; parotitis; nausea; diabetes mellitus; thrombocytopenia; purpura; regional lymphadenopathy; leukocytosis; anaphylaxis; phenomena; angioneurotic edema; bronchial spasm; arthritis; arthralgia; myalgia; encephalitis; encephalopathy; measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE); subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE); Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS); febrile convulsions; afebrile convulsions or seizures; ataxia; polyneuritis; polyneuropathy; ocular palsies; paresthesia; pneumonitis; sore throat; cough; rhinitis; Stevens-Johnson syndrome; erythema multiforme; urticaria; rash; measles-like rash; pruritis; burning/stinging at injection site; wheal and flare; redness; swelling; induration; tenderness; vesiculation at injection site; nerve deafness; otitis media; retinitis; optic neuritis; papillitis; retrobulbar neuritis; conjunctivitis; epididymitis; orchitis - and oh yeah Death.  Did you get all that.  And that's just from the vaccine directly, not to mention other indirect effects.  True, some of these conditions are rare, but when you start to add all the rare things together- They aren't exactly rare anymore.  My favorite is how the symptoms and complications of the natural measles are included in the complications of the vaccination- so what is the vaccine really doing?

Do Vaccines Prevent Disease?
          This was one subject I was called out on, asking if I didn't care about prevention.  Wait, when did the medical profession care about prevention, the same ones who prescribe one pill to take care of the effects of another.  I'm sorry, when someone came to you with diabetes symptoms- did you change their diet to prevent the progression of diabetes, or did you put them on insulin and watch them slowly decline?  Oh wait, so what you saying is that vaccines are suppose to prevent diseases.  Ok, let's take a look.  Some sources tell you that vaccines "create immunity that protects you from an infection without causing the suffering of the disease itself" (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vs-sv/vs-faq01-eng.php).  What they don't tell you is that it only boosts immunity for that particular disease.  The remaining results are staggering.  "Vaccinations depress our body's immune functions and that keeps us open to developing many other diseases" (http://www.mercola.com/article/vaccines/immune_suppression.htm).  There are several ways in which vaccines depress our immune system, but in general, the inoculation of a germ makes our immune system so tied up to that one particular disease that we become vulnerable to everything else.  Other diseases associated with vaccines due to immune suppression is Autism, Brain Damage, Seizures, Lymphatic Disease, Cancer, AIDS, Diabetes.  These aren't things to take very lightly.

"Cancer and other vile diseases are daily inflicted on virtuous families by vaccination." - Dr Edward Haughton, BAMD, MRCS

"Experts say 98 million Americans who took polio shots in the 1950s and 1960s may get a deadly brain cancer from the inoculations ... Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center say that a virus contaminated the polio vaccine and they have now found genetic material from the virus in a number of brain cancer victims." - Dr Jacob Rachlin quoted from Weekly World News of Lantana

When I think of vaccine prevention, I think of a basketball shoe.  Yes, a basketball shoe.  The basketball shoe has been developed over time, mainly to have a high top to prevent ankle injuries that often plagued basketball players.  In this noble cause they failed to acknowledge the poor support for the foot.  The lack of foot support has caused the foot arch to drop, creating flat feet and compromising the integrity of the structure of the foot.  Due to this change in structure, the knee is soon effected, and then hip and eventually the low back.  Soon enough over time one is complaining of foot pain, knee pain, hip pain, and back pain, but by golly they sure did prevent the ankle injury.  Vaccines are the same in fashion.  They do boost immunity for that particular disease, failing to cope for any other diseases that the body remains vulnerable to.

Is It Lying If You Don't Say Anything?
          I admit, this subject title is provocative, while I could just put, "What is in the vaccine?", but it wouldn't really prove my point.  I would be more pro vaccine if the injection was merely the disease like back in England 200 years ago with good old Edward Jenner.  I believe the birth of vaccinations started out as a noble and honorable task to protect the public.  Unfortunately, that same goal has been distorted.  In modern day vaccinations, the germ is accompanied with a variety of ingredients that are harmful.  It is shocking to me that many sources, even those pro vaccines show a list, maybe modified, but yet they do show a list of ingredients that are included, but yet act as if these ingredients have no effect.  Really?  They can't ignore that vaccines contain Mercury- and yet they mention it and pass it by as if it is not a neurotoxin or doesn't destroy the brain cells.

The reality of vaccines is the same as the reality of Dairy.  What do you hear about Dairy?  What are it's nutritional benefits?  Calcium . . . and that's pretty much it.  And using the logic that calcium is good for your bones, they add in the idea that "it does a body good".  What a Lie - Because what they don't tell you is that dairy also contains fats, phosphorus (which counteracts with the calcium, sometimes reversing it), bovine proteins which exceeds any amount a human really needs and is different than human milk, and several hormones (Both natural and injected).  While studies show dairy never has been proven to strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis, what you aren't told is that dairy is associated with most children allergies, GI diseases, diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and several other diseases.  And all you hear is how healthy Dairy is.  Probably the biggest Lie- well, besides vaccines.

Here are some ingredients found in vaccines. Let's take a look at what they don't tell you:

1. Mercury - (Thimerosal) - Neurotoxin and decrease mental function (while arguing that Mercury has no effect, they have taken it out of vaccines, all except the Flu vaccine- probably making it the most dangerous)
2. Aluminum - A toxin also decreases mental function, associated with Alzheimer's disease
3. Formaldehyde - carcinogenic
4. Antibiotics - cause of allergies
5. Acetone - neurotoxin
6. Antifreeze - cardiovascular dysfunction and acute kidney failure
7. Gelatin - cause of allergies
8. Egg Yolk - cause of allergies
9. 2-phenoxyethanol - toxic to cells and immune depressent
10. MSG - allergies, seizures, and brain tumors.

And those are just a few to mention.  There is also a list of preservatives.  Preservatives?  The Billionaires don't want to lose money, so just use preservatives and keep them on the shelf.  And I thought Twinkies were bad.  To be honest, if I had to choose a vaccine and a twinkie- I would chose the twinkie.  At least I would enjoy it- and have a greater chance to live longer.

If vaccines aren't preventive, then how can one protect themselves from diseases?  According to an article, the recent outbreak of Cholera in Haiti has shown incredible understanding of disease prevention.  The article states that those with proper hygiene, clean water, and good health are protected against the disease much more than those in poor living conditions.  Even more surprising is that it states that vaccines are no use, or at least will not be as effective as good living conditions.  (http://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2011/02/17/clean-water-education-haiti-cholera).  So what does that say about true prevention?  The key to protection is good health and building our immune system naturally.

Last Question - Where Is The Money?

          I truly would hope one would ask the question - Why is it so forced upon us to get vaccinated?  Hopefully this will enlighten any thoughts.  The medical doctors who force these vaccines on all of us are "Trained" at a medical school which is funded by the Pharmaceutical companies . . . who by the way provide the very vaccines given.  (Sounds like a conflict of interest to me).  And why don't we hear about this . . . oh yeah, they also fund the "Research".  The Pharmaceutical company is a Billion dollar industry.  You think they care about your health?  They just care about the money.  Just look at the H1N1 vaccine.  That vaccine was mass produced within months- untested- and for what- to protect us against a disease that was less threatening than the more common Flu.  And what about the Flu vaccine?  There are thousands of strands of the Flu and it changes every year.  There is no way a vaccine can prevent the Flu- yet, we are forced to get the vaccine.  It's the biggest scam of the medical profession.  What about the HPV vaccine?  Studies are now finding that the vaccine doesn't prevent cancer, and in fact in some cases can cause cancer.  I just found a website where they are now testing a vaccine for MRSA (a superbug that was created by the medical profession) and also for Traveler's Diarrhea. What?  Really?  Let's see how this conversation goes:

Patient:  I'm traveling and I'm afraid of getting Traveler's Diarrhea

Doctor:  Well, we have a vaccine for that

Patient:  But doesn't the side effect consist of Diarrhea

Doctor:  Not Traveler's Diarrhea, just "Diarrhea" symptoms

If you thought that was funny, check out this bit of info:
"VACCINES are the continuing success story, earning over $27 billion in 2009 alone, despite difficult economic times for the pharmaceutical industry . . . By 2012, vaccines are expected to bring in more than $35 billion in revenue." (http://www.iirusa.com/vbc/home.xml)

"Novavax Awarded $179M Contract by U.S. Govt:" (http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/03/01/novavax-awarded-17m-contract-govt-develop-flu-vaccines/)

"VaxInnate receives $196 million federal contract" (http://www.nj.com/business/times/index.ssf?/base/business-5/1303451138281250.xml&coll=5)

Are you kidding me.  Not only are these companies making Billions off of us- They are funded by the Government.  And that's just for vaccines alone.  Ethics have been thrown out the window.  We are taken advantage of.  We are being lied to.  They are making Billions based on our health, and I can't even question it?  If trying to be truthful is "Controversial"- then let's start stirring things up!