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Harm of vaccinationThis is Part II of an article on the harm of vaccination. These and other articles formed part of a special report in a 1995 issue of The Good Life, which focused on bacteria and viruses, infectious diseases, immunity, vaccination and other related issues. Click here to read Part I. The first vaccine, against smallpox, was discovered by Edward Jenner in 1798. Many people believe that vaccines are effective in preventing disease. Are they, really?
Many people live in fear of “catching” all kinds of diseases, from the cold to cancer and Aids. And now, the latest fear is bird flu and people are worried that the Tamiflu vaccine that might protect against it is not readily available. We’ve been taught that diseases are caused by germs rather than inappropriate living and thinking. So we turn to vaccination. We deliberately expose ourselves to certain bacteria and viruses, in the hope that doing so would stimulate our immune response. Before we look at the harm of vaccination, perhaps we should first ask if vaccines have really protected us. Doctors say they have. In fact, the fall in rates of disease is actually the work of town planners, civil engineers and others who improved hygiene and living conditions. Before vaccination was introduced, disease rates were already declining rapidly. In Germany, smallpox vaccinations were introduced in 1875. But between 1872 and 1874, deaths from smallpox had plummeted from 70,000 to 1,000. (No typo error here, it is 70,000 to 1,000 -- a very dramatic decline.) The pattern is similar for other diseases – the death rate plunged before vaccination, not after. Click here to see some examples of graphs showing death rates from infectious diseases before and after vaccination. Typically, the graphs look like this:
The Lancet further discusses the harm of vaccination in an article, Measles and pertussis in developing countries with good vaccine coverage. Among those who have been vaccinated, these diseases often return in a more virulent form. Childhood diseases like measles and pertussis, or whooping cough, are actually the body’s way of throwing off inherited impurities. They are often harmless. A study of 500 pertussis cases, published in early 1995 in the British Medical Journal, found that most cases were mild. Only 5 cases developed pneumonia. Of these, 3 had been vaccinated. Because childhood illnesses are a means of discharge, suppressing them has led to more serious, long-term illnesses. Thus, the harm of vaccination lies not only in its side efects, but also in its role in suppressing natural -- and necessary -- body processes.
One study found that absence of measles is associated with “development of immureactive diseases, sebaceous skin diseases, degenerative diseases of bone and cartilage, and certain tumours.” Crohn’s disease – a chronic inflammation of the intestines – occurs three times more often in people vaccinated against measles. Absence of mumps is linked to higher risks of ovarian cancer. By suppressing diseases during childhood, these same diseases may occur in adult life, where there is higher risk of complications. Less than 5 percent of children under 3 years infected with hepatitis A become jaundiced. In contrast, 75 percent of infected adolescents and adults develop acute symptoms. By allowing childhood diseases to run their natural course, children develop long-term immunity without harm to the body’s immune system.
Harm of vaccination : Human degeneration The harm of vaccination was recognised as far back as 1884. At that time, J Compton Burnett, an English homeopath, wrote: The vaccinated person is poisoned by the vaccine virus… Burnett notes that vaccination is successful only when a person reacts to the virus. If not, the virus gets absorbed. And this leads to what he called “chronic vaccinosis” -- a chronic form of the very same disease that the person was supposed to have been vaccinated against. Early in the 20th century, American homeopath J H Allen warned that with vaccination, “the whole race will soon become degenerated.” Today, more doctors are concerned about the adverse and long-term harm of vaccination and mass immunisation. In a recent (mid-1990s) article in The Lancet, researchers reported that both DPT and MMR vaccinations have led to higher incidence of convulsion. They further noted a “casual association” between MMR vaccination and ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura), a bleeding disorder. In the US, more than 17,000 children were adversely affected by vaccines between November 1990 and August 1992. Of these, more than 300 children have died.
Ethics of vaccination One vocal critic of vaccination is Dr R Obomsawin, describes it as “a futile dream”. Dr Obomsawin was originally commissioned by the Canadian International Development Agency to write about the benefits of vaccination. But after his research, he wrote instead about the harm of vaccination. Dr Obomsawin even questioned the ethics of it: Vaccination inevitably weakens the immunologic system of the child, leaving this system crippled in its ability to protect the child throughout life. By weakening the immune system, vaccination contributes to auto-immune and degenerative diseases and allergic reactions. In his book, Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality, medical historian H L Coulter draws links between vaccination and autism, minimal brain damage, anti-social behaviour and violent crime. Click here to read more about the harm of vaccination in causing autism. Why are vaccines so harmful? One reason is that the bacteria and viruses of vaccines are cultivated in animal proteins, such as rabbit brain tissue, monkey kidney tissue, pig blood, etc. When injected into the body, these proteins turn toxic because proteins have to be broken down into amino acids by the digestive system before they can be utilised.
Harm of vaccination for young children Another problem is that the child’s immune system is not fully developed until about the age of 4. The child’s undeveloped immune system may not be able to distinguish between its own protein and foreign proteins. This can lead to auto-immune diseases, where the body’s immune system attacks its own cells. Foreign proteins also contain animal genetic information which may be picked up by the vaccine and implanted into human genes. This can result in genetic damage. Combining several vaccines can result in strange new viruses that cause strange new diseases. George Vithoulkas, a world-renowned homeopath, states: Instead of protecting people through vaccination, we are making humanity sick on a chronic level. In Singapore, only three vaccinations are legally required: diphtheria, measles and tetanus. The rest are given, and accepted, out of fear – of illnesses which may never get in the first place. One alternative to vaccination is homeopathy. But the best protection against disease is natural immunity, attainable by a natural, healthy lifestyle. A person of healthy mind and body will not easily fall ill. That person will also not be fearful of “catching” diseases.
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Moreover, vaccination has not stopped people from “catching” the very diseases that they have been vaccinated against. This is where the harm of vaccination comes in. Despite vaccination, many diseases are again on the rise: