I have a strong opinion on vaccines that may offend some people, but the fact is I don't have children and I have never tried to stand up against my child's doctor while they tell me that my child needs to receive vaccines in order for me to be a responsible parent or against a school in order for my child to attend. I had heard awful stories in this regard and although I cannot say that I exactly understand the feeling I commend you on your decision, whatever you chose.
Alright, the first paragraph was a little misleading, but I guess I got your attention. Let me rephrase; I have a strong opinion on the way vaccines are scheduled, mixed, and forced onto people and infants. I think that some vaccines may be beneficial, but I think that you have the right to pick and choose the ones that you want without feeling pressured. I think that vaccines should not be given in a "cocktail" formulation, and as seen in Europe, should not be given to children before the age of two. I have several examples of what I dislike about vaccines and would gladly go on a tangent about them all, but the reason that I even brought up the topic today was because of an article that Dr. Mercola posted on a new Meningitis vaccine for infants. The article touched every point that I would like to share so instead of rewriting it all in my own words I'm just going to repost much of what Dr. Mercola wrote in his article.
If you are interested in learning more about vaccines, and the insane vaccine schedule for infants, there is a doctor named Dr. Tenpenny, who has become an expert on vaccines, and who also is called as the expert witness during many cases on the side-effects of vaccines. I have had the privilege of hearing her lecture in person, and just last week received one her books in the mail, "Saying No To Vaccines; A Resource Guide for All Ages."
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges of your brain; basically, it's a brain inflammation. It can be caused by a few different kinds of organisms, including Neisseria meningococcal—which the meningococcal vaccine is geared toward—pneumococcal bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae), and Haemophilus influenza B. (The very first vaccines, smallpox, rabies vaccines, as well as other vaccines like pertussis, MMR and hepatitis B vaccine, can also cause brain inflammation in individual cases.)
Meningococcal disease is a serious disease that can result in the loss of limbs, brain damage, and death. The onset and progression can be swift, and requires urgent medical attention. So when you notice the kinds of symptoms listed above, you need to get checked out immediately.
Fortunately, meningitis can be effectively treated with intravenous antibiotics if caught in time, but therein also lies the crux.
"Often it moves so fast that if you're not paying attention and you don't get to the hospital—and of course this has been the argument [for the vaccine]—it can result in brain injury and death," Fisher says.
"But we have to look at the incidence. Right now, 20 percent of us carry Neisseria meningococcal organisms in the back of our throat at any one given time, and we're asymptomatic. What is it about people who could go on to have invasive meningococcal disease? That's what they really need to be looking at. What are the risk factors?
The other thing is that most of us, by the time we are teenagers, already have natural antibodies to Neisseria meningococcal… But what's going to happen when we no longer have the natural antibodies—when children are getting vaccinated at two, four, six, and 12 months, and you have vaccine-induced antibodies, which are not the same? [Vaccine induced] antibodies are not the same as the natural [antibodies]. We potentially have to change everything."
This is a very important point because most people don't realize that there's a distinct difference between vaccine-induced immunity, which is primarily measured by the number of antibodies in the blood (humoral immunity), and the kind of immunity produced after exposure to and recovery from the disease, which qualitatively superior because it is both cell mediated and humoral.
How Meningococcal Disease Spreads
Educating parents and children about how meningococcal disease spreads and can lead to severe complications may be far more important than imposing a universal use vaccine policy for all babies.
First; understand how it spreads. For example, you cannot catch Neisseria meningococcal simply by standing next to someone who has it. In order to catch it and spread it, you have to have an intimate exchange of saliva, such as kissing, or sharing toothbrushes or cups. You won't catch it from someone coughing in an elevator.
Meningococcal Vaccine Now Considered for Babies…
The meningococcal vaccine is already recommended for young teens, 11-12 years old, and again at 16 years of age or as college freshmen. Now they want to add anywhere from three to four more doses at two months, four months, six months and 12 months of age.
"Here is the situation with this vaccine," Fisher says. "Neisseria meningococcal is only associated with about 1,400 to 3,000 cases [of meningitis] per year in the United States, out of 308 million Americans. There are five strains (serotypes): A, B, C, Y, and W135. A third to half of the cases of Neisseria meningococcal disease is caused by strain B. And that strain is NOT in the vaccine."
In children under the age of five, strain B is responsible for 66 to 70 percent of the cases of meningitis. Infants under the age of one are now the new target age group being considered for this vaccine recommendation—despite the fact that:
- The bacterial strain responsible for the vast majority of the cases is NOT included in the vaccine, and...
- In the last nine years, there has been an average of 16 fatalities per year from the Neisseria meningococcal infection in children under the age of 12 months.
The proposed policy is now to vaccinate EVERY child at two, four, six and 12 months, and then again at 11 to 12 years of age, and at 16 years of age. That's six doses of a meningococcal vaccine that does not cover 30 to 70 percent of the cases that actually occur, depending on the age group!
"You really have to take a look at the cost-benefit analysis," Fisher says.
You also have to look at the insertion of another vaccine into a schedule that already contains eight vaccines to be given at two, four, and six months of age. Where is the evidence showing that it is safe for an infant to receive all these vaccines in combination within the first six months of life? Where are the studies showing it will be safe to add a ninth vaccine?
There aren't any!
Six Doses of Yet Another Vaccine Within the First Year of Life Warranted?
The proposed vaccine policy change would be to recommend six doses of the meningococcal vaccine for every American child, with four of those doses given under age 12 months, for a disease that in the last nine years killed an average of 16 children per year under age 12 months in this country. Do those mortality statistics warrant spending multi-millions of scarce health care dollars to purchase four doses of meningococcal vaccine for every single child in America under 12 months old?
Meanwhile, at least 106,000 people die each and every year from taking properly prescribed prescription drugs. Why isn't something being done about prescription drug use if they're truly concerned about saving one life every two years?
I have to say that this proposed vaccine policy change does not appear rational —unless your primary justification for this recommendation is a financial one, for the benefit of the drug companies.
"I think the vaccine should be available for anyone who wants to use it," Fisher says. And I agree on this point. "The issue I have with a universal use recommendation by the CDC for meningococcal vaccine, for children under one, is that every time the CDC recommends a vaccine for universal use for children, in the last quarter century almost all of those vaccines have turned into state mandates. Meaning that, you don't have a choice.
That's really the overarching issue that has many parents concerned… It's not that the vaccines are being recommended; it's that the vaccines are being mandated. They are being forced on you. When anyone tries to make an educated voluntary decision, they are then thrown out of the doctor's office. They are harassed. They are threatened."
Here is an interview with Barbara Loe Fisher:
Barbara Loe Fisher is a pioneer in vaccine education and safety, and the co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). Over the past 25 years, she’s been appointed to several federal vaccine advisory committees as a consumer representative because of her leadership role in the area of consumer advocacy.
Here, she warns about the possibility of yet more doses of another vaccine being added to the routine infant vaccine schedule: the meningococcal vaccine for meningitis.
There is much more disturbing and educational information on this vaccine in the article from Dr. Mercola, please check out his website to read more!
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
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