Making a Decision - Calculate the Risk
Parents are now faced with conflicting studies and serious concerns about the dangers relating to vaccinations, which they do not fully understand. The key to making the right decision about vaccinations is to weigh the nature of the disease and its consequences against the potential adverse effects of the vaccination.
Study by Stony Brook |
Vaccines appear to be safe for some people, but have adverse reactions in others. Adverse reactions may not have an immediate effect, affecting our health in later years as a result of compromising our immune system. It is impossible to know if you or your child will suffer an adverse reaction.
No vaccine is 100% effective, and some are more effective than others. No vaccination is without risk, but some of the diseases they prevent are more serious than others. Knowing this, you can choose to vaccinate against one disease, but not another. You can also spread them out a little if you do not feel comfortable giving your children a batch of shots, which can overtax the immune system. Consider following the schedule of other countries and not vaccinating any child under the age of 2, the point at which their immune system has developed to be stronger and more resilient.
In some studies, a vaccine does not always prove more effective than non-vaccination, and vaccinated children are generally sicker than non-vaccinated children. In 2001, 13 children in the Smithdown school district of Long Island in New York were infected with whooping cough. Health officials stated that all 13 had been vaccinated against the illness. They did, however, suffer milder cases of the illness due to the vaccination.
Pros vs. cons of vaccinations...
Be Smart
When it comes to vaccinations, arm yourself with as much information as you can to make the best decision possible. Vaccines may not natural, but disease and dying should never be our first choice; so does that mean we should never vaccinate? Of course not. We may always prefer to gravitate towards what is natural and non-toxic, but if there is a large advantage to choosing something that is not natural over the possibility of a devastating illness, then on rare occasions we may choose the non-natural approach.
Recently on a trip to France with our dog, we were warned by French veterinarians about the devastating consequence of not using flea and tick products to prevent a disease called leishmaniasis. This incurable, terrible disease is transferred by the sand fly to dogs, and is an epidemic all along the Mediterranean coast. Many dogs die of this disease. We have always used natural flea and tick prevention products with great success for our dog (especially garlic, recommended by most Naturopathic vets), and were dismayed to find out that a medicated collar, AND the addition of K9 Advantix would bring the effectiveness of preventing leishmaniasis to over 95%.
We were left with a choice: Not use these products, and the likelihood that our dog would contract this disease was quite significant. Or use the products, knowing that they are toxic but the health risk for our 3 month trip was relatively minor in comparison with contracting leishmaniasis. We of course chose the "lesser of two evils." The risk of losing our dog to a devastating disease loomed too large. We also made sure to give her the best nutritional advantage, filling her diet with lots of fresh meat and fish.
Read about the EPA's very disturbing report on the serious health hazards of spot-on flea and tick products for dogs and cats, and why you should avoid them.
The health dangers of pet spot-on products...
A Word About the Flu Vaccine
Considering the flu vaccine? Reconsider that choice. Learn about natural methods to protect yourself that are not only much safer, but studies have shown them to be more effective than the vaccine itself (with none of the potentially serious side effects).
Why you should avoid the flu vaccine...
Vaccinations: Questions to ask yourself
Here are some important questions to ask yourself, and things to consider before moving forward with a vaccination.
- Do you live in an area where there are certain diseases to be concerned about? If so, consider that the risk of the vaccine may be worth the potential consequence of contracting the disease.
- Do you live in an area where the disease that your doctor wants to vaccinate for is either rare or does not exist? If so, then why consider the vaccine? This is often the case with pet vaccinations.
- Ask whoever is administering the vaccine what other ingredients are included. Some vaccine additives are more toxic than the viral component itself.
- What are the potential risks and side effects of the vaccine?
- How do you identify and report a vaccine reaction?
- Always keep a written record, including the vaccine manufacturer’s name and lot number, for ALL vaccinations. You have a right to this information. Write down and describe in detail both minor and serious health problems that develop after vaccination.
- If you or your child is sick, your immune system is compromised. Never vaccinate during this time. Wait until your health is clear.
- If you or your child suffered a bad reaction from a prior vaccine, the risk from further vaccination should be seriously reconsidered.
Do NOT Allow Unnecessary Vaccinations
Some vaccines are completely unnecessary and should never be administered. A child is automatically given a hepatitis B vaccine in the event the mother "may" have hepatitis B. But if the mother has been tested negative for hepatitis B, why should the child receive the vaccine? Simply because it is easier to inject it as a universal vaccine, and more profitable for the pharmaceutical company. This justification is completely unacceptable. Do not fall prey to this unnecessary vaccination.
A study by Stony Brook University Medical Center found that giving the hepatitis B vaccine to newborn baby boys may triple the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. This study was among the first of the university studies to suggest an association between vaccines and autism.
Vaccine Overload
Vaccine overload is the idea that giving many vaccines at one time may overwhelm or weaken a child's immune system and lead to adverse reactions. Although the scientific evidence currently contradicts this idea, some parents of autistic children believe that vaccine overload causes the autism. As there are no long-term trials at all on the subject, this may or may not be the case.
Adverse Reactions
All things considered, severe and fatal vaccine reactions are rare. However, some vaccine damages do not occur until weeks, months, and perhaps years after the vaccination, at a time when nobody thinks to associate an illness (such as a chronic disease) with a vaccine reaction. Unfortunately, there are no long-term trials to study the correlation between vaccinations and chronic/autoimmune conditions, which leave the public in the darkness on percentage of risk.
It is important to be able to recognize an adverse reaction. If you or your child experiences any of the symptoms listed below in the hours, days, or weeks following vaccination, seek medical attention, as well as report it to federal health officials at the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), who monitor vaccines after they have been licensed.
The Vaccine Injury website reports the following possible adverse reactions, however there may also be other symptoms not listed:
Not all symptoms that occur after a vaccination are caused by the vaccine, but the reason these symptoms should be reported is so that correlations can be found to more correctly asses the risk.
It is important for your doctor to write down all serious health problems that occur after vaccinations in your permanent medical record, and to report to VAERS ALL serious symptoms or dramatic change in physical, mental, or emotional behavior. It is also important that re-vaccination does not continue until it has been determined that the serious health problem that developed after the original vaccination was unrelated. Continued vaccination in the presence of serious health deterioration could lead to serious and sometimes fatal consequences.
- Learn about vaccinations The pros vs. cons
- What is a vaccination? Learn about your immune system
- Current 2016 vaccine schedule View the CDC recommendations
- Need guidance? Make an educated decision on vaccinations
- The controversial flu vaccine Natural supplements are more effective