Kristin Cavallari does not vaccinate her child
A reality TV star (Kristin Cavallari) recently announced that she does not vaccinate her child.
All hell promptly broke loose. Accusations of being an "anti-science idiot conspiracy theorist" are rampant.
I have to speak up, at the risk of being bombarded with the bizarre and vile hatred that so often comes from SOME (I said SOME, not ALL) pro-vaccine people.
I do not vaccinate, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Jenny McCarthy, nor Andrew Wakefield, nor any celebrity or conspiracy theorist or science-denier.
It's funny yet sad to see some pro-vaxxers are so heavily programmed that they continue to think any parent who questions vaccine safety and efficacy is worshipping at the Jenny McCarthy altar.
It's really easy to tell when people have been spoon-fed what the media and pharmaceutical industry tells them, and fail to do their own research into vaccines.
They call anyone who questions vaccines "anti-science," even though (in my experience) parents who choose not to vaccinate may have done a lot more reading on the topic than those who simply follow their doctor's orders. And no, not reading just from "conspiracy theorist" blogs. Alex Jones' Info Wars is not my idea of solid cited sources.
They say things like: "Vaccines don't cause autism!" and "Vaccines are safe!" and "Keep your unvaccinated kids away from my vaccinated kids!" and "My vaccinated kids will never have to worry about getting a deadly disease!" and "The recent outbreak of whooping cough/measles/the flu is the fault of non-vaccinating people!" and "Vaccines have never killed anyone!"
All of the above are misguided at best and completely false at worst.
In my experience, the majority of non-vaccinating parents do not count autism as a top reason to decline vaccination, yet many pro-vaccine people think that's what we're afraid of. The scared-of-autism hype is media-manufactured, nothing more, and baselessly blamed on all non-vaccinating parents. Forget about autism and vaccines-- there are many, many other issues at hand here. It has been confirmed that vaccines CAN and DO cause neurological issues.
Vaccines have never been transparently tested for safety in terms of the "trace amounts" of neurotoxins and carcinogens, and how they add up over time, over hundreds of injections. Vaccine injury is real. It is not a myth or conspiracy theory.
If your child is fully vaccinated, being scared of unvaccinated kids is nonsensical. Fully vaccinated people contract and spread diseases too.
Vaccines are not 100% effective, and in many cases the effectiveness wanes and/or is significantly less than the overall risk of contracting diseases or experiencing vaccine injury. Getting your child vaccinated DOES NOT by any means guarantee they will remain disease-free.
Many of the recent outbreaks of flu, whooping cough, measles, and even polio are in VACCINATED people. The media publishes an article about a whooping cough outbreak, people blindly blame non-vaxxers, and yet the article itself will tell you it was an outbreak amongst vaccinated people.
Vaccines absolutely HAVE killed in the past, and will kill again in the future. Death from vaccines may be a rare side effect, but that does not mean adverse reactions from vaccines are rare.
How do we explain the eradication of disease, if not for vaccines? If you actually look at the decline of many diseases vs. the introduction of each vaccine, you'll see that clean water, sanitation, and proper nutrition played a larger part in overall health. One example is the Bubonic Plague. It was eradicated thanks to sanitation, not vaccines. Clean water and sanitation (and antibiotics as truly needed), is what helps prevent/treat disease. Breastfeeding is also an essential tool of preventing serious childhood disease.
This is why vaccine programs in impoverished nations fail so drastically. The oral/live Polio vaccine is responsible for CAUSING polio to spread, because the live vaccine sheds through fecal matter. Another example of how clean water and sanitation are needed:
http://www.pbs.org/
Keep in mind that the United States has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and yet one of the worst child mortality rates in the developed world. If we are to believe vaccines keep us healthy and prevent disease, our child mortality rates should not be so drastically worse than other developed nations with clean water and sanitation, and much lower vaccine rates.
http://
Concerning measles, because there have been recent "outbreaks": measles are, largely, NOT SERIOUS. The incident rate of measles in the US is 0.7% per 1 million population. Severe complications from measles are rare and can be prevented with breastfeeding, nutrition, and hydration (yes-- despite what so many people believe, using real fresh FOOD full of vitamins and minerals does more to promote health than an intramuscular shot contaminated with known carcinogens and neurotoxins).
Lack of vitamin A in the diet has proven to worsen measles significantly. Instead of blaming non-vaccinating people, we might do well to consider pointing the finger at our culture of extremely unhealthy daily dietary choices that is raising a nation of malnourished children.
The measles vaccine failure rate is about 5%, and natural immunity (when a healthy kid gets a mild illness and their immune system is strengthened for life because of it) has proven to be more effective. Because natural immunity is more effective, and because fully vaccinated people are also contracting and spreading diseases, basing the entire argument of vaccines on "herd immunity," and blaming non-vaccinating parents for outbreaks is inaccurate.
It's interesting how the media constantly blames non-vaccinating parents, even though we remain a small minority, instead of reporting on vaccine failures.
Parents deserve to know the lack of evidence and the multiple ethical issues with vaccines. For instance the Hep B vaccine is simply absurd in most cases, and yet is routinely given.
The Rotavirus vaccine is also questionable because the risk of serious complication from rotavirus is very low and even lower with breastfeeding.
The Diphtheria vaccine is another one which, like the whooping cough vaccine, has shown to need lifelong boosters for effectiveness, and the chance of contracting diphtheria is very low.
Tetanus is another example. Only around 30 cases are reported every year, and most of the people who die from it are over 75 years old. Tetanus is only a concern when a wound is so deep it is not oxygenated (doesn't bleed). If exposure to tetanus is suspected, the tetanus immunoglobulin will be effective; a post-exposure tetanus vaccine (which is what is usually administered) will not be.
And with diphtheria and tetanus, the pertussis vaccine is automatically included (at least in the US). Because pertussis is a higher risk, it's unfortunate that parents cannot consider this one separately. If we are to believe the data gathered thus far (which is questionable, see the links below on whooping cough vaccine and ethical issues), the risk of death from pertussis in unvaccinated people is .000004%, while in vaccinated people it is .000002%. Again, this vaccine requires lifelong booster shots, which most adults are not up-to-date on (the horror!). The waning protection of this vaccine is the reason we've been seeing an increase in cases-- not unvaccinated people (who still remain a tiny minority).
And, since we cannot say "vaccines are safe," we really cannot claim that the risks of vaccine injury are outweighed by the small risks of these diseases.
Did you know billions of dollars have been paid out to vaccine-injured people in the past few years? Here is the government database (keep in mind that because vaccine reactions are often denied and swept under the rug, it's fair to assume these numbers are low):
http://www.hrsa.gov/
But who cares about those kids anyway? Canary in the coal mine, right?
And since people always bring up autism and Andrew Wakefield, it's important to mention Poul Thorsen, the CDC scientist who was hired to "debunk" Wakefield's work. He "executed a scheme to steal grant money awarded by the CDC... Thorsen allegedly diverted over $1 million of the CDC grant money to his own personal bank account... According to bank account records, Thorsen purchased a home in Atlanta, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an Audi automobile, and a Honda SUV with funds that he received from the CDC grants."
https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/
But don't pay any attention to that at all. And definitely don't get curious about why everyone knows Wakefield was a "fraud," but no one knows about Thorsen. It has nothing to do with the fact that the majority of media reports tearing Wakefield apart were orchestrated by scandalized media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose son is on the board for and profits from the MMR shot...
And then we have issues like this: major ethical concerns over vaccine safety information. Why? Because the people who profit from vaccines are also those who claim they are safe. They fund the studies.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/
Especially when major pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline are fined $3 billion for fraud, falsifying safety information, bribing doctors and scientists. Yes, I will blindly trust the vaccine safety information that comes from these organizations. To not blindly trust would be "anti-science," I've been told.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/
Also, as one example of vaccine failure, measles outbreaks in FULLY VACCINATED people:
http://
And whooping cough in FULLY VACCINATED people:
http://www.nbcnews.com/
But we're not supposed to pay any attention to any of this. We're not supposed to look at the risks of specific diseases vs. the risks (that we're aware of due to limited transparent safety testing) of vaccines. Don't question vaccines at all-- it makes you an anti-science conspiracy theorist.
We're supposed to continue to inject neurotoxins into the bodies of children whose blood-brain barrier may still be permeable. As parents, we cannot even question vaccines without being verbally attacked, called idiots, threatened with CPS, and refused as patients at doctors' offices. And that is what's most troubling of all.
Parents have EVERY RIGHT to question vaccines and demand transparency and safety. We have every right to make fully informed decisions for our children without being ridiculed and threatened.
If you want parents to vaccinate, start demanding that the money be removed from the medicine. Start demanding transparent, ethical safety and efficacy testing. Start advocating for parents' rights to ask questions and have them answered by people who have no ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Fight for vaccines that are free of toxins, chemicals, and additives. Fight for the children who have been injured by vaccines.
Support parents who dare to question vaccines, instead of painting them as "anti-science" idiots, when we are just trying to make the healthiest choices for our children.
- Kristen Tea
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