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Vaccine
Information
A
vaccine is a preparation containing the weakened or killed
microorganisms that cause a particular disease. When these
substances are injected or taken orally, the body stimulates
the immune system to produce the necessary defenses against
that disease. Adverse reactions to vaccines can occur because
of the organisms introduced into the body.
Vaccine
related damage provokes controversy
of whether vaccines are good or bad. Vaccines and diseases
both pose  risk
so it is hard to decide which side to take. Unfortunately,
few studies of the long-term risks of vaccines exist. In July,
as a pre-cursor to hearings into thimerosal-containing
vaccines and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of exposure to
them, Immunization Safety Review Committee questioned , author
of Physiology and Toxicology of Mercury and an internationally
known expert in field.
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Two
questions Dr. Laszlo Magos was asked with his answers
are as included:
Have
there been any studies, including animal studies, which
have looked specifically at infant ethylmercury exposure
and the effect on neurological development?
"No, it has not been studied."
What
is thought to be currently the best hypothesis (if any)
regarding the mechanism of neurotoxic mechanism of neurotoxicity
of organic Hg (mercury)?
"Unfortunately, there is no answer. Chang (1996)
suggested four "major thoughts" on the mechanism
of actions. These "thoughts" have not reached
the level of a hypotheses, and even less the level of
'the best hypothesis'."
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While
parents struggle to make hard decisions involving the safety
of their children with vaccination,
they receive mixed messages from the experts. Though no vaccines
are perfectly safe the FDA has gone from deeming thimerosal
unsafe to asking vaccine manufacturers to voluntarily phase-out
thimerosal from their products. People are now wondering if
the vaccines containing thimerosal are in fact safe to use
while clinics are using up the extra supplies they have kept
stock of since the 1998 FDA request.
Vaccination
may damage children in several ways.
Live or attenuated virus vaccination can actually produce
the infection that the vaccine is supposed to prevent. For
example, live polio should never be administered to a child
who comes in contact with an HIV patient, for the attenuated
virus can "leap" to the HIV patient and produce
polio. Reports exist of normal parents who have developed
polio from the viral vaccine given to their children.
A
second mechanism of damage comes from neurotoxic
materials found sometimes in vaccines. Thimerosal is the
most widely discussed, since it contains mercury. The amount
is small. Each vaccine is equivalent to the amount of mercury
found in a 6 oz. Can of tuna fish. Nevertheless, some argue
that even these levels may be important in a vulnerable child.
The
third, and probably the most important theory of vaccine damage,
relates to allergic reactions and the development of an autoimmune
response, stimulated by the vaccine and its adjuvant. Vaccines
always contain adjuvants, which are substances known to amplify
the body's response to the vaccine. These adjuvants are known
to sometimes cause allergic and auto-immune responses on their
own.
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