Why I focus so much time on vaccines

You may have noticed that the majority of my posts relate to vaccines. This is because vaccines are something which affect each and every one of us, especially individuals who have children. When we have governments mandating that we inject ourselves or our children with anything, we need to make sure we are as fully informed as possible.

I personally feel that the information which is readily dispersed to the public from vaccine manufacturers and vaccine proponents through doctors is incredibly lopsided - in favor of the vaccine's safety, of course. Not only is the information given to us sparse and lop-sided, but most of us trust what our doctors tell us. If they say something is not only needed, but is also safe, most of us believe them. We have to step outside of this paradigm somewhat, and realize that, with regard to vaccines, we're just not getting all of the information. It then becomes our personal responsibility as individuals, and as parents, to educate ourselves on the "whole" of the information, instead of just the "parts" which are made easily accessible to us.

As I've stated on this site before, information regarding vaccine safety (or lack thereof) is out there, you just have to find it and I want to make this easier for you. And there you have the reason so many of my posts focus on the topic of vaccines.

The pharmaceutical industry and our government have designed our vaccine schedule. Some of the individuals involved are in both groups. This is what's called a conflict of interest.

You are born and you get vaccines. Parents have little choice. If you choose to exercise the little choice that you do have, you are labelled as an anti-vaxer and called irresponsible. You are stigmatized and ostracized by those who have opposing viewpoints. All of this just for questioning the status quo.

Family practitioners and pediatricians don't know everything. This isn't sarcasm, it really is the truth. They aren't "vaccine specialists." They simply regurgitate information given to them by the vaccine manufacturers.


Gardasil

Gardasil is one of the vaccines which is recommended for all girls as young as nine years old. This vaccine is supposed to prevent HPV (human papilloma virus), which in turn can cause some forms of cervical cancer. Now, not only is it recommended for injection into girls, but also into young boys.

For the past several years Gardasil has continuously been in the news for adverse reactions, including death. Here is an excerpt from an interesting March, 2010 op ed in the Washington Examiner:

Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1 percent of all cancer deaths, so it was somewhat surprising when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked approval of Gardasil, a Merck vaccine targeting the human papilloma virus that causes the disease, in 2006.

 As of Jan. 31, 2010, 49 unexplained deaths following Gardasil injections have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. By contrast, 52 deaths are attributed to unintended acceleration in Toyotas, which triggered a $2 billion recall.

No recall for Gardasil, which is required for sixth-grade girls in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and many other states. Parents can opt out, but few know the true risks.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/node/104241#ixzz1Xx5a7m8s

This Washington Examiner article also provide snippets of personal experiences regarding individuals who had the Gardasil vaccine. Though you shouldn't base your decision to vaccinate or not based on other's personal experiences alone, they are part of the big picture and you should take them into consideration.

Also search for information on Dr. Diane Harper. She was one of the lead researchers for Merck's Gardasil. She has spoken out on the risks of the vaccine. Here is an excerpt from a CBS Investigates article about Dr. Harper, including some of her quotes regarding Gardasil, emphasis in bold italics is mine...:

(CBS)  Amid questions about the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil one of the lead researchers for the Merck drug is speaking out about its risks, benefits and aggressive marketing.

Dr. Diane Harper says young girls and their parents should receive more complete warnings before receiving the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Harper helped design and carry out the Phase II and Phase III safety and effectiveness studies to get Gardasil approved, and authored many of the published, scholarly papers about it. She has been a paid speaker and consultant to Merck. It's highly unusual for a researcher to publicly criticize a medicine or vaccine she helped get approved.

Dr. Harper joins a number of consumer watchdogs, vaccine safety advocates, and parents who question the vaccine's risk-versus-benefit profile. She says data available for Gardasil shows that it lasts five years; there is no data showing that it remains effective beyond five years.

This raises questions about the CDC's recommendation that the series of shots be given to girls as young as 11-years old. "If we vaccinate 11 year olds and the protection doesn't last... we've put them at harm from side effects, small but real, for no benefit," says Dr. Harper. "The benefit to public health is nothing, there is no reduction in cervical cancers, they are just postponed, unless the protection lasts for at least 15 years, and over 70% of all sexually active females of all ages are vaccinated." She also says that enough serious side effects have been reported after Gardasil use that the vaccine could prove riskier than the cervical cancer it purports to prevent. Cervical cancer is usually entirely curable when detected early through normal Pap screenings.

She also worries that Merck's aggressive marketing of the vaccine may have given women a false sense of security. "The future expectations women hold because they have received free doses of Gardasil purchased by philanthropic foundations, by public health agencies or covered by insurance is the true threat to cervical cancer in the future. Should women stop Pap screening after vaccination, the cervical cancer rate will actually increase per year. Should women believe this is preventive for all cancers - something never stated, but often inferred by many in the population-- a reduction in all health care will compound our current health crisis. Should Gardasil not be effective for more than 15 years, the most costly public health experiment in cancer control will have failed miserably."

Link to original article here.

So...Dr. Harper, Merck's lead Gardasil researcher states the Gardasil vaccine is a costly public health experiment? Wow. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy.