By: Tony Davis
You know how modern medicine has pretty much eliminated a handful of horrible illnesses with vaccines? Immunization is the reason smallpox has been wiped off the planet. Measles and whooping cough have taken a beating, along with diphtheria, an infection which causes a thick covering in the back of the throat that can cause difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis or death.
Sadly, some of the illnesses are coming back. CNN reported November 5 there were 200 causes of a Polio-like illness called Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) which causes muscle weakness in the limbs. CBC reported on Nov. 9 that AFM may have reached Canada, with a case in Alberta. The reason is most likely the reluctance of some to vaccinate their children.
This all started with Andrew Wakefield. In 1998 Wakefield published a case series in the Lancet, a reputable scientific journal. He suggested the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine may cause developmental disorders like Autism in children. Since then MMR vaccination rates have dipped. Studies were produced shortly afterward which contradicted what Wakefield was suggesting. The Lancet didn’t realize Wakefield was being funded by lawyers who had been involved with lawsuits by parents against vaccination. To make matters worse the Lancet didn’t fully retract the ‘study’ until 2010, citing ethical violations.
It’s not just Wakefield’s fault. The media is partly to blame, they have given the issue false balance. You know who knows about science? Scientists. Jim Carey is a wonderful actor, but he doesn’t have any educational background which suggests he knows anything about the safety of vaccinations. Sure, he has an opinion, but on this topic, it is worth nothing. So please, don’t drag him on NBC to talk the ethics of healthcare.
Even the pharmaceutical companies who make the drugs are to blame. People attacked the fact that mercury was an ingredient in many vaccines. So, in response they took the mercury out, but this led people to believe they were on to something. There was nothing wrong with the mercury in the vaccinations. The studies on the toxicity of mercury were done on methylmercury, which can cross the blood brain barrier and cause poisoning. Ethylmercury is what they were using in vaccinations to prevent bacteria growth. You know how there is the alcohol you can sip on Friday night and have a decent time, and then there is the alcohol they use to kill germs? Same idea. The removal gave weight to individuals claiming the mercury content was the reason their child developed Autism. The only issue? The MMR vaccination never contained any mercury.
In April of this year, The New York Post uploaded a video of an angry mob of anti-vaxxers in New Jersey. They were upset, shaking their fists, cursing and flipping off lawmakers who voted to make it difficult for families to obtain religious exemptions from immunizations. Angry parents yelled, “You are going to hell!†and “Science doesn’t belong in corporate America!â€
I don’t blame the parents. It’s hard to deal with trauma. When unexpected things happen in our lives, we often try to find a reason to rationalize it. However, there is a difference between causation and correlation. Just because the rate of drownings goes up when Nicolas Cage stars in a movie doesn’t mean he is drowning people like a mad man. The first dose of the MMR vaccine is recommended between 12 through 15 months of age. The second dose 4 through 6 years of age. Autism typically appears during the first three years of life. Just because both happen at the same time does not mean they cause one another.
It’s not Autism parents have to worry about when it comes to vaccination, it is the illnesses which could occur when immunization is avoided. In 2016, David Stephan and his wife Collet Stephan were convicted in Alberta. David was sentenced to four months in jail and Collet was given three months house arrest. Their son, Ezekiel died from meningitis in 2012. The Stephans were against vaccination, so instead of seeking medical treatment they fed their son smoothies, ginger root and other home remedies.
It’s time to get over the hysteria, read more than one article and make sure it is peer reviewed by other actual scientists, and for the love of God vaccinate your children.
Nov 6. CNN reported New York’s Orthodox Jewish community was facing a measles outbreak. If you don’t vaccinate your child it makes it easier for them to pass a disease to another child, not just get infected themselves. You aren’t out of the woods either. That free flu vax, take advantage of it. Your baby cousin is cute, but you pick her up unknowingly having a touch of whooping cough and because they aren’t old enough to have been fully immunized, they can catch it. Then their tiny little throat could swell up to the point of them no longer being able to breathe.