vaccination

clearly this is a very important subject.  after all, what's more important than our children?  most have an opinion regarding vaccinations and some of those opinions are very strong.  i'm very grateful to those who made comments and shared information.  especially my sister-in-law robin!  i always knew that she hadn't vaccinated her sons, but didn't ever really ask her about it.  i always knew i had wanted to vaccinate my children, simply because it was "just what happens."

i worked in a pediatric office for a few years and saw kids coming and going every day getting shots.  it didn't seem like too big of a deal.  of course, that was before i had children or was married.  even after i had my first child, i automatically knew i wanted to vaccinate her.  part of my reasoning being that she was premature (seven weeks early) and needed to be kept as safe as possible, and to me that meant shots for anything.  i really never questioned vaccines because i assumed that a hospital wouldn't be giving something to my baby that wasn't safe, or that doctors would either.  thus, vaccines were fine.

even now, i tend to lean towards getting them.  is that habit?  is that because it's what i grew up with?  getting vaccines was normal to me.  but like many others have pointed out, and like i saw on "the vaccine war", our children today get so many more vaccines than we did as children.  there was an interview done for that same website with dr. sears. it proves to be very interesting.

then of course there is generation rescue, which is mentioned in the vaccine war documentary.  this is an organization that jenny mccarthy happened to encounter after having her son diagnosed with autism.  she found that several other parents were there having the same issue she was having.  on the site i found a link to "ask 8", which consists of eight questions that every parent should ask themselves before vaccinating their child.  they are indeed good questions to consider, but it doesn't quite cover it all i would say.

something that my pediatrician told me the day of the chew out was that the thimerosal in the vaccines contains a kind of mercury that is not toxic to the body.  people were thinking it was the kind of mercury that we all hear about, also the kind that is in thermometers.  he said that that was not the kind of mercury used in thimerosal.

not the most official source, but still helpful is the following i found under thimerosal on wikipedia.  i believe that this is what he was talking about:

"Risk assessment for effects on the nervous system have been made by extrapolating from dose-response relationships formethylmercury.^[11] Methylmercury and ethylmercury distributes to all body tissues, crossing the blood-brain barrier and the placental barrier, and ethylmercury also moves freely throughout the body.^[12] Concerns based on extrapolations from methylmercury caused thiomersal to be removed from U.S. childhood vaccines, starting in 1999. Since then, it has been found that ethylmercury is eliminated from the body and the brain significantly faster than methylmercury, so the late-1990s risk assessments turned out to be overly conservative.^[11] "

"Thiomersal is very toxic by inhalation, ingestion, and in contact with skin (EC hazard symbol T+), with a danger of cumulative effects. It is also very toxic to aquatic organisms and may cause long-term adverse effects in aquatic environments (EC hazard symbol N).^[9] In the body, it is metabolized or degraded to ethylmercury (C₂H₅Hg⁺) and thiosalicylate.^[3]"

^and 

"Few studies of the toxicity of thiomersal in humans have been performed."

so if this compound is so toxic outside of the body, just because our bodies metabolize it...does that make is safe?  safe enough to have in our bodies?  apparently it does, and i tend to believe scientists.  they are no dummies.  then the problem is that the studies are paid for by the pharmaceutical companies themselves.  yes, that is a biased study.  why is it that if this is such a big issue that no one else can perform some kind of study regarding the matter?  why can't we have some other studies to confirm?  

i had written a message to a friend who is quite knowledgable on the topic, asking her her experience and all.  one of her children suffers from autism as far as i know.  here was her reply:

So, here is the disclaimer...I'm not a doctor...I'm only giving information based on our experience  There is a lot of information out there, but you have to know where to look. Please feel free to ask any questions.

*There are some basics prior to vaccinating.*
1. Choosing which shots are the most important for you/your child (there are many that are not necessary like Hep B, unless you or an immediate family
member is infected. This is a sexually transmitted disease, and the chance
of infection is almost nil until teenagehood or later....chix pox, flu)

2. Be sure the immune system is supported...check out this link for
supplements you can give pre/post to boost the immune system:http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/dan-vaccination-protocols/
*Give RDA (Recommended Daily Allowances) of Vitamin C *before and after
vaccines (general immune booster)

*Give a natural form of Vitamin A *( cod liver oil ) to keep the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) at level at all times for the age. (Vitamin A protects
our body against Viruses)

I would start these several days before the shot is given...and continue for
1 week after.

3. NEVER gives shots within 8 weeks of being ill, having diaper rash, yeast infections, flu, cold, ear infections, ANTIBIOTICS, or any other immune compromising responses like Eczema.

4. If you have an appt, and your child comes down with
something...reschedule.

5. Be careful if the child has colic, reflux or other tummy problems...this
is a sign that the gut (where 70% of the immune system is located) is having
a hard time. It is best to wait until things calm down.

***Never give tylenol pre or post vaccine it suppresses the immune system
(drops glutathione levels) for up to 21 days...ALWAYS use Motrin and always
use dye free.

*When you get shots.*
***Never give tylenol pre or post vaccine it suppresses the immune system

i will be following up with her regarding a lot of this.  perhaps an interview of sorts can be done.

on the glaxo smith kline website i found the following, found it interesting:

"Vaccines R&D

We are active in the fields of vaccine research, development and

production and have a portfolio of over 30 vaccines approved for

marketing. We have over 1,600 scientists devoted to discovering

innovative vaccines that contribute to the health and well-being

of people of all generations around the world. The discovery and

development of a new vaccine is a complex process requiring longterm

investment and, with more than 20 vaccines in development,

we have one of the strongest vaccine pipelines in the industry.

Traditionally vaccines have been used to ward off illness; our

vaccine division is working now to develop immunotherapeutics

aimed at educating the patient’s immune system to identify and

attack cancer cells in a highly specific manner.

Vaccine discovery involves many collaborations with academia and

the biotech industry to identify new vaccine antigens which are

then expressed in yeast, bacteria or mammalian cells and purified

to a very high level. This is followed by formulation of the clinical

lots of the vaccine. This may involve mixing antigens with selected

GSK novel proprietary adjuvant systems, which are combinations of

selected adjuvants designed to elicit the most appropriate immune

response to a specific antigen. The right combination of antigen

and adjuvant system can help the body mobilise the most effective

immunological pathway, which is designed to provide maximum

protection against specific diseases in targeted populations.

Once formulated, the candidate vaccine is evaluated from a safety

and efficacy perspective through the different phases of preclinical

testing, then through the clinical trials involving healthy individuals.

These will range from safety analysis in a small group of volunteers

in phase I, dose adjustment and proof of concept in phase II, to

large-scale safety and efficacy analysis in phase III. The results

obtained during clinical trials and data regarding the development

of a quality and large-scale production process and facilities are then

combined into a regulatory file which is submitted to the authorities

in the countries where the vaccine will be made available."

links:

• dr. ten penny
• glaxo smith kline
• age of autism
• 1983 vaccination schedule 
• "use friendly vaccination schedule" - read the article too...very interesting.  scroll down for imm. recommendation.
• smartvax 

more later...baby calling me to eat.