PART III
Last week we talked about possible acute side effects resulting from vaccinations. Let us now turn our attention to the possibility that immunization could lead to more chronic, far-reaching and insidious problems. It must first be pointed out that there is no definitive study nor true understanding of the long range effects of immunization. It is not a simple matter to make such a scientific corelation between an event that occurs early in a child,s life and his/her health over the next four or five decades. And, although immunization programs are carried out on hundreds of millions of people around the world, there has been no apparent effort to explore this question by those medical authorities who have the resources to do so. Still, some independent researchers are making correlations from their own observations. Many health care practitioners have worked with patients who have suffered long term ill-effects of vaccinations. I have personally worked with people who have experienced neurological damage that has lasted for years after immunization. I also remember seeing a young child who was brought to the office of a colleague with a seizure disorder. Ever since vaccinations several years earlier, she experienced a convulsion on the order of every 10 minutes. The seizure consisted of flailing of her limbs and a strange cry similar to the braying of a donkey. In his book DPT: A Shot in the Dark, Harris Coulter has documented the severity of the effects of the pertussis vaccination. In a later book, he suggests that vaccines cause many syndromes of brain injury or neurological damage. He postulates that the rise in the occurence of many problems like allergies, dyslexia, autism and behavior disorders could be the result of the wide spread use of vaccination. Coulter suggests a mechanism whereby the vaccination causes an allergic inflammation in the brain which results in neurological damage. Richard Moskowitz, MD, who has also questioned the use of this procedure, offers a slightly different theory. He believes that the introduction of a vaccine into the body that results in the long term presence of latent viruses within the body will create a confusion in the immune system. A vaccination is a method by which diluted disease agents are introduced into the system by avoiding the natural defense mechanisms of the body. They are, in a sense, parachuted behind enemy lines. Without any means to expel these agents, the viruses are eventually incorporated into the cells of the body. This creates a profound confusion throughout the entire organism as to what is actually the organism ("self"), which is to be protected, and what is foreign ("nonself"), which is to be expelled. At some point, the immune system will begin to attack cells within the body to rid the organism of the foreign substance. This results in chronic auto-immune disease. As an example of such a mechanism, Moskowitz quotes the following case. This "was a five-year-old boy with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, whom I happened to see in August of 1978, while visiting an old friend and teacher, a family physician withover 40 years' experience. Well out of earshot of either the boy or his parents, he told me that the leukemia had first appeared following a DPT vaccination, and that, although he had treated the child successfully with natural remedies on two previous occasions, with shrinking of the liver and spleen to approximately normal size, and dramatic improvement in the blodd picture, full relapse had occurred soon after each successive DPT booster".1 The theory presented by Moskowitz is also echoed in a very similar concept offered by a German physician. He suggests that material from vaccines shots becomes attached to the various molecular compounds in the body, creating new, unknown substances in the body. Dubbed "haptens", they are neither "self" nor "nonself". But they have the effect of stimulating auto-immune disease.2 Dr. Robert Simpson of Rutgers University made the following comments in a 1976 address to the American Cancer Society, "Immunization programs...may be actually seeding humans with RNA to form latent proviruses in cells throughout the body. These latent proviruses could be molecules in search of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, MS, systemic lupus erythematosus, Parkinson's disease and perhaps cancer." Taking all this into account, suggestions that the AIDS epidemic is the result of a contaminated vaccine was used in Africa over a decade ago may seem more credible. Although all this may be dismissed as speculation, the fact remains that we really have very little idea what this pervasive medical procedure is doing to the present and future generations of humanity. We are undertaking an enormous gamble with higher stakes than were first realized.
1 - Immunizations: A Dissenting Point of View, Richard Moskowitz, MD. 2- Homotoxicology, Dr. Hans-Heinrich Reckweg.
PART IV
Most of what has been presented diverges from the standard views held by most conventional medical practitioners. Yet, I sincerely do not wish for anyone to construe the information presented in these articles as an attempt to dissuade people from vaccinating themselves or their families. It is presented for what it is - information and interpretations of data. It is not orthodox, and therefore will probably incur the wrath of those who are philosophically, emotionally, and/or materially invested in the orthodox view. But it is important information provided us by sincere people who have researched the facts. Just as importantly, it is information that is not distributed at the office of your local family practitioner or pediatrician. The reason why it is not readily available is simply because this point of view is not incorporated into the educational background of orthodox health care providers. Patients sometimes ask me, "Should we immunize our child?", or, "Should I take a flu shot this season?" It is a hard position to be put in because it is such a hard question to answer. All of us wish for a life that is free from disease and suffering. To some extent or other, we all take steps to enhance that possibility. But nothing can be absolutely guaranteed, nothing is absolutely safe. That is the human condition. Vaccinations cannot guarantee anyone freedom from sickness, they offer a choice. On the one hand, a refusal to vaccinate chances contracting a possibily preventable disease. On the other, vaccinating will chance the possibility that there will be either short-term side effects, long-term complications like possible weakening of the body's immune system or other yet unknown problems. The solution? I know what I have chosen for myself and my family. But only you can educate yourself and make an informed choice. There is no absolute black and white on this. Be reasonable and avoid the rigid dogma of either side. You can choose to accept all the immunization procedures, refuse them all, or select the ones that seem most important and/or less likely to cause side-effects. Do not be overwhelmed by the pressure put on you by family, peers or medical and educational institutions. If you do make a decision that does not follow conventional wisdom, be prepared for the possibility that one, some, or all of the above will try to force you to change it. Sounds easy, no? Well, you do have a right to your choice - legally and morally.
Here are some reference sources for information on vaccinations: (1) The Case Against Immunizations by Richard Moskowitz, MD. Short and concise but technical, theoretical information. Write: NCH, 801 North Fairfax Str., Ste 306, Alexandria, VA 22314 Call: (703) 548-7790. (2) Immunizations published by Mothering magazine. A collection of articles with many points of view expressed by professionals and laypeople. Write: Mothering Magazine, POB 8410, Santa Fe, NM 87504 Call: (505) 984-8116 (3) The Immunization Decision : A Guide for Parents by Randall Neustaedter, OMD.North Atlantic Books,1990, Berkeley A fairly concise, user-friendly and reasonable investigation of the facts and non-facts surrounding immunization. Discusses immunizations as a whole or indiviually. (4) DPT: A Shot in the Dark by H. Coulter and B. Fisher. Harcourt Brace, Jovanovich Publishers, Orlando, Florida, 1985 A scholarly documentation of the destructive side-effects and politics related to the pertussis vaccination. (5)The Assault on the American Child: Vaccination, Sociopathy, and Criminality by Harris Coulter. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, 1990 An investigation into the possible relationship between childhood vaccination and many medical/social problems that plague our society. Fascinating and terrifying. (6) Immunization: The Reality Behind the Myth by Walene James Bergin & Garvey, New York, 1988 A grandmother's personal account of the medical and legal struggles her family faced when confronted with the problem of immunization. Full of facts and anger. (7) How to Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor by Robert Mendelsohn,MD. Contemporary Books, Chicago, 1984 A commonsense guide for parents on how to avoid the pitfalls of conventional medicine for their children.