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Wednesday 23 February 2011

MMR, Autism and Why I'm Not Vaccinating

I recently had a chat with a friend who is worried about getting the MMR due to her nephew becoming autistic shortly after the jab. The current official medical line is that there is no proven link, but many medical professionals and researchers are still saying otherwise.

Please, please look into this for yourselves so you can make an informed decision. Here are a couple of short articles to get you started:

http://sanevax.org/blog/?p=2070

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/02/new-medical-journal-review-vaccine-injury-is-a-documented-cause-of-autism.html

I will be posting a lot more on childhood vaccination as I have been reading a lot about it and am completely appalled by the lack of scientific for their efficacy, and the reality of what is actually in those shots we allow our babies and children to get - and what harm they can really do.

Vaccination seems to be a sacred cow. Something you can't talk about in mum and baby groups for fear of being a pariah or labelled a freaky conspiracy theorist. Believe me, when you start scratching the surface it is a murky world of half truths and lies - and big, big profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

My eldest daughter is fully vaccinated (MMR too) I had a few concerns about MMR but her dad urged me to press ahead and I didn't even think to do my homework on the vaccinations she had as a baby. I mean, they've got to have been fully tested right? Vaccination is responsible for wiping out smallpox and other nasties right? Hmm, think again.

I had a gut feel that vaccination wasn't right for Alicia, I was only barely aware that you could choose not to get them done - or at least pay for separate shots privately to avoid toxic overload.

So, I started to look into the topic with what I admit is a huge a bias. That is, I didn't want her to be vaccinated at all and I wanyed to find out if that was a sensible choice and to reassure myself that I was doing the right thing for her.

I've read so much, and retained so little of it as per usual, that I am convinced I'm making the right choice. I only wish that I had known what I now know when Ella was a baby.

I will post more on this topic over the coming months, along with resources and links so you can do your own research too if you like. If your kids are already vaccinated but you know friends who haven't gone ahead yet please encourage them to at least look into the subject.

Here's a few resources I have found easy to read and useful:

Free report signed by medical professionals concerned about the dangers of childhood vaccination: http://www.naturalnews.com/031173_vaccines_science.html OK so if you're a PhD student you can refute everything in here as just 'opinion' but I think it puts forward some of the major points of concern around vaccination and there are other fully referenced publications, proper scientific reports etc I have read which back up these views.

The Vaccination Bible - Lynne McTaggart this is a great book, it really helps you to make an informed decision

19 comments:

Matt Tomlinson said...

Hi, would be interested to know what you find out about this.

One thing that I heard, but never really got the chance to check out, was that there's an ingredient in the UK MMR vaccine (some kind of preservative or to stop the different elements reacting) which is banned in Canada and a number of other places, so international studies aren't neccessarily comparing like with like.

A lot of me also thinks that individual vaccines should be less complex and thus less risky - seems logical but I don't know whether it's true.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I've been fuming about this post since I read it earlier.
You are completely and utterly wrong.
Vaccinations have moved the world out of the dark ages.
By deciding not to vaccinate you are putting your daughter and others at risk of: diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, pneumococcal infection, meningitis C, measles, mumps, rubella and cervical cancer.
It's a shame there's no vaccination for ignorance.

Anonymous said...

I have 3 kids, all three are fully vacinated, 1 had a really bad reaction and ended up with convulsion, she has short term memory loss, but is doing great now. James my youngest, I looked into herbal vaccinations, but opted to do the vacinations slowly and the MMR when he was nearly 2. I was not going to do the chicken pox one, but now due to lymphoma, he has to have it. My decision is based on the fact a lot of people are autistic and have learning difficulties without the vaccinations, sometimes it is hereditary. BUT if you get one of those illness that you can vaccinate against, are the hospital still able to cope with the illness? They are pretty ugly and with more people choosing not to vaccinate - the illnesses are on the rise.

Unknown said...

Its a tough choice.
Those illnesses are themselves horrid,
You need to read up on their treatments.

Plus be worried about the % population vaccinated.
When everyone did it, epidemics didnt happenned.
Now the level is below the threshold, you are exposed.

How do the various risks/benefits change with age?
EG 'be lucky' upto school age?
Do illnesses cause different problmes at different ages?
Do vaccines have effectiveness time limits on them?
If you split the 3 over time, which when?

Graham

MTFF said...

I firmly believe that not vaccinating your children is not only a mistake for that individual child, it's also irresponsible towards other people. One unvaccinated child can contract and spread preventable, communicable diseases to all kinds of vulnerable people including those too young to be vaccinated (babies!), and those for whom the vaccination was not 100% efficacious. Mumps and measles are both bloody awful diseases to have, the former commonly causing infertility in adult men, and rubella, while not always a misery to go through, causes infertility in women. In countries where people cannot get access to these childhood vaccinations children regularly die of these diseases, and if your kid comes into contact with any of them, through any means, she will contract and spread it, too.
Insofar as the linkage, Andrew Wakefield manipulated data, lied, and was struck off the medical register for his part in the MMR/Autism controversy. The article you link to is from The Daily Mail (not exactly a bastion of scientific verity) and while the direct quotes point out that the data (v. small study, BTW) does not suggest the vaccine is the cause. However the "journalist" ignored that and stated Andrew Wakefield was right. He wasn't.
Futhermore, the other research you are doing IS biased, there is plenty of scaremongering out there on the web (ooh! dead chickens in your syringe) but if you study the actual science and the statistics (which are very important to look at - this is about everyone, not just you) then you might get a more balanced view.

Anna Colette said...

Wow, it really is an emotive issue.

Anonymous 1 - I too have been fuming since reading your comment.

You think I'm ignorant?! I was ignorant when I had my eldest vaccinated and I have gone out of my way to be fully informed this time.

I have read books by medical professionals, scientific papers etc in order to come to my decision. I am about to go to a talk (in April) on vaccination by a GP who has thoroughly researched the issue due to her concerns about some of her patients. I will report back..

I am convinced that I am doing the best thing for my baby's short and long term health, and that I am not risking anyone elses' childrens' health.

It is hard to communicate everything I have learned in one, two or even fifty blog posts but if you check back here over the next 2 or 3 weeks I shall explain more.

I believe that vaccinations are NOT responsible for the decline of most major incidences, they DO cause harm to babies and children (sometimes death) and they DO NOT confer immunity against disease. Health cannot come from a needle.

If you're interested in understanding my reasons for not vaccinating, please follow my blog.

If you just want to take an overreactive, ill-informed, offensive stance then please fume elsewhere. There's no need to be rude, you can express a contrary opinion with respect.

I respect your right to choose whether to vaccinate your children or not - please offer me the same courtesy.

Anna Colette said...

Oh, and MTFF I will endeavour to answer your points in a separate blogpost. I'm not as concerned about dead chickens(?!) as toxic chemicals such as aluminium, and viruses from monkey cells (read up on SV40). I have not just used the internet, I have looked into this seriously.

I am not a scientist or researcher but have done my best as a concerned parent to get good information.

If you look into the 'science' of vaccination you may be suprised. there is no proof of their efficacy, and quite a bit of evidence to suggest they are a rik to health. The manufacturers of DTP for example admit it can cause SIDS (cot death). Nice. Not a risk I'm prepared to take.

Rose Tolhurst said...

Anna I think it is wonderful that you have spoken out about such a controversial subject, it is a tough thing to do. Especially when there are so many people out there that are so gravely miss informed by the government & various health organisations that they believe people such as you and I who are not vaccinating our children are posing a heath risk to others. we know this is not true, and the children who are most likely to get sick are the ones with weakened immune systems, the vaccinated!

Also lets not forget that we should not fear becoming sick, it is actually good for us, it cleanses our bodies of toxins. A healthy un-vaccinated child will recover quickly and be in better health because of it. We must not suppress illness with drugs.

Anna is not criticizing you for vaccinating she is simply explaining her way and making you aware that to vaccinate is not the only option.

I also urge you to do some reading on the subject (this does not include the leaflets given to you by your GP or health visitor, these are lies fed to them by the drug companies).

Anna Colette said...

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rose :-) You're absolutely right, I'm passionate about getting the word out that this is another way to go - that we can inform ourselves and perhaps make the decision that not vaccinating is a positive health choice.

I would never criticise someone for choosing to vaccinate, even though I believe that is not the best thing to do. We are lucky yo have the freedom to choose in this country and I am grateful to be able to exercise that right.

Eugena Keene said...

The immune system works in a complex muti dimensional way to protect us from illness and disease, however some illness and disease is necessary to build good health.
80% of our immune system is in the gut. Our gut is the hub of the immune system and the reason there is so much debate about vaccines and Autism. People with Autism have a damaged gut and an impaired immune system. Nobody with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) has a healthy, 'normal' digestive system. So, you can see that by messing with our natural immune function we are potentially going to damage this major area of our bodies, resulting in not only ASD's but Asthma, Excema, Schitzophrenia, Depression, Auto immune diseases (of which there are loads,) Chronic Fatigue syndrome; just to mention a few. But keeping us ill is keeping the drug companies selling their wares!
Those who are frightened by those of us who are speaking out about this, are the product of this industry. Keeping the fear factor high is exactly what this monopoly is all about. The doctors are given bonus's for their vaccine uptake, their training is funded by it and they are fed biased information during training. Their training pretty much amounts to how to prescribe drugs after a diagnosis, not how to look after out health for good.
If those who have written anonymous posts are so sure that they are safe from illness, then why are they scared of our children's possible measles illness? Newborn babies would have to be pretty ill with other weaknesses to catch anything major, giving colostrum and then breast milk is the best we can do for our babies. Why then do we hand their health over to the drug companies to gamble with? Your arguments are weak and full of fear. The only true health you can have is your natural immunity.
I have so much more I could say, but will do it in stages I think.
With love and respect for those who care to think beyond the box.
xxx

Eugena Keene said...

There are some very good doctors out there who truely understand the complexity of this issue. Sadly, we don't tend to see them at our local surgery because they have to opt out to private practice to really start healing. There are a whole host of good, intelligent doctors at the Breakspear Hospital in Hemel Hempstead. They work with those who have been environmentally damaged and let down by the NHS, if you get pumped full of drugs throughout a lifetime, or even a short childhood phase (and you have a delicate system) then you will become very sick and get a run of health problems which eventually shorten your life. The picture is so much bigger than people think. We need to look at the body and systems as a whole, not just the little bits we can see wrong on the surface. A thorough approach is wholistic, it's not 'hippy' to be wholistic, it's scientific. All systems are inter-related and all health leads back to our gut, to centre of our immune system. Modern medicine tends to only look at one area at a time, leaving the healing process with broken links.
If we catch an infectious disease we will breath it in where our mucous membranes will start the immune systems response, next will follow the fight from good bacteria in the gut (if we have any left after vaccination assault.) To stick the virus, plus heavy toxic metals and other poisonous additives into our blood streams; does not do the same job as gaining natural immunity through catching an illness 'properly'. Is it any wonder this goes wrong?
I have three children who have come to teach me well. Two have been party vaccinated (no MMR thank god!) One has OCD behavior at times, the other has regressive Autism. The un-vaccinated child shows more strength; and is so far, bright as a button. Our Autistic son's regrression coincided with the DPT shot he had at 12 months. I put it off as I was undecided, luckily I listened to my instinct when I was nursing his sick body for weeks after that shot. He has had no more since. To loose your child to Autism is the most heart breaking thing to endure, but it has made me question everything about our health. I have found answers and those answers have helped me to start healing him. He has heavy metal poisoning damaging his brain, pathogenic bacteria and parasites in the gut causing his neuro developmental delay, vitamin and mineral deficiencies in all areas leading to Autistic behavior and yeast overgrowth causing further brain fog. Since using diet and nutrients from careful supplementation to heal his gut and start his detoxification process, we have seen a new boy; well, the old boy we had before we started poisoning him.
It's alright for those with 'normal' kids to sit there and say that we are irresponsible not giving them these drugs, they can take their kid's health and strength for granted and 'get away with it.' It's not safe for everyone to have these drugs in their blood streams, as some are genetically susceptible to develop ill health; vaccination speeds this process up. How can they possibly know how it feels to have a child so sick in the gut that they can't speak, or be touched, a child that excretes foul stools 5 times a day and smears them all over themselves and everything around them, a child who screams in pain and fear of noises, light, even people? These kids are labeled as mentally retarded when actually they are intelligent individuals who have so much brain fog and poisoning that they can't speak. They are often the most environmentally sick and have come to teach us all where we are going wrong. Vaccine damage is an environmental disease and it's everywhere around us all.
An excellent book to understand this issue further is Gut and Psycology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell Mc Bride. She has a website too, google GAPS.

Anna Colette said...

Wow, Eugena, what powerful affecting comments. I am so sorry for the troubles you and your children have suffered. How fantastic that you are finding ways to heal the damage.

I would love to hear more, let me know if you want to write a guest post (or two, three, more) as I would be more than happy to feature on my blog any articles you want to write on this subject.

JulesandShad said...

I think Vaccination is an individual choice. The only ones guilty of ignorance are those who do not do their research before allowing their children to be injected!
Yes vaccinations have helped many children living in poverty, unhygienic and overcrowded conditions. However for children who do not have a weaker constitution due to chronic illness or have the benefits of a western lifestyle then perhaps vaccination is not the answer.
Sadly the WHO has adopted a one-size-fits-all vaccination program. Do western babies REALLY need a Tetanus shot at 8 weeks, before they are mobile?
As parents we need to make the best choices based on our knowledge and intuition for our children. It is grossly unfair to label parents who choose not to vaccinate as irresponsible.
Everyone should listen to the Radio 4/ BBC discovery podcast 'The vaccine Detectives' to truly get a handle of the positive and negative effects of vaccination, and how the WHO are prepared to use thousands of children as guinea pigs without properly informing the parents. Scary.
Well done Anna for being brave enough to speak out. Also- my last point- Dr Andrew Wakefield was not struck off for Lieing. He carried out seemingly unnecessary procedures (which parents had consented too!) to gather his data, resulting in the GMC taking away his license to practice. His research still stands. He was pro single MMR jabs not anti vaccination per se.

Anonymous said...

Part B - continued...

The efficacy of vaccines may also be debatable: recent outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) have been blamed on unvaccinated children, yet a recent study published in the BMJ showed that 85% of people who tested positive for pertussis in Oxfordshire had been fully ‘immunised’.
Taking a look at the vaccines themselves, the ingredients are certainly cause for concern: the actual virus or bacteria may be cultured either on animal tissue (which is a bit problematic for my vegetarian family!), aborted human foetal tissue, or even cancer cell lines. They also contain heavy metals used as adjuvants (to increase the immune response of the vaccine), such as aluminium or mercury - although mercury has been replaced within the last 10 years from childhood vaccines (but not the influenza vaccine). Heavy metals are known neurotoxins and studies have shown that heavy metal exposure also compromises immune function, reducing defence mechanisms that, to quote, ‘could lead to susceptibility to potential pathogens’. Another ingredient, Formaldehyde, used as a preservative in vaccines, is a known carcinogen. I could go on….
So my decision was based on these facts: vaccines are unsafe and may cause death, they may cause chronic or permanent health problems, they will reduce natural immunity overall and efficacy may be in doubt. Back to my original question, which is the greater risk – the vaccine, or the infectious disease?

Sarah

Anonymous said...

you do know the Dr. that wrote that article lost his license. My son got the MMR and he's fine. He's a perfectly healthy active 3 yr old and I don't regret giving it to him. in fact everyone posting and reading this has gotten it too. Don't read into everything you read and hear.

Anna Colette said...

Dr. Russell Blaylock is a Board Certified Neurosurgeon and has completed thousands and thousands of hours' worth of research into peer reviewed medical journals re vaccines and their deleterious effects on the human immune system.
Here's what he has to say about MMR. I partially agree with the last person who posted - do not believe everything you hear (from vaccine industry, Dept of Health Leaflets etc)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCqmN1kinlY&NR=1

Petersen Palace said...

I think vaccinations are all on an individual basis. I decided to move forward with vaccinating my daughter but EVERY time our appointment came around she got too sick to go. This happened three times and I took it as a sign to stop the process. She is 4 now, has not been vaccinated, and is a vibrant little girl. "The Vaccine Book" by: Dr. Sears is a great resource as well.

Anonymous said...

I think what a lot of people forget when choosing not to vaccinate is that the dangers of contracting the disease are far greater than the miniscule danger that a vaccine will induce side effects. People these days have often not seen a case of measle or seen the terrifying symptoms of tetanus.

People who choose not to vaccinate their children reduce the herd immunity of the community and put others at risk. For instance those who are immunocompromised and cannot be vaccinated, the very young (less than 2 years old) and the elderly (the effects of the vaccine wane with age.)

People choose not to vaccinate when they believe the threat of the vaccine side effects is greater than the threat of the disease it's vaccinating against. Some vaccines do have side effects, for instance the old whole cell pertussis vaccine could induce encephalitis. However the risk of this was 1 in 100,000. This is an acceptable risk when pertussis as of 2002 still caused 300,000 deaths world wide. However the vaccine was changed to acellular to remove this side effect.

Some believe that too many vaccines "overwhelm" the immune system. In fact the immunological load of vaccines has decreased in the past 30 years from 3000 proteins to 200 proteins being delivered in the vaccination regime. Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are equally susceptible to infections not prevented by vaccination, this therefore should not be considered an argument for not vaccinating.

I would recommend you read studies from reputable journals. Studies that are randomised controlled trials, preferably double-blind and not sponsered by any organisation who may have untoward motives regarding the vaccine.

20% of annual child deaths are vaccine preventable and 24 million infants a year are not vaccinated against diseases which should be assigned to the pages of history.

anna colette said...

Anonymous - you raise some interesting points which I will endeavour to address fully when I eventually write a fuller post/s on vaccination.

For now, I recommend you take a look at Dr. Russell Blaylock's short video series. He is a Board Certified Neurosurgeon and has completed thousands and thousands of hours' worth of research into peer reviewed medical journals re vaccines and their deleterious effects on the human immune system.

I'm not concerned about the number of proteins in vaccines (should I be? I confess, I am not a scientist just a concerned mother) but by the aluminium, formaldehyde and other toxic components in vaccines. Injecting those directly into the bloodstream of a 6 week old baby cannot be a good thing.

Many medical professionals are becoming concerned about the long-term effect of these components.

As for pertussis having no side effects. You can only get your baby vaccinated against pertussis on the NHS if you have the DTP jab.

The vaccine manufacturers state on their DTP insert that the chances of a serious adverse reaction to the DPT vaccine are 1 in 1750 (and that's per jab, babies get a total of 3 jabs so the risk is three times greater), while a baby's chances of dying from pertussis each year in a developed country are one in several million.