Mandatory Vaccinations

Mandatory Vaccination
Source: Health Freedom Foundation
www.healthfreedom.org

Although vaccinations have essentially extinguished many illnesses that plagued our society, The American Association for Health Freedom believes children should not be forcefully subjected to unreasonable amounts of vaccinations to combat diseases that primarily affect adults. AAHF is concerned about the lack of urgency among regulators when vaccinations result in death or permanent disability in children. Additionally, AAHF seeks to ensure that freedom of choice is not taken away from parents.

In 1980, American children were vaccinated against six diseases. Today, the mandatory number is 10, with multiple shots. In the near future, there may be two dozen more new childhood vaccines. This estimate may be conservative, according to the National Institutes of Health.

There is at present a serious trend of deteriorating health among American children. Published in a 1994 JAMA article, a survey conducted by Dr. Michel Odent found that children receiving the whooping cough vaccine were six times more likely to develop asthma than children not receiving this vaccine.

Recently, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases counted 104 separate vaccines at various stages of research and development for everything from herpes to ricketts to stomach ulcers. Not all of the new vaccines in the pipeline are aimed at children, of course. The idea of a "super vaccine"-given at birth or shortly after, with time release particles dissolving over time–may become our reality in a few years.

The "super vaccine" would not only cover the existing childhood protections against mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox, polio, whooping cough,tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B, and meningitis. It would target several varieties of other illnesses, including pneumonia, typhoid, encephalitis, diarrhea, strep, and influenza.

Dr. J. Anthony Morris, former FDA research virologist, thinks undeveloped immune systems of those so young are particularly susceptible to damage from overload. "That is absolutely the wrong approach, to give so many new vaccines."

With two-year-olds facing as many as four injections in a single pediatric visit, we have created an atmosphere in which the costs far outweigh any perceived benefits. Representative John Mica, R-FL, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Drug Policy and Human Resources , has questioned the safety of the hepatitis B vaccine: "Is it possible the Preventive measure for this disease is riskier than the disease itself?"

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) indicated that one third of the nearly 80,000 reports filed between 1990 and 1997 involved the DPT, whooping cough, vaccine. A total of 876 deaths were recorded after children received the DPT vaccine, a vaccine that is still on the market although a safer alternative exists. Of those, 291, or 33 percent of the deaths reported after a DPT shot, were within 24 hours of the vaccination. Milwaukee immunologist Burton Waisbren, a veteran clinical investigator, told a H ouse oversight subcommittee on federal health policy that "an injustice is being done to the children of this country." He labeled infant hepatitis B vaccination "an experiment sponsored by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) which is designed to determine if vaccination at birth of all babies in the United States will eventually decrease the frequency of cancer of the liver."

For many years, mercury was used as a preservative in vaccines, especially in the United States. In many cases, a preservative was only needed because multiple vaccinations were being given in one shot. Preservative free vaccines were available if taken one vaccination at a time. Why did the medical establishment push more and more vaccinations into one multiple shot? Because they thought that parents could not be trusted to come back to the doctor for a series of single shots spaced out over time. The result is not only potentially dangerous preservatives; it is also a greatly heightened risk of overloading the child's immune system by injecting too much in any one day. This approach does not put the child's welfare first.

Today protests have led to the removal of mercury from most childhood vaccines. But mercury is still used in flu vaccines for children and adults. In the past, children were inoculated against flu from birth to five years of age. This puts mercury into very immature bodies and immune systems. But the new recommedation, just out, is to continue inoculating until age 18. Is this for the children? No, it is supposed to provide better protection for the adults around the children. Meanwhile how much highly toxic mercury will our children be exposed to by age 18?

AAHF believes parents should be informed of their right to omit or simply postpone shots like the hepatitis B and flu vaccines. I nformed consent to any medical procedure carrying the risk of injury or death, such as vaccination, has been the prevailing ethical standard in medical care since the Nuremberg Code and Helsinki Declarations became part of international law after World War II. With increasing numbers of vaccines for non-life threatening conditions being developed and mandated for school-age children, we believe parents should have the right to philosocphical or conscientious belief exemptions for their children.