One of the great innovations of the medical world involved the discovery that injecting a small amount of cowpox into a human could prevent them from having a full outbreak of smallpox. The theory behind it was that the immune system would learn and be able to repel the pox invader the next time. Edward Jenner was given credit for bringing this technique to the world, though several others worked on a similar solution. Jenner's unique contribution to the process was that in 1796, he proved that people inoculated with his first vaccine would not get smallpox, and the result was that this deadly and feared disease was tamed. The medical landscape was drastically altered as a result. In 1979 it was officially announced that through efforts of the health networks and governments that smallpox was considered eradicated.
Like with every scientific discovery, there were scoffers in those days who objected to being subjected to exposure to disease causing pathogens. Educated people understood that vaccines were the key to preventing plagues which wiped out large numbers of people. When I was growing up, I was unaware of anyone with any intelligence doubting the efficacy and safety of vaccines. Like many other things in our world, this too has changed. A small army of health aware activists are bringing arguments to the table that vaccines now pose a health threat. How can that be? How can the very innovation which has been hailed greater than antibiotics (another target of activists) be viewed with suspicion?
Here's the deal in a nutshell. Modern vaccines have evolved, perhaps in part due to financial concerns. Selling vaccines is big business. Is it possible that companies manufacturing these vaccines might cut some corners to enhance their profit? Could they possibly have combined vaccines or altered them in a way that could harm the human body? The body is a marvelous thing and very complex. Can you believe that new vaccines are tested for all possible side effects before they are brought to market? Can you trust the government organizations in charge of safeguarding our health?
A rise in the autism rates of children is one of the main concerns of those who question the new vaccines. Things which negatively impact the body are part of the recipe for some vaccines. Mercury, MSG, formaldehyde, and aluminum are some of those substances. Of course the FDA gives MSG a clean bill of health and you are almost unable to find foods without it. I personally refuse to take a flu shot. I've heard stories of people who had the worst case of flu in their lives after they had a flu shot. I've almost never had this disease in my adult life. When I read about a hastily concocted vaccine to combat a new strain of flu, my active mind has to ponder how much testing has been done with it. And the chance of determining long term effects is impossible since the new flu strain has just manifested itself.
I used to earn a living as a computer programmer. I knew that when I made a change to a program that thorough testing was necessary. Every time a line of code was changed in a program, it was possible that something broke, possibly in an area of the program that I had not considered. In reality, to be really safe, it was necessary to test the entire program and not just the changes that I was aware of. Buggy software is a big pain and could cause lots of grief. A vaccine that has not been thoroughly tested could be a menace to society. Great care should be taken to safeguard those trusting individuals who submit themselves to getting a needle in the arm or orally ingesting a strange substance. Whistle blowers should be treated as heroes, not zeroes.
Intelligent people don't come to a conclusion in a vacuum. Both sides of a controversy have to be studied with an open mind. Is there cause for concern? Do the research yourself. I've provided some links to sites questioning vaccines and those supporting them. I've come to the conclusion that we have a lot of cause for worry, especially for babies, however I don't propose eradicating vaccines. There is a vast difference between informed concern and paranoia. We just have to ensure that they are safe and efficient.
Natural News – one of the biggest advocates of concern:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036255_MMR_autism_court_case.html
From the Institute of Medicine
http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/blog/institute-of-medicine-says-vaccines-are-safe
Here's the FDA page. With FDA's track record of protecting the American people from deadly medicines and foods that they have approved, I put as much trust in them as I do a used car salesman.
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/default.htm
This site has a wealth of information concerning this topic.
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/vaccines.htm
We need more research. If the vaccines were always harmful, this would be a no-brainer. Finding problems that only arise sporadically is much more difficult to track down. It appears to me that under certain conditions, people have violent and sometimes deadly reactions to vaccines. Instead of defending the safety of all vaccines, those in the position to do so need to find out what those conditions are and provide modified vaccines or some type of alternative for those individuals.
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