First it was the flu. Then, it was whooping and mumps. Now (predictably) . . . it’s the shmeasles measles. I know what you’re thinking:
“Gasp! Did she just make a play on words with a horrifying, deadly disease? Doesn’t she know that measles is making a comeback and is at an all-time high?”
Yes, I totally did (but no, it’s actually not). Dealing with dishonest measles propaganda got me like, “whoa.” Am I scared of my child getting measles? Absolutely not. Am I scared of the MMR vaccine . . . you better believe it. I’d be scared to give my child anything that hasn’t been proven safe or effective and has a track record of killing children or leaving them with debilitating neurological conditions. You would be too if you were getting the facts…the real facts.
(Sh)measles Inconsistencies
According to the CDC’s most recent Morbidity and Mortality Report (MMWR) measles is a “highly contagious, acute viral illness that can lead to serious complications and death.” Of course, prior MMWR reports and the CDC’s manual of surveillance leave out that last part; but since we’re trying to scare people into vaccinating their children, this 2014 gem of a report decided to adopt a global view and kick the emotions up a notch to let you know what’s at stake…death.
If you’ve been watching the media, subscribing to anti-vaxxer hate articles, or just so happen to come across the World Health Organization statistics, you’ll see that 122,000 people die from measles globally each year. Scary, right?
Yet, on that same MMWR report the CDC lists the clinical definition for measles as “an illness characterized by a generalized rash lasting ≥3 days, a temperature of ≥101°F [≥38.3°C], and cough, coryza, and/or conjunctivitis.” In other words, a rash, cough, and fever is how measles typically presents at the doctor’s office here in the United States, and this is the clinical definition used on all of their reports and surveillance data. Do you know how many people die each year from measles in this country? About zero.
So which is it? A deadly disease…or a rash? Well, it depends on whether we’re using global statistics. If you’re not, it’s a rash. If you’re trying to sensationalize a disease and fear monger people into vaccinating their kids with one of the most controversial vaccines there is…it’s an earth-shattering, beyond words terrifying, deadly disease. Except that it’s not…not in America anyway, and it’s not hard to see why.
According to the World Health Organization,
“Severe measles is more likely among poorly nourished young children, especially those with insufficient vitamin A, or whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV/AIDS or other diseases. [..] As high as 10% of measles cases result in death among populations with high levels of malnutrition and a lack of adequate health care. […] More than 95% of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes and weak health infrastructures. […] Overcrowding in residential camps greatly increases the risk of infection.”
I hate to point out the obvious here, but we do not live in a third world country. But hey, if I walk out my front door in the morning and step onto a dirt road that’s never seen trash service, or a sewer system, and is crowded with millions of starving people, I’ll let you know.
Seriously, applying global statistics of developing countries to the United States is like doing an obesity campaign in Africa based on U.S statistics. Yes, it’s completely rational to compare the second fattest nation in the world to a starving African country. The three leading causes of death in this country (heart disease, cancer, and our own healthcare system) are not the leading causes of death in third world countries. Actually, in developing countries measles doesn’t even make the “top 10” list. 122,000 people die from measles globally but over a half a million people in low-income countries alone, die from road traffic accidents. Do they make a vaccine for that?
I’m not trying to downplay death here, but I think it’s ironic that we use global statistics when it suits us, chalk up the decline of disease in this country to the vaccine, overlook the comparisons between an industrialized country and a developing one, and completely ignore the fact that the MMR vaccine is associated with severe adverse reactions including death, which is happening at a far higher rate in this country.
The Schmeasle Facts
Here’s how the measles statistics break down over the past few years:
- In 2017 there were 120 cases of measles.
- In 2016, there were 86.
- In 2015, there were 188 cases.
- In 2014 there were 667 cases of measles, no cases of encephalitis, and no death.
- In 2013 there were 189 cases of measles, no encephalitis and no death.
- In 2012 there were 54 cases of measles, no encephalitis, and no death.
- In 2011, there were 220 cases of measles, and you guessed it . . . no encephalitis, and no death.
I could go on, but you get the point. By and large, measles is an unpleasant rash with a fever but it isn’t deadly. The clinical definition doesn’t support that and neither do the facts. By comparison, as of March 1, 2012 there were 842 serious injuries following the MMR vaccine and 140 deaths. Between 1990 and 2014, were more than 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). That’s significant when you consider that only 1-10% of adverse events are actually reported to this system.
I’d give you some legit 2017 statistics but unfortunately, we don’t keep track of the adverse reactions because the vaccine industry would crumble and we’d be sued for the 1 in 36 autism numbers and for injuring and killing thousands of children if we did. Measles statistics are only important if they will help us scare people into vaccinating:
But measles can cause blindness . . . so can the MMR vaccine.
But measles can cause encephalitis . . . so can the MMR vaccine
But measles can cause pneumonia . . . so can the MMR vaccine.
But if I don’t get vaccinated, I could get measles . . . If you do get vaccinated you could get measles, both from the vaccine, and when your temporary (if any) vaccine immunity disappears.
The CDC says that 5-10 percent of people vaccinated with MMR will develop a fever and rash. This means there are 650,000-1,300,000 cases of vaccine-induced measles in the U.S each year based off of the 13-14 million doses given to one-year-olds.
But if my child gets measles . . . they could die. Given U.S statistics, they’re more likely to die from the MMR vaccine.
Death from various, and in some cases unknown, causes has been reported rarely following vaccination with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines […]. – MMR Vaccine insert
But the measles vaccine has prevented so many deaths. Wrong. Read the chapter on measles from this book. We’ve been duped. Secondly, it’s impossible to test whether a vaccine prevented a death. You’d have to assume that if there were an outbreak of measles, everyone would have gotten it, and you’d have to assume that everyone vaccinated against measles would have had immunity. Vaccinated people get the diseases they’re vaccinated against all . . . the . . . time.
But the measles vaccine has been proven safe and effective. Wrong again. But hey, call me up when someone does a double-blind (saline/inert) placebo controlled study on this vaccine, and let me know when “effective” means “life-time immunity.”
But if you don’t vaccinate, my baby who is too young to be vaccinated will be at risk. You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it:
“Unvaccinated people put themselves and others at risk — particularly infants too young to be vaccinated, who can have the most severe complications.” – Anne Schuchat, MD
Absolutely not true. What puts our babies at risk is the waning immunity that comes from a highly vaccinated population. You know what would give your baby a good dose of protection for the first year of their life? You guessed it, a mother whose been exposed to wild measles who then passes on these antibodies to protect her baby for the first year of life. Actually, medical literature suggests this protection could last up to 10 years. Imagine that.
The Benefits of Natural Exposure to Wild Measles
Nobody wants their child to get sick . . . ever . . . from a vaccine or a virus, but the truth of the matter is that natural exposure to these viruses are incredibly important for the development of our immune systems and for disease protection in years to come.
A measles rash as a child could yield protection against cancer as an adult (The Lancet, Bluming 1971, Pasquinucci 1971, Taqi 1981) and may provide protection against degenerative diseases of bone and cartilage, sebaceous skin diseases, immunoreactive diseases and certain tumours.
And, if you believe the hype about the measles vaccine that can treat cancer, then you have to acknowledge the fact that the real virus can do the same – and without the need to inoculate the equivalent of 10 million people with a genetically engineered teenage mutant ninja measles virus.
The Risks v. the “Benefits”
So we have measles, which is associated with a red, itchy, rash, a runny nose, and a cough, that gives lifetime immunity, protection against more serious diseases as adults, and allows a mother to pass these antibodies to her baby for protection during their first year of life . . . or you have the MMR vaccine, which only provides temporary (if any) immunity, and could cause the following possible adverse reactions:
Panniculitis, atypical measles, fever, syncope, headache, dizziness, malaise, irritability, vasculitis, pancreatitis, diarrhea, vomiting, parotitis; nausea, diabetes, thrombocytopenia, purpura, regional lymphadenopathy, leukocytosis, anaphylaxis, arthritis, arthralgia, myalgia, encephalitis, encephalopathy, measles inclusion body encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, seizures, convulsions, polyneuritis, polyneuropathy, ocular palsies, paresthesia, aseptic meningitis, pneumonia, pneumonitis, sore throat, cough, rhinitis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, urticaria, measles-like rash, pruritus, nerve deafness, otitis media, retinitis, optic neuritis (i.e. blindness), papillitis, retrobulbar neuritis, conjunctivitis, epididymitis, orchitis, and death.
Yeah, but didn’t you see that scary picture of the child who had measles used to scare everyone into vaccinating?
Yeah . . . I did, and I wanted to congratulate this kid’s immune system. You see, the measles virus doesn’t cause the rash. This rash is physical evidence of cellular immunity destroying virus-containing cells and it’s extremely important. In other words, this scary rash is a byproduct of T-cells neutralizing the measles virus. Without it our children could die or be exposed to far worse diseases as adults.
Here’s a picture of a child post MMR vaccine who also developed a rash.
Unfortunately this child will not get lifetime immunity, will not have antibodies to pass on to their own children, and will be at risk for developing measles as an adult (which is much more serious) as well as a whole host of other diseases, including cancer. Knowing what I just told you about the significance of the rash, this is clear evidence that this child’s body is trying to neutralize an infection caused by the vaccine.
Here are pictures of two other children post MMR vaccine.
What? You didn’t see this on the news? Me neither. Seriously, the vaccine you get to protect your children from measles . . . did that. The MMR vaccine has also left children disabled, paralyzed, chronically diseased, and dead both here and in third-world countries.
But what about children in third-world countries?
The reason children in third world countries die from measles is because they are malnourished or have impaired cellular immunity and cannot neutralize the virus (via a rash), because they are vitamin A deficient (which according to the WHO can reduce the number of deaths from measles by 50%); or because we’re vaccinating small children with MMR while they have measles protective antibodies from their mother still in their bodies.
But, what about the mmr vaccine and autism?
The big argument is that (a) MMR isn’t associated with autism, and (b) it could be, but the deadly threat of measles is more dangerous than a lifetime of autism . . . so for the sake of everyone we should all vaccinate.
Whether you believe in the connection between MMR and autism, or not, if there is even the slightest chance that the MMR vaccine triggers any disease, we should not be injecting any child with this vaccine. A mild, unpleasant measles rash pales in comparison to ALL of the possible adverse MMR reactions . . . including autism.
Schmeasles Propaganda
Measles propaganda is not a new phenomenon. In 1996, 2008, and 2011, measles was at an “all-time-high” and the unvaccinated were to blame (as usual). But yearly statistics fluctuate and the majority of outbreaks regardless of the year occur in travelers who come from other countries.
Each year measles also occurs in the vaccinated, and outbreaks overall are highest in the most vaccinated states including New York, California, and Ohio; states that all “theoretically” should be protected by “vaccine-induced” herd immunity. Oh yeah . . . that. If you look at the statistics, you’ll see that the majority of people who get measles today are older. You can thank vaccines for shifting people into susceptibility groups where these diseases are typically much more severe.
I don’t want my child to ever get sick, but you can’t convince me that the faulty, temporary immunity cooked up in Dexter’s laboratory which shifts exposure of measles to the youngest and the older most at-risk populations, causes serious vaccine adverse reactions, contains viruses, residual tissue, cells, and DNA from aborted babies, and toxic ingredients that would put a parent in jail if they made their kids ingest them individually, and yields nothing short of junk protection, is superior to natural immunity.
I’m all for evidence-based medicine, but I draw the line at “bad evidence.”
I opted out of the MMR vaccine and I’m not scared of the shmeasle measles. But don’t take my word for it: Talk to generations older than you who actually had measles, look at how measles was portrayed in the media before marketing and money got involved, and research this vaccine for yourself.
Hi Megan, I’m hoping you can help me with a question that I’ve been pondering for years…we have an 8-year-old child who is vaccine free and has never acquired chickenpox or measles. She is very healthy, eats well, mostly fresh foods and is a competitive gymnast, so she is quite fit. I wonder if she is less likely to catch chickenpox or measles because she is so healthy? I often wonder if I should seek out exposure so that she develops immunity as a child, or just hope that she becomes a healthy adult that will be resistant? I keep going back to, if she never acquires chickenpox, that is even better than a forced acquisition, but I’m not sure if I’m on the right track. What are the statistics for acquiring either of these as an adult? Dangerous or not? Thanks for any insight you can share.
Hi Kris,
Well I personally believe in the terrain theory which states that germs only live in environments conducive to growth. So if a person is super healthy, they are more likely to NOT get sick. I wouldn’t necessarily seek out exposure or avoid it. I personally haven’t had chicken pox and it’s not something I am even remotely worried about. My daughter had it and it was uneventful. (I actually wrote about it on this blog). As it pertains to the vaccinated, their “immunity” if any they derived, is long gone and their risk of contracting shingles is greater because of being vaccinated. I’m not sure what statistics you’re looking for, but here are two posts I’ve written and I always recommend the PubMed database for any studies you might need.
https://www.livingwhole.org/my-child-got-chicken-pox-and-survived/
https://www.livingwhole.org/dear-parents-are-you-being-lied-to/
– Megan
I was trying to access your CDC link for the 5-10% showing rash after the vaccine. Do you have it saved or a screen shot or any information to hunt it down?
“Mom,” I have updated this post several times and every time I do, they remove (i.e. hide) the articles and citations. I’ll have to go through the post and update it again.
***WHO IS Dr ANDREW WAKEFIELD?
THE MEANING OF THE WAKEFIELD PROSECUTION
Dr. Wakefield was, and remains, a dissident from medical orthodoxy. The medical establishment subjected him to a modern day medical show trial for his dissent. Dr. Wakefield’s research raised fundamental doubts about the safety of vaccines and the aetiology of autism. Dr. Wakefield was punished for his temerity to caution the public about vaccine risks and to urge them to use their own judgment. Dr. Wakefield was punished for upholding vaccination choice.
The purpose of the proceeding, as in any show trial, was to communicate to other doctors and scientists, and to the public, the error of the perpetrator’s ways. A show trial offers a veneer of due process but, at its core, displays naked power. The apparent intent of the prosecution was to intimidate others from following Dr. Wakefield’s footsteps and to teach the lesson that anyone in the medical or scientific community who dares to publicly question the safety and efficacy of vaccines will be punished with utmost severity. The GMC appears to have decided that if the price of such a lesson was scientific ignorance about vaccine-autism links and the suffering of severely ill children, then so be it. Dr. Wakefield was made an example.
The GMC destroyed Dr. Wakefield’s professional reputation and livelihood, and The Lancet and other publications confiscated his professional accomplishment through retraction. The GMC colluded with The Lancet, the media, the British Department of Health, the pharmaceutical industry, and even with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice, to discredit Dr. Wakefield. Before long, the world will likely recognize that it was Dr. Wakefield, not his detractors, who stood up for the practice of medicine and the pursuit of science. Dr. Wakefield remains an unbowed dissident in the face of a repressive medical and scientific establishment. Mary Holland
Dr Wakefield’s series on vaccines will be circulated in the LINKLETTER every Tuesday – DV.
http://vaxxedthemovie.com/who-is-dr-andrew-wakefield/
+
INTERVIEW WITH Dr ANDREW WAKEFIELD DECEMBER 2018
video – 76 minutes
This is great information. It is hard to cover ever issue related to vaccines and parents need to do there own research. Which can take hours and I would say is the only way to actually give “informed consent”. I’ve made the decision about not vaccinating 13 years ago when my first was born and always revisit the information to make sure I stay informed. For now, we will work on our immune systems and keeping the strong.
I had the measles as a child 45 years ago. My mother hardly remembers it!
Megan, you rock!! This was a great article. I stopped vaccinating my kids 16 years ago, got informed and treat any sicknesses naturally. We got kicked out of our pediatrician’s office, but no worries, we haven’t needed him in all those years!!
Thanks Sheri!
Thanks for sharing! <3
The problem is that us layman are not capable of researching this by ourselves. I am an extremely educated person, but not in THIS subject. I am not a specialist, and neither are you. I do not believe you have the expertise to judge the relative dangers of vaccinating vs not vaccinating. Neither can I and neither can 99% of the people read this. Urging people to “go do your own research” is dangerous, because they don’t have the expertise to properly do so. Neither do you, which is probably why your conclusions are so incorrect.
This quote illustrates my point perfect: “I’m all for evidence-based medicine, but I draw the line at ‘bad evidence.’”
You don’t have the training to be able to tell the difference.
What if your child does get measles? What are the best natural thrapies? Our 5yr old got vaccines up until 2 years ago when we became educated. I also believe he received more than he was supposed to before that time. He has the bumps around the forehead and the face and is really tired. Need some advice please. Thank you.
Vitamin A!
What’s a good dose for 5 year old?
I really enjoyed your post!
I am a big advocate for preventative health. I am not opposed to medical care as it does save lives. But I believe it prevention, beginning with what we put into our body and how we build up the immune system. The measles recently reached our area, which has prompted me to research the viral infection more in order to maintain a healthy household and immune system in my family. I enjoyed this.
Your article is poorly researched and full of fallacies. You compare the possible risks of the measles vax against the diagnostic description for measles. You scoff at it as a “rash”. Poison ivy causes a rash, so does chicken pox, so did smallpox. There are rashes that are manageable, and rashes that are severe. Measles is not a trivial illness. I had chicken pox as a kid because there was no vaccine, and now I’m at risk for shingles, which can be terribly painful and debilitating.
To make a valid comparison, compare the risks of vaccination, which are extremely low, with the risks from measles. I used the CDC because that’s your source for risks form vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html. 20% risk of pneumonia. 10% risk of ear infection and diarrhea (dangerous in small children), possibility of encephalitis , 1 in 1,000 risk of death. Not all kids in the US, even in prosperous homes, have excellent nutrition and health. Where is your concern for children living in poverty in the US?
You and other anti-xaxxers mistrust the CDC and equate them with Big Pharma. From what I have learned, the CDC suffers from bureaucracy, but public health officials are not shills for Big Pharma; they are dedicated to keeping people safe, and villifying them is a crummy thing to do. They are actual scientists, unlike you.
The guy who claimed the MMR vax causes autism literally lied because he wanted to promote his own alternative, for profit.
It’s not just measles in MMR vaccines. Mumps is dangerous. And I’m old enough to know people harmed by rubella. You can live a full life if you are blinded by rubella in utero, but it’s fantastic to be free from it. I knew several people who’d had polio, then post-polio syndrome later in life; I’m grateful the vaccine came along when I was a kid. Vaccines are a tremendous gift; they genuinely save lives and health, and your bad logic is irresponsible.
You’re trying hard to sound smart and that you did any extensive research yourself. The “guy” you mentioned, do you even know his name? It’s Dr Andrew Wakefield. And the study had absolutely nothing to do with autism and he was suggesting individual shots rather than combo shots. What was his study about? Why don’t you actually go read it instead of parroting what someone, whom obviously didn’t read the study nor take the time to even research his name, else said by word of mouth. This is how we know you only picked up what benefited your arguments rather than do any real research of your own.
*correction he is just Andrew Wakefield. He lost his medical license for his ‘study’ which has now been redacted.
Correction: it was retracted, not redacted.
“And the study had absolutely nothing to do with autism”
Well, yeah, it did.
“Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children”
(Lancet, volume 351, ISSUE 9103, P637-641, February 28, 1998
RETRACTED)
“We identified associated gastrointestinal disease and developmental regression in a group of previously normal children, which was generally associated in time with possible environmental triggers.”
His later comments expanded on the developmental regression and autism theme. Yes, he did make statements about individual shots but it was all under the rubric of preventing autism; the GI disease portion of this became much less important.
No, not Dr. – he was stripped of his licence yo practice medicine because he lied about the way he did his study, he lied about the results of his study, and he lied about his own financial interest in the results of his study. He is a lying fraud.
Actually … that’s not true. You should read the Lancet retraction and look into the 12 scientists corroborating his research.
It’s not bad logic. Everything on the table was weighed quite well.
Vaccines have a lot of ingredients that are not what you should be putting into your body. It’s an answer to problems that isn’t a good answer, hurts people, and makes good money. You’re buying into it. Which sucks for you. I’m sorry.
If we sat down molecule to molecule and cell to cell, and went through the entire vaccine issue, we would end up running into arguments over existence itself. You would say aluminum is fine, and I’d say no it’s not. We probably wouldn’t get past that point because you don’t want to. You’re not looking for truth, you’re protecting the notion that you have it already. And so is the cdc. And big pharma.
I have no idea what anti vaxxer means. What about pro my healthy body? And anti scientist’s money making schemes? Like no dude. It’s not healthy and you’ll never be able to debate your way out of that fact. Vaccines are definitely an answer to problems but they are a partially successful and very selfish answer. Certain people like you can’t see that. You are not correct and can’t see the issue.
As a mother who has a child on the autism spectrum and had followed quite a few autism pages as well as knows about 20-30 parents who’s children have autism. Most of our children have or have had IG issues my dear so Andrew Wakefield was definitely correct on his research. There are other doctors that have since then writing books. I suggest you get a copy of “Gut Psycholgy Sybdrome” written by Dr. Nathsha Campbell-McBride MD.
Ok for starters the CDC makes billions a year selling vaccines. Ask your elders…a lot of them had measles the same way we had chicken pox. You feel lousey for a week then you’re fine and your immune system is stronger. Shingles doesn’t happen with everyone and you can also get shingles from the vaccine. Fact. It’s also not super serious in normal situations. But one things for sure I was able to pass natural immunity to my daughter .
The CDC does not “make billions a year selling vaccines.”
It’s a federal agency, not a commercial entity, and does not sell vaccines.
You’ve got to be joking? Please do some actual research before making such claims. Some of the wealthiest men in the world are the makers of vaccines.https://www.forbes.com/profile/cyrus-poonawalla/#54fce8d37d01
The CDC holds the patents on something like 26 vaccines. And, of course, if you start looking into where their staff come from and where they go, with what kind of contracts, you quickly find out that they have a revolving employment door with the pharmaceutical industry–so much so that they often have trouble coming up with researchers who don’t have conflict of interest problems. They have also been caught trying to hide research results that disagree with their propaganda. This is fraud.
I agree with you 💯 percent they are willing to not get vaccines and it puts our children who do get vaccines at a higher risk for illnesses they put out false information and the people who claim they live organically are blinded by this simply for the fact they neglect to see the many that had mmr and are now greatly effected
Joanna, How does an unvaxxed child put anyone at risk? They don’t spread diseases they don’t have. If vaccines are so effective, what do you have to fear anyway? The logic here is absolutely flabbergasting.
You are incompetent. Not all children are able to be vaccinated due to getting sick from vaccinations. This often comes from an immunity disorder. These children are the ones put at higher risk. Next, the MMR vaccine does not last forever. Over time it becomes ineffective and this is why children get boosters. Not vaccinating your child is putting children that cannot be vaccinated at higher risk of disease and infection. If this is what you decided to do, keep them out of public school, keep them out of public events, keep them in your home. The statistics are low because of vaccinations. You feeling about vaccinations should not affect people who did not get a choice.
https://www.livingwhole.org/to-the-parent-of-an-immunocompromised-child-who-thinks-my-kid-is-a-threat/
@SJ
They have absolutely no logic whatsoever and simply choose to keep drinking the kool-aid via their all-knowing and prescient overlords within the “gubbamint” and the so-called “pharma industry”. All they do is endlessly come up with completely fabricated nonsense, illogical bs, or outright vitriol. The poster below you, Derek, said this:
“You are incompetent. Not all children are able to be vaccinated due to getting sick from vaccinations.”
Lol! Need I say more? I stopped reading his response immediately after seeing that. Smfh.
An unvaccinated child that comes in contact with the measles, contracts it, and becomes contagious has the potential to spread the disease to other children that, for whatever reason (usually NOT for lack of proper medical care and nutrition). My three year old son was one such child during his first and second years— stage IV neuroblastoma (cancer). Had an infected child come in contact with my toddler during his treatment, there is a very high probability that he would not be here today. Immunocompromised people absolutely depend on healthy individuals vaccinating themselves when they can. The decision not to vaccinate (which I understand is “your right”) can have far-reaching effects on more people than you might think.
So…. do you think you’re not at risk of getting the shingles if you had the CP vaccine?! Not only would that person be at risk for getting the shingles but they could also get the CP. You on the other hand only have to have it once….
Ohmy! Maybe you should come and visit us here in the Philippines someday. When I had mumps, I still played outside with my friends who also have mumps. We played alongside each other. And I think we turned out fine, I am 31 yrs old now. I had chickenpox too when I was little, never had the vaccine. My cousine had the chickenpox when she was 21 yrs old, some scars were left but she’s fine. Her kid is already 17 yrs old. I hope you get to see past this comment, you see, we are from a third world country but we pulled through. It isn’t scary. It’ll only be scary if the people getting these illnesses are malnourished. Eat healthy! Stay healthy! 🙂
Great stats, except when you said Africa was a starving country. Maybe do some research on that…
Thank you so much for this article.
You have said everything that I have always thought.
I have been receiving so much abuse in Ireland from neighbors, friends, about not vaccinating my 4 year old that now no one speaks to me,
What a brainwashed country we are,
I will still never put those vaccines in my son.
Thank you for putting the time into this article,
Kind regards
Thank you Ava. I am glad you liked it.
Thank you so much for this article. It was well written and you are so professional in your responses to both those that agreed but most importantly disagreed with you. I respect the research you have done. I will continue to follow you. Thank you!
Thanks Ashley! Glad you liked it and are following. 🙂
Sorry to reply to your comment but I can’t seem to find out how to post one of my own 🤔 I read your article with so much interest Megan! I chose not to vaccinate with MMR but now that in my daughter’s class there is measles I get worried. Mostly because I wonder if her 3 year old sister is too young because I read under 5 chances of complications are higher but also for us as parents. We were vaccinated as children so probably no immunity there anymore and a higher risk for complications in adults. How do you deal with those risks? It doesn’t help that the papers just reported a 37 year old dead from measles 😓 I’m confused whether to use a mono vaccine for the kids to protect ourselves or get vaxxed ourselves or nothing.
I love this article. I know it was written years ago but I enjoyed reading the honestesty when I’m feeling pressure to give my 2 year old the mmr vaccine. I have refused it but she has had all the others so far. I must say this makes totally sense and I’m not crazy for questioning it!! Thank you for writing this made my day to see someone has common sense.
Please read some unaltered evidence based medicine from the source and not from people with alternative motives.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6204a1.htm
You do realize I cited the CDC extensively in this post, right?
Side Note: The CDC has an agenda. Everyone knows that. 😉 I however, do not.
You really need to research the CDC before quoting them as a trustable source for information. The conflicts of interest existing at the CDC are too numerous to mention, but let’s say: they buy and sell $4 billion worth of vaccines every year. They have FIRM ties with pharmaceutical companies. One of their top research scientists has come out and admitted that they altered safety data on the MMR and hid negative effects (autism actually) that they were aware of. There is a revolving door of CDC executives who then go on to work for pharmaceutical companies, none of this hidden, all out in plain view.
Great read. Stuff I already knew but love hearing it in your words and seeing you ‘shout it from the roof tops’. It’s refreshing. Thank you 🙂
So, if your child got the measles, how would you recommend treating it holistically at home? The fever I would just let it do it’s job, keep hydrated, treat the cough and sniffles like any other time, but what about the rash?
I’ve had experience with this actually. Treated it just like any other illness. Waited until it ran it’s course, lots of rest, hydration, and vitamin A (specifically for measles). You don’t have to do anything for a rash – a rash with measles is a good sign and you don’t suppress that. It goes away on it’s own. 😉 Just my personal opinion.
My whole generation and those before had this childhood “illness” along with chicken Pox, Mumps, etc. For my generation, here in the USA, Measles was and is nothing more than a rash and a fever and soon forgotten. That’s all there is too it.
Saying this is just as dishonest as pro-vaxxers saying that vaccinations are 100% safe and effective.
No, measles can be deadly. Even for healthy children. It can cause disabilities. That is a fact. It’s very rare, yes, but it can happen. It did happen, even in the USA. Stating that it’s always just a rash and a fever is dishonest.
This is the CDC’s clinical definition of measles ^. Anything can be deadly – including water … but water isn’t inherently deadly and neither is measles.
That’s not a definition of measles any more than a black eye is a definition of bullying. A rash, fever, etc are presenting symptoms. Measles is a specific virus — an enveloped, ribonucleic acid virus of the genus Morbillivirus. You get tested specifically for that virus.
“Clinical disease: A disease that has recognizable clinical signs and symptoms, as distinct from a subclinical illness, which lacks detectable signs and symptoms. Diabetes, for example, can be a subclinical disease for some years before becoming a clinical disease.” – Medicine Net
I used the clinical definition given by the CDC and it is hyperlinked in this post. Yes, there is a measles virus. Yes, you are tested for this virus. I’m not sure how that negates the clinical definition but I guess you can take it up with the CDC.
easles inclusion body encephalitis, or severe brain swelling caused by the measles virus, is a complication of getting infected with the wild-type measles virus. While rare, this disorder almost always happens in patients with weakened immune systems. The illness usually develops within 1 year after initial measles infection and has a high death rate. There have been three published reports of this complication happening to vaccinated people. In these cases, encephalitis developed between 4 and 9 months after MMR vaccination. In one case, the measles vaccine strain was identified as the cause.
Megan, I read your articles out loud to my husband all the time, your words are great. Thank you for your continual outcry against the sheeple! Love ya!!!
Lol. Glad you could find it entertaining.
Thank you for a truthful and common sense article! The fear mongering is huge on this typical and benign disease! Most people over 30 have actually had the disease and GASP–wait for it—LIVED! We are not a third world country (and even if we were I still wouldn’t trust vaccines anymore!) Wake up Everyone! Vaccine Damage Is Real! Learn the Real Risks!
Many people who would be over 30 also have had measles, but they can’t tell you about it because they GASP — wait for it — DIED!
Megan, excellent article! You covered all the issues of the MMR. As a fellow “thinker” and grandmother who is seeing this generation decimated by faulty science and bad medicine, I’ve been studying this issue for 13 years. My recent fight alongside parents of vaccine damaged children in our communist state of California has only deepened my resolve to get the truth out to those who have ears to hear. Medicine should be based on science, GOOD honest science. IT IS NOT A RELIGION! I do believe we may have reached the tipping point where parents are not wholesale buying the lies anymore.
Thank you soooo much Meagan for this article. I live in NY, NY. I am in the process now of writing an religious exemption letter for my 7 year old son. He was kicked out of his school. I will use the guidelines of your article. I will keep you posted on what happens. Hopefully, one day you can be a guest on my new radio show.
Hi Angela, so glad you liked it. Good luck on getting your daughters exemption (and with the launch of your new show). 😉
You are literally the most short sighted, ignorant, and obtuse person in the world. You are everything that is wrong with this country and human kind in general. I can’t wait for you and your kids to die of a preventable disease so their shitty genes are not passed on .
I am so sorry you feel that way Sean. I personally think what’s wrong with the world is that people think it’s their business to tell other parents how to raise their children and then call them names and wish death upon their family when they come to an informed decision that doesn’t align up with their own subjective viewpoint. If you intend to comment further, exercise respect.
I am surprised that you allow abusive shills to even have a say Megan.Don’t waste your breath.
Based on your very abusive, callous, mindless remarks, it is you who is the ignorant one Sean. To believe that the church of western medicine is the “only” medicine and is “the way”, very clearly shows how brain washed you are by all the dogma. And, there’s no such thing as a preventable disease although your church tells you that its really “holy water”in those vaccine viles that have saved the world from extinction from normal human infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, and chicken pox(GASP!). You wanna inject toxic poison into your veins,or the veins of your children, knock yourself out. Otherwise, go spew your venom at someone who cares.
The same could quite easily be said of you sir… It’s all just a matter of opinion.
Sounds to me like someone is issuing you a death threat? I think that’s a crime the last time I looked. At the least its Cyber Bullying by someone who won’t even share their “real” name.
But maybe they had an adverse reaction and are taking it out on you, for telling them the truth?
Yashi
Here we go! The lazy trolls, armed with a mouth full of venom, but an empty brain. Get lost, please. We have thinking people here evaluating what is best for our children.
Thank you for writing this! Beautifully written and brave you! Kudos for sharing TRUTH. Love.
You know if you’re going to use the SIDE EFFECTS of medicines as a factor, you’ve got to look at the SIDE EFFECTS of the DISEASE TOO. It’ll be listed under complications.
That’s a good point. I still think that there is enough science now days that it’s possible to protect our children from diseases such as measles without vaccines that are not safe. Homeo prophylaxis for one and better nutrition without chemical pesticides. Antibiotics and or other medications plus vaccinations equals autism or other gut/brain conditions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=vaccine+safety
My husband almost died of the measles at age 2. He wasn’t vaccinated. He was hospitalized. He was a normal, well-fed middle-class child and he almost died, so it does happen.
I have a good friend (she’s in her 60’s) that had polio as a child and is paralyzed from the waist down. She married, but was never able to have children because the disease also destroyed her uterus/ovaries. She was able to walk with braces for years, but now has post-polio syndrome so she’s in a wheelchair all of the time.
I know people, young healthy people, who have died from the flu. When I was 14 I was in bed for a month with the flu. It wasn’t pretty.
I remember my brother and I having chicken pox as children. He was so ill he was on the verge of being hospitalized.
These are not “mild” diseases. That’s why vaccines were created. Vaccines save lives and they also save from life-long complications. If we stopped vaccinating, within 10-20 years everyone would be scared out of their minds because all of these diseases would make huge comebacks, not the small outbreaks we see now. Vaccines work. I’ve done months of research myself and I vaccinated my children and myself. Tetanus anyone?
April, I am so sorry to hear about your husband and good friend. Unfortunately, there are emotional accounts on both sides of the spectrum – that’s why billions of dollars have been awarded to children damaged by vaccines. I know a 31 year old who wears diapers and cannot function because she was injured by a DPT vaccine. I have a friend who was paralyzed by the polio she got from her live polio vaccine (that was supposed to protect her against polio). For almost 30 years in this country the only cases of polio were caused by the vaccine. Why do you think they took OPV off the schedule? I have a client who went blind from an MMR vaccine. Have you heard of Hannah Polling? I know several elderly people who got cancer from SV40 contaminated polio vaccines. Several stories were on the news just this last flu season regarding people who were paralyzed by the flu shot. Thousands of children have been neurologically damaged by a vaccine to prevent them from what is in most cases, a mild, childhood illness that yields lifetime immunity and protection against more serious diseases as adults. Please check out hearthiswell.org or nvic.org for more testimonies from children injured by vaccines.
Vaccines do not save lives. Vaccines do not provide lifetime immunity. Vaccines contain viruses and bacteria, animal parts, heavy metals, neurotoxins, carcinogens, hazardous wastes, and aborted baby ingredients, all of which are proven harmful for us and our children. Vaccines kill, disable, harm, and shift everyone into an age group of susceptibility where the severity of these diseases are greater.
If these diseases make a “comeback” it will be because everyone’s temporary junk immunity (if any) they recieved as children wore off and mothers no longer have the protection that natural exposure to a disease provides to pass on to their children to protect them for their first year of life.
You are entitled to your opinion and you have the right to vaccinate. Just remember that emotional stories go both ways. At the end of the day, emotional stories are important but this decision needs to be an informed one based on science and common sense and the science that supports vaccines as safe and effective is severely lacking.
Respectfully,
Megan
Vaccines do not save lives? Seriously? I’m just thinking of all of the diseases I would have had if not for vaccines, as well as everyone else. Killer diseases, diseases that can leave you permanently disabled. So you’re saying that vaccines don’t work? Either they work and they save lives or they don’t work and don’t save lives. Look at the disease rates plummeting for each disease as each vaccine was introduced. A coincidence, I think not. Yes, some people have reactions, but it’s a much smaller percentage than those that would have died or been affected by catching the diseases that these vaccines protect against.
A lot of people who think that vaccines caused their symptoms or reactions really don’t know for sure. It can’t be proven and it’s speculation. But, people who catch the diseases that these vaccines protect against definitely know if they have that disease or not. Just because a court decides that a vaccine caused a side effect doesn’t make it so.
So…”A lot of people who think that vaccines caused their symptoms or reactions really don’t know for sure. It can’t be proven and it’s speculation.” Yet, you’re sure vaccines have saved lives? This is pure speculation at best. Where is your proof? This assumes that EVERYONE would have gotten the disease and died from it. This assumes these diseases were deadly in the United States prior to vaccine licensure. This assumes the disease prevalence did not decrease from other causes. This assumes vaccines are both safe, effective, and provide lifetime immunity (they don’t). What you’re saying is that you are in 100% denial that vaccines have side-effects despite the high burden of proof one must meet for the court to declare that the vaccine caused “x” condition? The court declared that Hannah Polling’s autism was caused by the DPT vaccine. Her father is a neurologist who believed in vaccines (as most parents with vaccine-injured children did). You don’t think he’s smart enough to connect the dots?
I wish you the best. The saddest thing to me is not that you hold a differing viewpoint, it’s that you aren’t open to evaluating your opinion in an informed and objective manner. Bests, – Megan
Vaccines DO save lives. Ever see an iron lung in use? Ever hear of someone getting Polio? Smallpox? It is clever to focus on one of the less deadly diseases and extrapolate to all vaccine preventable illnesses, but utterly foolish (or evil if you are doing it on purpose). Vaccines work. Deaths by vaccine are lower, so much that they are nearly gone… making it possible for people to doubt the existence or severity of vaccine preventable illness at all.
https://www.livingwhole.org/vaccines-dont-work-here-are-the-facts/
Polio shmolio! Watch the youtube video by Dr Suzanne Humphries called Smoke, Mirrors and the Disappearance of Polio.
I wonder how many people have had polio without even realizing that they had it?
If they really cared about people not getting diseases or not having adverse effects from the diseases why don’t they research nutritional aspects related to disease? Like how vitamin A helps with measles. Vitamin C helps pertussis.
Oh, right! No great ROI! Less profit to be made. Now we as a society suffer because we lack real immunity.
How did we all manage to survive before all the vaccines children now get?! I have come to the conclusion that the original vaccinated generation is having children who are more susceptible to vaccine damages. Or the manufacturers are deliberately making vaccines that cause harm.
Something is definitely wrong and someone who knows how and is brave enough to investigate needs to do so.
Just came across this and couldn’t hold my tongue. I understand your concerns regarding the rare side effects, but I don’t think you are qualified to judge the effectiveness of vaccines solely based on what you read on the internet. If you want your children to have to suffer through preventable and devastating diseases, by all means, exercise your right to do so. But please don’t try to scare people with falsified information.
Whether something is effective, is based on whether studies that comprise the standards for evidence-based medicine were conducted. The gold standard is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study using an inert substance like saline as a placebo. Vaccines are tested against adjuvants already contained in the vaccine for safety, and effectiveness is based on whether it introduces an antibody … but that antibody may or may not incite an immune response and if it does, provides only temporary immunity at best. Vaccines are not research or clinically effective and one does not have to meet your subjective standards as a “qualified judge” to make an informed decision on this issue.
Respectfully,
Megan
I could not agree with you more, Mary.
I found numerous flaws throughout the article that those may easily be able to read over but I cannot.
This quote you use from the WHO:
“Severe measles is more likely among poorly nourished young children, especially those with insufficient vitamin A, or whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV/AIDS or other diseases. [..] As high as 10% of measles cases result in death among populations with high levels of malnutrition and a lack of adequate health care. […] More than 95% of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes and weak health infrastructures. […] Overcrowding in residential camps greatly increases the risk of infection.”
Do you know why this is? Because unlike those in the USA, those blessed enough to be in America, us extremely privilege folk living in the land of the free have EASY access to vaccines until those in underprivileged countries where they would do anything for their children to be given even the chance we are given.
SO this quote doesn’t prove our children don’t need vaccines…if goes to show that BY vaccines we in the United States limited the recurrence of the diseases.
By this big movement of “anti-vaccine” it’s not just your family being effected. Have you done your research on “herd immunity”?
Those unvacc are directly effecting more and more children/adults around you who chose to have vaccines to now be at risk of deadly diseases. You don’t see them as deadly (lets look back in hx to the iron lung [btw polio was eradicated {go vaccines!}])? Try working in a hospital seeing tens-hundred of kids die from deadly risk factors from something so simply avoided.
Hi Haley, Thanks for the comment. No … that quote shows you the difference that good hygiene and living conditions can make on disease susceptibility. Yes, I have researched A.W Hedrich and herd immunity and it does not apply to vaccinations. Polio was not eradicated by vaccines. Emotional arguments run both ways … tens of hundreds of children are living with chronic disease, brain damage, or have died in an attempt to avoid something as benign as measles. Emotional anecdotes do not change the fact that vaccines in their current state are not safe or effective. We should make informed decisions, not emotional ones, regardless of whether we vaccinate or not.
Bests,
Megan
Those disease fatality rates, in ALL cases, had already plummeted by at least 90% BEFORE their vaccines we’re introduced. Better sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition deserve the credit, not vaccines. (A lot of equally deadly diseases for which we do not vaccinate also disappeared for the same reasons)
All these could be lessened by better nutriton and medical care. Antibiotics and phyciatric drugs seem to be the go to drugs when doctors don’t have a clue how to treat something.
I spent 4 months studying vaccines and writing a 40 page paper on their safety profile, fears, and reality: After researching the FACTS: the good, the bad, the fears, the rumors, the TRUE data over 50 different research articles and books, I WILL VACCINATE MY CHILDREN GLADLY! (all 3 of them)
Vaccines were created after the smallpox epidemic, small pox killed 1/3 of those affected by it… imagine (if Ebola was a local threat). 50 years ago Polio was feared by all mothers, they were overjoyed when there was a vaccine to prevent their children from handicap. The rush for vaccines was appreciated by most all because they saw the horrific effects of these diseases. Now there is no “fear” of the disease, but fear of Jenny McCarthy’s story that her son got autism due to vaccine (she immunized her child after thimerisol was taken out of vaccines, but claims thimerisol caused her son’s autism….SMART…NOT, and fear of Dr. Wakefield’s FALSIFIED study that vaccines cause autism – he has his medical license taken away for causing this horrible medical falicy.
As for today, we do have modern medicine that would ease these infections if contracted, And you are right MOST of the time people are ill for a week and resolve! HOWEVER, NOT everyone. Had a friend’s baby (9 month old) who nearly died from Mumps 2 months ago thanks to the NON-vaccinators. I’ve been working in medical for 7 years seen 2 babies DIE from Pertussis. Thanks non-vaccinators.
Sure, where the measles might not be too harmful to your 5 year old, that is NOT the case to infants, those who are immunosuppressed, and several otherwise healthy individuals. Also, in the MMR there is the Rubella vaccine— Where it is just a rash for a 5 year old….Do you really want to see the damage rubella can do to an unborn infant whose mom gets rubella during pregnancy?? What guilt would that cause… damaging your unborn infant for life…
I had seen another non-vaccinator’s 10 year old get HiB Meningitis and DIE… which could have been prevented. Imagine the guilt of the parents in that situation…
NON VACCINATORS WANT TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN, AND THAT IS WHY THEY DO NOT VACCINATE. AS A MOTHER I RESPECT THAT!!!
BUT ASK YOURSELVES…PROTECT THEM FROM WHAT REAL THREATS… PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELVES WITH REAL RESEARCH. NOT OPINION!!!!!!! THIS IS OPINION.
WHAT IS THE REAL THREAT? IS YOUR NON VACCINATED CHILD WHO CAN TOLERATE PERTUSSIS, GOING TO INFECT AND KILL MY BABY? IS THAT THE IDEA OF PROTECTION…? It is a personal decision, until your personal decision puts my newborn baby at risk, or a friend on Chemotherapy. THINK ABOUT IT – EDUCATE YOURSELVES WITH GOOD RESEARCH. I HAVE… And I will advocate for vaccination. Because I know the real data.
If the trend continues, perhaps when your granddaughter, child, or friend has a complication of illness, you will think differently.
If you have any questions, I am sure I can provide you with TRUE DATA. I would be happy to help. I KNOW YOU ARE TRYING TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD. SO AM I!!!!
Lindsey, I am so glad you have done your research. Despite the fact that your conclusion differs from mine, I think it’s important that we make informed decisions. I too, have a 40 page dissertation on this subject and have written many posts (under the vaccines tab above), most of which, are comprised of at least 9 pages single-spaced in a Word document. All are fully cited. I would be totally open to sending anyone who requests more information your paper; however, in the name of objectivity and fairness, I would have to send them mine also. 😉
I admire your passion and dedication to this issue. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Respectfully,
Megan
If vaccines work then your newborn baby would be safe from my unvaccinated child correct?
I am a physician so I can assure you that newborns are not fully vaccinated at birth. There is a vaccination schedule that disperses the immunizations from birth until adulthood. Due to the formulation, MMR vaccine is not given until they are a year old when their immune system can handle it. That is why herd immunity is so important: it keeps them from encountering the disease until they are immunized. Vaccinated kiddos (and adults) allow for diseases to easily spread and affect those not yet immunized.
As a physician, I feel like you should know this (yet I also know they don’t teach you this in medical school): Prior to vaccines, infants (for their first year of life) were protected by the immunity derived from their mothers who had been exposed to these simple illnesses as children and had developed lifetime immunity. The only reason we have to even consider their vulnerabilities now is because of vaccines which leave our most vulnerable populations at risk and unprotected (infants and the elderly who would otherwise have lifetime immunity). Secondly, herd immunity only applies to those diseases which are derived naturally and confer lifetime immunity. Not a single vaccine provides this. Any immunity derived is temporary at best. Finally, I agree with your last sentence but want to expand it a bit: Recently vaccinated children with live viral vaccines, vaccinated children whose vaccines didn’t provide adequate immunity, and every single adult (whose junk vaccine immunity has long worn off) puts others at risk while subjecting themselves to the vulnerabilities of a disease that if they had encountered at the ideal age, would have been relatively mild and provided lifetime immunity against that disease and more serious illnesses (like cancer).
Will you think differently if “your granddaughter, child, or friend” is damaged by vaccines?
If your child is vaccinated then they should be protected from the “non vaccinators” your post screams the fact that your vaccines don’t work. If they worked then your vaccine should have protected you and you would never get it. Why would a “non vaccinator” harm your perfectly vaccinated. If it’s vaccinated. Because the vaccine didn’t work….. and then you say “why protect your baby and not vaccinate them and in danger all the others” because my kid is not a shield for the heard! I’m not going to let a vaccine kill my kid so the heard can “feel protected”. Point. If your vaccines work then you should never have to worry about a non vaccinated. Can I repeat 12 more times. Does it make sense yet?
No, look up “herd immunity” the more unvaccinated, the more those who vaccinate’s response goes down. Because diseases are constantly changing and mutating. It’s not the vaccines limitation but the nonvac fault at large.
Lola, citation?
no citation needed for that since it is considered common knowledge (http://guides.main.library.emory.edu/c.php?g=49955&p=323973), but let me help you out anyways: https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/herd-immunity-how-does-it-work
Actually I don’t believe you did ANY research at all–anyone who knows the history behind polio would NEVER use that as a reference for safe and effective vaccines. Yeah, TRY AGAIN!
I like this post and I wonder if you noticed that the number of people who get wild measles is getting bigger every year. ….last year 288 vs. 55 the first year you talked about. I wish i could get lifetime immunity to measles but my parents were adamant about vaccinating. … sucks to be me…I guess i will go hide under a rock….of course I am dying to get of this rock called earth. ..
The number of people getting measles is increasing because the number of people not getting vaccinated is also increasing. The great majority of people do get lifetime immunity to measles following measles vaccination. Yes, this is not the case for mumps or pertussis, but it is for measles.
And it is true that some individuals still become infected after being vaccinated for measles, but these numbers are small, and there are many nuances related to this (immune deficiency, vaccine failure due to improper storage, timing of vaccination, etc.). Research indicates the measles vaccine is around 85-92% effective with a single dose, and 98.5% effective for two doses, which is why 2 are recommended.
The # of people getting measles in the U.S is not increasing. The CDC statistics are sited in this post. You can’t believe everything you see in the media. And we will definitely differ on what the term “effective” means. The CDC’s definition of effective does not equal lifetime immunity. A vaccine is “effective” if it initiates a response that creates antibodies … that doesn’t mean anyone gets actual immunity and if they do, it wears off leaving people susceptible when they are much older and measles is much more severe.
Your articles are well written and thoroughly thought out. No hyperbole. I am a health science/pharmacology instructor to students in the medical field. When we get to the pediatrics chapters, I lecture on the importance of informed consent and the right to refuse vaccinations. I teach them that it is not their job to assert their opinion nor judge a parent who declines vaccines.
I was dismissed from a nursing program last year. I was 20 weeks from graduation. I had instructors teaching us to lie about vaccines to gain compliance and even using threats against those with state medical. I refused because this went against my moral compass and the ANA guidelines of ethics. I now have a 2.7 million lawsuit against this nursing school.
We are to teach, but ultimately respect the patients right to refuse.
I vaccinated my three boys. I feel shame and guilt. My youngest little girl started the schedule but I decided to delay/refuse. She began having seizures. All idiopathic after all the tests ( MRI, 24 hour EEG etc) All vaccinating stopped and she is now five and seizure free for three years. She had only received 3 single dose vaccines in a 6 month period beginning at 9 months. Thankfully, MMR, Varicella, Polio, and HepB weren’t the ones she received. She is a brilliant little one with a plethora of allergies. She is now my bubble baby and I can’t say that these few she received were the cause of this.
Keep educating!!!
Oh my goodness Nichole. I am speechless. Thank you so much for having the courage to share and I hope you win.
Thanks for sharing. We live in a world of toxins and added stress that our children have to deal with. Vaccines used to be only a small source of immune stress, but now it’s compounded by processed foods (denatured), over use of antibiotics, and chemical laden everything.
We need more people like you!
Megan,
I’m a doc who practices ER and urgent care, and I must say that reading your articles truly is a breath of fresh air. I’ve refused all vaccines for my children the last 10 years or so. I started researching many years ago after my first daughter had a seizure at 24 months (not sure if it was vaccine related–she’s never had one since), and later my first son had a terrible reaction to his MMR vaccine, he developed diarrhea that began 2 weeks after the shot and lasted 6 months. He cried and cried all the time. We kept taking him to his pediatrician at the time who said, “he’s just drinking too much juice”. Long story short, we ended up taking him to a more “holistic” M.D. who put him on some supplements, and after a year he was well. Thankfully he’s now a very intelligent and athletic 12 year old. I have embraced ‘nutritional medicine’ for many years, and have attended conferences on nutritional and “alternative” medicine. I try to preach it to my patients both in the ER and the urgent care clinic.
I love the fact that your husband is also an M.D., and I hope and pray he does well in his practice.
I just wanted to say that I think you are doing a terrific job with your blog. I have just recently found it and am using and sharing a lot of your material. I admire the way you respond to the pro-vaxxers.
My wife and I have 6 children, and we try to live as organically as we can, and NO one will convince me that vaccines are safe. When patients ask me about vaccines, I give them both sides as honestly as I can, and let them make the decision.
I especially want to commend you on the blog on “God Does Not Support Vaccines” I agree 100% with that one. I cannot condone the use of vaccines that use aborted fetal cells. Not only is it appalling if you think about it, but scientifically it makes perfect sense that these foreign DNA particles could be doing something to our immune systems.
Keep up the good work. I admire your spirit. I’m praying you, your husband and your beautiful children.
God Bless,
James
Hi James, Thanks so much for the message. It sounds like you are a great physician – able to incorporate both natural and modern medicine into your practice. I am sorry your children suffered from adverse reactions but I applaud you for doing your research objectively. I know many who would simply dismiss vaccines as a cause.
Thanks so much for the encouragement and I am glad you find my posts informative and useful!
Blessings to you also,
Megan
James, you are a breath of fresh air! Bless your heart for daring greatly to speak your mind and not cave into the status quo of compliance. MDs like yourself and the hundreds of others who are finally speaking up and speaking out will help to change the tide.
It is so hard for parents who go against popular belief. Recently a dad kept his down syndrome baby and the mother was chastised for giving it away. In her mind she was doing what her society wanted. She did what was right and normal and majority for her culture. The dad choose to go with the unpopular vote and do what he thought was right in his heart. In their culture she did what anybody would do, what the doctors thought she should do. This is what I think anti-vaxers are doing. We are going with our heart not what works best for society. We don’t expect people to understand. Years from now if we find out that vaccinations do cause harm will we start hating on people who do continue to choose to vaccinate?
Thank you for this, Megan.
The way I see it is this- people don’t like to be labeled. Usually. In this case, I don’t believe the vast majority of us that aren’t loving the MMR vaccine- amongst others- appreciate being blanketly referred to as “anti- vaccination” & here’s why: it’s about ingredients. Not concept. Clean up the ingredients & “they” may find themselves dealing with agreeable soldiers. Until then, I’m not putting unnecessary poison in my child’s body. Period. While I find it prudent & kind to try to do what’s best for the world… I was given the direct responsibility first & foremost to care for my child. Mine. First & foremost. Just as I wouldn’t give my son 10 years worth of Twinkies & Ding Dongs. It’s.Not.Good.For.His.Body. It’s repulsive at best. Now- would I be more agreeable if they were organic, Non-GMO 3 ingredient pastries… yes. Thrilled? Absolutely not. 10 years worth of pastries is 10 years worth of pastries. That’s not lost on me. I get it. However, if be much more willing to go there. Willing to even have this debate. Why? Because of the ingredients. it’s just that simple.
So, please don’t tell me I’m anti vaccine mama. I’m not. Just as I’m not anti-pastry. I’m just anti $h!/ storm-list-of-ingredients mama. Come on already with this. Is it that difficult? We should all be mindful of what we put in our bodies. Personally, I’d like my child to reflect back & understand I took his body seriously, his future seriously & was passionate about giving him the healthiest overall self that I could, with all the power I had, to move on from his home & into his adult life. A nice, clean 18 year old slate to go off into the world with. Clean up that chemical bath & inject away. Done. Next?
That’s great if you or a few choose not to vaccinate, but what if EVERYONE chose not to? It is highly contagious and our hospitals would be way overwhelmed, parents couldn’t work because they are sick as well or taking care of their kids. Your article focuses too much on the individual *you. It is just not realistic as a society to let people go unvaccinated with this disease.
I am incredulous. We have become a society that is too ignorant for words. In the year 2014, we are scared of the measles. Think about that for a second. We fly supersonic jets, can data-stream videos through thin air, we have sent machines to multiple planets in space, and yet, we are scared of the measles. Somehow the measles have become the equivalent of the disease that killed off all the aliens in The War of the Worlds.
If you have not seen Tom Cruise’s rendition of the classic film, I will ruin it for you. The movie is one long scene of alien war machines laying waste to humanity. Nothing can stop them. Then out of the blue, right before our heroes are going to die, the alien machines all stop in their tracks, their occupants decimated by common airborne bacteria.
In their pathetic attempt to make money from generating hysteria, the mainstream media has declared that the measles is our modern American version of alien-virus-death. If the aliens in the death machines of War of the Worlds were replaced by VACCINATED Americans, then the VACCINATED-American-piloted-alien-machines would be stopped in their tracks by the measles.
The fear-mongering by the media is reaching such epic proportions, that people cannot be blamed for thinking that the end of the world is upon us. If the evil, freedom-loving, home-schooling, God-fearing, large-family promoting, NON-vaccinated people aren’t locked up ASAP or force-injected the pharmaceutical “antidote”, the measles-ridden bodies of VACCINATED Americans will start piling up in the streets. In fact, it will be so bad, that the measles epidemic of 2015 will probably rack up a death count worse than that of the Spanish Flu, the Medieval plagues, Aids, Cancer, and tobacco combined.
Of course, according to the media, the 100% death rate won’t be the end of it. No, it will get worse. After 99% of “good” Americans die from the measles; Mother Earth will judge the “bad” NON-vaccinated Americans with hoards of VACCINATED zombies who will exact their vengeance by eating their brains. Then, if the NON-vaccinated people were lucky enough to survive the zombie attacks, anyone left alive will happily embrace vaccines and start a pro-vaccine utopia that will never again question the efficacy of the magic needles.
Seriously folks. It’s the measles. You catch it, you get sick, and you look like a freckled Irish kid for a few days. Then, after rest and some chicken soup, you return to life as normal.
I know, I know, I’m not an MD. I shouldn’t make fun of a disease I’m not “medically trained” to understand. But does that line of thinking hold water? Do you really have to be medically trained to understand the dangers of a disease? Think about it. Do you have to be a doctor to know if you are bleeding or have a headache? Do you have to be an electrician to know if the lights in your home will turn on? Do you have to be a chef to make a peanut butter sandwich? Do these analogies seem moronic? No more so than the folks who claims that only a “health professional” can understand the measles.
Surely we now have the medical facilities, supplements, and knowledge for a parent to help with symptoms if an unvaccinated child contract measles. Thankfully there is now heard immunity throughout communities in the country to stop the viral infection from spreading… Nonetheless, how ethical is it to let your child contract the virus and suffer the symptoms rather than creating immunity in your child’s immune system? Rubeola is one of the leading causes of child death in the world… It is not just preventing measles, however. Vaccines have aided against smallpox, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, typhoid, pneumococcus, mumps, rubella, etc,… It is fair to say that the more common vaccinations become, the more people take them for granted. Like anything, there are risks with vaccinations as our immune systems and bodies can vary, although the benefits of preventing serious illness and death from infectious diseases greatly outweigh the risks of rare side effects following immunization.
Then maybe we as a society need to acknowledge that people have children who get sick. Who need to be taken care of by the parents.
This should be a normal thing by now. Employers should be understanding of that fact.
The dilemma is that this particular issue can directly impact others’ health. Where you go to school, what clothing style you wear, etc. may influence someone’s choices, but if your child comes down with measles and it they infect another child who dies from the disease (even if it is unlikely), then to me it is tantamount to negligent homicide. Yes, people should have the right to make their own decisions in our society – to smoke, eat fatty foods and be overweight or obese, and to not have their child vaccinated. But when their choice negatively impacts me through higher healthcare costs or social welfare payments because they can’t afford to pay for the end results of their poor choices, then I have a problem with that. People seem to want their freedoms but don’t want accountability for the choices they make under the umbrella of that freedom. Accusers of government based public healthcare mandates site the ‘herd mentality’ that they claim the government endorses. What about the herd mentality towards copies public welfare entitlements that those who have worked hard and have reaped the benefits from working hard will pay for other’s poor choices (health choices in this case)? Or the smaller herd mentality that they have the right to not vaccinate and if something goes bad and affects other innocents, that it is merely a cost of having our freedoms and it is a price we should be willing to pay. Sorry – even though medicine isn’t 100% foolproof, history has proven the overwhelming positive contribution of medicine. It is not right to expose others to the results of your bad choice. There is accountability in our society for other examples of poor choices, such as driving under the influence, but not for refusing to vaccinate. So, if you choose not to vaccinate, and I am a victim of your choice, or your child incurs medical expenses because of it, then you should pay out of your pocket to make things right, and not cause me to pay directly or indirectly because of your choice. But I doubt many people would be willing to take on this accountability, because even though they feel so strongly about not vaccinating, they want society’s protection if something doesn’t work out like they thought it would…..
Hi Bruce, that’s the problem with an edited clip. It leaves things out. You should read my new post on this issue: https://www.livingwhole.org/to-the-parent-of-an-immunocompromised-child-who-thinks-my-kid-is-a-threat/
Yes, because all of the vaccinated children who have chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, autism, allergies, autoimmune disease, epilepsy, any plethora of learning disabilities, chronic un-health, and other chronic illnesses are absolutely no burden to taxpayers and the state. I have needed state assistance on occasion, but we visit the doctor maybe once a year for an injury (except for when THEY request regular well-baby visits for my youngest) . Any illnesses are treated and monitored closely at home. If a complication happens, I will utilize medical treatment as it was intended for, but usually it’s not necessary. Let’s start taking into account the general health of the vaccinated vs unvaccinated, then tally up the medical costs and see who is using the majority of the taxpayer money…those who are constantly using medical resources for chronic unhealth and therapies, or those who use them once in a while on urgent basis only.
Your comment genuinely confuses me. How can you believe that our knowledge in the fields of aviation, space travel and computers have any affect on the biological risks of measles? They are completely separate fields of study. We could invent a spaceship that travels at the speed of light and it would have exactly zero effect on the risk of measles here on earth.
I’m going to ignore the ramblings in the middle as they are blatant hyperbole and a complete mockery of the situation, but I will respond to your nonsense at the end. You ask if you need to be a doctor to discuss the measles, and the answer is of course not. HOWEVER, the Doctor does have training specific to the subject matter and is therefore more qualified to answer than you are. Just like my understanding that the lights are out in my house doesn’t mean I’m qualified to mess with the wiring, the same goes for your assessment on human health. Being able to have an opinion doesn’t give you the same clout as someone who has an opinion, data supporting it, and specific training in the field. Just because you’re not scared of the measles doesn’t mean that they aren’t a threat. In fact it’s laughable that you believe your opinion to be of more importance than those of millions of scientists and researchers and doctors and politicians. Sometimes the little voice in your head is wrong and people need to understand that.
What specific training do doctors actually receive regarding vaccinations? 1 chapter? What book?
Isn’t this just an assumption on your part? I have been told that they learn very little about vaccinations besides the recommended schedule.
They receive very little training on vaccinations, most of it propaganda, 90% of it false.
Hi Cindy,
I can tell you that the only information I learned about vaccines was that I needed to master the schedule and that they were “safe and effective” . That is basically the same rhetoric I’ve heard repeated for the last 20 years I’ve been in pediatric practice. Our academy spends its time training us to coerce parents into giving them and not tolerating their concerns
Yes Bruce, there is accountability in our country unless you are an MD or medical professional who injects and injures or kills a child with a vaccine. Then in that case you are above the law. Same goes for pharma companies. They are above the law too.
I am vaccinated and my son is too. For me it is about risk vs benefit. In fact everything in life is. Every time we cross the road we might get hit by a car but we still do it because we judge the benefit of crossing the road justifies the risk. This is how I feel about vaccines. The benefits to me, to my son and to the rest of the population vastly outweigh the risks.
AMEN! I really appreciate this post. I was one of the un-vaccinated people to get the measles last year. I was treated like some sort of terrorist by the media for going to the Olive Garden before I knew I had it. I was treated like a menace to society. I didn’t mean to get the measles and spread it around. But I got it and I got over it. And I hope my children get it and the chicken pox ect so that they gain the lifelong immunity without side effects that may be much more harmful then just having the illness. The measles are not pretty to look at but they aren’t as bad as the vaccine companies make them out to be.
Hi Megan,
Thank you for all your writing, I have just recently discovered it and it has been a great balance to everything that is plastered all over the news.
From the studying that I am doing, I am left confused about whether or not a child needs to be exposed to the measles. Is it like the chickenpox where you need to expose your child so it doesn’t come harsher as an adult?
Thanks, it is so nice hearing from a fellow parent and not a doctor!
-Tara
Tara, I can’t answer about the measles, but I can tell you that having the chickenpox as an adult, while tougher than being a kid, isn’t THAT terrible. I had it at 29. The fever was the worst, but I let it go until it hit over 105.4…then I medicated it a little. Pretty much I just let it run its course. I do believe that it is better to catch these things as a kid…being an adult does seem to make it tougher. One thing I know…I’m immune now!
For me it WAS that terrible.
I had chicken pox at age 12 and again at age 20, and lost my hearing. Stupid inconvenient childhood disease that is temporarily uncomfortable and provides life-long immunity.
Sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes, it causes life-long damage. I know anti-vaxxers don’t want to hear that, and will throw the “what about vaccine-injury” in my face. I would have risked the vaccine if it had been available…
I get sick of hearing “vaccine injury” when the risk of vaccine injury is SO much less than the risk of adverse events from the illness.
I get sick of hearing the “look, vaccines are bad, because they have made payouts….. ” So I looked up those payouts.
National Vaccine Injury Compensation figures show, that between 2006 and March 2014, there were:
Grand Total of Vaccines Given: 1,968,399,297
Compensated Claims: 1300 (0.000066%) or, 6.6 TEN THOUSANDTHS OF ONE PERCENT of total vaccines given
Now, I know the anti-vax community loves to say “only one in 10 gets reported… (even though no evidence is provided)… but, let’s play along… and say that there are actually 10 injuries for every one reported.
Then, if that were true, the number of compensated claims should be 13,000, or 0.0006.6% or 6.6 THOUSANDTHS OF ONE PERCENT of total vaccines.
So where all these vaccine injuries? And if they are as bad as you say they are, why aren’t they being reported?
Vaccine injuries would have to be 75,708 times bigger than they are now, to be the same risk as pneumonia from measles.
So, according to many anti-vaxxers, they would rather risk pneumonia, than an injury that is more than 75000 times less likely????
I do not get anti-vax math.
Annie, you are so correct and I am glad someone here has some sense. Furthermore many people don’t realize that VAERS is NOT a reliable defense against vaccines, for the simple reason that some of these ‘claims’ are so utterly ridiculous that they are so obviously not caused by vaccines. There are several deaths caused by automobile accidents, DROWNING, and asphyxiation when sleeping MONTHS after their vaccinations. And sadly, all of these are supposed to be recorded regardless on if they are compensated. And all that money that was supposedly paid out for the vaccine ‘injuries’? A PART of it goes to the people whom were found to have a reliable claim to vaccine injury and then an additional part to the legal fees(the attorneys on BOTH sides) for that case. And for all of those many, many cases that are found to NOT been the cause of vaccines? Guess what, those attorneys are paid as well. The actual numbers for money going into the pockets of people found to be injured from vaccines are actually quite small, in comparison to the total number that is in VAERS.
Also, natural chicken pox is the worst thing you can do for your child, as they will have the virus for LIFE. Shingles has the ability to flare up again at any time after the first event. It’s not the fact that the actual chicken pox is rough later in life, but it’s the case of shingles you will be afflicted with is what is the problem. For those of you who aren’t aware, unlike chicken pox it runs along the NERVE lines, which makes it horrifically painful for most people afflicted with it. Or, in my case, I got a mild case of the chicken pox when when I was young(caught it from my sister, who had a horrible case), then a few years later I get shingles. I was probably 6 years old. I will sadly carry the scars(and nerve damage) on my body for life from this, and I would never with it on anyone. But that is only my opinion. You have a right to your choices, but you should never forget the consequences of your actions.
Diane,
Doesn’t it concern you that VAERS is all we have to monitor the adverse events from vaccines? It certainly does me. It bothers me even more that no one is trained in or required to report adverse events. Maybe if physicians did it, parents wouldn’t have to. Of course, the irony is that people of the opposing viewpoint use VAERS to justify the following “hardly anyone dies from the “X” vaccine” or “adverse events are rare.” How do they know this? Are they using another system we don’t know about or are they using VAERS? The system that is supposedly unreliable to gather data from for anyone else and only contains 1-10% of adverse events?
Only 1/3 of people who actually have valid cases are heard and attorneys are not paid well. They are paid for their work – usually by non profits who donate money to help cover the costs of bringing a claim and they are paid for their time. I’m sure if this were a lucrative legal field you’d see more attorneys fighting to get into it. (I can’t speak for government attorneys. I’m sure they are rewarded well.)
As for chicken pox, it’s the vaccine that increases one’s susceptibility to shingles. That’s why the shingles vaccine was invented (listen to past CDC hearings or Dr. Tenpenny’s lectures). Sure, you could still get shingles if you had natural chicken pox but it’s a much smaller chance and often brought on by other factors (including stress).
VAERS looks at the reports and analyses them – you can find the information at https://vaers.hhs.gov/about/faqs#analyzed They don’t simply use the raw data without investigation. There are also more reporting systems than VAERS around the world. Here in Australia, we have the TGA – you can find the information at the following link, and read about how any reaction is investigated. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/aefi.htm
It is important to realise that vaccine safety has been replicated in country after country around the world.
Apparently Diane hasn’t gotten the memo regarding people getting Shingles AFTER they have receive a Shingles Vaccination.
Dear Megan,
Thank you for maintaining a respectful and insightful forum – one of the few places I’ve seen where this important issue can be discussed intelligently.
I’ve been reading all the comments back and forth, as I contemplate my vaccination decision for my own child. Two recurring themes keep coming up for the MMR vaccine – that it’s important to read and understand the package insert, and that the MMR contains a live virus and can therefore “shed” (i.e. pass on the disease to others).
I took your advice and read the package insert for MMR (as listed at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM123789.pdf), and to my surprise found that this states (page 5, second paragraph) that:
“There are no reports of transmission of live attenuated measles or mumps viruses from vaccinees to susceptible contacts.”
If I understand this correctly, it is saying that there has never been a documented case of vaccine shedding of measles as a result of the MMR vaccine.
I did my own research on the internet, and all other reputable sources I could find said the same thing.
Can you please clarify the studies or publications that demonstrate that the current MMR vaccine can shed measles, and why these supersede the studies or publications that demonstrate that the vaccine does not shed? This to me is the key factual issue that will help me decide whether to vaccinate or not.
many thanks
Aaron
PS I note that some previous similar questioners have ultimately been met with the response “We’ll have to agree to disagree” or “This has already been dealt with in a previous post”. I’d really appreciate a direct factual answer!
Aaron,
I know that personal stories are not “case studies” (and most people refuse to consider them), but my unvaccinated son contracted Rubella from a little friend who had been vaccinated with MMR 5 days earlier. It was mild, and we did not take him to the doctor, but nurse friends told me that there were no cases of measles around, so it was impossible. This is when I learned that MMR can shed, though cases are not commonly reported. For a year and a half we thought he just had a case of mild measles. I was his main caregiver at the time (we tried to quarantine him from his cousins…who each had a fever for a day). I had the MMR when I was child. When I had blood panels drawn during pregnancy a year and a half later the nurse called me because I had heightened Rubella antibodies…but my other antibodies were quite low. I told her that I thought my son had measles a while back…it could have been Rubella… and she just said “Oh.” You may not consider the blood panel of the caregiver to be any sort of proof, but exposure boosts antibodies to maintain protection (like a booster shot). Since then, no pediatrician has been curious enough to try to prove me wrong. If I had the money to throw around, I would definitely order tests done for my son, his cousins, and even my mom (she was around, taking care of the cousins)…because I am curious and want that 1% of doubt to be answered.
Hello – I read this and would like to chime in with my two cents. I see a lot of anger/frustration on both sides whenever this topic is discussed, but I have to say that I’m actually very grateful to have this conversation. Like you Megan, I’m passionate about this issue and often find myself frustrated to see the way things are trending. I know this was posted in an effort to share information with those you care about in hopes they make informed decisions about their children’s health and the health of our overall community. I’d like to offer my take on this blog post in the same spirit.
In short, it looks to me like Megan is misunderstanding the available data and therefore incorrectly coming to the conclusion that the MMR vaccine is somehow more dangerous than measles (or at least, somewhat equivalent in danger). The conclusions presented do not provide a fair or balanced comparison to the two cases (vaccination vs non-vaccination). I won’t go through every point line-by-line but there are a few specifics I’d like to point out. First, the argument that the US using global statistics to overstate the danger of measles isn’t actually occurring (that I could find). It is true that the WHO does use global statistics as noted, but that makes sense because they are global organization. The CDC does not claim that up to 10% of cases may result in death here in the US. However, the CDC states here that 1 or 2 in 1,000 infected will die from complications:
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html
Is this an overstatement of the measles death rate? Well, depending on what time frame you want to look at here in the US, the mortality from those who contract measles is 2 in 1000 to 1 in 3000. **A quick aside here — I’ve seen graphs that show a declining death rate prior to vaccine introduction followed by claims that the disease was already on the decline naturally. It is true that death from measles was indeed much higher (~25/1000 cases) and starting to decline prior to vaccines becoming the norm; this decline was due a combination of factors (antibiotics, increased access to healthcare, even smaller family sizes) that brought the death rate down to about 1 in 1000 cases, which is roughly where it is still.** Okay back to measles. Megan attributes 56 deaths to the MMR vaccine as of 2012 and provides data back to 2011 that says measles hasn’t killed anybody. I found that if you go back a couple of years past that point, there were 2 measles attributed deaths in both 2009 (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf ) and 2010 (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_04.pdf). I also found that the VAERS site reports 108 deaths after the MMR vaccine was administered over the last ten years. If we look over the last 10 years, 4 measles deaths vs. 108 MMR deaths does make it look like measles is less dangerous. However, that is 4 measles deaths over about 1,600 cases of measles and 108 MMR deaths after more than 100 million MMR vaccinations. Measles deaths are down because vaccination has been such an effective tool at ridding our society of this disease.
Another thing to point out is that Megan minimizes the danger of actual measles throughout her post, referring to it as nothing more than an itchy rash. I believe that is important to note that death is only one measure of the danger associated with a disease. It is true that most people who contract measles recover without issue and the death rate is a small percentage (although I’m not at all comfortable with a 1 in 1,000 death rate being classified as non-deadly when there is a safer alternative). Other complications from this “itchy rash” include brain damage, deafness, and blindness (these complications occur in a MUCH higher rate from measles than from the vaccine). Many others who contract measles end up okay, but end up needing hospitalization to recover. Measles sure isn’t the black plague, but it sure isn’t the benign sickness being presented either.
Finally, this comparison leaves out fact that the MMR vaccine provides protection against the mumps and rubella. A truly fair comparison should account for the total risk/benefit tradeoff between the two choices presented. Again, neither the mumps/rubella are the plague, and the majority who contract these end up just fine, but as is the case with measles, complications from mumps can result in death and or permanent disfigurement. The last rubella epidemic in the US (1964-1965) resulted in over 12.5 million rubella cases. Because rubella is especially dangerous to early pregnancy, it led to 11,000 miscarriages and 2,100 stillbirths, while 12,000 were born deaf, 3,580 blind, and 1,800 with permanent brain damage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubella).
There are plenty of things that are more dangerous than the measles, mumps, or rubella, but the MMR vaccine is not one of them. Complications from the MMR vaccine result in death less than 1 in a million times. That is a real risk and you’ll see no argument from me there. There are also other less serious side effects. Vaccines are by and large safe, but not without risk. However, the tradeoff that they’ve given us a society to live without worry from the numerous diseases that we used to have to deal with are huge. I have issue when the discussion either ignores or distorts the benefits that all of us are currently reaping. I cherish very much that we’ve made occurrences like the last rubella epidemic a thing of the past, and I do worry that there is push that ignores this history and might bring them back if successful. I believe concerns about the declining vaccination rates we are seeing are justified, and that this is discussion that needs to be happening everywhere.
With respect,
~Z
Very well written. I completely agree with you and I appreciate your sourcing your information as many people make claims without citing.
Zach, this is a perfect response! Thank you for your thorough response.
Basically, risk of death from measles is 1:1000 or 1:2000, around that number (0.2%), and death from MMR vaccine is 108 in 100million, or 0.0001%.
Measles cases are going to keep popping up. In 2014 there were over 600 cases, This year we already have well over 100 and it is only February. In 2000 there were zero cases of measles in this country. It is going to become harder for people like Megan to defend their position when people start seeing sick children suffering from Measles Schmeasles, as she so insensitively puts it.
How do we know how many children have died from MMR vaccine? There were actually 86 cases in 2000. Just saying…
Can you site anything other than the CDC or FDA?
“Other complications from this “itchy rash” include brain damage, deafness, and blindness (these complications occur in a MUCH higher rate from measles than from the vaccine). ”
At what “higher” rate do these complications occur from measles vs the vaccine? Source please.
Oh I wish we could give you those statistics Amanda but you see, the government has only given us a self-reporting system that they themselves deem unreliable to monitor the adverse reactions children experience post-vaccine. So we only have the personal accounts of thousands of parents who have vaccine injured children. Sad isn’t it?
Wonderful and well thought out response, Z!
All this “vaccinate your child or get out” crap is…. well, just that– crap. There are arguments for both sides. I personally go back and forth between the two. I’m still researching and since I don’t have kids yet, I’ve got time to decide. What it really comes down to is this: each parent has the right to decide for themselves. And NO ONE has the right to say that unvaccinated people should have to quarentine themselves or go live in a foreign country. I mean, come on. No one is suggestions that they have the right to send their unvaccinated, measles infected child into a crowded mall. I don’t remember anyone suggesting that that would be a good idea. If their child got measles, I’m sure they would do their very best to make sure they didn’t infect anyone else. So, everyone take a chill pill, OK? Maybe stop attacking each other? Sound like a plan?
What if? What if? I can play the what if game with you all day. Guess what this country almost eradicated many diseases because of vaccines that have saved who knows how many lives but we can’t measure that can we? Are you going to deny history?
A great quote you need to remember, “It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong.” Obviously you are stuck in your mindset that vaccines are bad but history and scientific fact are not on your side.
Respectfully,
Forward thinkers.
I noticed Megan posted dozens of facts, whereas you posted none. Just empty rhetoric that you are probably echoing after hearing it from someone else. Very independent and forward thinking of you.
”People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.” – Benjamin Franklin
So, Brandon, if you can’t measure how many lives have been saved because of vaccines then how can you prove that they have saved lives? Uhhhh…You just canceled out your own point.
Like @jennifer said…facts please…sources would be nice too 🙂
Hi again Megan, I just wanted to let you know that there are many of us who agree with you. Thank you for standing up and saying what can be a very unpopular opinion. Thank you for taking your precious time to reply to detractors’ comments with grace and intelligence. Thank you for taking the time to do the research so the rest of us have more information to do battle with the misinformed masses. The mainstream media is sure bent on whipping up some mass hysteria, and we need more people to stand up and speak their mind. Once again, thank you.
Jennifer, Thank you for the kind comment and encouragement. It means a lot! 🙂
Yes, thank you
Agreed…A billion thanks. You are an inspiration. xo
I had rubeola as a toddler which left me with a hearing problem. Doctor told me I was lucky.
And by the way, malnutrition doesn’t mean to starve, you can be an obese person and still be malnourished. A big % of US population is fat but malnourished. Not a developing country, just a lazy one and the result is the same. Also, do you have any grandpa or older person who you can talk to about what it was like when measles was around? How many people they know died? Most elders know more than 1 person who died of measles. So the death part is not made up, it is real. It didn’t happen in years, guess why? Vaccines…
I hope people like you get the disease and get quarantined out of the rest of the population. You are endangering everyone else and specially, your child.
I was fine until you got to the end of your comment. If you intend to comment again, do so with respect. In the meantime, you can read my 100-year-old Grandma’s opinion on vaccines below.
https://www.livingwhole.org/i-was-told-to-ask-the-older-generation-about-vaccines-so-i-did/
Ashley, I don’t believe that most elders can remember someone who died from measles. I’m 54, and like many of my classmates had the measles late in elementary school – a good-size school not far from New York City. In other words, I was part of a large graduating class preceded and followed by large graduating classes. I don’t remember a single individual incurring even any permanent impairment, let alone death, from having had measles. Nor were my parents worried, nor were my grandparents worried. My two siblings and I simply weathered our infections, were uncomfortable, had to stay in bed, and missed a little school… and recovered fully, with stronger immune systems for the experience. I am grateful to my parents who did not have me vaccinated, who fed me an excellent diet and allowed me to contract not only the measles, but chicken pox, mumps, and, yes, even whooping cough (pertussis). I’ve enjoyed excellent health all my life since, and apparently received life-long immunity from all of them, since none of them have recurred. Even better, I was able then to pass along temporary immunity to protect my 3 kids as infants, 2 of whom are now adults and all of whom are unusually healthy. What I regret is that, presumably because of widespread vaccination, they were never able to contract these illnesses the way my siblings, peers, and I did, and thus don’t have lifelon immunity, nor will they pass any immunity on to any grandchildren to protect them in their early months. In other words, my children and possible grandchildren are potential victims of this mass experiment with a very uncertain outcome – one that concerns me far more than any risks from their having naturally contracted the childhood disease. This insane paranoia sweeping the nation is the result of a cynical disinformation campaign. Don’t be its unthinking victim, herded along by baseless fear.
Have you ever lived in a developing country? Yeah, walking out the door does look like what you described. Do you know why? BECAUSE PEOPLE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO VACCINES! The number of folks I encountered in Sierra Leone who had severe mobility impairment due to polio was ridiculous and heartbreaking. Worse still because they were born at a time when the vaccine was available. Cholera, typhoid, malaria. Kids die every day of these things in the developing world. Do you know what separates the developing world from the developed world? Modern standards of hygiene, medicine, science… . If you want to opt out of those systems you shouldn’t be allowed to live in a society that has embraced them.
No Carly, it’s because people do not have access to food, clean water, sanitary living conditions, or proper hygiene. When I gathered lists from orphanage directors on their biggest needs vaccines didn’t even make the list and I believe THEY are best equipped in knowing what THEY need. I am sorry about your experiences but I have seen children crippled by the oral polio vaccine (it’s why they took it off the U.S schedule) and immunocompromised starving children who were given vaccinations (which is contraindicated on the package inserts) and died or developed serious illness. So, the emotional arguments go both ways. Your last sentence makes no sense. I am all for modern standards of hygiene, science, and medicine…just not vaccines.
Respectfully, Megan
Great blog and great answer to the above comment. It is almost like you (gasp!) did some research! Obviously, that is a bit of sarcasm directed at the outlandish accusations that anyone who dares question vaccinations will get. I am someone who made the personal decision to give my kids most of the required vaccinations (spaced out and not until they were older) but even then I felt like I was playing Russian Roulette with my kids’ health. I felt this way due to my experience working as a legal counsel in Congress tasked with investigating the FDA & CDC committees that approve and mandate vaccines. I detailed this experience in my blog, if you are interested (angryprchick.wordpress.com). But even though I decided to vaccinate, I absolutely believe that this SHOULD be a choice for parents to make, not for the government to mandate. Good luck!
Hello Megan, I have a small request that you clarify when you write these sorts of articles exactly what kind of medical training you have. I think it is often confusing for people who read articles such as this when they ask questions about the articles. I disagree with you but that has nothing to do with the people below asking you questions about the health of their children making me extremely nervous. Just a quick request and who knows it might keep you from getting sued one day!
You can click the about tab at the top for my disclaimer and credentials. Talking about my opinion on vaccines does not constitute medical advice (nor do the hateful pro vax pieces that demand that I vaccinate my kids). With respect.
As far as medical training that Megan has, she has a lifetime of experience, which is what most of us have. She watches, she observes, she reads, she studies. For some of us, such as you, the choices are to vaccinate because you’re told to. For others, the choices are to research, research, doubt, and research some more. Some of the most anti-vaccine folks I know are those who were once pro-vaccine, until they had children severely damaged or killed by vaccine. Are they fatal to all? No. Are they fatal to most? No. Do they cause problems? The medical community says no, but we know that’s not entirely true. There have been hundreds of thousands damaged by them. Do vaccines work? No, not all the time. Sometimes, they may. Sometimes, they definitely don’t, hence the cases of childhood diseases that have gone around in vaccinated populations.
Are vaccines worth the risk? That depends on who you ask. Many say yes, that chance of protection from infection is worth any possible side effect or future health issue. Many, like Megan, say, absolutely not. For them, it is worth the small possibility of complications to be assured of immunity should their child get the infection. They understand that much of health is not from what we inject into the body, but from what we INGEST into the body, and keeping the body healthy is of paramount importance in preventing disease, from measles to heart disease and cancer.
I make all choices for my healthcare and that of my children based on what I have seen, studied, and observed for myself. Do I listen to what the doctor says? I do factor his words in, yes. But do I leave all choices in the medical profession’s hands because they are trained and educated for it, and I am not? No, absolutely not. That doctor who is telling you you must do these things is only telling you what he has been told by someone else, who was told that by someone else, etc. And since Big Pharma is heavily invested in medical schools, of course they aren’t going to suggest to doctors that their product is possibly dangerous. That is counterproductive to the profit scheme. And you can’t tell me that doctors know more about vaccines than anyone else; the majority can’t even tell you what the inserts say that come with the vaccines!
We all need to educate ourselves and not just blindly follow what someone says because he or she has MD after the name. That doesn’t make them infallible:)
With as smart as you try to sound you are the fear monger. Telling people not to vaccinate their children because they might die but forget to mention the harm it could do to other kids (kids with no immune system because they have cancer and go through chemo therapy who actually depend on kids being vaccinated to ensure their survival.) You also forgot to mention in your statistics (because like most ignorant people instead of recommending to read the CDC report you only shared what you wanted http://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html) that almost 90% of the cases of measles in 2013 were from unvaccinated people and in 2014 there were 644 cases and already in the month of January of 2015 there are 102 cases in 14 states. You also contradicted yourself by “if there is even the slightest chance that the MMR vaccine triggers any disease, we should not be injecting any child with this vaccine. With that kind of mindset then, if there is even the slightest chance that getting the measles could result in death, then we should not be denying children the vaccine that could prevent it.
Brandon, exactly how long are my children protected if they get the MMR vaccine? What happens if my child gets MMR, gets neurological damage, but doesn’t get temporary protection against measles? Which is worse, life-long neurological damage or measles? (Pick the first one.) Which is worse, measles as a child when it is relatively mild or as an adult when it’s more serious? Which as a parent should I choose, death from measles or death by vaccine? Actually, there is a third option. I could utilize prevention methods that do not put my child at risk and protects them from these diseases and opt out of injecting them with something that is not proven to be safe or effective. I choose that one.
Immunocompromised people can be vaccinated. The VERY few who can’t cannot be around vaccinated children (who knows if they actually have immunity), recently vaccinated children (viral vaccines shed which is why you can get an exemption if you have someone with cancer in your family), unvaccinated children, and adults (whose temporary, if any, immunity has long worn off). That’s pretty much everyone. Although I am very sympathetic, I will put my child first…every time and I think it’s wrong to deem one subset of the population more important than another.
As for my post, I only shared what was relevant. Unvaccinated children can get measles. Vaccinated children can get measles. Adults who haven’t had boosters can get measles. Adults who have had boosters (but didn’t acquire immunity) can get measles. Vaccinated individuals can get measles. Numbers fluctuate each year. If you don’t vaccinate you could get measles. If you do you could get an adverse reaction (and measles). We’re all doing what we think is best for our children and I believe this is our right as parents.
Respectfully, Megan
Wonderfully done post. Thank you for being brave enough to stand up for what you believe in. With all the fear-mongering and witch hunting being whipped up by the mainstream media, more of us need to do the same. Have you read ‘Dissolving Illusions’? Just ordered it today.
Too bad Roald Dahl has already passed away. You could write him and tell him that his daughter Olivia’s death from measles schmeasles was insignificant statistically and that you really don’t care.
Just because a disease isn’t causing death doesn’t mean it is innocent. Yes, frequently measles is little more than an inconvenience, with children missing school and parents missing work. But what about deafness? What about mental retardation (CDC’s words, not mine)? Are those okay because at least they child isn’t dead? From your logic, apparently so.
Also, when a disease causes another problem, that problem (the secondary one) is what’s listed as “cause of death”. So if measles causes encephalitis, then “measles” won’t be listed as “cause of death”, the encephalitis will be, thus skewing the death rates as well.
And even though we aren’t in a 3rd world country, not every child in this country is properly nourished, nor are they healthy. Those children rely on the 80% + to be immunized (ie herd immunity) to keep them safe. Vaccinating your children is the price you pay to live in our society.
I fully am confident in my ability to safely drive down the freeway at 80. I’ve never caused an accident and I drive sober. However, to protect others (and myself), I must drive the speed limit and I do so willingly. It is the price I pay to use our roadways.
I currently work in a school in which 9% of our children aren’t immunized against measles; their parents have opted out under our state law. I respect that (which is different from agreeing with it). However, as the school nurse, I worry for my two teachers who are currently pregnant.
Your “death rate from measles” doesn’t include those who miscarry due to exposure to a measles-infected person! You say it’s zero, I say you’re likely wrong, as those fetuses didn’t stand a chance.
Have these teachers never received their MMR vaccine or are you saying it doesn’t work? If they were exposed to measles as children when the disease is mild they would be protected and pass protection onto their babies and this wouldn’t be an issue.
I feel bad for the parent of any child who experiences death but let’s not forget that the emotional arguments go both ways. Children have, can, and do die from vaccines.
What if the parents just never got the measles? No vaccin, no measles, so no possibility of any immunity for them or the child, but some other person who gets measles passes it on to them and their unborn child……..
I have a question regarding what age child is considered too young to safely contract measles. I have a 5 1/2 year old who has had Rubella, and a 14 month old. Both are very healthy and we occasionally allow sugar for the oldest, but the 14 month old eats only fruits, veggies, beans, and home raised eggs (once in a while ww noodles). I have absolutely no plans to vaccinate either one, but if the oldest happens to come down with it (he attends public school), it’s very likely that the baby will get it too. I can’t find any objective information online about what is actually a safe age…for a HEALTHY baby…not a malnourished one (as is always the main issue on each page). She already eats a lot of foods with vitamin A…and I can always add more to her green smoothies :-). She has managed to ward off the last few illnesses my son brought home from school, so I know her immune system is strengthening through the last year when she was catching everything he caught. I was vaccinated as a child for MMR, so probably did not pass on much or any antibodies through breastmilk (except for the Rubella…I had heightened antibodies while pregnant from my exposure to my oldest’s contraction). I have a respect for the disease, but little fear for my son if he contracts measles, but I am concerned about my daughter. Not concerned enough to vaccinate…just to prepare and research treatment. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Erin, I messaged you privately. 🙂
Thank you for this ! The thing is, regardless of all the statistics on either side, how in your right mind do you find it OK to INJECT your child with poison that you have never even once cared to ask your doctor about the ingredients in the vaccine? Maybe if you took a little more time out of your busy life style to care about your child’s well being, you would have found that vaccines are cultured in monkey kidneys, that they contain aborted human fetus’, aluminum and numerous other chemicals that should never be ingested let alone INJECTED. How do you find it right to have a 0-9 month old injected with the same amount of a vaccine that is injected in a 5 year old child ? And we’re taking like a 15-20 lbs difference.. No wonder there are so many deaths ruled as “SIDS” their poor bodies couldn’t handle what you justify as a necessary procedure. When you vaccinate your child with the MMR, for instance , guess what!??YOUR CHILD NOW HAS THE F ING measles ! How is it even possible for my unvaccinated child to give your VACCINATED child the disease? Your kid is VACCINATED ! So please stop pointing fingers at us anti-vaxxers, and think for a moment that maybe your desision to vaccinate may not have been the best desision you could have made.. And if at the end of this sick, exhausting battle you still feel it was the best thing then that’s just what it is. Thank god we have the power of choice… At least for now
Not every kid is eligible to be vaccinated. My two-week-old is not, nor is my friend’s son with leukemia.
Your two-week old son is protected through your breast milk (especially if you were exposed to these common illnesses as a child) and your friend’s son can be vaccinated (according to the CDC) with the exception of varicella but if he is in the VERY small majority of those who can’t, he cannot be around recently vaccinated children either as vaccines shed and could infect him and he should avoid all contact with adults (whose temporary…if any…vaccine immunity has long worn off).
Thank God your 2-week old isn’t eligible because you clearly are so superstitious that you would have had them vaccinated if given the chance. Many years from now, when your child didn’t die at 2 weeks from SIDS, they might have the opportunity to thank you for not killing them with a vaccine dose at 2-weeks old like you apparently would have attempted, given half the chance.
But hey, it’s all about convenience right? If you vaccinate your 2-week-old, you can go back to work ASAP to pay for all your pretty baubles, and only see your baby after you pick them up from day-care each night.
I’m attempting to ignore the utter nastiness of the comment above, and concentrate on the misinformation in both it, and the preceding post.
Not everyone receives protection from a vaccine – and no-one has ever said that they do. The measles vaccine is protective in approximately 95% of cases with one dose, and approximately 99% with two doses, and the immunity does not appear to wane, despite what Megan has said. http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/handbook10-4-9
This means that even in the vaccinated population, there will still be some who are susceptible to infection. And there are the immune suppressed, those on chemotherapy, and those too young to be vaccinated – and even in those whose who are being breast fed. (Breast feeding is protective only for approximately 3-4 months, even in those whose parents have actually had the measles.) The links for this information are in the following article. If, like myself, you were born in the mid sixties in Australia, and were not vaccinated against measles, and also did not get measles, you have absolutely no antibodies at all to pass along to your children for even those few months.
http://sciblogs.co.nz/diplomaticimmunity/2013/07/02/breast-milk-is-not-a-substitute-for-vaccination/
If you’d like more information on immunocompromised people, it’s not as simple as Megan makes out – it depends very much on why they’re immunocompromised, and what else is happening. Section 3.3.3 is very informative, although somewhat long, and there is more information on the rest of the page http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/handbook10-3-3
As far as those ingredients mentioned by the OP – it’s really important to actually understand what really is in the vaccination, and how dosage is a key word. In the right dose, even water will kill you. But here’s another link, just in case. http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/appendix4
And measles – it isn’t the benign disease that people seem to think it is. “Measles is often a severe disease, frequently complicated by otitis media (in approximately 9%), pneumonia (in approximately 6%) and diarrhoea (in approximately 8%).1,2 Acute encephalitis occurs in 1 per 1000 cases, and has a mortality rate of 10 to 15%, with a high proportion of survivors suffering permanent brain damage.3 Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a late complication of measles, occurring on average 7 years after infection in approximately 0.5 to 1 per 100 000 measles cases.1 SSPE causes progressive brain damage and is always fatal. Complications from measles are more common and more severe in the chronically ill, in children <5 years of age, and in adults.2 Approximately 60% of deaths from measles are attributed to pneumonia, especially in the young, while complications from encephalitis are more frequently seen in adults.1,2 Measles infection during pregnancy can result in miscarriage and premature delivery, but has not been associated with congenital malformation.2 There is no specific therapy for acute measles infection." http://www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/handbook10-4-9
But can you still get your kids into school? I have always felt this way, and read so many articles like this from really credible sources. Then when I mention it to doctors , they treat you as if you are selfish and are trying to kill your kids and others. Same thing with schools. You have to bring an up to date shot record to enroll them. Guiltily I admit, although I have never been comfortable with half the shot my kids get, I have been forced/bullied into it, because I don’t know if I have another option ?! I was told a long time ago you can’t legally be required to….but what steps do you take to still have a child in school?
Absolutely. There are vaccine exemptions offered in every state. Here is the link to the website that will give you the information you need should you chose to apply for an exemption. Whomever told you that you did not have options was not telling you the truth. I hope this helps! 🙂
http://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Laws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx
Not for long…
Why do you say that? Did the mass media convince you we should surrender more rights to the state?
I’m curious how you do treat your children when/if they are exposed to these viruses and show symptoms? Do you have suggestions on how to naturally treat for virus & bacterial infections?
We always use high doses of Vitamin C and Essential Oils. There are other health supplements available which are great too, but I think if you start here, then that is the best way to go. Also note that your health supplements must be of the highest standard. Research your brands 🙂
Vitamin C is good too, but Vitamin A is the key. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/91/5/1014
Actually, Vitamin A isn’t the key because Vitamins don’t do anything for you if you aren’t deficient in it. Essential Oils don’t do anything besides make your living room smell nice.
Actually, there have been a whole host of scientific studies (yes, the fancy double blind placebo controlled kind!) that show that essential oils have extremely powerful antibacterial and antiviral properties, and can also speed healing (even from simply inhaling them!). In fact, some oils have been shown to be even more effective than antibiotics at killing certain viral and bacterial strains. And no, I will not waste my time citing links to help out yet another uninformed troll. Do some research, it’s not difficult. Or check out some of the books by Stephen Harrod Buhner (Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal Antivirals).
Can you please provide sources to these scientific studies? I have been looking and can not find. Thank you
You need to look in Pub Med. I summarized some of my favorites in this post. Enjoy. 🙂
https://www.livingwhole.org/essential-oils-fad-or-fantastic/
Did you look on PubMed? There are a ton. GreenMedInfo has compiled some as well. Here is just one to get you started. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26265920
As parents, we must make INFORMED decisions and those that are best for our families. I don’t blindly trust the govt (and the corporations that run it) to disclose all the info or make decisions in my best interests. I think that if you, as a parent, are going to make a HUGE decision regarding vaccinations, then you should be properly informed. Opinion articles are nice reading, but you need to do your own digging to get more information. http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/189/Supplement_1/S4.full
That is an excellent article, very credible authors. It can be a bit technically difficult to read. I agree, everyone here should read it.
I had a relative who had high blood pressure. They took medication for it and their blood pressure dropped to reasonable levels. They argued they did’t need the medication because their blood pressure was in a safe range, which ignored the reason why it was in a safe range: the medication. They stopped taking their medication and their blood pressure went thru the roof. What you are doing here is no different.
You reference the fact that in recent years 122K people died from measles, but don’t ask why it so low (if 122K can be called low). The rate of vaccination went from 73% worldwide to 84% between 2000-2013 and the numbers of deaths dropped by 75%. it is estimated that 15M lives were saved by the vaccine. You talk about how its not so deadly, so there’s no need to vaccinate, conveniently not mentioning that the reason it is far less deadly than it was is because of the vaccines you are railing against.
Similarly, you talk about how in the US it isn’t so bad, how there weren’t any reported deaths here recently, Thats because of the high rate of vaccination here in the US (combined with excellent medical care and less malnutrition than in other countries) We virtually eliminated measles in the United States 15 years ago, but because of people not vaccinating their kids it has re-emerged. You can’t have it both ways, You can’t point to the low death rate and use that to validate your belief in not vaccinating. If you and others like you persist in this folly and refuse to vaccinate their kids then there will be more infections, more blindness, more death here in the US and they are totally preventable if people would vaccinate their kids.
As to your allegations that the vaccines cause autism or other maladies, those claims have been debunked. Repeatedly. But lets for one moment, assume that some cases of autism did come from vaccines. there are 3.5M people in the United States diagnosed with autism. The vaccine prevented 15M deaths and untold numbers of blindness in the last 13 years. Even if 10% of the autism cases came from vaccines, you’re talking about several hundred thousand cases VS MILLIONS of lives saved with the vaccine. Thats just the measles vaccine, there are many other illnesses that also kill or cause severe impairment. So if you were correct about your concerns over vaccines, to refuse the vaccine is avoid a small chance of autism and replace that with a higher chance of death, blindness, or other illness/impairment. Facing those odds, to still refuse the vaccine, is to gamble with your childs life.
The vaccine didn’t prevent “millions of deaths” in the past decade in the US. The year before the vaccine was licensed, there was 432 deaths from measles. We can round up to 500, for easiness’ sake. 500 x 10 = 5000. It’s saved approximately 5000 lives in the past decade, which is several times LESS than your autism number.
i didnt say “in the US” so why you are misquoting me I don’t know.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/
there are 2.6M deaths from measles WORLDWIDE in 1980, reduced to 145K in 2013. So yes we can say that nearly 15m lives were saved.
I again ask you, even if every single anti-vac theory was true and 10,00 children became autistic as a result… if it saved 15M people…. you’re ok with 15M dying? because you don’t want a vaccine to be available because it *might* cause autism?
consider Faradayk, a new drug just approved for cancer treatments. it was initially rejected because of potentially severe side effects. But when they realized how well it treated cancer patients were willing to risk it. Why? because the side effects were worth the risk to avoid death. and now its been approved as a result.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/23/us-novartis-fda-idUSKBN0LR20N20150223
So lets play a game. pretend that drug makers say “you were right, it cause autism in a very small tiny segment of the population. BUT IT SAVES 15M lives.” So now we have informed consent. would still be against it? Knowing this, I would give that vaccine in a heartbeat to my kid because I care about them and don’t want them to contract a disease that we nearly eradicated in this country 2 decades ago.
Because the chance of a lifetime of autism, and the many health complications that usually accompany the disorder, is so much better for my child than suffering from measles for a week and most likely living through it without complication (in the US…because that’s where I live). Still MY choice.
Except you’re wrong.
Your premise regarding the blood pressure is false. Your relative’s blood pressure wasn’t high due to a DEFICIENCY OF PHARMACEUTICALS. Mainstream medicine does not address the cause, only the symptoms. I can only surmise these same doctors must put a piece of tape over their check engine lights in their vehicles, because giving a drug for a symptom without addressing the cause amounts to the same thing.
Also with regards to the kids that got that rash after the MMR vaccine. The are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella. Your body does not just focus on tackling ONE diesease at a time. IF that were the case we would all be sick all the time since you can have one disease at a time. And guess what, the kds in the pictures look like they have mumps, and what happens when you have a disease and live through it? You become immune to it.
You do know the reason why no one dies of measles in this country right? Because of vaccines. And the immunity for the MMR doesnt go away. Also, werent you vaccinated as a child? And Arent you totally fine?
I did not get vaccinated against measles as a child. The vaccine did not exist yet. I got the measles as a child and with it, life long immunity. Most of the kids in my school and the surrounding schools also got measles and guess what, NONE of us died from it. Not a single one. It was just considered a normal childhood illness (in the 80’s). It was an inconvenience for a few days then our bodies bounced back and recovered because we were healthy overall. The end!
I call shenannigans on this. I was also a child in the 80s, grew up in Texas, and measles was absolutely NOT a “common childhood illness.” Chicken pox was, but measles was something that scared us.
Not all children are well-nourished nor healthy.
I received the MMR as a child and at age 20 I had titers drawn before starting my 1st hospital job and discovered I had no immunity to Measles. No lifetime immunity for me.
“…you’ll see that 122,000 people die from measles globally each year. Scary right?”
“Do you know how many people die each year from measles in this country? About zero.”
Yes, because… vaccines! This is about the best case FOR vaccines that I’ve ever heard.
One question for Meagan (since she deleted my post yesterday): were you vaccinated as a child?
I’m guessing no! I was born in 1977 and did not get vaccinated against measles because the vaccine did not exist yet. I got the measles. It was an inconvenience for a few days. I quickly bounced back. All the kids i knew got measles. None of them died!!!! We all now have life long immunity. Basically getting the measles is the same as being vaccinated against the measles without the nasty chemicals the vaccines contain.
Amanda, your informatio is inaccurate. I was born in the 60s, and was vaccinated in 1965. The measles vaccine was licensed for use in 1963…..
HI Megan! Always love and appreciate you! I came across this today. What do you think, is this true?
“In recent years, nearly all U.S. measles cases have been linked to travelers who caught the virus abroad and spread it in this country among unvaccinated people.”
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MEASLES_OUTBREAK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-29-17-06-21
I was born in 1965. My middle sister was born in 1960, my oldest sister in 1957. We all had oral polio vaccine-that’s it. We, our friends, classmates, and neighborhoods, all had the measles, rubella, mumps, and chicken pox. No one died. No one suffered permanent damage. My sisters and I and many kids in the neighborhood also suffered through mono-it sucked! But we lived, and our immune systems are still kicking!
I have a child who had seizures after a DPT vaccine at age 14 years. I’ll never know for sure if the problems she has today are related to that, but I do know she has never been the same, and I don’t think she ever will be.
I have a son with Asperger’s. He got his last vaccine at age five years. It would have been sooner if I had known the potential danger, and if his big sister had already had a vaccine reaction, which when she did, prompted me to do my homework.
I have four children. Only the youngest has had no vaccines. By then, I had already concluded that the risk of vaccination outweighed the benefit for my children.
Please keep being a voice of reason, Megan!
How do you know no one was harmed? It’s very possible a pregnant woman’s child developed mild to severe permanent defects from rubella; it’s very possible young couples are struggling from infertility due to the husband having had the mumps. These are NOT harmless diseases.
You did forget this one important statistic about the MMR vaccine:
“Before the measles vaccination program started in 1963, about 3 to 4 million people got measles each year in the United States. Of those people, 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 4,000 developed encephalitis (brain swelling) from measles.”-CDC
I forgot a lot of things. I forgot to talk about the 140 children that died post-MMR vaccine since 2000 (which is an estimated 1-10% of the actual number). I forgot to talk about the change in diagnostic criteria that occured post licensure to make the vaccine look more effective. I forgot to talk about brain encephalitis and the MMR vaccine. I forgot to talk about how the first MMR vaccine was an admitted failure (which is why people were told to get the 2nd vaccine when it came out), yet incidence continued to decline. I also forgot to link to all of the shows (and propaganda) of that era so people could see how measles was regarded. It was a common childhood disease until the MMR vaccine was invented – then it was a “deadly disease.” I also forgot to list the other things that are not considered inherently dangerous but that killed more people than measles. I should probably post a list of the safety data on the MMR vaccine too so that people could see that it’s funded by the pharma companies, financial stakeholders, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Then I’ll finish up with Dr. Thompson’s testimony on how the CDC manipulates data to make the vaccine appear safe so people don’t question it.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Maybe I should do a follow-up post.
Megan,
I was hoping you would answer this inquiry and was disappointed that you deflected as I could have used the info! I was in a debate with some friends over the morbidity rate pre-vax. My initial source was Dr. Humpheries’ graph (http://vaccineimpact.com/2015/the-truth-about-measles-the-mainstream-media-is-suppressing/) that read morbidity was down to zero by 1950. This doesn’t correspond at all with the CDC numbers, which say that there were 400-500 deaths during this same time. Neither source is properly cited…Dr. Humpheries’ graph seems to be her own and the CDC source link takes you to another webpage, not a journal, census, etc. It’s a reasonable difference…which is right? I can’t seem to find any other primary sources.
Thanks for your help!
Hey Amy – let me clarify this question for you. From what I’ve seen it’s a common mistake made when interpreting data. First, morbidity refers to incidence of a disease, not death from a disease (mortality). Easy to confuse since they look/sound so similar. First off, the link you provided is deaths per 100,000 people in general, not deaths per 100,000 with measles. The reason the mortality rate decreased so much is because a number of health improvement reduced the death rate from measles that had nothing to do with the vaccine. These factors include things like smaller family size, improved nutrition, access to public heath clinics for more people, and most importantly, antibiotics (which were able to really address many of the bacterial complications associated with measles and really prevent many of the deaths). However, despite our best efforts, nutrition, clean water, etc, the death rate from measles in the US remains somewhere between 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 3,000. There’s currently a misleading graphic making the rounds that shows that there have been zero deaths over the last 10 years so measles must not be deadly, right? Although it is true that we’ve been incredibly fortunate to have zero deaths over the last 10 years in spite of over 1,600 cases of measles over the same time frame, that doesn’t mean the measles is any less deadly, it’s just the natural randomness associated with data. There were two deaths in 2003 due to measles/complications, out of 56 confirmed measles cases, which just shows how random these things are when you look at a small sample size. I hope this helps!!
Interesting read! Thank you.
Speaking from personal experience, I cannot believe that vaccines are the cure-all of anything. I was vaccinated as a child and caught nearly every thing I had been vaccinated for, including measles (one of the worst cases recorded, and yes, I almost died) when I was 5years old. I had the worst immune system when I was a child, even though I received all the “neccessary” shots and continued to catch every bug that came my way – no one knew how/why. As an adult, I have refused most medicines, flu shots, boosters etc., and turned to homeopathy and healthy living – now I can say with happiness that I have never been healthier.
For me, personally, the vaccines made me more susceptible to illness and disease. Because of this, I do not believe I will vaccinate my child.
I understand that vaccines can sometimes have adverse reactions. But here is my issue… I think as parents we have the right to make decisions for our kids that we feel are best… i.e. eating vegan, breastfeeding, homeschooling, etc… BUT these choices don’t affect other children. If I read the news article correctly, two of the people that got the measles in Disneyland were babies that were too young for the vaccine. The mothers/fathers of those two babies didnt even get a chance to make the decision for their babies….bc someone else chose not to vaccinate their children, those two babies were affected by it. I just dont think that’s right. When our decisions put other people at risk, that bothers me. And when we really compare, isnt the good that these vaccines have done, far out weigh the bad????
Kate, do you know why infants are at risk of getting measles? Babies were not the at-risk population prior to vaccines because mothers got it as children and passed on protection to their infants for their first year of life (or longer). So you can thank the vaccine for changing that.
What about the immunocompromised child or adult cancer patient who dies from the viral shedding of a recently vaccinated child? Who determines whose children are more important? What if my infant got vaccine-strain measles from a recently vaccinated child? I know someone this personally happened to. What about vaccine-injured children and all of the parents who don’t want their children to become immunocompromised as a result of the vaccine? What about children who have MTHFR mutations? Why should I have to put someone else’s child first over mine?
What about all of the adults who haven’t had MMR boosters? Their immunity has long worn off. The bottom line is that the vaccinated put the immunocompromised, elderly, and infants at risk too. It also could affect my unvaccinated child (and I think it’s a warped notion that I should have to vaccinate my child to protect them from the vaccinated), causes mutation of viruses into more serious strains, and subjects us to more serious diseases as adults.
There are emotional arguments on both sides but I feel there are better ways to prevent diseases that put no child at risk and I won’t subject my child to a vaccine that is not proven to be safe or effective. I do think you should have the choice to determine what is best for your child though and I certainly don’t expect you to put the needs of mine over yours. Just my two cents.
Well said, Megan.
Megan, if “Babies were not the at-risk population prior to vaccines because mothers got it as children and passed on protection to their infants for their first year of life (or longer).”, are you trying to say that babies never caught measles prior to the vaccine? If mothers pass “immunity” on to their children because the mother was exposed to the virus and fought it off earlier in her lifetime, then wouldn’t the disease just die out on it’s own? The disease should have just ceased to exist prior to vaccines if that logic makes any sense. Why does the disease still exist today then?
Because not all mothers got measles as a child. Only the mothers that contracted measles as a child, can pass that immunity on to their children. So there are a lot of babies that were born to mothers that never were exposed to the wild measles.
In 1962, in the United States, the death rate for measles was 1 in every 1000 cases. 1 in 1000. In a well-fed country with antibiotics. Many more children were blinded or permanently injured by encephalitis.
But 1 case of measles in 1000 led to death.
When you can prove that the MMR vaccine has a 1 in 1000 death rate, you are justified in your rationale to not vaccinate your children.
It’s not “just a rash” no matter how often that rhetoric is used. It’s a potentially deadly disease.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/189/Supplement_1/S4.full
I see a lot of statistics in terms of the chances of getting the disease and the chances of having a bad side effect from a vaccine injection (which, by the way could include medical mistakes in the proper dosage or application).
Speaking of statistics, you and your children are far more likely to get in a serious car wreck and sustain serious injury then to experience the previously mentioned items.
Bearing this in mind, I’m curious, do you still drive?
As has already been stated, there are many choices you can make in life and virtually all of them have risk. In terms of bringing light to that risk, I guess it is up to each individual if they want to put energies into their battle of choice. I only hope that it is accompanied by a commensurate level of fear.
M
I am in no way going to say you are right or wrong. Everything you do is a risk. Walking out your front door. You can be shot, hit by a car sitting inside your house. Life is one giant risk. I choose to vaccinate my kids. I have had chicken pox 3 times as a child each time was worse now I can get shingles and at higher risk for them because my body didn’t get the “natural” defenses even though I had them without being given the vaccine. None of my children have had a bad reaction to vaccines either thank god. We are not allergic to any of the ingredients. I prefer to vaccinate because I do not want my 2 month old to catch measles or any other disease that can be prevented. No ththeae not 100% effective everyone knows that. Heck we all got the flu shot before my baby was born last oct and me and my 2 older children have gotten influenza A this year. I’m not saying you or I are right or wrong but every parent needs to decide what is best for them and their children. In my opinion vaccines are better I’ve done my reasearch and that’s what I’ve chosen is best for us you did yours and chose your route. IIcant say I agree but that’s ok. At the same time I fear more for my baby getting something his small immune system can’t handle so we stay away until he receives all of his shots before venturing out into possible dangerous situations for him.
I completely understand that you would want to prevent your “baby getting something his small immune system can’t handle”. Unfortunately doing this sets your baby up for an adult life of immunity problems. These childhood diseases are what trains the child’s immune system. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/243384.php
If you are vaccinating your children only because you ” I prefer to vaccinate because I do not want my 2 month old to catch measles or any other disease that can be prevented”, you are doing so on a very faulty premise. Let me explain. Your two month old will not be getting his/ her MMR until they are 12 months old. Your other children get the MMR and for quite a few weeks, they are shedding the virus and by being around your 2 month old, are daily exposing him/ her to the virus. By definition, you are risking his or her to exposure much more than if your older kids were not getting vaccinated.
So you all got the flu shot then three of you got the flu? Well that’s me sold, vaccines clearly work!
The flu shot is different from the other vaccinations though. You’re welcome to do the research, seeing as I don’t have it handy to link. Anyways, the vaccination only lasts for about a year, hence why you have to get it each flu season. Also, there are several different strains of the flu, and no shot immunizes you against all of them. What happens is scientists have to research and make a decision about which strain of the flu will have the greatest impact that year, and that is the version of the flu vaccination that is given out that year. My guess would be that either Jen’s kids were in the percentage for whom the vaccine didn’t work, or they contracted a different strain than “the big one”. The point is, the flu vaccination shouldn’t be judged with the same criteria as other, once or twice in a lifetime vaccinations, because they are so radically different.
The chances of an unvaccinated person catching measles is ONLY low is the percentage of unvaccinated people remains low!!!! Which wont be for long!! Thats the scary part. The more unvaccinated people, the more who can catch it and spread it.
Well then you should probably vaccinate your children since vaccines work so well.
have you ever heard of the term “herd immunity”? vaccines are not 100% safe, everyone knows that. but if you build a wall out of 10 stones it won’t be as bisg as a wall built with 10000 stones. and when you pull one stone out of the 10000 stone wall, it could all collapse. i hope this metaphor is showing you what i want to say
I have a suppressed immune system due to medication I have to take in order to not be plugged into a machine to clean my blood for 3 days a week.
This results in a lower efficiency of the vaccines I have received.
So, despite being vaccinated, I rely on people around me to not get these diseases in order to be safe. When I was at school I had to be pulled out because a small amount of people in my 2,000 pupil school got measles, they weren’t even in my classes. They weren’t vaccinated. My doctors considered it too much of a risk to potentially have me exposed to them.
So educate yourself, properly, like any competent parent would before you risk exposing your child to dangerous diseases and then also, through your child, exposing those with compromised health to those same diseases.
I have an autoimmune disease too but instead of taking immunosuppressants I opted to treat it naturally. My children are not vaccinated and I am doing just fine (and so are they). Though, since you’re going there, I am assuming you also avoid recently vaccinated children (live vaccines shed), vaccinated children who never developed immunity, and all adults since their temporary immunity (if any) is long gone.
Do not take this the wrong way, though I value you as a person I would never put your health over my child’s. Vaccines have not been proven safe or effective and I will not subject my child to the risks. Just because one does not hold the same viewpoint as you does not mean they have not educated themselves properly. If you intend to comment in the future, do so respectfully.
According to Johns Hopkins Hospital Patient Information Sheet for the Immunocompromised Patient it is YOU, Tom, who needs to be educated. http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/studies-show-measles-vaccine-spreads-virus/ You should not be around newly vaccinated people, yet you are calling for others to be vaccinated. Vaccines do not promote health nor do they induce TRUE immunity. Those who refuse vaccines don’t want to end up like you.
I was born in 1947. I can’t remember what vaccinations I might have received back then other than polio, which was a new vaccine at the time, and small pox, which I always assumed didn’t take because it was well known that you ended up with a scar at the injection sight and I didn’t have one. I do remember that we did not get vaccinated for things like mumps, three day measles and chickenpox. Parents hoped their kids would get these diseases because they were so much easier to deal with as a child than as an adult and if you got them as a child, in most cases, you didn’t have to worry about getting them as an adult. I would call this immunization without vaccination. 🙂 I suppose there were complications that were possible from getting these diseases, but from reading the inserts on the vaccinations for these relatively mild diseases, I’d say you’d be well advised to risk natural immunization rather than the vaccination!
After I had my first child I discovered that there are actually 2 different kinds of measles. Three day measles is very mild and not life threatening. The other measles runs around 5 days and it is the one that can be deadly. From reading everything here, it seems that they no longer differentiate the two and that is confusing to me. Vaccinating against the mild kind seems like an unnecessary risk. Does anyone know which measles virus these vaccines actually target?
My first born contracted the deadly measles when he was just a few weeks old. How he got them, we don’t know because we never knew anyone who had ever had this type of measles and I was an overly cautious first time mom who didn’t really take him out into the world when he was only weeks old. At any rate, the virus was tough on him. He was very, very ill, but he survived with no ill effects and is a healthy adult today. My doctor told me he did not need to be vaccinated for the measles since he’d had it. This tells me that the vaccines given back then (in the 70’s) were not combined as they are today, because my children were immunized for mumps and this deadly form of measles and I think whooping cough. But my oldest didn’t get the measles shot. Also, as I recall, we didn’t start immunization shots until they were around 2. And yes, they did call them immunizations! They don’t call them that any more. Could it be because the way they vaccinate or the substances added to the vaccinations are different than before?
If I were raising my children today I’d definitely be questioning the vaccines they give today. I can’t say I’m apposed to all vaccines because I have not done enough research of early vaccines to make an educated decision, but I do know that the way they vaccinate today scares me and I am sure I would not want to put my child at that kind of risk. I’d ask about separating the vaccines so that they can be given separately. I’d ask about what all is in the vaccine. I’d for sure get a list of all possible complications and compare the risk of the vaccine with the risk of actually getting the disease.
I can tell you at my age I have learned that I would in no way just go along with any medical decisions just because my doctor advises it. A lot of things that were considered safe and necessary at one time are proven to be just the opposite later (after a number of people have suffered serious side effects or death).
The 3 day measles is also called German Measles or Rubella. It is the third part in the ONLY measles vaccine – MMR (measles, mumps, rubella). Measles, the “scary” kind, is only scary if you are a malnourished child in a third world country, with poor drinking water and no medical/nutritional care.
Rubella is the “scary” one. Aka – German measles
What is so sad is that people reading this will believe what you have said. All you have done here is the same thing you are mad about. Showing one sided statistics to support your point. If anyone actually connected to half the links in this article and finished reading the full story they would see that it is all relative and all goes both ways! By all means, to each his own, I support every mother to raise her child how she sees fit! How you don’t want to be bashed for refusing to give your child vaccines is the same as the vaccines themselves not needing to be bashed! Keep an open mind, be honest and thorough when sharing information, and most importantly be honest with yourself. Don’t find every statistic you can to support what your doing to make yourself feel better. Find all of the info and make an educated choice and stand by it! What was done here is just the opposite extreme of your anti vaccine rants! There is a compromisable and reasonable medium
So glad you “support every mother to raise her child how she sees fit”. The difference, Katherine, is that govt entities are trying to FORCE vaccines, i.e. no vaccine, no school and forcing medical personnel to be vaccinated. Your choice to have your children vaccinated, while may be seen as uninformed(bashing) is not being threatened, as opposed to those who have done their research(informed) and choose not to have their children vaccinated are being MORE than bashed, they are being threatened with having their children taken away and the medical workers threatened with losing their jobs. When you understand how the immune system works, you will understand that hyper stimulating it with vaccines only puts an added burden on to the body, sets it up for autoimmune issues and does not provide true immunity as seen with the vaccinated STILL getting stick.
I am not sure why you would want to send your child to school though. If you’ve done the research and come to the conclusion that the support is bad evidence…why would you want the school, who have a curriculum based off of said science to be teaching your child?
Also: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/tag/shedding/
Katherine, here is an example of my claim that non-vaxers are being FORCED to vaccinate or have their children taken. http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/01/12/washington-vaccinate-all-your-children-with-flu-shot-or-we-will-take-your-2-week-old-baby/
I have been fighting the novaxx battle for 22 years and I thank you for your research and validation.
I just want to say “thank you” for being brave and courageous enough to not only post this but to also stick with your choice, defend it to others and to do so in a very well-informed manner. I know this was posted a while ago but I’m coming across it now, on a day when I’m feeling extremely judged, harassed and perceived as being reckless/irresponsible/foolish by others for choices I’ve made. Thank you for standing tall.
Interesting that you left the entire text from the MMR vaccine out, seems intentional.
“Death from various, and in some cases unknown, causes has been reported rarely following
vaccination with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines; however, a causal relationship has not been
established in healthy individuals (see CONTRAINDICATIONS). No deaths or permanent sequelae were
reported in a published post-marketing surveillance study in Finland involving 1.5 million children and
adults who were vaccinated with M-M-R II during 1982 to 1993.{60}
Under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, health-care providers and manufacturers
are required to record and report certain suspected adverse events occurring within specific time periods after vaccination. However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has established a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which will accept all reports of suspected events.{49} A VAERS report form as well a”
Not afraid of measles? Maybe if you saw your own child suffer it you would change your mind. Currently 26 people have contracted the disease from the Disney land fiasco and six have hospitalized. NO, they weren’t already vaccinated. But go ahead and sneer down your nose at a preventable disease that can scar for life.
You might change your stance on vaccines if your child suffers a vaccine adverse reaction. My child has had measles and chicken pox (she got it from being around a recently vaccinated child both times though I am not insinuating negativity on the part of a parent who chooses to vaccinate – just stating the facts). This didn’t change my stance because vaccines are not proven safe or effective and these common childhood diseases are most often mild and temporary (unlike a life-long debilitating vaccine adverse reaction). I have yet to post the video documentation on how normal and non-scary these diseases actually are. Just because someone was hospitalized doesn’t mean it was due to a severe complication. Look at the MMWR data…it’s dehydration.
It’s interesting that you talk about the US not being a third-world country, true. Why did you leave out the 1990 US Measles outbreak statistics?
55,000 infected
>11,000 hospitalized (>20%)
123 deaths (.2% or 2 for every 1000)
Those are stats from the last big outbreak in OUR country. Hardly “harmless”…
I call BS on the fact your child had measles? Surely you documented this historic event with pictures?
I’m also not sure if you intentionally lying or just regurgitating info. The last big measles outbreak in our country was 1989-1991. During the year 1990, the death rate amongst the unvaccinated was 1 for ever 279 cases. Amongst the vaccinated it was 1 for every 638 cases. The unvaccinated caught measles at a rate of 1 to every 885 unvaccinated people, whereas the vaccinated caught it at 1 to every 45,026 people.
This is all based on CDC stats. Did we have good vitamin A in the US in 1990? How about modern medical care? Sanitary living conditions?
Check out this picture for easy to read numbers, the CDC source is included.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k62/dil222/measles1990.jpg
Fair enough. I just felt with a blog such as yours the burden of proof would be expected.
Anyway, I’m curious as to why you won’t comment on the US measles stats of 1990? We had good nutrition then, modern medical and definitely sanitary living conditions. Hell, obesity rates were lower so one could argue we were healthier. Why did 1 in every 279 unvaccinated people die when contracting measles schmeasles during the US outbreak of 1990 if it’s so harmless?
I honestly want to know your opinion. The picture with the breakdown is below.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k62/dil222/measles1990.jpg
You might read my most recent post on measles. I think I addressed this point.
And I’m sorry to come off condescending first. I’m old enough to remember the kids in school who had hearing loss from measles, the kids living in group homes mentally disabled from measles and physically disabled from polio. I had a great uncle in a wheelchair from polio. I’m old enough to have seen the effects firsthand.
I can see your position on vaccines, the warning label on the MMR shows all of the possible side effects associated with the real disease because it is the real disease, just weakened. It’s terrifying to think of the disease somehow not weakened and getting in to your kid. If you watch A Paralyzing Fear on PBS you’ll see that did happen, but the effects of the disease were so much worse that people were still knocking down doors to get vaccinated.
Regarding measles, are you sure your kids didn’t have Rubella (German measles), which is relatively harmless (as long as you aren’t an infant). The reason I ask your opinion on the 1990 stats is because true measles is far from harmless. Rubella and the measles are used interchangably just as the stomach flu and respiratory flu are, but the latter is much more serious.
Vaccine shedding is not uncommon. My 2 1/2 year old (at the time) son contracted Rubella (German Measles) from a recently vaccinated friend. I did not know shedding was possible until after we researched cases in the region and found that there were none others (all of the other friends were vaccinated). He had a fever for a few days (there was a lot of sleeping and snuggling), then a rash for a few days that hardly slowed him down. It was an interesting experience, not at all as scary as people make it out to be…but I am very careful about his diet to maintain a healthy immune system to start with. His two unvaxed cousins were exposed before we knew what he had and each had a fever for a day and absolutely no other symptoms. They also have healthy immune systems from diet and lifestyle and are probably now immune with fewer minor adverse reactions than most kids get from a vaccine. Measles, Rubella, and chickenpox are not “devastating” for the majority of kids. Health and diet are HUGE factors in how kids and adults handle diseases. And most “terrible” diseases that kids contract or are exposed to have the possibility of strengthening the immune system…but it all depends on what we’ve done to promote healthy immune systems in the first place. I do not like seeing my kids being temporarily sick…but that’s the “gamble” I’m willing to take, since the other option is the gamble of a lifelong disability from a toxic adverse reaction to the non-virus ingredients in vaccines. These are not easily made choices and has been HOURS and HOURS of study and sifting information.
I’d say the “sneering” was being done by the Pro-Vaxers as they discount any information from those of us who are against vaccines and who have children who have been harmed by vaccines.
Not afraid of vaccines? https://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/vaccines-proven-to-cause-sudden-death-in-children-67-deaths-only-explicable-as-caused-by-vaccines-drug-safety-regulators-had-the-information-for-over-2-years-and-let-children-die/
Megan, please, please read this article:
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/dear-parents-you-are-being-lied
It counteracts every single argument you made with links to scientific evidence providing plenty of proof. The thing about VAERS is there’s no proof (none!) that any of the symptoms reported were caused by the vaccine. Its extremely likely that a lot of kids got sick by going into a doctors office full of germs and not washing their hands. You’re putting the health of your child and other children at risk for no good reason 🙁
Here’s another great article to consider. You don’t have to reply and I know you won’t agree with me, but please at least read this. If nothing else, its good to get as much information as possible…
http://www.voicesforvaccines.org/growing-up-unvaccinated/
Jaymi, please read my response to the Dear Parent article. https://www.livingwhole.org/dear-parents-are-you-being-lied-to/
Then please read this post by a scientist about how horrid Dr. Raff’s references are (in case you are wondering, they don’t even support her argument and she even links to the Weather Channel). http://www.abetterwaytohealth.com/confused-about-vaccines/
For the rubuttal to growing up unvaccinated, please read my post here: https://www.livingwhole.org/growing-up-vaccinated/
You know I have read all of the links you posted because I have written responses to them. I hope that you’ll consider reading mine.
Respectfully,
Megan
Per the “Growing Up Unvaccinated” article. “If you think your child’s immune system is strong enough to fight off vaccine-preventable diseases, then it’s strong enough to fight off the tiny amounts of dead or weakened pathogens present in any of the vaccines.” What you don’t understand it that getting these childhood diseases is what builds a child’s immune system and gives TRUE immunity. Here is someone who has raised 7 Unvaccinated children and explains how a healthy immune system is what is important. http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/familyhealth/childsimmunity.htm
You may want to be wary of the ‘voicesforvaccines’ website — based on their funding, they may very well be an astroturf organization . . .
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2013/08/big-pharmas-faking-a-grass-roots-campaign-to-keep-jenny-mccarthy-off-the-view/
The Scientific Advisory Board of VFV includes one Paul A. Offit, identified in a CBS News report as holding a $1.5 million dollar Merck-funded research chair at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
the Voices for Vaccines board is rounded out by another advisor (Stanley A. Plotkin) who is a vaccine developer, and two others (Alan R. Hinman and Deborah L. Wexler) with significant ties to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That last connection isn’t as innocuous as it might sound: As Maine-based M.D. and public-health blogger Meryl Nass explains, the pharmaceutical industry “funds CDC through the conduit CDC Foundation”; in turn, CDC funds the Immunization Action Coalition, another pro-vaccination advocacy group. (Voices for Vaccines advisor Wexler also heads the IAC.)
I’m not surprised at this relationship, Cassie. Thanks for pointing it out.
Hi Megan, my wife and I really enjoyed your article. And the comments section. We have a 5 month old little boy and have not decided how we want to deal with vaccines. This article was very helpful. I do have a vaccine related question but not relating to the MMR vaccine. My wife’s cousin was diagnosed with GBS three months ago due to a reaction to a Flu shot. He is 27 years old and does not have an immune system disorder. This diagnosis came from a doctor at the hospital. He was paralyzed, on life support for weeks and is just barely relearning how walk again. Do you have any information about GBS and flu shots?
I live in Ca., and have a 4-year old and a newborn. I am an anti-vaxer. My older son regularly comes into contact with kids whose parents take them to Disneyland on a regular basis. With the measles having such a long incubation / contagious period – there’s no way I can protect the baby from catching it if the disease goes through my house. Are the ‘serious complications’ for babies reality – or are they just more fear tactics to increase immunization rates?
Here is some information that may help you. It comes from Australia, from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance. It has some nice comparison charts that make looking at the risks very easy.
http://www.ncirs.edu.au/immunisation/education/mmr-decision/measles.php
I happily took myself off and had my MMR a year ago after realising that I hadn’t had measles and hadn’t been immunised (I was too old when it was introduced in Australia). Didn’t even have a sore arm 🙂
What a helpful chart! Thanks so much for sharing!
To the mom who is wondering, is measles really that dangerous for my baby? I’m going to answer, do you really want to find out?
Last year, RSV, the respiratory virus that is just sort of a bad cold, went through our house. We didn’t even realize that is what he had, because other than a few extra days of feeling ill (we have a very healthy diet, and seriously robust immune systems – we NEVER get sick!) we all felt fine after around 5 days (instead of the usual 3). Except the baby. The baby did not get well after 5 days. The baby ran a fever for 10 days. I took her to the ER on day 2, and they sent me home. I took her back to the ER on day 5 because she had been vomiting all day and was extremely lethargic and dehydrated. They rehydrated her with IV fluids, took some samples for labs, and sent us home again. They called me back on day 8 to tell me that her labs we abnormal, and was she still running a fever? Yes, she was, and she wasn’t looking good either. My mom sense was telling me she was doing terribly, so I took her back to the ER for a 3rd time. This time, they ran X-rays and put a pulse oxometer on her. Her oxygen sats were 80 – 85!! I am so damn lucky she didn’t die in her sleep. Below 95 is is insufficient to bring oxygen to the body – she was suffocating, and her x-rays came back positive for pneumonia. She was admitted right then, and had to spend 5 days receiving round the clock care. She was strapped to three different machines, had an IV with antibiotics, and had to have saline treatments and nasal suctioning every 6 hours around the clock. We were quarantined in a tiny room, were not allowed any visitors, and whenever anyone came into our room they had to be completely covered so it didn’t spread to any of the other vulnerable children in the hospital. It was the worst 5 days of my life and I was never so grateful as the day I was able to drive my baby girl home.
What was a totally minor illness for us was a MAJOR illness for my infant daughter, and that what pisses me off about this whole article. It’s great you you can be so cavalier about measles that you can call it “Shmeasle Measles.” And you are right! Measles is no big deal for the vast majority of healthy American kids who catch the disease. But guess what? ITS A BIG DEAL TO SOME PEOPLE, like if you are an infant with an undeveloped immune system or you are medically fragile, like children who are dealing with other diseases like auto-immune diseases or cancer. And sure, it would be wonderful if these medically fragile children could receive immunity from their mothers who had already experienced the wild virus, but the vast majority of American mothers haven’t, so its sort of a moot point. They don’t have it.
Making light of a serious illness that kills people (or do black children in Africa not count as people to you? Is it because they are far away? Or because they are poor? Is it because they are not Americans? Really, why don’t they count?) is really offensive. I don’t care what your position in vaccinations is – pro or against, it’s totally irrelevant to the fact that using such a flippant tone and attitude to garner blog hits is low. It marginalizes people who have actually suffered from and died of these diseases. Would you go around saying “vaccine injury smingery! Only like 800 people who get vaccines each year are injured and that’s because they probably have genetic problems or they live far away, or they or poor or something, so they don’t count!” Actually, we could just apply your rhetoric to all diseases! AIDS Smaids! Autism Schmatism! Cancer Schmancer! None of these diseases are a big deal to me, because we are privileged enough to have excellent nutrition, parents educated enough to research and blog about it, and access to the best medical care in the world in case anything does go wrong! Since none of these illnesses affect my healthy kids, they must not be actually dangerous to kids who are not so lucky! Can you see how the rhetoric is poison and fatally flawed?
Measles is no of deal to you, but it can be very serious for babies and children (or adults!) with compromised immunity. Sure, they might be only 1% of the population, but why is this 1% of the population SO unimportant to you, when the 1% that had vaccine injuries IS so important to you? Why is this woman’s baby so much less important that someone else’s with a vaccine injury?
If you’re willing to risk your child dying or being permanently disabled by a vaccine that may have a small percentage chance of protecting someone else from a disease that’s unlikely to actually cause them any lasting harm, then more power to you. Just don’t foist your ideas off on those of us who feel the statistics do not work to the favor of the people we’re most responsible for protecting–our children.
And please no more red herrings like “…or do black children in Africa not count as people to you?”
A reading of the article would make it pretty obvious that your indignation is ridiculously misplaced.
Bravo! A well-educated, well-informed response to the scare tactics and propaganda. Let’s have less toxins and healthier babies and children.
Childhood diseases are a “rite of passage” for a child’s immune system – once the crisis is over, the child’s vitality (vital force or chi) is stronger, plus, our collective immunity remains strong. Childhood diseases also tend to initiate developmental spurts in various areas in children. When common childhood diseases are massively suppressed, as they are now, children’s overall health is detrimentally affected, as well as our health in general over the long term. //// Nature makes no mistakes – childhood diseases are there for a reason.
Yes, they are there for a reason – to kill and maim children.
Nature doesn’t care about your or your child’s immune system…..
You are failing to take into consideration all the other children out there whos immune systems are impaired from cancer, HIV, etc and can’t take immunizations to keep themselves safe. So now when your child comes along with just a “rash” takes some vitamin A and recovers, the other families child who is already sick gets your childs “rash” can’t fight if off and dies. Way to be selfish!
Sonya, The CDC says that immunocompromised children CAN be vaccinated and those who can’t cannot be around vaccinated children either (because live vaccines shed and can infect other people, including the immunocompromised). My husband had personal experience with this when he was a child and his dad had leukemia. He and his brothers were not allowed to be vaccinated as the viruses could shed and kill him. In addition, vaccines often cause perfectly healthy children to become immunocompromised. Please check the facts before making such a statement. It is unfair for anyone to determine which subset of children is more important.
You’ll find the reference to the CDC and discussion here: https://www.livingwhole.org/the-hate-debate/
Sonya, the fact is, no one has failed to address the issue of the immunocompromised. Those people have been addressed. It is not selfish for a person to put their child’s health forward as a priority. By the logic of poisoning all of us to “protect” a few people, we should all be sterilized to “protect” the planet from humans. Slippery slope, that. If I don’t put my children first, protecting and nurturing them, if you don’t do the same, what kind of parents ARE we? I would opine that, if we don’t put OUR families first, we are a pathetic excuse for human beings.
The modern MMR vaccine does not shed. Immunosuppressed people can be vaccinated, but the effectiveness of the vaccine is decreased.
Please cite your sources that vaccinated children become immunocompromised.
One of my children falls in that category. The non vaxers are putting my son at risk.
No. They are not. Please reference my response above and the CDC. Your child is at no more risk from an unvaccinated child than a recently vaccinated child who had MMR, Varicella, RotaTeq, Dtap, or a flu shot – all of which shed and/or infect other people.
@Megan – explain how a biologically inactive substance is supposed to cause an infection?
Heck, the HepB vaccine doesn’t even use a single part of the virus anymore……who is spreading fear here?
We are seeing Polio cases again because people are not vaccinating. Well now the measles are back and it’s not a joke. My mom’s friend’s 2 year old brother died from it. This just simply does not need to be happening.
Misty, what year was that? The MMWR data says that no one has died from measles since 2008 and those two individuals had underlying conditions (they also weren’t 2). Secondly, your statement about “polio” isn’t true.
Great post! It’s refreshing to read posts from this side of the vaccine issue which are well-researched, eloquent (though understandably snarky) and actually describe and understand the science correctly. Thank you for this.
Interesting to see the typical trolls claiming “science” and who are “med students” but have no literal understanding of basic immunity.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
Thanks for your comment Ryan. I’m so glad you get my satire. I try to convey a heavy (often hateful) topic in an entertaining way. I don’t even post the worst comments; but yes, the usual is to be expected. When you can’t argue with the references your only choice is to argue your credentials. 😉
You’re not smarter than the supposed other side. Anybody can find literature and supposed facts from various sites to support his or her view. I’m tired of people acting like they know it all and making a mockery of the so called opposed side. I think we all want what is best for our children and are trying to do so.
Great post! Unreal to read some of the comments from supposed “med students” and “scientists”.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Megan!
I have personal experience with the measels. I was already giving my child Green Pasture’s FCLO Blend, which is high in vitamin A. My child handled the measels very well. It was not a big deal at all. I have seen stomach bugs do more damage!
Thanks for sharing Shelly. I know a few mamas who also had children get measles and they all said the same thing. Love GP’s FCLO!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDb0ZS3vB9g
It is amazing how measles was treated before the vaccine. Watch any family movie on Turner Classic Movies and they mention measles and mumps in passing and move on. No one was scared of it because it was a normal, benign childhood illness.
Vaccines are not 100% safe. We know this. But we have to give our children the best chance possible. We may not live in a 3rd world country but we are sure acting like one when we play “righteous” about our opinions. The truth is that no one in the US knows what it is like to live in a world without vaccines. This is why it is so easy to take them for granted. I wish the vaccine conversation could loose some of its emotion and derogatory rhetoric on both sides. We need to address our society’s mistrust of government and big business before this conversation is going anywhere…….
In “a world without vaccines”. More good can be done be improving the infrastructure, meaning making sure there is clean water, sanitation procedures in place and nutritious food before any vaccines are given which basically increase the burden on the population’s bodies.
Please stop confusing actually scientific studies with ones performed by ad agencies. The studies that showed smoking was safe were not peer reviewed. No respectable journal published those results and no legimate scientist repeated them. It is quite easy to tell the difference.
Please excuse the typo in my previous post.
I bet anti-vaxx parents will changer their tune once Polio makes a comeback as a result of “informed” parents foregoing vaccines.
Polio won’t make a comeback unless they change the diagnostic criteria (like they did after the vaccine was licensed to make it look more effective). Though, it is making a comeback in some countries thanks to the use of the oral polio vaccine.
I won’t change my “tune”. The risk posed by the disease is miniscule compared to the risks of the vaccine.If you are willing to risk the future health of your child to avoid possible complications, then that child’s health problems will rest on you. I won’t risk auto immune diseases and cancers to avoid a rash or a fever.
There is no risk of autoimmune diseases or cancer. None. Zero. You’ll find not ONE legitimately practiced study which say that vaccines raise the risk of ANYTHING. First off, if that’s the case, where are all the college students and children with immune diseases? Also, explain to me the mechanic by which a vaccine would cause an auto immune disease. You can’t just insist something like that without even explaning how it could happen. How could one shot cause two completely unrelated issues. You know how they say that cure-alls cure nothing? You can say the same of cause-alls.
Carl, there is no sense continuing this discussion with you. The complexity of the human immu e system has been studied in depth, and is known to consist of many layers, as it were. Vaccination bypasses parts of that immune system completely.
You ask where are all the college students with autoimmune diseases and cancers…there are many. Just because a person you pass on the street or in the store looks healthy does not mean they are. Hospitals and doctor’s offices are full of them.
I find it very interesting that whenever the subject of vaccinations comes up, folks like you always throw out the argument that there are no legitimate studies proving that vaccines don’t work or are dangerous. Even the vaccine package inserts disagree with that statement. They acknowledge the problem. The vaccine compensation program admits that fact. If it smells like a cesspool, chances are that it is.
Many people are vaccinated and seem to have no symptoms from it, leading others to believe that it’s harmless. Others die or are permanently damaged by it. I’m not willing to play vaccine roulette.
Of course doctors say it is safe. It is also profitable. The medical profession also used to say smoking was good for you, gave cocaine to babies, and bled people to cure them of their ills. We know now that those things were wrong, and dangerous. I wonder what the future will say about the vaccine programs.
Please become better versed in medical science before you insist things. Vaccines DO NOT circumvent any part of the immune system. In fact, the very method in which they work involves activating the immune system. You’re arguing against medical science and you don’t even understand the position you are arguing against.You cannot merely assert things without proof. The proof is in the pudding. Entire diseases have been stamped out as a result of them.
Carl, I think you should look into how the immune system works – specifically how the three pathways are affected by vaccines. I also think you should look into small pox eradication as a quick peruse of the PubMed database would reveal that small pox was eradicated by quarantine. The last reported case was in fact, caused by the vaccine itself. I’m not sure what other “diseases” you are referring when you reference eradication.
Carl…Where is your proof? you keep demanding it from everyone, but you have none either. Most virus/bacterial infections enter the body through mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth, throat) and pass through various filtering processes that alert the immune cells to the danger and start the NATURAL process of building immunity and recognizing/fighting the “intruder”. Vaccines bypass all of that and add virus and toxic adjuvants into the muscle that does alert a response…but only because there is a toxin that is added UNNATURALLY create an immune response without the benefit of the natural filters that can route the toxin through to the kidneys and liver. So it sets in the body and can travel through the blood brain barrier (then the immune system can start attacking more than just the virus, it can attack healthy cells as well, viola! we have an autoimmune disorder). Some other ingredients like peanut oil are used in vaccine manufacturing and when the body recognized the adjuvant (the toxic ingredient that helps the body recognize the virus material) , and the virus, it also recognizes those other ingredients and can cause allergies to those things. The autoimmune response can also cause allergies to any number of things as well. This is the simplified version. It is all connected. Allergies are a immune response to something that is not truly a threat to the body, if your immune system is overstimulated from trying to figure out how to handle unnaturally introduced adjuvants and antigens, it will start trying to fight non-threats as well. Some people can handle these ingredients better, others cannot. So just because you or your children are fine after vaccines, doesn’t mean that EVERYONE will be. Not a gamble I am willing to take with my children. I have heavy metal sensitivities…I don’t know how my babies will handle them in vaccines and I can’t UNvaccinate them. I have read and read and read both sides. I have learned the most about the mechanisms of the immune system from the anti-vax side. The pro-vax side just covers the surface and repeats “It’s safe, do what we say…don’t research, you must trust what we say”, and tells me very little of how they work, and certainly doesn’t tell me that it bypasses the natural barriers. I don’t trust the lack of transparency. I like to know how. I have learned that most by researching how the immune system works naturally, and that vaccines bypass that completely.
Proof? scholar.google.com is your friend. Read literally ANY peer reviewed white paper on vaccination.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2513473
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673683920913
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/2190141
Wow! Those were some quite informative links you listed, Carl! LOL!! I hate to be snarky, but after all of your smoke blowing, that is the “proof” you give? Basic information about the need for MMR vaccine. NOTHING about the mechanisms of the immune system via natural exposure vs vaccine exposure.
Here is a lesson on the basic mechanisms of the immune system (don’t worry, it’s pro-vaccine but describes it quite well) http://www.immune.org.nz/immune-system-and-vaccination.
If you have any common sense, you can see that vaccines don’t introduce antigens the way that the body is created/evolved to handle without undue stress.
Here is one that implies that Hep B can cause demyelinating of nerves and has severe complications http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997204002010
Flu vaccine can cause narcolepsy http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0033536
Flu vaccines and GBS : http://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00002018-200932040-00005
CDC presentation on chickenpox vaccine causing the majority of cases of chickenpox: http://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/downloads/Varicella-and-Breakthrough-Varicella.pdf
Anyway. I could go on, but I have kiddos to take care of and keep healthy…naturally. 🙂
Again, you mismisrepresenting the studies you linked to, most likely as a result of not actually reading/ununderstanding them. The final link you provided was not from the CDC, but the Philidelphia department of health, and it was in favor of chickenpox vaccination. It actually demonstrated the drop in cases of chicken pox since it began. It was merely pointing out that of the small number of cases since vaccinating had begun, some of them were in vaccinated individuals. It ends by recommending a second vaccine if the first one didn’t stick. Hardly earth sbattering evidence against vaccinating.
My point was that there are studies and peer review literature that highlights the inefficacy and real risks of the vaccines. Some people read it and are willing to take that risk and ignore negative facts. Others realize that since many are not as effective as they are touted, and the risks of injury are very possible depending on genetics (and no one knows exactly which and how, which needs to be studied in depth as well) and vaccine ingredients, it’s not worth the gamble.
I will not be swayed, and you will not be swayed. I would like to end this cordially.
Actually no, there’s not. There’s not a single viable peer reviewed study that will recommend not vaccinating. Even ones that are recounting some bizarre barely noticable side effect of vaccines will note that it still doesn’t over come the benefits of vaccinating. The ingredients in vaccines are no more dangerous than the ingredients in most food, which if you understand chemistry you know that they aren’t dangerous at all.
There’s not a single double-blind placebo-controlled study (which is the standard of evidence based medicine) done pre-licensure to support the safety or efficacy of a vaccine. Unless you count that one on Rotavirus conducted in the Phillippeans that did not show favorable results. There have been studies on the ingredients (hazardous wastes, carcinogens, neurotoxins) in vaccines and results were not favorable. These too have been hyperlinked in prior posts.
And bottom line, not vaccinating is irresponsible. Both on account of the children’s health, and the health of your friends and neighbors. Telling people that measles isn’t anything to worry about is both disrespectful to the people who have died from or lost children to the disease and to the doctors who have dedicated their lives to stopping it. Disregarding medical science is not just plain foolish, it’s also incredibly dangerous. Sorry, I’m not going to agree to diagree when the lives of children are at stake. Wisen up before it coats you or someone you care about very dearly.
Where does the disrespect towards children with vaccine injuries come into play? As I’ve mentioned in several other posts, I’m glad some people do question medical “science” or we’d still be smoking, prescribing heroin to children, getting rid of hemorrhoids with hot irons, refusing to wash our hands after childbirth, popping Vioxx, and giving pregnant women thalidomide. Children’s lives are at stake which is why some of us are not supportive of vaccines. If you cannot accept the view that parents deserve a choice then this forum is not the place for you.
Parents don’t deserve a choice if that choice is going to kill their children. They don’t deserve the ability to spread potentially deadly advice to other people. Encouraging parents to disregard the danger presented by highly contagious diseases because it allows you to better frame your completely unfounded position is dangerous and irresponsible. Kids are going to die because of it. If you want to he like Steve Jobs and die because you refuse to follow medical advice, be my guest, but someone has to stand up for kids who’s parents take that choice away from them. Sorry, but I value the lives of children more than I value their parent’s right to be ignorant. Every child not vaccinated is not only putting that child at risk, but also the blow to herd immunity puts everyone else’s children at risk. What about children with immune difficiantcies? Are you ok with your child causing their death because you refused to take a simple step to protect them?
Carl, there’s a whole lot of speculation in your comment and I venture to guess you do not acknowledge vaccine adverse reactions or the children who have died from vaccines. I feel there are better ways to prevent disease that puts no child at risk and it is certainly within my biblical and constitutional right to make the decisions for my children that I see fit. 😉
P.S – I have talked about immunocompromised children in prior posts. See the Hate Debate.
What speculation? Everything I’m saying is in line with data provided by the CDC and WHO. Show me evidence that children are getting sick from vaccines or dying from vaccines en masse. Insisting vaccines have dangerous ingredients because you don’t understand what those ingredients are doesn’t prove anything. Show me a peer reviewed white paper study that reccomends avoiding vaccines because of negative side effects. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Carl, I am not going to argue with you. If you want to argue you can find another forum. My posts are heavily cited with the CDC and WHO data you claim supports your position and we both know that the CDC will not stand behind any policy that would decrease their vaccine numbers, even if that means putting children at risk as we have seen with OPV, DPT, and MMR. If you want to pretend that vaccine injured children don’t exist, that’s your choice and if you choose to live in denial that the ingredients used in vaccines are safe, then go ahead; but, I would suggest looking up the toxilogical profiles of these ingredients – which I have cited and discussed in detail in prior posts.
The CDC does not have an agenda to push vaccines. They gave an agenda to save lives. Suggesting otherwise is wholly ridiculous. If you actually understand the slightest about chemistry you would realize that an ingredient simply sounding like or being chemically related to a chemical does not make it the same as that chemical. Vaccines are safe, barring an immune deficiency or allergy. This has been proven again and again. Measles, Influenza, Mumps, Polio and many other diseases are both deadly and totally preventable thanks to vaccines. Millions of lives have been saved as a result. People like you who are more interested in spreading an agenda than keeping kids safe and refuse to accept the very obvious evidence available via a simple Google search or coversation with any real physician. I hope you are comfortable with the lives of dead children being on your hands.
Okay Carl. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Neither myself, nor my husband (a physician) are likely to change our stance on this issue. I’m sure you understand. Peace.
Carl, Do your own OBJECTIVE research, this site is not your own personal research monkey service. Many of us used to be pro-vaccine, but began doing objective research to learn as much about the topic from all angles and learned the dangers through other’s experience, through many research medium, and sadly for some, from direct injury to themselves or their children. I personally have done research online and books (waded through hysterical papers on both sides and learned to tell the difference), talked to a toxicologist whose specialized study is mercury fillings, several doctors (allopathic and naturopathic) from various areas of the country (I move a lot). You have proven nothing either, so quit demanding proof you will not look at objectively when it’s staring you in the face. We don’t all have a file full of medical links and papers we can just serve to you upon demand…do your own research OBJECTIVELY. Quit wasting your time trolling and use it doing your own OBJECTIVE research. You won’t sway us, just do a really good job irritating us and making yourself look like a jerk.
Karl, I certainly hope you take the flu vaccine as often as possible to get you out of the gene pool. Your ignorance gets in the way of humanity and health issues.
Wish Carl would GO TO THE LIGHT SIDE.
I would like to stop vaccinating our children, but my husband feels strongly that they are important, and I am committed to submit to my husband’s leadership in family decisions (although trust me, I have attempted several times to appeal his decision!) We have compromised with using an alternate vaccination schedule, and avoiding ones we both see as unnecessary (including Polio & Hep A & B). The biggest problem I have with arguing against the MMR vaccine is that his mom (my mother-in-law) is deaf in one ear due to contracting measles as a child. It’s easy enough to say that measles is “just a rash” and the odds of complications are low, but we have the daily example of someone who grew up on a farm in the mid-west, ate home cooked food, and has suffered hearing loss for decades as a result of this disease.
Any thoughts?
Grace, I hyperlinked a citation in this post that shows that 50% of measles complications can be prevented by taking vitamin A. The clinical definition of measles is “just a rash” just like those who support vaccines believe the vaccine is safe even though there are thousands (if not millions) of adverse reactions reported each year. And in fact, hearing loss is a possible adverse reaction listed on the MMR vaccine insert (also hyperlinked in this post). Only you and your husband can weigh the risks when it comes to your children…;)
“50% of measles complications can be prevented by taking vitamin a” That’s funny because you can prevent measles by getting vaccinated.
Emily – That is directly quoted from the WHO – citation of which is in this post.
I told my spouse from day one that my child would not get ONE vaccine. If he tried to push me on this topic I would be out the door in a heart beat. He knew never to push me. I don’t take this lightly and I was not about to be bullied into having my son vaccinated or circumcised.
You need to bark back like a dog. You need to puff up like a puffer fish and do NOT back down. My cousin’s son was in the same position. Her husband worked in a pharmaceutical company and he basically made her son get some vaccines and to make a story short, he will never hold down any kind of job, maybe at a donut shop or fast food place. His life is ruined and his parent’s goals as well for him.
You are missing the whole point of mass vaccination! It’s not about you it’s about disease eradication world wide and saving lives in poorer countries.
Remove yourself from the chain of infection, think how many people you can infect, and how many of those travel to those countries with no healthcare and how many people will then get very sick or die. Help them and get immunized, be part of their cure.
I am familiar with the concept of “mass vaccination” and I don’t agree with it. Secondly, vaccinations are not a “cure.” They are an assault on an already healthy immune system. And finally, immunization and vaccinations are not synonymous terms. They actaully have very different meanings and should not be used interchangably. You make a strong assertion in your 2nd to last paragraph, one I’ve personally never seen research to substantiate. – Respectfully.
You are correct, in that mass vaccination is not about ‘you’. if it was, ‘you’ wouldn’t be asked to inject over half a dozen toxic chemicals into yourself in an attempt to prevent infection with minor diseases. It’s not about saving lives in poorer countries by mass vaccinating Americans. So much of science is based on educated guesswork, which is why science is ALWAYS evolving.
You say that folks need to remove themselves from the chain of infection and be part of the cure by getting vaccinated. That would make sense, IF vaccines really granted immunity, permanent immunity. Then you’d do some good. But risking your own life to shoot up with these toxic cocktails, which offer mediocre protection AT BEST, in hopes of ‘protecting’ immunocompromised individuals by BECOMING a vector for the disease (which you or your child will shed for days, weeks, or months after vaccination), makes no sense at all.
Two years ago, my oldest daughter brought home chicken pox from school. After caring for her for a week, my youngest caught it. A week later, it hit me. I was sick for two weeks, and stayed home. I had a high fever of 105 degrees for days, had the spots, and suffered bouts where I lost track of time. Would I go back and get the Varivax or other to prevent it (I was 30 when it hit me)? No. I know that I can never get it again, ever. And because I let my immune system do its job, it’s stronger now than it ever was. I have a few scars, but that matters not.
Interestingly, I should point out that when I was pregnanf with my oldest, I was stuck babysitting three kids in the midst of a chickenpox infection, and I didn’t catch it. I find it ironic that so many people panic about protecting pregnant women from exposure to so many diseases, but in fact, I tend to tjink that the immune system of a healthy pregnant woman is much stronger than at other times in her life. I know some of these diseases are pretty bad when they are caught by babies, but to poison all older children and adults, thus creating immunocompromised people, isn’t the answer.
Seems to me the primary argument for vaccinating children against childhood diseases is to delay their infection to adulthood, when it is no longer going to take from mom and dad’s work schedule, and will have more impact on the individual. Still seems incomprehensible to those of us not subscribing to the worship of science.
“So much of science is based on educated guesswork, which is why science is ALWAYS evolving.” NO!!!!!
Sorry for caps and exclamations, but that is exactly what science is NOT. Yes scientists make educated guesses…but then they DO science and test and observe based on that guesswork. Any evolution happens because they test something and see that it is wrong. Yes the first scientist doing a study may miss a factor or run an invalid test…but the scientific community is in a constant state of validating evidence. There’s the whole quote “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results”…and good science shows that when you do X, Y happens. They’ve done this with gravity…drop something it falls. They’ve done this with electricity…and if they were just guessing we wouldn’t be having this discussion on the internet. And they’ve done this definitively for coming up to a century with vaccines.
WRONG! “scientific studies” once told us that smoking was actually GOOD for you. It wasn’t until later…much later when that was disputed and disproved. Much of science today is bought and paid for. You don’t get the real numbers, ever.
I love science and science, when it does not become social engineering, has made our lives better in many ways. But I’m always mindful that it is a belief system. Humanity continues without the scientific community proving anything, or creating anything. Unfortunately, scientists and the whole charade of “evidence-based” medicine, including vaccines, have become corrupt and more interested in pumping out biased research in the attempt to get another research grant (usually backed by BigPharma). If researchers were really interested in finding the Truth, they would take to heart reports of harm done to children and adults and go back to the drawing board, so to speak. If vaccines are as great as the vaccine industry reports, then re-evaluating the current vaccine paradigm should yield results that people can actually believe in. Because this is not done, scientific research as a field is losing credibility. More and more people are doing informed consent; that is why they no longer support vaccines as a safe method of improving immunity against relatively harmless illnesses.
But, I still like science, because it helps answer some questions about our world and Universe. But, I don’t think science should be used to do social engineering, which is what the vaccination paradigm is all about
Well said.
DO science? What does that mean?
Thanks for all your hard work and research to write this post, as well as your other posts.
Fabulous article! You rock! Will NEVER vaccinate my kids either.
I think I might love you. Reading more posts
hehe This was my thought while reading this and the extended bio! I guess it just means more than words can express to have a knowledgable and informative parent kindly relay messages of true health. The support parents like me {non-vax} aren’t receiving can be intimidating and depressing. But having a great source of information, and someone that actually replies to comments, is the support I search for now. Thank you for your blog and shared knowledge!
Thanks for reading Marissa! Glad you found my blog!
Very well written and informative. My Princess is 16 months and we haven’t vaccinated her at all and she is still breast feeding. I couldn’t be happier w our decision. Keep up the great work. Thanks again.
Thanks Jay. 🙂
“Seriously, applying global statistics of developing countries to the United States is like doing an obesity campaign in Africa based on U.S statistics. Yes, it’s completely rational to compare the second fattest nation in the world to a starving country.”
Africa is not a country.
I didn’t say Africa was a country.
Hi, what are your thoughts on SSPE as this is a real concern and you fail too mention it.
How is it a real concern? SSPE was quite rare even before vaccine licensure (1 to about every 10,000 cases reported and only occurred in immunologically incompetent individuals). I also did not address measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) or (MINE) Measles Induced Neuroautistic Encephalopathy which manifests in the same way as SSPE and is caused by the vaccine.
from what I read and researched its MUCH higher in numbers? and higher than they first thought. Articles I read showed vaccination wiping out SSPE. SSPE is the only reason I am considering the MMR.. I also read recently about 6 children who contracted measles from a child in Germany and 3 ended up with SSPE, so not so rare.
SSPE in Europe
A new development is the report in Germany of three cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare, late complication of measles. On average, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis occurs about seven years after having a natural measles infection. The CDC reports that it causes a “progressive deterioration of behavior and intellect, followed by ataxia (awkwardness), myoclonic seizures, and eventually death.”
Among the cases include:
a six-year-old girl who had developed measles when she was seven-months-old and too young to get an MMR vaccine. Although she was only just diagnosed in October, she is already unable to walk and talk and has to be fed via a gastric tube.
a 13-year-old girl who died in October. It is thought that she developed measles as an infant after being exposed to an unvaccinated 11-year-old boy at her doctor’s office.
a 19-year-old boy who developed measles when he was just 6-months-old from an unvaccinated child, SSPE when he was 10, and just died from complications of SSPE in February 2014.
Although there is no cure for SSPE, it is important to keep in mind that like measles, it can be prevented with the MMR vaccine.
A report on the “Epidemiology of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) in Germany from 2003 to 2009: A Risk Estimation” that was published in PLoS ONE identified 31 children with SSPE and they found that “the risk of developing SSPE after acute measles infection below 5 years of age to be in the range of 1 in 1700 to 1 in 3300 cases of measles infection.”
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/measles/a/measles-outbreak.htm
this is the third case of SSPE from measles infection in infants in 2006 – in 2006 a total of 313 infants with measles were reported to the RKI (German CDC equivalent) in Berlin. One of these children died in 2007, another has been suffering from SSPE since 2009, and now Angelina is the third victim from that year.
Importantly, this shows that the risk of SSPE is much higher than previously thought. Overall risk for SSPE had recently been adjusted to about 1 in 11’000 notified cases of all ages, and “at least” 1 in 2’000 for infants (German pdf). From 2005 to 2010, 27 patients died of SSPE in Germany, although measles incidence had been sinking to reported numbers under 2000/year for some time. The current cluster of SSPE cases indicates that the risk of SSPE for infants who contract measles lies closer to 1 in 200.
http://justthevax.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/another-sspe-case-angelina-is-dying.html
Natalie, when was the last case of SSPE in the United States? You do realize that those vaccinated with MMR can get SSPE too right…in addition to MIBE and MINE? (I notice you didn’t address that.)
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001185.htm
“As of July 1982, 634 individuals suspected of having SSPE, with onset from 1956-1981, had been reported to the registry; of these, 368 were U.S. citizens who met the case definition of SSPE and had onset of symptoms between 1969 and 1981 (Figure 1). Fifty-five percent (202) of the 368 confirmed cases had a history of only measles infection; 14% (51) had a history of only measles vaccination; and 17% (63) had a history of both, with the natural illness most frequently preceeding the vaccination. The remaining 14% (52) gave no positive history of having natural measles infection or measles vaccination.”
“The estimated rate of SSPE following measles vaccination averaged 0.7 reported SSPE cases per million doses of live-virus measles vaccine distributed from 1963 (the year of vaccine licensure) through 1974. Assuming [only] a 10% reporting efficiency,[…].”
Hmm…you’re isolating one rare, severe reaction of measles (that can also be an adverse reaction of the vaccine). I am not sure how this remotely compares to the wide array of potential MMR adverse reactions including SSPE, MINE, MIBE, brain damage, and death. We now know that severe (natural) measles can be prevented by vitamin A…how do you prevent MMR adverse reactions?
I am a bit dunbstruck by your response. Your comment that (in your experience) measles is a positive experience for most chidren is a personal opinion that you are welcome to hold but is meaningless without evidence in trying to determine the risk of measles. That is precisely why we do research. I understand the mortality numbers so I don’t need to review them. You, however, do not seem to have examined the morbidity numbers.If you are making a case based on mortality numbers then you must accept the morbidity numbers as well. Examined objectively they constitute real harm to real children.
I examined your links. The first one supports some of your mortality numbers. The remaining links are not science but anti- vaccination pieces.
As for your treatment recommendations:
Vitamin A is thought helpful in parts of the world where Vitamin A deficiency is common: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16235283. I don’t believe you can extrapolate to developed countries. I don’t know why you don’t believe in fever control and I doubt your reasons are based on good science.
I know that you oppose the measles vaccine for personal reasons and I am not trying to persuade you otherwise. But if you are attempting to persuade me that measles is not harmful, you would have to present persuasive data.
Edward, I am not sure if your comment was addressed to me but I think my post addressed the issues you brought up in your comment. As for fever control even mainstream medicine has recognized the benefits of a fever (though it took them awhile to figure it out). Maybe one of the reasons measles is not severe in this country is because we now have sufficient levels of vitamin A (we did not in the past when measles numbers were high). I personally do not support vaccines for medical, religious, and philosophical reasons but I support each individual’s right to decide. I think you are someone who is beyond convincing on the subject of vaccines though, don’t you think? 😉
Megan, I was actually responding to Cia who mentioned my comment in a communication to you. My comment was really about the importance of not cherry picking or selectively using data when it serves your argument, but not acknowledging other equally objective data when it doesn’t. (whether the topic is vaccination or climate change). I don’y wish to challenge people’s philosophic or religious beliefs, but when individual’s quote scientific research and data to support their position then I think that respectful challenge is reasonable. It’s true that I am beyond convincing on the subject of vaccines and similarly don’t expect to persuade those opposed otherwise (as much as I might wish to ; – ).
Has there been anyone look at a link between those individuals that have a bad reaction to say the MMR vaccine being the same individuals that have the worst outcomes if they were actually to get the measles, mumps or rubella. If that were the case that would make the vaccine completely useless.
Most of us with normally functioning immune systems will tollerate just about anything be it a vaccine or illness, the immune system learns from it and moves on, but what about the person who’s immune system overreacts causing severe allergy like responses.
It is probably something that could be tested for and might even be simple. but since there’s no money in it, it will likely never happen.
In our family, we have a strong history of sailing through communicable diseases, including h1n1, pertussis, influenza, Cocksackie, and chicken pox–but we have an equally strong history of severe adverse reactions to vaccines.
I don’t think you can compare the two, because some people have adverse reactions to the antigens (either in the vaccine or in the disease) while others have adverse reaction to the adjuvant, or the preservative, or one of the other ingredients.
Also remember that the adjuvant is there to trigger a stronger immune system response–but there is no way to control WHAT the immune system is responding more strongly to..
As for pregnancy and the vaccine. I got the rubella vaccine after giving birth to my first child 10 years ago. I had baby number 4 last year and when I got my initial blood work done they called to tell me I had no immunity. I was surprised and told them I had the vaccine 9 yrs before. She said it showed nothing and I would need to get it again after having the baby. I didn’t get it. I am now expecting again and this time the blood shows immunity again. Apparently the number last year just want high enough to be considered immune. The number is still fairly low but high enough to be considered immune. I have zero confidence in the vaccine. I won’t be getting the shot again. But I’m also kind of upset that while pregnant last year I was under the impression I was immune and could’ve been careless in the assumption of immunity had I been exposed. It also made me wonder how many others, pregnant or not, have had a vaccine that has unknowingly worn off.
I’m interested to hear your perspective on vaccinations for people who will be moving to different countries. My family and I will be moving to South America and while we are unvaccinated here, I am wondering if the risks of remaining unvaccinated will be greater there. Do you have any resources for this type of information?
Thank you Megan for putting that together. I’ll be sharing on my Facebook page. I too haven’t vaccinated my child and never will. I’m currently trying to educate people I know on why they shouldn’t too. As you know, it takes time and articles like yours. 🙂
In addition to the massive under reporting of adverse reactions, it’s highly likely there is also massive under reporting of measles cases themselves. After all, a rash and fever are common in children. If a child is vaccinated, most drs assume they can’t possibly have measles (or any other vaccinable disease).
I am a naturopathic physician and I AM concerned about measles.
You neglected to mention the fact that measles currently has a 1:3 hospitalization rate. Though there have been no deaths, we should never underestimate the severity of measles. It is incredibly scary to watch.
I see vaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated kids in my practice, and have still yet to see a problem with the MMR vaccine. It isn’t perfect, but the data is quite clear that vaccinating leads to less measles and less deaths. Vitamin A deficiency is NOT the only issue here.
Right now the data stands at (roughly): chance of getting blindness, encephalitis or serious injury from the MMR vaccine: between 1 in 100,000 and 1 in 1,000,000. The chance of permanent injury from measles if contracted: between 1 in 3 and 1 in 1,000. Granted, the chance of catching measles is low, but it is clear that if measles DOES spread through a population we will have serious problems here.
Making light of measles, especially for families in Native American populations who have lost entire families to the disease is in extremely poor taste, in my opinion.
The hospitalization rate for measles is not 1 in 3 according to the CDC’s MMWR data. As of this year it is closer to 1 in 7 so I am not sure where you are getting your statistics.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6322a4.htm?s_cid=mm6322a4_w
In 2011 (the year prior to 2014 with highest number of cases), there were 222 cases of measles (no encephalitis and no death) even fewer were hospitalized and the most common reason people were admitted was for dehydration and diarrhea.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6115a1.htm
I’m not sure where your other statistics come from either because according to prior MMWR data (linked in my post) there are about a few hundred cases of measles every year…no deaths…and no encephalitis. The last measles death was 12(?) years ago in this country and occurred in two individuals with underlying conditions.
Each year there are hundreds of thousands of adverse events reported post-vaccine on VAERS and that is only 1-10% of actual events that occur. Children are also hospitalized, get encephalitis, and die from this vaccine. I’m not sure why anyone would think it’s okay to give our children something that could harm them…especially when there are far more effective prevention methods that have no risks. Vitamin A reduces measles deaths by 50%, imagine what other vitamins, a proper diet, and improvement in living conditions can do (and have done) for the spread of this disease.
I didn’t mean to offend the Native Americans any more than you meant to offend the families with vaccine-injured children. It is very scary to witness the damage that is occurring to our children due to vaccines and although you support vaccinations I hope you respect every patient’s right to choose what is best for them and their family and I think it only appropriate that the medical community uphold the clinical definition of measles.
Your reply also reminds me of an interesting article I read about the average age at death and how it was calculated. Did you know that people live generally just as long now as they did in the 1800’s? We were under the impression the average age of death was severely shorter. The reason why it was shorter was because there was an extremely high rate of infant mortality that was factored in to the entire population. Most adults lived to an average similar to today, in the 70’s.
The fact is infants died for many, many reasons including unclean conditions and the ever changing opinion on medical procedures.
The data is skewed in your favor, in pharmaceutical companies favors…
You can’t honestly argue that vaccinations did away with diseases. Some diseases died off merely because technology and cleanliness, living conditions and practices have improved substantially over the last few hundred years. We’ve learned things like, don’t use the same spoon to dish everyone water. Don’t poop next to where you eat. And don’t have sewer running down the middle of your street. Also, we have a rich supply of ways to get our vitamins, our food, and we in America happily almost always have roofs over our heads and places to clean ourselves.
It is egotistical of the medical community to act as though vaccines are gods when the amount of diseases they prevent is infinitesimal and cannot honestly be calculated unless we still lived in the 1800’s under their living conditions when the mortality rate was so high.
Hi Julie,
It’s not correct to say that “people live generally just as long now as they did in the 1800s” or that “adults lived to an average similar to today, [into their] 70′s. You are absolutely right that life expectancy is skewed down by infant mortality. However, even when you take that into account, life expectancy now is MUCH better than it was 150 years ago.
Check out the tables at http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html, and look at the first set of data showing the life expectancy of American males. In 1850, the life expectancy at birth was 38.3 years, and the life expectancy at age 20 was 40.1 years (meaning living until age 60.1). Note that the 1850 data are for Massachusetts only, and include whites (99%) and non-whites (1%) combined.
Now contrast that with 2011, for white American males. The life expectancy at birth had increased to 76.3 years, but the life expectancy at age 20 was 57.2 years (meaning men typically now live until age 77.2). So even when you disregard the distorting effects of infant mortality, white American adult males typically live for 17 years longer now than they did in 1850. For non-whites, the improvements are even more extreme.
Note that these are all straight US government statistics, just counting deaths. There is no under-reporting or misclassification to be factored in.
So people really do live much much longer now. There are many diseases that routinely killed adults in the 19th century that are unheard of today. I note that even as recent as 1960 (when we had hygiene and sewerage and antibiotics), the life expectancy of a white 20-year-old American male was 50.25 years (i.e. living until age 70.25), which is 7 years less than in 2011.
I would be interested to hear what might explain the fact that life expectancy has improved by 10% (a huge amount) in the last 50 years, given that this increase in recent times cannot have anything to do with infant mortality or hygiene.
I realise that all this is getting off topic, but since so much of the discussion on this thread has been based around numbers and statistics, it’s important to get these things right.
I decided not to vaccinate in the 1980’s — you know, back before Wakefield and McCarthy ‘invented’ the anti-vaccination ‘movement.’
We had no internet, so we got our info from well-respected doctors like Robert Mendelsohn, who risked their reputations to write books and newsletters blowing the whistle on vaccines and other standard treatments like automatic antibiotics for ear infections (a criticism that is now mainstream, 25 years later.)
I raised 8 children who were always so much healthier than all their cousins and friends, and much healthier than their father and I were as kids. We lived in a very ‘third world’ part of Mexico for 9 months and in spite of surrounding poverty, poor sanitation and less nutrition, the kids were never sick, only their dad!
The only child who ever recieved a vaccine under my watch was my daughter who at almost 18 insisted on receiving the Gardasil vaccine. I only consented because she would have gotten it herself later anyway. She contracted herpes from the vaccine. As a matter of interest, she had been in a car accident and was already suffering from that and on medication, which I am sure affected her resistance.
I have no regrets about not vaccinating, but I sure do about letting her get Gardasil. However, its irresponsible to just not vaccinate without breastfeeding long-term, eating properly, using superfoods, drinking pure water, raising kids with love and encouragement–anything you can do to boost overall health.
Hi Megan,
Just wondering if you can tell why there have been no measles related deaths in the US recently? I’m sure the US had excellent sanitation etc in the 1950s yet in 1951 there were 683 deaths due to measles.
I’m sure the vaccine plays a role in measles prevalence. It would considering anyone born past 1957 has presumed lifetime immunity and the vaccine can provide temporary immunity…but when the older generation passes away and MMR immunity wears off you’ll see measles in the adult population (which you are already seeing now), which is much more serious. Of course this will be blamed on the unvaccinated and not the waning immunity of the MMR vaccine.
As it pertains to deaths in people who actually get measles (whether vaccinated or not) – nutritional deficiencies determine in large part the severity of it. And of course, if there are less people getting measles there will be less death due to measles (but more deaths due to MMR and diseases one gets as an adult because they never had measles). In the 1950s almost everyone got measles. If you put that in perspective even 683 is a pretty small number (more people die falling down their stairs each year). Measles is not and was never considered a deadly disease in this country.
Also, it is never stated in articles the ethnicity of those who died. In at least some measles outbreaks, it has been immigrants who died. They probably came from a people who had no natural resistance to measles, like Americans do. Measles is much more dangerous in those populations, plus they often have poor nutrition and lowered resisitance to disease in general.
There is no valid comparison without access to information about those who died — ethnicity, medical conditions, nutritional status, etc.
I would like to suggest that you are being rather “lawyerly” with your “Schmeasle Facts.” You are using absolute numbers rather than percentages or other statistical approach that helps the reader understand the meaning of the numbers. If something is a rare event and sample size is small, guess what you get absolute numbers like 0,1,2. The sample size happens to be small in this case because most children are vaccinated. Consequently measles in the US is itself a relatively rare event and we have a dearth of adverse outcomes. Conversely, enormous numbers of children have been vaccinated so a number in the thousands which appears impressive actually represents an exceedingly small percentage. Of course, any harm to a child from a vaccination is too much harm but unfortunately no drug is completely safe. Still, from a public health perspective the question is whether it is safer to be vaccinated or to risk an albeit rare adverse outcome from the measles? My reading of the literature suggests that it is much safer to be vaccinated.
Edward, despite the fact that we have different viewpoints, I really like you.
Thanks, Megan. I like you too. (even if we strongly disagree – on some matters).
Edward,
Measles deaths in the US and the UK plummeted in the first half of the twentieth century: everyone continued to get it, 99% of kids got it anyway, but the death rate was at its lowest point ever in 1960. One million diagnosed cases, two or three million undiagnosed, because it was no big deal. 450 deaths, most of them in older people, or in malnourished or immunocompromised childreen.
As Megan said, having natural measles confers many benefits. I had it when I was six, in the sixties. Everyone I knew got it at some point, all the adults had already had it. You get it, you get permanent immunity, can protect future infants through placental immunity and breastfeeding, get developmental strides, and protection against several cancers and degenerative diseases, again, as Megan pointed out. Having measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox (as many as possible, one at a time, of course) provides the best preparation possible for the development of a strong, competent immune system.
If your child gets measles, put him or her to bed and keep him there, no baths until the fever is gone. Keep him well-hydrated. Give him an appropriate dose of vitamin A, two doses one day apart is the WHO standard, and will prevent complications and eye damage. Give no Tylenol or other fever reducers, which increase complication, encephalitis, and death (they don’t often occur, but the fever is necessary and should not be interfered with). The patient will probably feel very ill for over a week. Even after he is feeling better and the fever is gone, measles reduces immunity for two or three weeks after the rash first appears, and it is a good idea for him to stay home for that length of time. And then he gets the lifetime benefits of a natural case of measles, and you won’t ever have to deal with him losing his language, his personality, and getting bowel disease the way so many hundreds of thousands of children have after getting the MMR. No way would I ever allow my daughter to get it either. Unfortunately, she has autism from reactions to the hep-B vaccine (encephalitic screaming syndrome) and the DTaP booster (erased her language and diagnosed with autism two months later).
Hi Cia,
I’m sorry that you child has autism. I can appreciate (but, of course, can’t fully understand) how challenging and life changing that must be. I assume from your comment that you might vaccinate again for things like polio but not accept the MMR vaccine and several others.
So I’m not trying to diminish your experience, when I change the scope of my comments to the issue of the measles vaccine at a population level. I am interested in risk versus benefit of vaccination for society. Your personal experience with measles and the personal experience of those people you know allows you to correctly assert that it apparently caused no long term problems for everyone you knew but does not allow you to assert that getting measles is a benign disease. Why? If we are talking about adverse consequences that are real but rare, your population of interest is too small to draw conclusions from.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/189/Supplement_1/S1.long
“In 1962, immediately preceding the licensure of the first measles vaccines in the United States, when measles was a nearly universal disease, Alexander Langmuir described the medical importance of measles to the country and put forth the challenge of measles eradication [1]. Although most patients recovered without permanent sequelae, the high number of cases each year made measles a significant cause of serious morbidity and mortality Langmuir showed that >90% of Americans were infected with the measles virus by age 15 years [1]. This equated to roughly 1 birth cohort (4 million people) infected with measles each year. Not all cases were reported to the public health system; from 1956 to 1960, an average of 542,000 cases were reported annually.By the late 1950s, even before the introduction of measles vaccine, measles-related deaths and case fatality rates in the United States had decreased markedly, presumably as a result of improvement in health care and nutrition. From 1956 to 1960, an average of 450 measles-related deaths were reported each year (∼1 death/ 1000 reported cases), compared with an average of 5300 measles-related deaths during 1912–1916 (26 deaths/ 1000 reported cases) [2]. Nevertheless, in the late 1950s, serious complications due to measles remained frequent and costly. As a result of measles virus infections, an average of 150,000 patients had respiratory complications and 4000 patients had encephalitis each year; the latter was associated with a high risk of neurological sequelae and death. These complications and others resulted in an estimated 48,000 persons with measles being hospitalized every year [3].”
Your comments rightly points out the rare deaths from measles in the US but neglects the issue of morbidity. So, by my reading there is certainly benefit to the MMR vaccine. How about risk? In spite of your assertions to the contrary, I find no scientifically proven connection between MMR and autism. There is certainly the exceedingly rare severe allergic reaction to a vaccine (1 in a million) and rare reports of neurologic damage with causality unclear. If that child is yours, then it is a terrible tragedy. However, from a public health point of view, the benefit far outweighs the risk and the medical establishment should continue to vaccinate and continue to research even safer vaccines, so that the 1 in a million tragedy becomes 1 in 10 million etc. That’s my take on the issue.
It is unfortunate that the issues surrounding vaccination are never as simple as your straightforward argument (which is sound, as far as it goes) suggests. For me, any benefit to the vaccine for the individual or for society, is dependent on the vaccine working. As long as we have vaccines that don’t work in a fairly large number of people, or that wear off fairly quickly, then these types of arguments are moot.
If vaccines worked and were safe, they would be the greatest invention ever! The whole premise of widespread vaccination was the promise of LIFELONG immunity gained in a safer way than catching the actual disease. I don’t believe vaccines could have been sold to the general population with the promise of a few years of resistance coupled with serious side effects.
Almost daily we hear more about each vaccine’s limited effectiveness and how few years it supposedly protects. And now we hear that measles infection is protective against cancer — which kills and maims far more people than measles does.
It is my view, that from a cold hard look at the good of society, without any regard at all to deaths or serious injury of individuals, natural measles wins over the vaccine, hands down. Personally, I think the small risk of complications from measles is worth the immunity and health benefits gained from having it for the individual, which is why I didn’t vaccinate.
Also your arguments don’t reflect the other major concern from the introduction of the measles vaccine, the temporary protection pushing the time of measles infection from the safer period of childhood out to adulthood when the vaccine wears off. This concern needs to be addressed in reference to all the so-called ‘childhood diseases’ like whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella and chicken-pox. It has now been shown that these specific vaccines have relatively low protective abiblity, and wear off in a few years even if they were initially protective. This greatly changes their value in comparison to the risks of reaction, as well as their value vs. catching the actual disease. knowing what I know, I am personally so grateful that I had natural chicken pox and caught natural immunity to mumps (without coming down with the mumps, I might add!) I feel much safer than I would if I had just had the vaccine. I wonder how betrayed the current crop of children are going to feel when they are adults and learn how little protection these vaccines are, and how they missed their chance to safely catch the disease. And how much safer modern infants would be if they were surrounded by adults who had had whooping cough as children, vs. around a new resistant strain of whooping cough that probably is a direct result of vaccination and that the vaccine cannot prevent.
Also what if we are keeping these diseases alive by vaccination when they were dying out already 40 years ago? The only mass vaccination ever stopped was smallpox –when they realized the only cases were coming from the vaccine. (I had a mild case from the vaccine myself.) Scarlet fever and other diseases have died out without vaccine help. What if whooping cough would have been dead by now if we hadn’t kept vaccinating for it? How will we ever know? These are ‘good of society’ questions as well.
Cia, so sorry about your daughter. I think I have seen you on another forum or two. Please consider Kerry Rivera’s Healing the Symptoms Known As Autism if you have not done so yet–affordable, do-able at home, is helping even ADULTS.
Facebook group, CD Autism, if you want to check it out.
Edward, I am not convinced that it is much safer to be vaccinated than not, because the studies suggesting vaccine safety/efficacy are flawed.
However, let’s assume for the sake of argument that it might indeed be safer–but we don’t know how much, because of the flaws in studies on both sides–to be vaccinated.
The current vaccination program calls for mandatory vaccination for everyone–regardless of predisposition to vaccine reaction. WE KNOW SOME OF THESE PREDISPOSITIONS, yet there is no effort whatsoever to screen for them. If we don’t screen for the predisposition, we can’t address it.
What we are left with boils down to this: we are applying a vaccine schedule that is KNOWN to harm some, with absolutely no effort to avoid that harm. Not only that, there is a concerted effort to hide evidence of that harm, resulting in otherwise well-meaning, caring medical personnel believing that that harm doesn’t exist.
It’s vital to to address the harm that MMR vaccination HAS caused, that it has the potential to cause, and the status of those who are predisposed to adverse reaction. No, medically treating them for lifelong health problems as a result of vaccination does NOT count as addressing the problem. We need to AVOID those problems.
For that matter, what about addressing the predisposition to harm from measles itself? According the WHO, the risk of complications from measles would be cut in half simply by addressing vitamin A deficiency.
If you’re going to defend the MMR vaccination program, you must address the potential for harm, rather than deny that it exists.
Otherwise, all you are doing is defending a program that does cause some harm, with the excuse that you think such harm is acceptable, but not worth addressing.
I have no problem with your concerns or your line of argument. But the devil is always in the details. If you want to continue this discussion, I would ask:
1. What predispositions are you speaking of?
2. What research flaws are you speaking of?
2. What harm are you speaking of?
3. What scientific evidence do you have for the above? What is the quality of that evidence? (e.g. published in peer reviewed journals)
Whoops! Forgive my poor numbering! I hope you still take my response seriously.
How about you vaccinate yourself and take the risks associated with it and I won’t risk the health of my babies/children for the greater good? Because let’s be honest that is what you’re basically saying. That the children who get autism, die of horrible allergic reactions, etc from MMR vaccines is worth it for the greater population to carry on sleeping peacefully at night thinking they’re safe from it….which isn’t even true because the percentage of people who still get the disease even after being vaccinated is still pretty high. So, in all honesty you’re risking getting the disease in one perspective and risking getting the disease or being harmed by the vaccination in the other. One evil or two? That’s how I see it.
Since breaking research shows health benefits to getting measles, including measles being protective from cancer, and since vaccination is an invasive procedure of dubious benefit, plus the fact that measles is rarely dangerous, I think the scales tip toward getting measles.
Personally, if there is doubt or small risk either way, I always go with the more natural way. That is a philosophical stance that I base firmly on a belief in the power of the immune system, and on 35 years of consumer research into medical treatments where I continually see science coming around to the more natural treatments in the end. So many standard treatments we avoided in the ’80’s and ’90’s have now been abandoned or pulled. Everyday I see mainstream research validating what ‘health nuts’ have been saying for a whole generation now.
Interestingly, I see that the MMR reaction pictured in your article has never before been described following the vaccination, according to the authors who wrote the article about it that you cite.
If you need to point out reactions as vanishingly rare as this in order to argue against MMR vaccine then it strikes me that you are lacking any substantial evidence.
Mike, This adverse reaction is listed on the vaccine insert and it’s not hard to find a parent whose child has experienced this, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. I listed just three, of thousands of pictures. Hmm…I wonder why the govt., CDC, and pharmaceutical companies don’t care to look into it, let alone acknowledge it.
And let’s not forget that people are coerced into vaccinations based on global statistics and vanishingly rare side effects of measles. It doesn’t matter how many studies I list it’s not going to be good enough for you. At the very least we could post this picture next to the measles propaganda and let people decide for themselves what they’re willing to risk.
I realize your use of ” vanishingly rare” was a rhetorical retort but in truth (i.e based on the data pre-vaccine), serious side effects are not common but absolutely not vanishingly rare. This is a big deal when we are talking about large population numbers and critical to the risk benefit analysis.
I’ve already made the previous point in comments to you and Cia. I’m fine if you wish to moderate it away.
I also notice that they rarely note that there are actual committees {may not be the correct term for it} in other countries, one namely England, that is specifically set up to pay out settlements to those harmed by vaccinations.
I recently read an article where there has been a huge number of children getting narcolepsy, one in particular a teenage girl who now has a disease that has no cure and because of it will never be able to live alone because she falls asleep without any warning, she could be crossing the street.
It isn’t just measles, but I understand that this is a huge thing these days. I, personally, think it’s a nice distraction against other larger scale things happening in the media and they like to play ‘distract the population’.
This is a wonderful article Megan. What great points! I also don’t know if we can say the MMR causes autism but it certainly makes kids very, very sick by showing up in place it’s not supposed to like the GI tract. This is why parents from all over the world were taking their autistic children to Dr, Wakefield, a pediatric gastroenterologist. Not one single parent by the way has ever complained about Wakefield. Every claim against him was made by a reporter (hit man) hired by “News of the World” (Murdochs corporate propoganda machine). My entire school was out with the measles in 1962. Over 600 kids. Not one kid had to go to a hospital. Not one kid even had to see a Doctor. I had to stay home for 4 whole days!
“parents from all over the world were taking their autistic children to Dr, Wakefield, a pediatric gastroenterologist.”” says Jerry. Not true. Wakefield wrote about TWELVE children, who were referred because their parents wanted to sue vaccine manufacturers. They came from the UK, not ”all over the world”. And Wakefield was a researcher within the department of surgery, not a paediatric gastroenterologist.
Sue, have you actually read Wakefield’s research? Your account of his credentials and reasoning of his patients is inaccurate. Do you understand that vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liability? And don’t discount “twelve children.” The study that came out from the New England Journal of Medicine that made every media outlet with the autism begins in the womb hypothesis was conducted on only 22 children. I think to be informed on this issue we need to read and understand both sides of the story so we can come to the most accurate conclusion. Please read his book not to be convinced, but to be informed.
Just wanted to say I love your blog! Your vaccine articles are spot on, you know your stuff! Keep up the good work on getting the word out there.
Sarah-(previous comment) While this is not my blog I thought I’d offer my 2 cents on measles. I think the biggest think for protecting your kiddos from measles is to make sure their diet is good and their immune system is strong. Vitamin A plays a huge role in the severity of measles so maybe add in some fermented cod liver oil and keep the sugar low.
J
Hi Megan,
I’m very interested in the claims you make about inheritance of maternal antibodies. Do you have any evidence to support your assertion that maternal antibodies to measles are only passed on by those previously infected by the virus without prior vaccination? Since the entire point of vaccination is to stimulate the production of pathogen specific antibodies to protect from future infection, I do not see why antibodies produced in response to vaccination, rather than full blown measles, would not be present as maternal antibodies.
Seriden
There’s a citation in my post. First, MMR doesn’t guarantee immunity and if one does acquire immunity it is temporary. Assuming a mother still has immunity from MMR postpartum, antibodies can pass to a fetus but the protection is much shorter.
Why is it that immunity is temporary when you get the vaccine, but not temporary when you get the illness?
In part, because vaccines bypass the major part of our immune system and only stimulate one part. A part that is meant to be a secondary defense, not a primary defense. This is also how vaccines can cause auto-immune disorders. Th1 vs Th2 immunity.
I have 5 kids ages 3 mth to 13 yrs old. All unvaxxed. How do I protect my baby from measles til older or treat if caught?
I had meases, mumps and chicken pox when I was 4-6 years old. Treated like regular flu; plenty of warm lemon honey herbal drinks (not much real honey recently in US, as bees are dying from pesticide?GMO crops, a lot of honey is adulterated by corn syrup)= anything that supports natural immunity.
I was never sick unit the age of 4, when I moved from sunny climate with plenty of fresh organic fruit and vegetable, into cold climate, was pushed into crowded day care, fed sugar and bread. So again – sun air,healthy lifestyle is the key to prevention
Your article does not adequately inform about the risks to unborn children if a pregnant mother contracts either form of measles. Most agree that even a person who has been vaccinated can contract the illness. Widespread vaccination controls frequency of out break and exposure of pregnant women. This should be a serious consideration if you have unvaccinated children and are planning on having more. Some of the risks (from vaccines.gov):
Rubella infection during pregnancy, especially in the first 12 weeks, can lead to miscarriage, premature delivery, and serious birth defects, including heart problems, hearing and sight problems, cognitive impairment, and liver or spleen damage.
Preventing rubella infection through vaccination is the best way to protect pregnant women’s unborn babies. Any woman who might become pregnant should be vaccinated, unless a blood test—an antibody titer—shows she is already immune to the disease.
Melissa, If a pregnant mother has been vaccinated she should be protected right? If she hasn’t been vaccinated it’s probably because she’s chosen to be. Women are also suppose to refrain from getting pregnant 3 months from having MMR and can also get exposed to measles through the viral shedding of a recently vaccinated individual. Germs only live in environments conducive to growth so if a pregnant woman does not want to get sick with anything, then she needs to create an internal environment where a germ cannot survive.
Rubella was rare even before vaccine licensure and is even more rare in pregnant women. What we should do is get exposed to these diseases as children when they are relatively mild and then we would have lifetime immunity, protection during pregnancy, and be able to pass these antibodies on to our babies. Even if you got vaccinated with MMR and show titers, that does not guarantee protection.
We want the same thing but we disagree on how to go about that.
In fact, wouldn’t it be great if there was some way of getting long term immunity without having to get the disease first? Every child could get it and have a lower risk of getting seriously sick. Wait a second, we can already do that! Science is such a miracle.
That would be great. Let me know when you find something that gives lifetime immunity, is superior to natural exposure, and has no adverse reactions.
Megan,
I agree. i got rubella as a young child in the ’60s, and still had immunity when I was pregant many years later. It would be good to let natural rubella come back, and to deliberately expose girls in elementary school to it to let them get the disease and permanent immunity while they are still young.
As to measles mortality, I hope Edward will look at these figures. From the UK, incidence and mortality from 1945 on:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733835814
Also U.S. figures here:
http://vaccinelinks.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/why-we-declined-the-mmr-vaccine-part-1-measles/comment-page-1/#comment-10
and here:
http://vaxtruth.org/2012/01/putting-measles-into-perspective/
An average of only one or two deaths per 10,000 cases in the UK, in the ’80s, when it was still universal among children. France had three deaths per ten thousand three years ago. Edward, you mentioned morbidity as well as deaths. Measles is a postive experience for most children, invaluable for their lifetime health, and they should not be prevented from this benefit for the sake of protecting immunocompromised children. These children’s parents should consult naturopathic and homeopathic doctors on ways to strengthn their child’s immune system, and keep them at home during outbreaks. Measures like complete bed rest, vitamin A, adequate hydration, NO fevr reducers, and a long enough recuperation time at home (three weeks from the appearance of the rash) would drastically reduce the already low rate of severe complications and death.
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1721109,00.html
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0802904
This family was awarded millions. If the vaccine companies didn’t think they were in the wrong, why on earth would they have settled? Forking out thousands in court costs, and millions in settlement? Perhaps it’s because they didn’t want anyone REALLY investigating the truth. They nipped it in the butt. Settled. So they didn’t have to present anything that could potentially stir up truths.
I am 5 months pregnant, have 2 girls, and the first one has sensory processing disorder, my little one was just diagnosed Autistic, yes I am terrified to take her to the doc for her 4 years check and vaccination . My question is: how do I do if I don’t get her second dose of the MMR vaccine if the school ask for all the immunizations required. Also I am thinking I don’t wan’t to vaccinate my new born, how do you guys do with your kids to have they enrolled at school if they don’t have the immunizations ? Thank you!
Unless you live in West Virginia or Mississippi you can fill out a vaccine exemption form and keep it on file at your school. NVIC.org has a list of exemption info. by state. The belief that you have to be vaccinated to attend school is simply not true. 🙂
Children with Autism and Sensory Processing disorder can and often do become highly functional human beings. Children who are severely disabled or dead due to an illness that is preventable due to a vaccine can not.
Your children do not have their conditions due to vaccine, there is no evidence to support that. Spend your time ensuring they get early intervention and as much support as they need not on worrying about vaccines.
From the World Health Organization
Key facts
Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.
In 2012, there were 122 000 measles deaths globally – about 330 deaths every day or 14 deaths every hour.
Measles vaccination resulted in a 78% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2012 worldwide.
In 2012, about 84% of the world’s children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000.
Since 2000, more than 1 billion children in high risk countries were vaccinated against the disease through mass vaccination campaigns ― about 145 million of them in 2012.
Phillip, please read the post…i.e. global statistics.
Because the USA is the only place that matters right? Who cares if the MMR vaccine saves lives all over the world thanks to herd immunity, it’s still evil because Americocentric views and because sometimes people (very very rarely) get sick because of the vaccine itself (nice cherries by the way, where’d you pick them they look delicious).
By the way, you do know MMR also protects against Mumps and Rhubella as well? The latter of course then preventing congenital rubella syndrome. No? How about looking at all the evidence, not just the stuff useful to your own nonsense argument.
Anthony, the USA is the only place that is relevant to U.S statistics. Herd immunity does not apply to vaccines because vaccines only provide temporary (if any) immunity. Please read my other posts for citations on this. Yes, I do know that MMR stands for measles, mumps, and rubella, but trust me, the stats on those illnesses and the ineffectiveness of the vaccine to prevent them is even worse.
This is an AMAZING common sense article. Thanks for putting your writing talent to use for such a serious issue. I predict it will be shared around the internet for years to come. In fact, I’m going to share it in a couple places …. NOW!
I’m curious what you will do if you and your children want to travel internationally, when vaccinations are required. Are there procedures for that?
You have to see which vaccines are “recommended” and which are “required” for that country. You do not have to have any of the “recommended” vaccines to travel. If there is a required vaccine I would most certainly look to see if you meet the requirements for a vaccine exemption. The exemption you need to fill out is on the back of the vaccination card you would get from the health department (for say…yellow fever). The CDC (on their website) has a list of contraindications as well as conditions and circumstances where a vaccine exemption would be beneficial.
Thanks! That’s helpful to know! 🙂
Vaccinations for travel are NOT mandatory. They’re recommended but no way are you obligated to get ANY shot. The day that happens we will all be living in a totalitarian state. A good dose of probiotics will give you a healthy gut which equals a healthy immune system. Not advice, just a well known fact.
This isn’t exactly correct. If you are in a country and yellow fever breaks out, and you try to come back to the US and cannot prove you’ve had the vaccination, it is likely you will be stopped from getting on the plane, or will have to fight and get someone at the US embassy to fight for your permission to leave said country. So, it CAN be tricky.
That has never happened to me (even when I travel to places where there is yellow fever) but you won’t have to “fight” to leave the country, you would be quarantined until they determined that you did not have yellow fever, or given the option of vaccination. I’ll take the chance of quarantine (which I’ve never heard of happening) versus the risks of the yellow fever vaccine. The important thing is to make sure you have a copy of your exemption on-hand.
I’m from Canada. Our laws here are different. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect us from this kind of stuff. Unfortunately, there are Canadians who have travelled overseas to countries like China, for example, and have come home with deadly viruses. They are usually quarantined here.
Hi Cheryl,
I’m no expert in the field of vaccination and I couldn’t comment on any benefits of probiotics but as a med student I can tell you that your gut bacterial population are not involved in the immune response.
Cheers,
Jamie
Jamie,
70%+ of your immune system is housed in your intestine and your gut bacteria is absolutely essential to a proper immune response. My husband (a physician) always prescribes probiotics post antibiotics to his patients for this very reason. I would recommend reading GAPS by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride and researching probiotics in the PubMed database as even gastrointerologists are prescribing and recommending them for the treatment of IBD. I would also seek to learn more about gut flora since this is not something you will learn in your medical school classroom but will be essential to the success of many of your patients.
Megan
Thank you, Megan, for a well-researched and precisely written article. I’ll be sharing this.
My thriving, outgoing, bubbly son was injured by thr MMR vaccine. at the time i thought i was doing the right thing. now i have a son who is s everely autistic, and two others who are (currently on a wait list for evals, but i think-) also affected by the MMR, as they have developmental delays.
i know SO many people deny the link between MMR and autism, but i have had the misfortune of seeing it unfold before my own eyes, and on my own children. we actually have 6 kids, and none of my last 3 have had the MMR, and yup, you guessed it, no issues thus far!
It’s so very sad that you and you’re children have to suffer the wrath of bullish doctors. No one, not a MD, nor the State have autonomy over your child’s anatomy. It’s just wrong! Unfortunately the system will deny there is any correlation between your children’s autism and MMR.
“No one, not a MD, nor the State have autonomy over your child’s anatomy. ”
What would you say to people that refuse medical treatment for their children because of their beliefs? Like parents of children who are in need of a blood transfusion but they refuse it on grounds of their beliefs. And than their children die. Are those parents right also?
What if your kid gets some vaccine preventable disease and develops some disability because of it? You think your daughter/son would have a case to sue you when they grow up, because it was your decision that caused their disability?
There has been no definitive proof that autism is linked to any immunization. If I recall correctly, the UK doctor who claimed there was had misrepresented his research.
Unfortunately there have been many accounts of non-immunized people contracting illnesses from those who have been immunized & become ‘carriers’ after exposure to diseases such as measles. It would not take much for epidemics to get a foothold on an area and spread among those who have not been immunized.
Modern medicine declares that”they” don’t know what CAUSES autism BUT they know what doesn’t – MMR. How convenient. And I believe the British medical journal had to reverse their decision to recant Dr. Wakefield’s findings of live measles virus in the guts of some of his young autistic patients. What happened to Dr. Andrew Wakefield was nothing less than a witch hunt.
Thank you for this amazing post, Megan. I love how you lay it all out and say what needs to be said. I love it! Thank you so much!
Sarah
I have not been vaccinated based on a choice my mother made for me when I was in utero. She did some research in the late 80s and decided it was best for her children to forgo the vaccine schedule and all of the vaccines all together. As a teen starting to go into the doctor without my mother present I was pressured into vaccinating. My doctor told me when I was 16 that I would never carry a pregnancy to term because the fetus would die because I wasn’t vaccinated (even my 16 year old self thought that was far fetched). I’m happy to report my almost 4 year old is alive and well and unvaccinated as well. We are not diseased. We are healthy, just like those who are vaccinated are! I am not anti-vax. I am pro-choice. Do your research. Make the best decision for you and your family. Stand proud in that decision and fight always, for the right to make that decision yourself.
Cheers.
Wow, Bethany! I can’t believe that your doctor told you that!! Talk about scare tactics! So glad you ignored him and so glad you and your 4 year old are well! 😀
~Sarah
Just curious – what was your immune system like growing up / now? Are you able to shake off colds and flu easily? Did you ever actually get measles, pertussis, etc.?
The Medical Profession is always the most honest and ETHICAL, right??
You left out the part from that WHO page that says that “The measles vaccine has been in use for 50 years. It is safe, effective and inexpensive.”
That’s because the WHO is right about some things…and wrong about others; and that statement my friend, conflicts with scientific evidence, Cochrane reviews, and the observational evidence of thousands of parents who have vaccine-injured children because of MMR.
Awesome info!I love reading about non-vaxxing from the well informed! It reassures me once again in our decision to pursue natural immunity and avoid vaccines! Thank you so much! I’m going to go explore your entire blog now (:
<3
It’s curious to me that every time there is a news story on vaccines, there are the people for vaccines commenting and there are the people against vaccines. I just find it curious that there are no supporters of vaccines commenting on this page – don’t you find that a curious state of affairs? Where are the pro vaccine comments?
Coby, All comments that conform to the comment policy are approved. Unfortunately, what few comments I have had from those who support vaccines are neither constructive, appropriate, or mature. I think that’s telling. My audience largely does not support vaccines so if you’d like to see some hate debate, you’ll have to go to a pro-vaccine blog that specializes in that area.
Nice. I like the way you keep support for non-vaxing on this page. If no one is allowed to dispute what you say, you must be right! Well done.
Lisa, You are welcome to start your own blog, write your own articles, and implement your own comment policy if you have a problem with mine.
Has it crossed your mind that perhaps this isn’t a pro vaccine site? And you’re so right about the news media – they don’t get comments from both sides because they are biased.
“Bias’ comes in many forms. An argument could be made that posters here are biased in favor of not being immunized; perhaps it’s a matter of perspective.
Dynamite article, Megan. ‘Course, this comes from someone who isn’t scared of shmeningiti meningitis, either.
Lol Nice Shawn. Thanks!
Honestly, though we’ve chosen to not vaccinate as well, meningitis is the one that scares me. I’m curious why it doesn’t scare you? I’d love to know more as I’m totally okay with being not afraid of it as well!
WOW! thank you for being so open about this. You have written such an article that I wish I could have come up with. It is beautifully worded. And for me with 4 kids, I am with you through and through. “I’m not vaccinating my children. No way. No how. Not ever. This mama isn’t scared of the shmeasle measles. ” awesomely put!
I noticed you neglected to mention SSPE.
http://justthevax.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/another-sspe-case-angelina-is-dying.html
“- in 2006 a total of 313 infants with measles were reported to the RKI (German CDC equivalent) in Berlin. One of these children died in 2007, another has been suffering from SSPE since 2009, and now Angelina is the third victim from that year.”
That’s 1% of children who caught wild measles, ended up with a fatal disease as a result a few years later.
That’s in Berlin, not in the United States (and is 1% of people who actually GOT measles). I also did not mention MINE – Measles-Induced Neuroautistic Encephalopahty (a variant of SSPE caused by the vaccine) or MIBE (Measles Inclusion Body Encephalitis) caused by the vaccine, or the deaths being caused globally due to (MMR) mass vaccination programs.
As a mom of a vaccine injured child, I thankyou for this common sense packed article.
I found out today I have German Measels- there has been an outbreak over the last few weeks. I have a 3yr old and a 5 month old. How can I protect them? Although I already have the rash so I think the contagious part may be over? My 3yr old is fully based and got a rash reaction like above and difficulty breathing for a good 2 weeks after the MMR. My 5 month old has only had BCG at birth( against my consent) and nothing further. Am I making the right decision?
Emailed you. 🙂
You write: “Given U.S statistics, they’re more likely to die from the MMR vaccine.”
You’re comparing no deaths from 288 cases of measles vs 56 deaths from millions of MMR vaccinations. The probability of mortality for the former is an unconstraining upper limit. The probability of mortality for the latter is a very tiny number. The comparison is therefore misleading.
In fact the chance of dying after contracting measles is around 0.01% (consistent with no deaths from 288 cases). The chance of dying from the MMR vaccine is hundreds or thousands of times lower than this.
Bryan, I’m comparing deaths from MMR (which are far under-reported) to deaths from measles over several years and simply pointing out the fact that the vaccine carries a risk of death (as it states right inside the insert). Whether you vaccinate millions or a handful, we should not be injecting ANYTHING into our children that could kill them…especially when there are things that carry no risks that could reduce death by 50%. Not to mention there are thousands of severely disabled and chronically ill children who have suffered at the hands of this vaccine. This is absolutely not acceptable.
Megan, thank you for your reply.
Note though that you said in your article that people are more LIKELY to die from MMR than from measles. “Likely” is a term describing probability, not total numbers. What is correct based on your numbers is that more people died last year from the vaccine than from measles. But that’s not what you said. There’s a huge difference between the numbers and your interpretation – the risks of a health choice should be assessed on probability, not total numbers.
More people due each year from knee scrapes than from bubonic plague, but it is incorrect to conclude that knee scrapes are more dangerous than plague. The same argument applies to MMR vs measles.
More people died last year from MMR, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, etc. We’ll have to agree to disagree on the wording. 🙂 I think to determine whether MMR or measles is more harmful you have to weigh the risks v. the benefits. Obviously I have a hard time seeing any benefit, although I respect your viewpoint.
Excuse me, but are you Bryan Gaensler, the Australian astronomer from the University of Sydney? Sounds like you have a science background and love numbers. Setting numbers aside, you don’t need to be an astro physicist to realize that it’s not holy water in those vaccines! It doesn’t make any sense at all to bombard the immature immune system of an infant child with multiple pathogens, carcinogens and neurotoxins. This is reminiscent of the Nazis during WW2! No child should have to succumb to this blatant abuse! It’s criminal! You’re logic is flawed and it sounds like your intent is to poke holes in Megan’s argument based on your number crunching. I dare say your risk vs benefit argument is way up in the stratosphere. Not at all rational. Stick to watching the stars through your telescope.
Cheryl: Given the policy on commenting for this page, let me suggest that ad hominem attacks and comparisons to Nazis are inappropriate. Given the lack of any factual or specific elements to your reply, I’m going to assume that you concede my point.
Your main argument seems to be that nobody in the USA does of measles, but that people do die from MMR. Therefore measles is harmless but MMR is dangerous.
However, you do not address the key point that the main reason why there are zero deaths from measles is *because* of MMR. How many total deaths would there be if nobody received MMR? If the goal is to reduce the total number of deaths, then MMR is a spectacular success story.
Bryan, I did not address prevalence and mortality in this article because I had done so in a prior post. Both incidence and mortality had drastically declined prior to vaccine licensure and what determines whether a disease thrives is not a vaccine but it’s growth terrain which is determined by living conditions and nutrition – which is the reason all diseases are more prevalent in 3rd world countries. If the goal is to reduce deaths it would seem like vitamin A would be a pretty good option that has no adverse reaction. Don’t you think?
Please read the book referenced in this article for more information on this, citations, and graphs. I’d be interested to see if you hold the same view after reading it.
The point Bryan is trying to make here is being largely glossed over. In the decade before the measles vaccination program began, an estimated 3–4 million people in the United States were infected each year, of whom 400–500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis.
I think you can make a clear connection to the VAST reduction in the number of deaths, hospitalizations, and disabilities caused by measles in 2014. If you add the measles and MMR numbers together, it’s still greatly reduced – and that is because of the vaccine. If Vitamin A worked – and it was definitely available pre-MMR – we would not have seen those numbers.
Becky, I don’t think anyone would argue with that, but if you look at the decades before vaccine licensure you would see that incidence and mortality had declined drastically before vaccine licensure and in many states was zero. After vaccine licensure you had a vaccine that didn’t work and a change in diagnostic criteria. What measles responds to is a change in living conditions and improvement in nutrition. Viruses can only live in environments conducive to growth. We now know that vitamin A does work and nutrition was just one of the many improvements that came in the decades prior to MMR licensure and it’s one of the big things lacking in countries who still have outbreaks of all diseases. Of course in America we now have “new” diseases generations before us rarely if ever saw…thanks to vaccines.
When people question why a vaccine has been used or shown to reduce the incidence of or mortality of a certain disease and that IT is the only reason a disease has decreased, please understand the economic goals here. Pharma companies have ZERO interest in doing any studies on holistic methods of disease prevention.
This is evidenced by the studied fact that in any given year, the flu shot MAY be UP TO 68% effective. However, in EVERY YEAR vitamin D3 supplementation is as effective or even MORE effective than the yearly flu shot. It isn’t science that is at the forefront of disease prevention in the traditional medical model, its money. And it is very, very sad indeed.
No parent is every told that the first MMR shot is up to 95% effective in “preventing” those diseases, and the need for the ‘booster’ is a sham – if you follow through on vaccines. A doctor just blindly follows the schedules.
As for the “need” for vaccines – chicken pox is not typically a deadly disease. Most people over 30 have had it. Neither is the flu. Neither is measles. Neither is mumps. And lets not even get into the sham of the HPV vaccine – where the marketing acts like you are basically writing a death sentence for you child when in actual fact, a HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM will most of the time eradicate the virus from the body on its own. The more and more this goes on, the more money and control seems to be the driver – not saving or improving lives.
You are so right. Very well put.
It’s seems like your are comparing apples and oranges. 56 total people have ever died of the MMR vaccine, yet in 1960 (before the vaccine) 380 peopled died in ONE year from Measles. The point of a vaccine is to prevent the contraction of the disease. So far this year 288 people have gotten the measles in the US and no one has died. In 1960 approximately 500,000+ people got the measles. The vaccine has been around for 51 years… with 56 deaths so the average death is .9 deaths per year. When comparing apples to apples that makes .9 deaths by vaccine to 380 deaths by Measles in a year. The probability for death by either is very low.
I can’t find the number on how many people get vaccinated each year but less low ball it and say a half million each year x 51 years with 56 deaths = .00000022 vs half million in ONE year x 380 deaths = .00076 So while the chances of dying from the measles was low… it’s still MUCH higher than dying from the vaccine. Hence your math is what I have a problem with in this article.
Not vaccinating… eh… I don’t really have a problem with that since both are very low, I’d say leaving it up to personal choice is probably not that big of a deal.
Thanks for this, this makes absolute sense to me.
I am very scared of measles. My sister had measles when she was a baby, she developed encephalitis. She has frontal lobe brain damage as a result. I would not wish that on anybody. I really hope that this does NOT happen to any of your children, but it could.
Lisa, I am so sorry to hear about your sister. As this post states, our babies are more at risk today because we are a highly vaccinated society and are not passing on these protective antibodies to protect them during their first year (plus) of life. Babies are also at risk if they are deficient in vitamin A. I don’t think giving a child a vaccine that can cause encephalitis to prevent measles which can cause encephalitis is even remotely logical. There are far better ways to prevent disease that carries no risk of adverse event.
In order to calculate which is worse – the disease or the cure – you have to calculate a “number needed to treat” and a “number needed to harm.” Ignoring the other two diseases in the MMR vaccine, the NNT could either be the number of people you need to vaccinate before you prevent a measles-associated death or before you prevent a case of the measles. The NNH would be either be the number of people you need to vaccinate before you kill a person or before you do significant harm to them. Then you compare the two – if the NNT is lower than the NNH, the treatment is statistically good.
These statistics are hard to calculate (which is why people who aren’t scientists don’t use them), but if you want YOUR numbers to actually MEAN anything, you need them both. If you want to publish your thoughts on this RESPONSIBLY, your numbers need to be placed in an appropriate and accurate context. On the other hand, if you’re NOT going to use numbers correctly, then please just stop using them altogether.
Tom, this is a personal blog. There are qualified scientists and physicians who have written excellent books that are full of wonderfully referenced statistics. There are many things that factor into our decision not to vaccinate. It is not as simple as weighing (which is worse) the disease versus the vaccine (which is not a cure).
Lol, I just love you Megan. You’re such a firecracker. Skeptics and number crunchers will always be nipping at you heels. Stick to your guns, and keep blogging.
Unless I’m mistaken, a vaccine is intended as a preventative, not a cure.
I feel there are too many conflicting studies to be able to definitively say that one way or the other is better. How facts are presented makes a difference also, as noted by the discussion between yourself & Bryan Gaensler. We’ve all seen/heard of facts/numbers being used to represent a point when the same information can be skewed to show the opposite.
Let’s not forget there are also environmental issues that could be a factor in many neurological and mental disorders.
There were 2, and I repeat-2- cases of measles in a March in the province of Manitoba and this was considered an outbreak. The media and health authorities were reporting that the sky was falling and parents were freaking out. It was ridiculous. One talk show host actually had the audacity to call the unvaccinated a bunch of morons on live radio. He’s the moron for saying such a thing. Clearly the sheep will fall one day because they will be the last to know.
Nice job Megan! This mama too ain’t scared of no measles-smeales! Will be sharing this on our FB page and our personal page for friends & family.
Thanks for the awesome article Megan!
Infectious disease mortality graphs based on official statistics including those concerning measles deaths clearly show that vaccines have never saved anyone’s life:
http://www.vaccinationinformationnetwork.com/do-vaccines-save-lives-what-infectious-disease-mortality-graphs-show/
Based on this evidence I have long ago arrived at the inevitable conclusion that vaccination is an organised criminal enterprise dressed up as disease prevention by means of junk science.
Vaccination Information Network (VINE)
http://www.vaccinationinformationnetwork.com
On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/vaccinationinformationnetwork?fref=ts
“My child’s vaccine reaction”
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-childs-vaccine-reaction/372638272814622?fref=ts
Vaccine free children photo gallery
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vaccine-Free-Children-Photo-Gallery/105913216168510?fref=ts
I have posted the link to your article here Megan:
Measles Facts
http://www.vaccinationinformationnetwork.com/measles-facts/
Amazing! Love this so much! I really could have used this information in this presentation a few months ago when I was told that not doing the MMR meant my children were cesspools of disease just waiting to kill unsuspecting vaccinated kids! lol
I find it sad and some what funny that people seem to think our unvaccinated kids are walking diseases. lol If that were the case we would all be dead.
Well written! Dead on. One thing to add that I don’t think people often consider: what does a vaccine do for a malnourished child? Measles hits kids from third world countries who live in squalor hard, so a lot of people think the African vaccine campaigns are noble. But what does a vaccine do for an immuno-compromised child? Nothing good at best…death at worst. This is why I despise Bill Gates. He knows better.
Great explanation. I always feel so sorry for parents who have become so sucked in by the fear of mild, yes uncomfortable, diseases that they are told are so terrible like measles, rubella, chickenpox, and the flu. I must admit that the thought of my child getting sick is disheartening and if I could safely prevent it I would. Vaccines are not safe enough for my liking. My son had rubella (I thought it was mild measles at the time but after getting a blood test during pregnancy a year later that showed heightened Rubella antibodies, I counted it as confirmed since I was caring for him, I must have been boosted). He got through it fine, and the worst was the fever for 3 days, the rest (rash and all) didn’t slow him down a bit. I am fairly certain that he got it from a little friend in his gymnastics class who had recently been vaccinated, I heard the moms talking about the Dr. visit and didn’t know at the time that MMR sheds. I am not upset, he’s fine and he went through it well. I did not take him to the doctor because it was manageable from home, so it was never clinically confirmed. His cousins only had a mild fever for a day and they were playing closely with him before he became symptomatic, they are also not vaccinated for MMR. I would love to get them tested for antibodies! It is a close-to-home example of how people can be exposed and not get sick, but be benefited…as well as how some vaccines shed and kids can spread it without being symptomatic. How fair is that? I enjoy your posts, and share them often…although I’m pretty sure most of my friends pass right over them thinking I’m a little loony. I do not have a vaccine injured child, but I have a burden for the health of the future generations.
Who’s to say it’s getting ‘sucked in’? I’m new here but I see a lot of what seems to be “If you’re not in agreement, you’re risking your kids’ lives.” Maybe it’s more about making personal decisions than agreeing with everything that you think is best for your family. Just my thoughts…
I agree that it’s a personal decision. That’s why I was not irate that my son got Rubella from a recently vaxxed child. When I say “sucked in” I mean that so many people fall for the disease fear mongering “hook, line, and sinker”. All we ever hear is how terrible the flu is, and then cheery advertisements from pharmacies about how easy the shot is. A few cases of measles breaks out, and it’s all-out panic. If I had taken my son to the doctor when he had German measles, it probably would have sparked an outbreak panic and even though it stemmed from a vaxxed kid, I would have been at fault because my son was not vaccinated. Media is paid to make the worst out of minor situations, which leads to fear mongering, which leads to people getting sucked into the mindset. It takes digging, researching, a complete change of mind, and a lot of open-minded thought to decide to stop vaccinating, or not vaccinate at all. There is some fear in both mindsets. But looking at where the money is and who is making a profit from the fear was one of the main tipping points for me. Who has the most to gain or lose? Why would parents lie? Why are so many “coincidences” being ignored? Why are small studies considered proof on the pro-vax side, but similar small studies that prove the opposite considered inadmissible or never taken seriously?
After weighing questions like that and personally talking to people of the measles/chickenpox/ mumps/polio generation, a toxicologist, an elderly doctor who was practicing as vaccinations were becoming popular, and a naturopath…along with hours and hours of research, I came to the conclusion that a healthy diet with lots of sun and time outside along with some vitamin supplementation would be far more beneficial than vaccines. My children may get sick…but they will be far less likely to be CHRONICALLY ill.
Well written and well said. I wish I had found you earlier on in my research into vaccination. There were too many out there when I was making a decision not to vaccinate. All of my kids had whooping cough at the beginning of last year (passed on by a vaccinated child)> For some of them it was mild, two of them quite hideous but not hideous enough for them to be hospitalised. It just meant a few sleepless nights for us. My fully breast fed baby who was 7 weeks at the time coped fine with it. You are right in saying that they use photos and horror stories to scaremonger and bully people. Blogs and articles like yours should be part of any research parents make before they make any so-called “informed” decisions. Sad thing is they aren’t! Thanks for posting and keep it up!!
You might check out Dr. Tenpenny. She’s a Doctor of Oncology, basically certified to practice any sort of medicine in over 70 countries, including the 50 United States. She has put about 20,000 hours of her life into vaccine research, and she says “Oh hell no.”
http://www.drtenpenny.com
I have great respect for Dr. Tenpenny, but the “D.O.” after her name has nothing to do with oncology — it stands for “Doctor of Osteopathy”.