– Dr. Bergin, Dr. Mercola’s Natural Health Center
Measles Vaccine Likely Caused Death of Four Infants in Nepal, Authorities Say
By Dr. Mercola
Four infants between nine and 14 months of age recently died within 24 hours of receiving their measles and DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccines in the Doti area of Nepal, a small country between India and China.
The children allegedly began vomiting profusely just hours after the vaccination, and "developed a deathly pallor." Two more children were hospitalized following their shots.
According to a recent report in The Himalayan1, the Doti District Public Health Office (DPHO) has stated the primary investigation suggests the measles vaccine was the cause of death. Other infants who received other vaccines, but not the measles vaccine, have not developed any life-threatening side effects.
"The vaccines that were administered to infants were not expired though, said DPHO, adding that the vials of measles vaccines had labels showing expiry date of September 2013," The Himalayan reports. "...Kadamandau locals ...staged a sit-in in front of the hospital demanding a thorough investigation and punishment to the guilty. Doti-based human rights organizations also demanded that a probe be launched immediately."In response, the Child Health Division under the Ministry of Health and Population has formed a committee to investigate the deaths. This case is reminiscent of a story from 2010, when nine-month-old twin girls in Ghaziabad, India died approximately 15 minutes after receiving a measles vaccine. Similar deaths in two other regions in the country were also reported at the time.
Vaccine-Related Deaths are Not Limited to Third-World Countries
A quick search of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)2 reveals nearly 5,100 vaccine-related deaths have been reported in the U.S between 1990 and August 2012, as of this writing. The vast majority of deaths – nearly 60 percent – occurred in children under the age of three. Just over 360 of the reported vaccine-associated deaths in the US have been related to any of the measles-containing vaccines.
With adverse event information on over 70 vaccines included in the VAERS database, it is a phenomenal tool that can help you easily identify which vaccines are significantly associated with specific side effects. It is important to know, though, that what is included in VAERS is only a tiny fraction of the vaccine-related serious health problems, hospitalizations, injuries and deaths that have actually occurred in the U.S.
Studies have estimated that less than 10 percent, to as little as ONE percent, of vaccine side effects are ever reported, so the true side effects and deaths are easily FAR higher than the reported statistics represent. This means there may have been anywhere from 3600 to 36,000 deaths that have occurred in the US alone after children or adults received measles containing vaccines.
The truth is that, while vaccines may be touted as safe, ALL vaccines and other pharmaceutical products carry a risk of injury or death. This is something that the media or nearly every health professional fails to make clear. Most take the position that everyone should be forced to have mandatory vaccines to help eliminate disease, in spite of the fact that there is no evidence to support this one-size-fits-all strategy.
Last month, I interviewed Dr. Larry Palevsky, a former fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and trained at the New York University School of Medicine, about childhood vaccinations, in which he shares the dire truth about the lack of safety of many childhood vaccines. There are so many unanswered questions that it really boils down to a roll of the dice as to whether the vaccine will ultimately protect you or harm you.
According to Dr. Palevsky:
"I think that if you ask most of my colleagues where they get their information, they will say that they read it from the American Academy of Pediatrics, from the AMA, from the CDC, and in their journals. But I would like to challenge most of my colleagues to look through the studies themselves to actually see if the proper scientific studies were done using a proper study group and a proper control group.
More and more studies are coming out to show that:
- Were the ingredients in vaccines properly studied?
- Is there a difference between being exposed to a virus, bacteria, heavy metal or toxin through the air, food, your intestines and your skin, versus when it's injected into your body?
- Have we really looked at what happens to vaccine materials once injected into a child? And is an antibody sufficient to provide protection for a child against disease?
For many health professionals it is a shock to discover that there is such a lack of information on the safety and efficacy, and a mounting degree of information that actually raises suspicions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and whether or not they have been properly studied... [I]n my research of the vaccines, and of the basic microbiology and virology that we're trained to know in our medical training, I cannot understand how a vaccine with a virus can be safe."
- The proper studies haven't been done and antibodies are not the final way in which your body is protected
- There is a difference between how children process material through air and food versus through injection
- There are particles in vaccines that do accumulate in your body and cause impairments in your immune system
- There are particles in the vaccines that get into your brain and there are foreign DNA particles that get into your body
MMR Vaccine has Long History of Being More Reactive than Other Vaccines
There are vaccines that historically have been associated with more side effects than others, and the combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine – MMR shot – is one of those.
The health risks associated with the MMR vaccine has been in the news for about 15 years, and questions about the safety of the vaccine recently re-emerged – at least in Europe – when the Italian health ministry conceded that the MMR vaccine caused autism in Valentino Bocca, a now nine-year-old boy, who suffered brain inflammation and permanent brain damage after he was vaccinated.
According to his parents, the change in his behavior was immediate. That same night he refused to eat, and he developed diarrhea during the night. It quickly went downhill from there. While his parents immediately suspected the vaccination, they were told this was "impossible." Valentino progressively regressed, and received the diagnosis of autism a year later. In the final analysis, the Italian Health Ministry disagreed with the initial conclusion of the pediatrician, conceding that the vaccine was indeed at fault.
It's well worth noting that this story was completely ignored by US media, and serves as a potent example of how health information is censored. Is it any wonder so many Americans are still in the dark about vaccine hazards? Whether hearing about this case in the US media would sway you to believe vaccines are risky or not, the fact is that you were not even allowed to learn about it in the first place.
Get Informed Before You Vaccinate
No matter what vaccination choices you make for yourself or your family, there is a basic human right to be fully informed about all risks and have the ability to refuse to allow substances you consider to be harmful, toxic or poisonous to be forced upon you. Unfortunately, the partnership between government health agencies and vaccine manufacturers is getting closer and closer. There is a lot of discrimination against Americans, who want to be free to exercise their human right to informed consent when it comes to making voluntary decisions about which vaccines they and their children use.
We cannot allow that happen!
It's vitally important to know your legal rights and understand your options when it comes to using vaccines and prescription drugs.
For example, your doctor is legally obligated to provide you with the CDC Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) sheet and discuss the potential symptoms of side effects of the vaccination(s) you or your child receive BEFORE vaccination takes place. If someone giving a vaccine does not do this, it is a violation of federal law. Furthermore, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 also requires doctors and other vaccine providers to:
If a vaccine provider fails to inform, record or report, it is a violation of federal law. It's important to get all the facts before making your decision about vaccination; and to understand that you have the legal right to opt out of using a vaccine that you do not want you or your child to receive. At present, all 50 states allow a medical exemption to vaccination (medical exemptions must be approved by an M.D. or D.O.); 48 states allow a religious exemption to vaccination; and 17 states allow a personal, philosophical or conscientious belief exemption to vaccination. But vaccine exemptions are under attack in a number of states, and it's in everyone's best interest to protect the right to make informed, voluntary vaccination decisions.
- Keep a permanent record of all vaccines given and the manufacturer's name and lot number
- Write down serious health problems, hospitalizations, injuries and deaths that occur after vaccination in the patient's permanent medical record
- File an official report of all serious health problems, hospitalizations, injuries and deaths following vaccination to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS)
What You Can Do to Make a Difference
While it seems "old-fashioned," the only truly effective actions you can take to protect the right to informed consent to vaccination and expand your rights under the law to make voluntary vaccine choices, is to get personally involved with your state legislators and the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
Mass vaccination policies are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level, and it is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights will have the greatest impact.
Signing up to be a user of NVIC's free online Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org gives you access to practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community. You will get real-time Action Alerts about what you can do if there are threats to vaccine exemptions in your state. With the click of a mouse or one touch on a Smartphone screen you will be put in touch with YOUR elected representatives so you can let them know how you feel and what you want them to do. Plus, when national vaccine issues come up, you will have all the information you need to make sure your voice is heard.
So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Internet Resources
I also encourage you to visit the following web pages on the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website at www.NVIC.org:
- NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
- If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
- Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment by doctors or state officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Find a Doctor Who will Listen to Your Concerns
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to punish those patients and parents, who become truly educated about health and vaccination and want to make vaccine choices instead of being forced to follow risky one-size-fits-all vaccine policies.
If you are treated with disrespect or are harassed in any way by a doctor (or government official), do not engage in an unproductive argument. You may want to contact an attorney, your elected state representatives, or local media if you or your child are threatened.
However, there is hope.
At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines.
So take the time to locate and connect with a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.
