The Neurological Poison So Common Your Doctor Probably Pushes It
By Dr. Mercola
The presumed intent of a vaccination is to help you build immunity to
potentially harmful organisms that contribute to illness and disease.
However, your body's immune system has been designed over the course of countless millennia to ward off infection naturally.
Infectious organisms do not so much invade your body, as take
advantage of the opportunity provided to them by an already weakened
immune system.
Vaccination is an atypical manipulation of the immune system that
stimulates an artificial, temporary immunity and can also involve an
atypical inflammatory response that leads to permanent immune and brain
dysfunction.
When an antigen is injected directly into your body through a
vaccine, and especially when combined with an immune-stimulating
adjuvant, your IgA immune system (the one found in your mucous
membranes, meant to fight off pathogens that are inhaled or eaten) is
bypassed and your body's adaptive immune system kicks into high gear in
response to the vaccination.
Vaccine adjuvants can trigger unwanted "hyperactive" immune
responses, as they can cause your immune system to overreact to the
introduction of the organism you're being vaccinated against, increasing
the chance that self-tolerance will be lost, and the immune system will
attack its own cells and tissue as if "other."
It's known that vaccine-induced inflammatory responses can lead to permanent alterations in brain and immune function.
A new report in the journal Lupus suggests "a rigorous
evaluation of the vaccine-related adverse health impacts in the
pediatric population is urgently needed." Indeed, with so many children
being frequently subjected to atypical manipulation of the immune system
by vaccines that contain intriniscally toxic adjuvants along with over
100 antigenic compounds, such an evaluation is long overdue!
If You Follow the Recommended Vaccine Schedule, Your Child May be Exposed to Toxic Levels of Aluminum
As noted in Lupus:
"In some developed countries, by the time children are 4 to 6
years old, they will have received … high amounts of aluminum (Al)
adjuvants through routine vaccinations."
Like other adjuvants such as squalene, an oil based adjuvant used in
many vaccines licensed in Europe (but not yet licensed in the U.S.),
aluminum hydroxide is added to the vaccine to "boost" your immune
response to the antigens in the vaccine.
An antigen is the lab-altered virus, bacteria, toxin or other foreign
substances in the vaccine, which is what your body is supposed to
respond to and make antibodies against to theoretically stimulate
immunity and long lasting protection from natural infection. By using an
adjuvant to hyper-stimulate your body's immune response and force your
body to make a high number of antibodies, the vaccine manufacturer can
use a smaller amount of antigen, which makes production less expensive
and increases their profits.
However, artificial vaccine induced immunity is not identical to
naturally acquired immunity. Even when adjuvants hyper-stimulate the
immune system to increase the antibody count (titers), there is no way
to guarantee that there will be long term protection against disease
because long lasting immunity involves stimulation of both cell mediated
(innate) immunity and humoral (learned) immunity.
In fact, the FDA does not require vaccines to be proven effective
(antibody-antigen affinity) before being released onto the market,
rather, only that they are capable of producing a certain number of
antibodies (titers), which is defined as "vaccine efficacy." There is a
big difference between proving that a vaccine is truly "effective"
against development of infectious disease and demonstrating that the
vaccine can stimulate a certain number of measurable antibodies
(efficacy). Judging a vaccine's ability to be protective by only
measuring the numbers of antibodies in the blood is a semantic
sleight-of-hand that has deluded most of the pro-vaccination public into
thinking vaccines have actually been proven to work, which often they
have not.
You could throw the chemical kitchen sink into a vaccine to "boost"
antibody titers without it doing anything to actually stimulate long
lasting immunity that is truly protective. Is it any wonder that
experimental evidence suggests the simultaneous administration of even
two or three adjuvants can "overcome genetic resistance to
autoimmunity"?
Despite this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not
conduct appropriate toxicity studies during their vaccine safety
assessments. However, there is reason to believe that vaccines and their
adjuvants are quite toxic when administered to children, and the Lupus report highlights several of them:
"In summary, research evidence shows that increasing concerns
about current vaccination practices may indeed be warranted … Taken
together, these observations raise plausible concerns about the overall
safety of current childhood vaccination programs. When assessing
adjuvant toxicity in children, several key points ought to be
considered:
- infants and children should not be viewed as "small adults"
with regard to toxicological risk as their unique physiology makes them
much more vulnerable to toxic insults
- in adult humans Al [aluminum] vaccine adjuvants have been
linked to a variety of serious autoimmune and inflammatory conditions
(i.e., "ASIA"), yet children are regularly exposed to much higher
amounts of Al from vaccines than adults
- it is often assumed that peripheral immune responses do not
affect brain function. However, it is now clearly established that there
is a bidirectional neuro-immune cross-talk that plays crucial roles in
immunoregulation as well as brain function. In turn, perturbations of
the neuro-immune axis have been demonstrated in many autoimmune diseases
encompassed in "ASIA" and are thought to be driven by a hyperactive
immune response
- the same components of the neuro-immune axis that play key
roles in brain development and immune function are heavily targeted by
Al adjuvants."
Aluminum is Only One Toxin Contained in Many Vaccines
Aluminum is a well-known neurotoxin that may lead to long-term brain
inflammation, along with a broad range of serious health problems. There
is overwhelming evidence that chronic immune activation (inflammation)
in your brain is a major cause of brain dysfunction in numerous
degenerative brain disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's
disease, Parkinson's,and ALS, which may explain the reported association
between aluminum-containing vaccines and these diseases.
Writing in Current Medicinal Chemistry, researchers also
noted that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines can carry serious health risks
that have not been thoroughly evaluated:i
"Despite almost 90 years of widespread use of aluminum adjuvants,
medical science's understanding about their mechanisms of action is
still remarkably poor. There is also a concerning scarcity of data on
toxicology and pharmacokinetics of these compounds. In spite of this,
the notion that aluminum in vaccines is safe appears to be widely
accepted.
Experimental research, however, clearly shows that aluminum
adjuvants have a potential to induce serious immunological disorders in
humans. In particular, aluminum in adjuvant form carries a risk for
autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation and associated neurological
complications and thus may have profound and widespread adverse health
consequences. In our opinion, the possibility that vaccine benefits may
have been overrated and the risk of potential adverse effects
underestimated, has not been rigorously evaluated in the medical and
scientific community."
And this is the overriding point that needs to be understood: there
are many signs indicating that we are giving our children far too many
vaccines, and that vaccines of all kinds may be far less innocuous than
previously believed. The current one-size-fits-all vaccine mandates
simply throws too many children under the proverbial bus, because we
simply do not know what all these vaccines are doing to individuals with
different genetic and biological predisposition to developing chronic
inflammation in the body (which can be manifested by a personal or
family history of severe allergy, autoimmunity or neurological
disorders) or how different vaccines interact when given in combination.
So, while it's known that aluminum is a toxic metal with absolutely
no beneficial biological role to play when introduced into your body, it
would be shortsighted and counterproductive to pin all adverse vaccine
effects on this one ingredient. Different vaccines contain a number of
different ingredients that can be toxic for humans and cause serious
health problems, such as:
Formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing agent
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Phenol (carbolic acid)
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Neomycin and streptomycin (antibiotics)
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Resin and gelatin, known to cause allergic reactions
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Polysorbate 80 (Tween80™), which can cause anaphylactic
reactions, and may cause miscarriage and infertility (see the next section
for details)
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Triton X100 (detergent)
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Vaccine Safety Studies are Clearly Lacking
The more vaccines are studied, the more apparent it becomes that proper vaccine studies are lacking. Vaccine expert and pediatrician Larry Palevsky
has long pointed out that there is a major difference between naturally
acquired immunity and vaccine-induced immunity. Depending upon the
disease, obtaining natural immunity can have far greater benefits.
However, this fact seems to be completely overlooked by vaccine
policymakers in the United States, considering the CDC and AAP recommend
that U.S. babies receive 26 doses of vaccines before age 1 (which, incidentally, is twice as many vaccinations as are given to babies in Sweden and Japan).
Dr. Palevsky says:
"When I went through medical school, I was taught that vaccines
were completely safe and completely effective, and I had no reason to
believe otherwise. All the information that I was taught was pretty
standard in all the medical schools and the teachings and scientific
literature throughout the country. I had no reason to disbelieve it
Over the years, I kept practicing medicine and using vaccines and
thinking that my approach to vaccines was completely onboard with
everything else I was taught. But more and more, I kept seeing that my
experience of the world, my experience in using and reading about
vaccines, and hearing what parents were saying about vaccines were very
different from what I was taught in medical school and my residency
training.
… and it became clearer to me as I read the research, listened to
more and more parents, and found other practitioners who also shared
the same concern that vaccines had not been completely proven safe or
even completely effective, based on the literature that we have today.
… It didn't appear that the scientific studies that we were given
were actually appropriately designed to prove and test the safety and
efficacy.
It also came to my attention that there were ingredients in there
that were not properly tested, that the comparison groups were not
appropriately set up, and that conclusions made about vaccine safety and
efficacy just did not fit the scientific standards that I was trained
to uphold in my medical school training."
According to Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the
non-profit National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), vaccine injury is
the result of a unique interaction between the host and the type and
numbers of vaccines given to that person. In other words, vaccine injury
and death is induced by a number of co-factors, includin:
Age at the time of vaccination
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Personal or family history of
brain and immune system dysfunction (allergies, autoimmunity, seizures, etc.)
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Health status at the time of
vaccination (coinciding acute or chronic illness)
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Personal and/or family history of
vaccine reactions
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Types and numbers of vaccines
given the day after an initial reaction took place
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Types and numbers of vaccines
given prior to experiencing a vaccine reaction
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There is a tendency by researchers investigating vaccine injury and
death to want to point to "one" cause as the reason for an individual's
vaccine reaction, or population-based chronic disease prevalence. This
"sole cause" hypothesis is convenient because it is simple and easy to
understand. It is also easier for people to think that action can be
taken to "fix" the problem if there is only one cause; i.e., separate
the MMR vaccine into single doses; take thimerosal or aluminum out of
the vaccines, and so forth.
However, the problem with promoting the "sole cause" hypothesis when
it comes to vaccination is that the rise in chronic disease and
disability among our children, including autism, is likely caused by a
multiple factors in any number of combinations. Therefore, by trying to
hone in on just one cause, say laying all the blame on a certain type of
vaccine adjuvant or preservative and ignoring the effects of increased
host susceptibility and simultaneous administration of many vaccines at
once or vaccinating children when they are sick, for example, we're
likely to fail in our efforts to accurately assess all of the reasons
for the vaccine-associated chronic disease and disability epidemic
plaguing our children today so we can take meaningful steps to curb it.
This is a major reason why NVIC has been calling for more than two
decades for methodologically sound scientific research into the
biological mechanisms for vaccine injury and death and a comparison of
health outcomes of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Recently, a new
Institute of Medicine Committee has been appointed to look at the
feasibility of this kind of study and here is what Barbara Loe Fisher asked the new Committee to consider.
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
legal vaccine exemptions, 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. Right now, there is assault on non-medical exemptions to
vaccination, such as the conscientious belief and religious objection,
in state public health laws. The Pharma/Medical Trade Assocaition lobby
is joining with public health officials and targeting states like
Vermont, California, Arizona, West Virginia and others and citizens
living in targeted states are in danger of losing their right to
exercise voluntary, informed consent to vaccination.
YOUR state could be the next one targeted for loss of vaccine exemptions.
NVIC has created a free online communications network to keep you
informed about vaccine vaccine legislation that either threatens your
legal rights to make vaccine choices in your state or is designed to
increase your rights. With the click of a mouse on your computer or
touch of a smartphone screen, you can be put in touch with YOUR state
legislator and communicate to him or her what you want done.
It is quick and easy to sign up to be a user of NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org.
Not only will you get access to practical, useful information to help
you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community,
but when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date
information and call to action items you need at your fingertips to make
sure your voice is heard.
So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Contact Your Elected Officials
Write or email your elected state representatives and share your
concerns. Call them, or better yet, make an appointment to visit them in
person in their office. Don't let them forget you!
It is so important for you to reach out and make sure your concerns
get on the radar screen of the leaders and opinion makers in your
community, especially the politicians you elect and are directly
involved in making vaccine laws in your state. These are your elected
representatives, so you have a right and a responsibility to let them
know what's really happening in your life and the lives of
people you know when it comes to vaccine mandates. Be sure to share the
"real life" experiences that you or people you know have had with
vaccination.
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine reaction,
injury or death, please talk about it. If we don't share information and
experiences with each other, everybody feels alone and afraid to speak
up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a different perspective on a
vaccine story that appears in your local newspaper. Make a call in to a
radio talk show that is only presenting one side of the vaccine story.
I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might be
strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side" of the
vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not back down.
Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be true about
vaccination will the public conversation about vaccination open up so
people are not afraid to talk about it.
We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations
funded by drug companies to dominate the conversation about vaccination.
The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet and treated like
nothing more than "statistically acceptable collateral damage" of
national one-size-fits-all mass vaccination policies that put way too
many people at risk for injury and even death. We shouldn't be treating
people like guinea pigs instead of human beings.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I 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 government officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One that Will Listen and Care
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 stop the
change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become
truly educated about health and vaccination.
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 a doctor, who treats you with compassion
and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your
child.