Do we learn nothing from history?

Be it the "Swine Flu" vaccine in the 1970′s that caused more deaths than the swine flu did, or the polio vaccine in 1955 that cause more disease than it prevented (known as "The Cutter Incident"), it looks like we need to be reminded over and over again that when we monkey around by introducing foreign substances into people there are likely to be unforeseen, unintended, and serious – even lethal – repercussions.

But that is just recent history – were you aware that there have been mandatory vaccination programs since the later part of the 1800′s? And that respected physicians of that day exposed the folly, ineffectiveness, and danger of those programs just as there are respected physicians who do the same today? And that those physicians, then and now, are systematically ridiculed, marginalized, harassed, and even ruined by the allopathic vaccine industry that stands to lose obscene amounts of money should the truth about vaccination become common knowledge?

Let’s follow the money for a moment: Merck is the Big Pharma giant responsible for the vaccine Gardasil. This is said to be the most expensive vaccine in common use, with a price tag of $360 per three-injection series and Merck is said to have sold some 16 million doses of the stuff so far. Now, if a three dose series is $360, then presumably each dose is worth $120. Multiplied by 16 million, that works out to $1,920,000,000.

That’s one billion, nine hundred and twenty million dollars folks. Darned near two billion dollars!

Do we begin to see why there might be a big push going on to make this vaccination "mandatory"? Especially when there are reports that women, given freedom of choice, are not flocking to be vaccinated and sales are sagging (and profits too…)

Remember, this is the company that also brought you such stellar performers as Vioxx, Fosamax, and Singulair… and has the money and power to "make things happen."

Even the mainstream media is now beginning to follow the money-trail, with reporters like CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson finding heavy financial connections between Big Pharma, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two (a lobbying group created to promote early childhood vaccination and located within a stone’s throw of the White House in Washington, DC), and vaccination proponent Dr. Paul Offit – the pediatrician and vaccine patent-holder who has been reprimanded by congress for his conflicts of interest.

Don’t get me wrong – everyone needs to make a living and pay their bills and the money has to come from somewhere – but when these organizations and doctors are taking money from Big Pharma they really shouldn’t be presenting themselves as impartial, public-service, free-from-industry-and-financial-influence when they are presented as experts promoting these drugs and vaccines.

As I was doing a bit of research on Gardasil and other vaccines I came across a fascinating, chilling little tidbit: I visited Medscape – that medics-only online repository of medical information, supposed to be impartial and unimpeachable in it’s content. I was looking for an article titled "HPV Vaccine Adverse Events Worrisome Says Key Investigator," which was posted on July 26, 2008. In it’s place I found an article titled "HPV Vaccine Deemed Safe and Effective, Despite Reports of Adverse Events" and a note explaining that the first article had been removed following "editorial review."
Removed, mind you – not left there, perhaps with an editorial caveat or warning about it’s suitability or impartiality so that the readers might draw their own conclusions – but removed. Gone. Dare I say censored? Suppressed?

Fortunately, with a bit of careful searching, this article can be found elsewhere – though for how long, no-one knows. So that it may remain available to our HealthBeat News readers, I have placed the contents of this article in our archives. We believe that it should be the author of this article Allison Gandey who should decide the fate of her research and work – not Medscape or Merck. Ms. Gandey is welcome to contact us if she feels it should be removed…

But I have digressed – this was supposed to be an article about mandatory vaccination programs, and it was prompted by recent news articles reporting that New York was considering a new law – Assembly Bill 10942 – would make all vaccines recommended by the CDC mandatory for all children to attend school. Not only that, but for the first time vaccines would become mandatory for infants and toddlers.

Additionally, according to sources like the "Home School Legal Defense Association" this bill would allow doctors to give a vaccine to children without the consent or knowledge of the parents. Says the Association: "Theoretically, a doctor could ask if a 12-year-old girl had a boyfriend and when told “yes”, the doctor could tell this young girl that she would recommend the HPV vaccine to prevent her from getting cancer. The doctor could administer the vaccine without ever getting the parents’ consent and without their knowledge."

Best of all, this boon-to-Big Pharma would require all children in the state to be given EVERY vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – some twenty in all, some of which require multiple doses to achieve their desired "effect."

So, once again we have legislators looking to remove from us any ability to exercise free will or choice with respect to our health.

Perhaps the biggest question for us here is just who is at risk when someone is not vaccinated? It would seem to us that the person most at risk is the person who has decided to be at risk. We hear from the CDC, the FDA, the AMA, Big Pharma and others that vaccinations are supposed to "stop the spread of disease" and that this is justification for forced vaccination. But is this really so? Smallpox is said to have been "eradicated" through near universal vaccination – but the truth is that there are still isolated outbreaks of this disease today. People still get sick with this disease – most recover, a tiny few succumb. Smallpox vaccinations have not been given routinely to children since 1977. Why? the WHO would have us believe that because smallpox has been "eradicated" they are no longer needed. Could the truth be that no-one is willing to deal with the liability issues created by a vaccination that causes as much suffering and misery as it is said to prevent?

Vaccinations are a contentious issue. There is ample evidence that vaccines can cause harm and illness. There is ample evidence that vaccination is considerably less than fully effective in preventing disease. There are many people who are suspicious of vaccination, and given the choice would rather take their chances with the disease than with the vaccination. As a kid I can remember "Chicken-pox parties" where moms would gather their children around an infected kid so that all could "enjoy" the illness and subsequent immunity. In fact, the earliest form of "vaccination" for smallpox was simply to rub against the open lesion of an mildly infected person. This usually resulted in a limited, mild infection which conferred immunity. This time-honored practice, known as Variolation, is of course scorned by "modern" medicine.

Those who refuse vaccination expose only themselves to any possible risk of illness – those who wish to be "protected" are free to be vaccinated and then smile smugly at their "unprotected" neighbors. They are welcome to have a hearty "told you so" at my expense if I spend a day or two longer in bed with the flu because of my decision to forego
the risks of immunization.

We are not entirely anti-vaccination – indeed, Dr. Myatt has been known to prescribe certain vaccinations to some patients in order to stimulate immunity. But this is a carefully considered recommendation, not a wholesale mass inoculation program as Big Pharma would like to see.

We support the right of informed people to make their own decisions. We feel that it is just plain wrong for government or Big Business to force any drug or vaccine or chemical on anyone. Especially when the motivation looks more like profit than health.

Further reading / Resources:

• "The Cutter Incident" book review – http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/332/7543/733
• smallpox myths – http://www.the7thfire.com/Politics%20and%20History/SmallpoxMyths.htm
• thiomersol controversy – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiomersal_controversy
• "Worst Vaccine Bill Ever" article – http://www.infowars.net/articles/may2008/300508vaccines.htm
• Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program – http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-1007.htm
• NY Times – "The Rush To Vaccinate" article – http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/opinion/25CIfry-revere.html
• Wall Street Journal Article Questions Cost-effectiveness of Gardasil – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121928503311259059.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
• "DR. PAUL OFFIT: QUOTE MACHINE FOR HIRE" – http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/05/dr-paul-offit-q.html
• 60 Minutes-REMINDER of who Dr. Paul Offit is: – http://www.whale.to/a/offit.html
• "Serious Questions About HPV Vaccine" CBS article – http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/07/eveningnews/main4239462.shtml
• VaccineEthics.org article: "HPV Roundup: Gardasil safety worries, Cervarix FDA delays, more on mandates" – http://blog.vaccineethics.org/2008/07/hpv-roundup-gardasil-safety-worries.html
• Variolation and historical inoculation – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation

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