A very informative paper by  David Pratt. Linked here.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Ingredients and side-effects
3. The decline in infectious diseases
4. Vaccine overview
5. The MMR controversy
6. Weighing up the risks
7. The developing world
8. Orthodox and alternative medicine
9. Homeopathy in theory and practice
10. Conclusions
11. Sources

1. Introduction

The aim of vaccination is to prevent diseases and suffering and to save lives. The official line propagated by governments, the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies is that vaccines are safe and effective, and that vaccination has been an overwhelming medical success. However, the benefits and risks of vaccination have been vigorously debated ever since vaccines were first invented, and critics of vaccination have included numerous doctors. The debate has often been fierce and emotional, with anybody questioning the value of mass vaccination being accused of ‘putting children’s lives at risk’. This is not surprising given that enormous vested interests are at stake. The human vaccine market was worth US$8.7 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to more than US$23 billion by 2012.

Vaccination does not guarantee immunity from disease. If is often accompanied by side effects, and in some cases it can cause disability and death. This article takes a closer look at the risks involved and shows that homeopathy offers a safe and effective alternative.

2. Ingredients and side-effects

 A chemical stew

Vaccination introduces into the body the pathogens (viruses or bacteria) that are believed to cause particular diseases, but in a form that is supposed to trigger the production of antibodies without causing the disease itself. In theory, these antibodies will then provide protection against catching the disease in the future.

The main ingredients of vaccines are cultured bacteria and viruses. The bacteria are grown in a culture medium, while the viruses are grown on animal or human cells, some of which end up in the final product. Animal material in vaccines includes monkey kidney cells, chicken or duck egg protein, chick embryos, pig pancreatic cells, blood from sheep or cows, and gelatine from cows and pigs. These proteins are foreign to the body, and are very toxic as they are injected directly and do not get filtered by the digestive system or pass through the liver.

Vaccines also contain stabilizers, neutralizers, carrying agents, and preservatives. These include toxic metals (e.g. mercury and aluminium) and chemicals such as formaldehyde (an embalming fluid used to kill viruses; a potential carcinogen), phenoxyethanol (a component of antifreeze), and monosodium glutamate (a mutagen and neurotoxin, added as a stabilizer). Antibiotics (e.g. neomycin, polymyxin) are added to prevent the growth of germs in vaccine cultures, but they also suppress the immune system and may trigger allergic reactions.

The ingredients (including byproducts of the manufacturing process) of four commonly used vaccines are listed below.*

*www.vaccineriskawareness.com; Karpasea-Jones, 2006, p. 69; www.informedchoice.info; www.jabs.org.uk.

DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, (acellular) pertussis/whooping cough): diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, pertussis toxoid, filamentous haemagglutinin, pertactin (a membrane protein), fimbriae types 2 and 3, phenoxyethanol, aluminium, formaldehyde.

IPV (inactivated polio vaccine): 3 types of polio virus, human diploid cells (originating from aborted human babies), human albumin, bovine serum, phenoxyethanol, formaldehyde, streptomycin, polymyxin, neomycin.

MMR: live measles virus, live mumps virus, live rubella virus, sorbitol, sodium phosphate, sucrose, gelatine, human albumin, chick embryos, fetal bovine serum (from aborted calf baby), human diploid cells (originating from aborted human babies), neomycin.

Flu: influenza viruses, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens A and B strains, mercury, formaldehyde, sodium chloride, mashed chick embryos, gelatine, neomycin.

Mercury

The mercury compound used in vaccines is called thiomersal (or thimerosal in the US), which is an antiseptic and antifungal agent. It is added to vaccines as a preservative, as it prevents bacterial overgrowth. According to an Eli Lilly manufacturer’s data sheet (1999), thiomersal is toxic and causes fetal abnormality, higher infant mortality rates, and abnormal changes to lung tissue (Karpasea-Jones, 2006, p. 18). Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man. It damages the brain, nervous system and immune systems; mercury poisoning causes symptoms very similar to those of autism. Its use in vaccines has been linked to the rise in the number of people suffering from autism, hyperactivity, speech disorders and other developmental problems (www.safeminds.org).

Thiomersal contains ethylmercury, whereas the mercury contained in certain foods (e.g. fish) is methylmercury. The amount of ethylmercury in a single vaccine can exceed the recommended daily intake of methylmercury by up to 100 times (Halvorsen, 2007, p. 10). No studies have ever been carried out to determine human safety levels for ethylmercury, even though it has been injected into babies for over 60 years. Vaccine proponents argue that unlike methylmercury, ethylmercury is excreted quickly and does not accumulate. However this has no bearing on the maximum blood levels of mercury that are likely to cause harm. Most experts agree that the two types of mercury are similarly toxic. Moreover, unlike mercury in food, the mercury in vaccines is injected, thereby bypassing the stomach’s protective barrier.

In 1999 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised vaccine manufacturers to remove mercury from their vaccines, and by 2002 no mercury-containing vaccines were being routinely given to American children. Mercury was not removed from the majority of vaccines given to children in the UK until 2004, though the health department denied that this had anything to do with safety concerns. Mercury-containing flu vaccines for children are still widely used in the rich nations, even though mercury-free alternatives are available. Moreover, mercury is still used in the manufacturing process, so even ‘mercury-free’ vaccines can contain trace amounts of mercury. Mercury is still commonly used in vaccines administered in the third world.

Mercury is being replaced by other chemicals. One of them is 2-phenoxyethanol, which is the main ingredient of antifreeze. It can cause systematic poisoning, headache, shock, weakness, convulsions, kidney damage, kidney failure, cardiac failure, and death. The ethylene oxide component is a skin irritant also responsible for causing burns, blisters, dermatitis, and eczema (www.vaccineriskawareness.com).

Aluminium

Read on:  “Vaccination and Homeopathy”

Comments are invited.