Making an Informed Choice:
Immunization - The Other Side

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

By Patricia G. Gayman, D.C.

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As a parent you are or will be faced with some very important decisions regarding immunization for your child.   The American medical model has been one of encouraging vaccinations and artificial immunizations as the way to prevent contracting a disease and eradicating epidemics. The federal administration has attempted to make vaccination mandatory, which certainly eliminates freedom of choice regarding our own or our child's body!

Recent studies of the body-mind connection emphasize the fact that the body is organized and maintained by an innate (inborn) intelligence.   This intelligence is capable of creating the body from two cells into a perfectly formed and fully functioning organism within a few short months.   This same intelligence maintains the body in a state of homeostasis with its environment, providing it has no interference, the principles of good diet, rest and exercise are followed and the body is not stressed beyond its limits to adapt.

It is the opinion of many that a healthy child raised in the sanitary conditions prevalent in our society will be able to fight off a disease or may indeed contract mild forms of some of these generally benign conditions.   The benefits gained, whether the disease is contracted or successfully resisted, include lifelong immunity, which is established without the potentially adverse effects of artificial immunity.

There is a growing body of evidence pointing out the hazards and contraindications to mass vaccinations.   The long-term effects of artificially stimulating the immune system during childhood are beginning to surface as our population ages.   There are many questions that have not been adequately answered.   This information is provided to give you a view from the other side of this issue and some food for thought.

Although the information is admittedly biased against vaccination on a wholesale basis, all statistics and hard facts are derived from well-documented, reliable sources.   I urge you to use this information and the books included in the bibliography to make an informed choice.   Then you can decide whether or not to have your child vaccinated from an informed position rather than because "someone" told you it was the right thing to do.   Ask questions, become informed, then make your decision.

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There are some hard questions that need to be considered

1.  Has vaccination actually eliminated epidemics or are there other explanations for the decline in certain diseases?

2.   Why have several countries with much higher overall health ratings on the World Health Organization index discontinued the widespread use of vaccines?

3.   Why aren't known side effects discussed with parents before their children are injected with foreign material?

4.   Could there be a connection between SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and vaccination?

5.   Is there such a thing as "minimal brain damager" when it is your child?

6.   Is it possible that the increase in degenerative diseases, cancer and other immune disorder diseases are directly related to the widespread use of vaccination that began approximately 50 years ago?

7.   Solid food is not normally introduced into the immature digestive system of infants until after six months of age. Does it make sense to inject foreign substances into the body of a newborn infant to assault the immature immune system?

8.   Are vaccines effective in creating immunity? For how long?

9.   Are vaccines worth the risk of adverse reactions ranging from mild to severe, even death?

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FYI (For Your Information)

In a review of vaccine literature it is significant to note that the usual concern scientists show with having controlled studies to demonstrate efficacy of therapies seem to be lacking.   Controlled, double- blind studies about vaccination and the long- or short-term effects of artificial vaccination were not conducted before introducing vaccinations on a mass scale.

The major question, however, is what effect this lack of scientific data has on our children.   For instance, in a 20-month period ending July 1992, vaccination reactions reported to the federal government included:

  -- More than 17,000 adverse reactions

  -- 2,525 severe injuries

  -- 360 deaths

Medical doctors who administer vaccines are required to report the medical record of the vaccines, date of administration, name of the manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine, name and work address and title of the person who actually administers the vaccine.   They are also required to report any adverse reactions.

In a NBC television news interview, David Kessler, MD, the former head of the FDA (Federal Drug Administration), estimated that physicians report only 10 percent of all adverse vaccine reactions!

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Reactions to vaccines can be divided into two groups:
Immediate and delayed/or permanent.

Immediate reactions include:   Fever, drowsiness, fretfulness, vomiting, allergic reactions and convulsions.

Delayed and permanent reactions include:   Epilepsy, mental retardation, learning disabilities and paralysis, damage to the immune system leading to auto-immune disorders and damage to the nervous system.


Vaccines are prepared by a variety of methods, including the use of live viruses.   According to Cynthia Cournoyer in her book, What About Immunizations:   Exposing The Vaccine Philosophy,  "Live attenuated viruses used for vaccines, implant foreign, alien material derived from animal culture tissues into the human genetic system."

In some cases of adverse reactions, the child's body may not be reacting to the virus itself but rather to the ingredients used in making the virus available for injection.

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These are among the ingredients found in vaccines:

Acetone   -a solvent used in fingernail polish remover.

Alum   -a preservative.

Aluminum and oil adjuvants   -cancer producing in laboratory mice.

Aluminum phosphate   -used in deodorants. Toxic.

Formaldehyde   -a known cancer-causing agent which is commonly used to embalm corpses.

Phenol (carbonic acid)  -a deadly poison.

Thimerosal (a mercury derivative)  -a toxic heavy metal that is not easily eliminated from the body.

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Immunizations Commonly Recommended:

There are many vaccines being used today.   The following is a list of the most commonly used and the recommended schedule for administration of the vaccines, primarily from the Lange Medical Book.

Symbol           Name                      Age of Administration

DPT              Diphtheria                2,4, & 6 months
                 Pertussis
                 Tetanus

Acellular
Pertussis                                  Used for 4th & 5th doses


OPV/IPV          Oral live virus/          2, 4, & 18 months, 6 years
                 inactivated "killed"
                 polio virus


E-IPV            Enhanced potency          2, 4, & 18 months
                 inactivated polio         & 6 years
                 virus


MMR              Measles                   15 months, 4-6 years  
                 Mumps                     or 11-12 years
                 Rubella


HIB              Hemophilus influenza      1-2,4, & 6 months
                 Type B

Varicella        Chicken Pox               Not yet in regular use'


Hepatitis B      Hepatitis B               Birth, 1-2, 4, 
                                           & 6 months**

Current Pediatric Diagnosis & Treatment;   Lange Medical Book
edited by: William W. Hay, Jr., Jessie R. Groothuis, Anthony R. Hayward, & Myron J. Levin.

Chicken pox vaccine recently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for inclusion in the schedule for administration.

** This is a new vaccine, the schedule noted above was derived from The Vaccine Guide:   Making an Informed Choice,  Randall Neustaedter, OMD.

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PREVENTION

The best defense against any disease, from the common cold to the diseases that are commonly being vaccinated against, is a strong, healthy immune system.   There are measures that can be taken to strengthen the body's ability resist or respond to disease.   Exposure to childhood diseases in a healthy individual will strengthen the immune system and impart lifelong immunity to the disease in most cases.   In high-risk individuals or in special circumstances, vaccination, which may help develop some immunity, may be desirable.

Measures to Enhance the Immune System Without Invasion

   - Breastfeeding

   - Avoid feeding solid food until a child is more than 6 months old.

   - Chiropractic care.

   - Knowledge of family history of allergies.   Avoid known allergens until a child is
     at least 12 months old.

   - Avoid conventional medicines that often weaken the body's natural immune system.

   - Careful sanitation.

   - Low-stress environment.

   -Good nutrition including ample vitamin C and A.

CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Chiropractic is based on the premise that the body is a self-healing organism.   A body that is guided by an innate intelligence, that can create a fully developed person from two cells in only nine months, most certainly has the ability to run the organism and to maintain good health.

Chiropractic recognizes that the body, under certain circumstances, may respond to the environment by manifesting a "disease."   It also has the innate ability to heal itself.   The role of chiropractic care is to keep the body free of interference and to maintain a fully functioning nervous system.

If the vertebrae of the spine become misaligned in the birth process, or later through mechanical or chemical means, it creates a condition known as a subluxation.

The correction of subluxations is the domain of a chiropractor. An adjustment to re-align the spine is accomplished by a specific, gentle, non-invasive movement of the vertebrae.   This allows unimpaired flow of the nervous system and full flow of the body's ability to maintain the highest possible level of health.

Have your child checked by a doctor of chiropractic whether or not you decide to have your child immunized.   It will give him/her the best possible chance to adapt to any stresses to which he/she may be subjected.

HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy is the medical system that uses natural substances (plant, mineral and animal products) that purportedly stimulate a healing response within the body and encourage a curative reaction to illness.

Homeopathy claims to support the functions of the immune system in a way that helps the body resist disease viruses. Use of homeopathic products may enhance the body's ability to react to the disease so the patient experiences milder symptoms when the disease is contracted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Patricia G. Gayman, DC, recently retired as Dean of Clinics at Life Chiropractic College West in San Lorenzo, Calif. A private practitioner for 28 years, she wrote this book to help chiropractic patients make an informed decision about whether to vaccinate their children. Dr. Gayman has been honored by the Parker Chiropractic Resource Foundation as Chiropractor of the Year in 1990 and Woman Doctor of the Year in 1987. She is a Founding Mother of the World Congress of Women Chiropractors and a member of the Royal Chiropractic Knights of the Round Table.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE:   Dr. Patricia G. Gayman was kind enough to supply this information to the profession.   If you would be interested in copies of the complete 24-page book, including a detailed explanation of possible reactions to all recommended vaccines, and a full list of references for further study, you may contact the author:

Patricia G. Gayman, DC
Empowerment Press
775 Scout Circle
Gardnerville, NV 89410
drempoweru@earthlink.net

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Since 1-01-1998