Friday, October 07, 2016

Vaccines - Did You Know?



Ever looked closely at an issue even though you were absolutely sure of your position? 

As a practice, I do this a couple of times a year, despite having to look at some fairly bizarre, conspiracy websites. My most recent exploration was into the vaccination controversy. Having no children, nor grandchildren, I do not have a close personal stake in the argument. But I would tend to go with the science. However, my last investigation was into GMO crops and I found the science wanting on that topic. So . . .

Just a couple of troubling facts. The Center for Disease Control recommends 25 vaccinations for infants between birth and eighteen months of age. Some of these are multiple cocktails (measles, mumps, rubella), so the even the number 25 is misleading.

My immediate question was: Do we have good clinical evidence of what interactions these chemicals may have inside of tiny little bodies. The answer I was able to locate after much searching was -- No!

There isn't sufficient data because so many of the vaccinations have been added in the past few years and the "patients" are still children.

Should I mention the schedule from 18 months to 18 years includes another 13 additional vaccinations plus an annual flu shot. Another 30 doses of widely divergent cocktails.

And as most adults know, our physicians push influenza, pertussis, shingles and a few other vaccinations at us because we are over 50 or 60 years of age.

Now, I am not an anti-vaxxer, by any stretch, but I am concerned that science is racing ahead of good clinical data. Ever wondered why you see so many attorney ads on television for dangerous/lethal reactions to drugs already approved by the FDA as safe and effective?

Just food for thought. Constructive debate only takes place in a free and open environment.

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Math Follow-Up: There are some questions about how to total up the vaccinations. Should it be the number of pokes a child receives or perhaps how many diseases are being vaccinated for. Some shots are multiple cocktails. Or perhaps how many individual vaccination components are injected. Here are the numbers as I have discerned them.

Number of times a needle is stuck into a child's body (0-18 months): 25
Number of different cocktail combinations dispensed: 11
Number of diseases being vaccinated against: 42

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