There is no question that immunizations save lives, and the reason to have them is obvious and clear. The only reason for one to be hesitant about vaccines is the concern over possible side effects.
So the real question is, "Are they safe?"
How they work:
Generally speaking, vaccines work by introducing an "immitation" of the disease for the body to learn how to fight it - without actually having it. Then when exposed to the actual disease in the future, the body has already built up a natural defense.
Note: The Covid "vaccine" works differently! (Click here for a full description)
Regardless of your position, there are some vaccinations that your child MUST have if they are going to be able to attend public school. Here is a listing by grade and age.
Day Care, and Pre-K:
Diphtheria,Tetanus, and Pertussis vaccine (DTaP)
This is a 3 in 1 combination vaccine that protects against Diphtheria,Tetanus, and Pertussis.
What it's for: Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an acute and highly contagious bacterial disease that is commonly spread through sneezing and coughing. The bacteria can potentially cause fatal heart and nerve damage.
Before the vaccine became available in the 1940's, 15,000 deaths from diphtheria were reported each year in the United States. Currently, from 1996 through 2018, less than 1 death from diphtheria was reported each year.
How it works:
The vaccine is made from antibodies that are obtained from horses that have built up natural immunity from the diphtheria toxin.
Horses are given the toxin, causing their bodies produce the necessary antibodies to fight it. Their blood is then extracted, separated, and purified to be injected into humans. (See Diagram ->)
Horses were found to be the least affected by the toxin. Horses are kept and bled to provide a source of antitoxin serum.
"Wait...'I'm not putting horse blood in my body!"
It's not their actual blood itself that we are getting. It's just the antibodies from their blood that we are getting. These antibodies are separated from their blood and purified first.
What it's for: Tetanus
Tetanus causes painful muscle spasms and can lead to death. There is no cure, and up to 30% of people who have it die. This disease is caused by harmful bacteria living in soil. These bacteria enter the body through contact with objects that have picked up the bacteria from soil containing the bacteria. The skin must be penetrated for the bacteria to begin to produce the toxin that causes Tetanus. The spores can remain infectious for more than 40 years in soil.
Before the vaccine became available in the 1940's, there were 500-600 tetanus deaths annually in the United States. In 2018, 23 cases were reported with no deaths.
How it works:
Ok no "horse blood" in this one! The tetanus vaccine is made by killing the bacteria through pasturizatiion. Once injected, the inactive bacteria still creates an immune response, but without actually causing the disease.
What it's for: Pertussis
Pertussis (also called Whooping Cough) is a serious and highly contagious infection that spreads easily from person to person through coughing and sneezing.
Before the vaccine became available in the 1940s, as many as 9,000 people died from pertusis annually in the United States. In 2019, 10 deaths were reported due to pertussis.
How it works:
The Pertussis vaccine is made by killing the pertussis toxin with formaldehyde. Once injected, the deactivated toxin still creates an immune response against the disease, but without actually causing the disease.
"Isn't formaldehyde what they use to preseve dead bodies!"
Concentrations of formaldehyde as low as 100 parts per million are immediately dangerous to life and health.
However, very small quantities are actually found naturally in the bloodstream. In fact, The amount of natural formaldehyde in a 2-month-old infant’s blood is ten times greater than the amount found in any vaccine, and even a pear contains around 50 times more formaldehyde than is found in any vaccine. See (Toxins)
Adverse reactions:
Because this is a combination vaccine, the adverse effects are determined from the complete Diphtheria,Tetanus, and Pertussis vaccine, and not each individual vaccine.
The following side effects and percentages are mild to moderate and can last from 1 to 3 days.
Crying - 7.6%
Irritability - 37.8%
Soreness or swelling - 28%
Fever - 66%
Fatigue - 0.4%
Loss of appetite - 25%
Vomiting - 7.9%
Accoring to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Diphtheria,Tetanus, and Pertussis vaccine has shown no increased risk for neurologic disorders, allergies, blood disorders, and chronic illnesses.
1 person in 1 million, may have a severe allergic reaction.
NOTE* The current DTaP vaccine contain aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, which is said to make it work more efficently. Although my research found that aluminum hydroxide sulfate has been used safely in vaccines for decades, it can be said that no amount is completly safe. (See Toxins)
Hepatitis B vaccine
What it's for: Hepatitis
Hepatitis viruses can cause scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. B and C are the most common cause of cirrhosis and cancer.
Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, while Hepatitis B, C, and D, usually occur as a result of transmission from mother to baby at birth.
About 2,000 people a year die in the United States from the hepatitis B virus infection. About 22,000 people a year are infected with hepatitis B, putting them at high risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The vaccine is purposed to treat babies who contracted hepatitis from the mother during birth. Babies born to hepatitis B positive mothers have a 90% chance of being healthy if they are given the hepatitis B vaccine at birth and again in two months. In addition, children don’t show symptoms like adults do. Because of this, they are more likely to go undiagnosed and become a chronic carrier of the virus. Chronic carriers have lifelong problems and issues from this infection.
“So why aren’t kids vaccinated against C and D as well? You said those can be transmitted at birth too!”
With D, transmission from mother to child is possible, but rare, and there currently is no hepatitis C vaccine. This is because the hepatitis C virus is more variable than B. Hepatitis C has at least seven genetically distinct forms with About 60 subtypes.
How it works:
A harmless Hepatitis B surface protien is inserted into yeast cells. This allows the yeast to reproduce more of just the noninfectious surface protein. This protien is then injected into humans. The body then misindetifies this as the actual disease, and then produces the antibodies for the real disease.
Adverse reactions:
Side effects from the vaccine are uncommon and usually mild, but may include:
Localised pain, redness and swelling at the injection site.
Low-grade fever.
Being unsettled, irritable, tearful, generally unhappy, drowsy and tired.
A lump that may last many weeks, but not needing treatment.
Note: The current hepatitis vaccines are genetically engineered and synthetically prepared.
In 1981, the FDA approved a hepatitis B vaccine that used formaldehyde and heat treatment (or “pasteurization”) to inactivate the virus. This vaccine was discontinued in 1990 and it is no longer available in the U.S.
The current hepatitis vaccines contain aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, which is said to make it work more efficently.
Although my research found that aluminum hydroxide sulfate has been used safely in vaccines for decades, it can be said that no amount is completly safe. See (Toxins)
Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR)
This is a 3 in 1 combination vaccine that protects against Measles, Mumps and Rubella.
What it's for: Measles
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus which can cause severe complications and even death. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
The measles virus diverged from infected cattle between the years 1100 and 1200 in Europe, fully becoming a distinct virus that infects humans.
Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
Measles became a national disease in the United States In 1912.
In the first decade of reporting, an average of 6,000 measles-related deaths were reported each year.
In 2000, Measles was declared eliminated in the United States, due to wide use of the vaccine.
How it works:
The measles virus is passed through chick embryo cells at least 40 times. Each time it gets passed it becomes weaker. When you’re injected with the weakened virus, it sets up an infection that activates the immune system. However, the mild infection is not usually enough to make you sick.
What it's for: Mumps
Mumps is a viral illness that causes fever and swollen salivary glands. The diseasse itself is considered mild and will usuially just run its course. However, in some cases the complications from mumps can cause permanent deafness in children, swelling of the brain (encephalitis), which can result in death.
How it works:
The mumps vaccine is made the same exact way that the measels vaccine is made, by passing the virus through chick embyo cells untill they are weak enough to not cause sickness when injected, but still acticavate the production of the neccssary antibodies.
What it's for: Rubella
Rubella is also called German measles, but it is caused by a different virus than measles.
Symptoms include a low-grade fever, sore throat, and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. Hiowever, it is most dangerous to the fetus.
In the United States from 1964 to 1965, 12.5 million people got rubella, 11,000 pregnant women lost their babies, 2,100 newborns died, and 20,000 babies were born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Rubella was declared eliminated from the United States in 2004.
Note: Although Rubella can cause a miscarriage or serious birth defects in a developing baby if a woman is infected while she is pregnant - Pregnant women should NOT get MMR vaccine!
Women should avoid getting pregnant for at least four weeks after receiving MMR vaccine.
Women who are planning to become pregnant should check with their doctor to make sure they are vaccinated before they get pregnant.
"Why get the vaccine if it's eliminated in the United States?
Cases can still occur when unvaccinated people are exposed to infected people, mostly through international travel.
"Fine, but how does a fetus get protected by having the vaccination AFTER it's born?"
It doesn't, of course - But, it prevents your child from spreading rubella to a pregnant woman, whose unborn baby could develop serious birth defects or die if the mother gets rubella. So it protects babies indirectly.
Adverse reactions:
Because this is a combination vaccine, the adverse effects are determined from the complete MMR vaccine, and not each individual vaccine.
One in six people can run a low fever, and one in 20 get a mild rash.
About one in 3,000 children who get the MMR vaccine suffers a seizure, however this is caused by the fever that the vaccine may cause - not directly from the vaccine itself. See (Fevers)
Polio vaccine
What it's for: Polio
Polio can cause deformed or paralyzed legs, atrophied torsos, and trouble breathing. It leaves children crippled with paralysis, and a lifetime of disability and pain.The polio virus is transmitted by coming into contact with the poo (faeces) of someone with the infection, or with the droplets launched into the air when they cough or sneeze. You can also get it from food or water that’s been contaminated with infected poo or droplets.
In the early 20th century, polio paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children every year. However, it was practically eliminated in the United States after the introduction of vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s.
How it works:
The poliovirus is purified and killed with formaldehyde. When injected, the inactive virus elicits antibodies in the bloodstream, but the killed virus cannot cause the disease. See (Toxins)
Adverse reactions:
Side effects are very uncommon, mild, and go away within a few days.
Soreness/Redness near the injection site.
Low-grade fever.
Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine
What it's for: Chickenpox
First - You don't get Chickenpox from chickens! Possible origens of the name are that the lesions of chickenpox looked as if a child had been pecked by chickens, or that chickenpox is more doclie compared to other diseases, and chickens are more timid compared to other animals...and "pox" just means virus.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that causes an itchy, blister-like rash which first appears on the chest, back, and face, and then spreads over the entire body. Symptoms include: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, and headache.
Although the disease itseslf is not particularly dangerous, the complications from chickenpox can be severe, however, they are not common in healthy people.
1 in every 1,000 children infected with Chickepox will develop severe pneumonia or encephalitis (infection of the brain).
1 of every 50 women infected with Chickenpox during their pregnancy will deliver children with birth defects.
Adults are 25 times more likely to die from chickenpox than children are.
Adults are also more likely to have more serious complications with chickenpox.
In the past, many of the healthy adults who died from chickenpox contracted the disease from their unvaccinated children. (It is not fully understood why adults having a harsher experience. It might be due to differences in their immune systems.)
Before the vaccine, people used to intentionally make sure their children got chickenpox so that they couldn’t get it again as adults, when the disease would be more dangerous. However, the virus remains inactive in the body and may reactivate in adulthood as "Shingles".
The Chickenpox vaccine became available in the United States in 1995. The first 25 years after, the vaccine has prevented 238,000 hospitalizations, and 2,000 deaths.
How it works:
The virus is grown in fibroblast cells. (Fibroblast cells are found in tendons and cartilage.)
Because fibrolast cells are not where the virus naturally reproduces, (chickenpox lives in the throat lining) the genes that tell the virus how to reproduce itself become changed.
When injected, the changed virus now reproduces itself weakly enough as to not cause chickenpox, but just strong enough to still illicit an immune response in the body.
NOTE* The first vaccine was made using legally aborted fetusus in the 1960's.
Since then, the line of vaccines has been made from itself, and no aborted fetuses have been used since then.
The Chickenpox vaccine contains MSG. See (Toxins)
Adverse reactions:
Up to 3% of children who get the vaccine, actually get chicken pox from the vaccine.
Soreness and redness around the site of the injection – 1 in 5 children.
Mild rash – 1 in 10 children.
High temperature.
Serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) - 1 in a million vaccinated people.
Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HiB)
What it's for: Haemophilus influenzae type B
First, influenzae is NOT the flu...Influenza is the flu. Influenzae and Influenza sound alnost the same, but are different.
Haemophilus influenzae type B causes a variety of diseases, such as meningitis and pneumonia. It was first found in a group of patients during an influenza outbreak in 1892. Its only known host is humans, who may carry it without becoming sick. It is spread through the air by respiratory droplets from infected individuals.
Before the development of the vaccines, HiB was the most common cause of meningitis in children in the United States. HiB disease has decline by 99% in infants and young children since the vaccines were introduced 1988.
How it works:
The Hib vaccine is made from taking part of just the outer coating of the bacteria, and then growing it in an egg protein. Because the part is only from the harmless outer coating of the toxin, it can't actually give you the disease, but the body is still fooled into thinking it's the real disease, and then produces the neccssary antibodies to fight it if it really comes.
"Can the Vaccine give you the disease?"
No. None of the vaccines contains live bacteria.
Adverse reactions:
2 children in 10 have:
Pain, redness or swelling at the site of the injection.
A high temperature.
Irritability.
Loss of appetite.
Sleepiness.
Anaphylaxis can also happen but is extremely rare.
NOTE* The current Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine contain aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, which is said to make it work more efficently. Although my research found that aluminum hydroxide sulfate has been used safely in vaccines for decades, it can be said that no amount is completly safe. See (Toxins)
Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine (PCV)
What it's for:
Pneumococcus is the leading cause of pneumonia. It is most dangeroous to the very young and old, causing approximately
2 million deaths a year globally. It is spread by airborne droplets, or by physically contacting saliva or mucus, and then touching your inner nose or mouth.
How it works:
This vaccine is made the same way the as the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine - By taking part of just the outer coating of the bacteria and growing it in an egg protein. Because the part is only from the harmless outer coating, the body is fooled into thinking it's the real disease, and then builds the antibodies to fight it.
Adverse reactions:
These side effects are usually mild and last for 1-2 days.
Pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site - 50%
Limited movement of the injected arm - 20%
Tiredness - 40%
Headache - 20%
Fever - 20%
Decreased appetite - 40%
Muscle pain and joint pain -10%
Anaphylaxis - 1 in a million
NOTE: In the 1940s, pneumococcus could be treated with just penicillin. However, over time it has become resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics as well.
Middle school and High School:
Tdap vaccine for Grades 6-12
What it's for:
This is similar to the vaccine that they got when they started Preschool. However, the "D" and "T" are switched, and the "p" is lower case. (This label change helps to know the difference.)
"So what's the difference?"
The initial DTaP vaccine contains full-strength doses of all three vaccines, but the Tdap vaccine provides a smaller doses of just the diphtheria and whooping cough antigens. (The tetnus is still full strength.)
"So why do they need another one if they already got the first one?"
The vaccine's protection decreaes over time. These "boosters" are needed every 10 years to maintain protection against the diseases.
How it works:
The booster is made the same way as the original, and the side effects are the same.
Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) Grades 7-12
What it's for:
Meningitis is inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is spread by respiratory droplets, and can be fatal within 24 hours.
10-15 percent of people who get it die, and in those who survive, about 1 in 5 live with permanent disabilities, including brain damage, hearing loss, loss of kidney function or limb amputations.
The US national incidence of meningococcal disease declined from 0.61% before the vaccine was available in 2011, to 0.15% after.
"So if it's so rare, why is the vaccine mandated?"
This disease has a relativly high mortatlty rate. Even though it's rare, the consequences are severe enough to be worth avoiding.
How it works:
The vaccine is made from taking part of just the outer coating of the bacteria, and then growing it in a tetanus protein. Because the part is only from the harmless outer coating of the toxin, it can't actually give you the disease, but the body is still fooled into thinking it's the real disease, and then produces the neccssary antibodies to fight it if it really comes.
"Did you say grown in a tetanus protien!"
Yes. But just the harmless outer part of the tetanus toxin, not the toxin itself. It seems that using tetanus as a host makes it easier for the body to recognize it as an intruder.
Adverse reactions:
Pain and redness at the injection site.
Fever.
Headache.
Fatigue.
"Can the vaccine give you the disease?"
No. None of the vaccines contains live bacteria.
Grade 12:
MenACWY booster on or after 16th birthday
What it's for:
The first vaccine declines within 5 years. Teens need a booster at 16 years old for protection when they are at highest risk.
The booster is made the same way as the original, and the side effects are the same.
Covid Vaccine (Not mandated for school)
What it's for:
Children are at a lower risk for covid than adults. . Healthy kids dont die of covid, and most dont even show symptoms.
The shot does not prevent transmission or contraction...so there no reason for them to get it.
How it works:
Scientists re-code messenger DNA (Mrna) that is purposed to teach the body how to produce covid antibodies.
Now, when the body is exposed to the Covid virus, it already has a head start on how to fight it.
The process in the lab involves the use of potentially dangerous agents, but that does not mean that these agents are carried over in the vaccine.
Adverse reactions:
The covid shot is thought to kill non-targeted healthy cells. Either way, it's is still too new to know if it will, or wont cause long term side effects.
Immdiate symptoms are mild and last about 1 to 3 days.
Soreness at the injection site,
Fatigue,
Headache,
Body aches.
Fever.
"Do they cause autism?"
You are not going to find any study that connects vaccines to autisim - But I am not the trusting type. To make up my own mind, I have to know - How could a vaccine potentially cause autism?
To know that - I would have to know what causes autism - And that's a problem, because we don't really know.
It is well understood that some metals cause brain and health issues including alziemers and dementia when injested - and that some vaacies have alimunum and mercury. According to my research, hundreds of thousands of children who receivedvaccines with mercury were compared to hundreds of thousands of children who received the same vaccines without. The results showed that the risk of autism was the same in both groups;
Although my research shows that the levels of these metals in vaccines are insignificant when compared to what we normally ingest throughout our lives, it could be said no amount is safe, and the less the better.
Summary:
flu vaccines and one type of Td vaccine contain a small amount of thimerosal.
Thimerosal contains a form of mercury (ethylmercury) that does not cause mercury poisoning and is safe for use in vaccines. Flu and Td vaccines are also available in thimerosal-free versions.
Aluminum is present in vaccines that prevent hepatitis A, hepatitis B (most versions), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP, Td, Tdap), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib; one version), human papillomavirus (HPV), Japanese encephalitis (JE), anthrax, meningococcal B, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and pneumococcus (conjugate versions).
.Aluminum is not present in vaccines,hat prevent measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, mpox/smallpox, yellow fever and rotavirus,
Thimerosal, a very effective preservative, has been used to prevent bacterial contamination in vaccine vials since the 1930s. It contains a type of mercury known as ethylmercury, which is different from the type of mercury found in fish and seafood (methylmercury). At very high levels, methylmercury can be toxic to people, especially to the neurological development of infants.In recent years, several large scientific studies have determined that thimerosal in vaccines does not lead to neurologic problems, such as autism. Nonetheless, because we generally try to reduce people's exposure to mercury when possible, vaccine manufacturers have voluntarily changed their production methods to produce vaccines that are now free of thimerosal or have only trace amounts. They have done this because it is possible to do, not because there was any evidence that the thimerosal was harmful.
Vaccines do not 100% fully protect against the desease that they are intened to prevent, and it is still possible to receive the vaccine and get sick from a different strain not yet protected by the vaccine, and they have ranging side effects.
However, it is safe to say that the risk of contracting these diseases is significantly lower after becoming vaccinated against them.