H1N1 Vaccine Info

photo via ghinson

Because this is such a polarizing topic, let me just start with my disclaimer: I’m sharing our decision and the thoughts and information that helped us reach it with the purpose of perhaps helping someone else who might be struggling with the decision. The information that I present here is “one-sided” because I feel there is a plethora of information that is easily available from the “pro-vaccination” side. It’s a little more difficult to find factual, evidence-based, medical/scientific information from the other side. Finally, I realize that your decision might not be the same as ours. That’s fine. My only request is that you thoughtfully consider what I present here. I hope that your decision is fully informed, and that, in the future, it will only become easier and easier for all parents to find balanced facts and literature in order to make a fully informed decision.

I would like to be 100% clear about the fact that I am not encouraging everyone to refuse vaccination. I am encouraging everyone to become completely EDUCATED on ALL pros and cons, in order to make the wise and safe decision for their own individual children.

I’ve posted before on our vaccine stance with Jenna. In general, she has reacted poorly to vaccinations in the past. This has led to much, MUCH research on the subject of vaccinations. Our conclusions? We are very concerned about the ingredients in vaccines. Toxic chemicals (like formaldehyde), animal tissue (including human embryonic cells, monkey, cow and chicken tissues), aluminum, and preservatives are worrisome to us. We have little faith in the governmental system that says “all those things are at safe levels” when repeatedly something has popped up that makes them say, “Oops! Except we were wrong about that one thing.” We’re also a bit suspicious about the for-profit nature of the business. Recommendations from organizations that have a monetary stake in vaccination promotion are not unbiased and do not foster trust.

Few (or no) doctors will argue with the point that natural immunity (acquiring the illness naturally & developing immunity in that way) is best. Our bodies build stronger immunity as a result of natural acquisition, and we’re usually protected/immune for life. It’s also interesting to note that, where outbreaks (like flu or measles) occur, most of those affected were vaccinated! This shows that vaccinations do not guarantee protection.

We really feel that H1N1 has been way over-hyped and that our odds of contracting it are no worse than “regular” flu. Combine that minimal risk with what really sounds like a higher than normal risk of danger from a vaccine that’s barely been tested, and we think the scale is weighted toward the side of NOT vaccinating. We do all of the things in this post daily. Really. We are responsibly working on prevention. We’re just not doing it with a vaccine.

Having said all that, the decision (OBVIOUSLY) has to be yours. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If only we had a book that had all the *right* answers for how to care for each of our children. *sigh*

Here are a list of links that I’ve collected on H1N1. For a list of links on vaccinations in general, see the bottom of this post.

• Study shows only about 25% of pop will fall ill from H1N1, it’s already peaked & vaccine delivery will be too late
• 9 Reasons not to give your child the H1N1 vaccine
• Washington Post Confirms That Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury
• Health Official Admit Fast-Tracked H1N1 Vaccines Will Not Be Tested For Safety
• Why Millions of Americans Don’t Need A Swine Flu Vaccination
• British Health Protection Agency warns of possible neurological damage from H1N1 vaccine
• GREAT video clips of retired neurosurgeon talking about his experience & research with vaccines (long, but watch the whole thing – it’s worth it)
• Blog post from an undecided mom with 100+ comments & some good links
• Inconvenient Truths About Gardasil and Swine Flu Vaccines (video clips with summarized information underneath)
• Experts Starting to Agree — More Vitamin D is Better
• Evidence Emerges That Seasonal Flu Vaccine Increases Risk of H1N1 Swine Flu
• On how Merck pressures doctors and agencies to promote their own agenda
• Article on Vitamin D and natural remedies for fighting flu
• Health Officials Admit H1N1 Vaccines Will Not Be Tested For Safety (full of lots of great links)
• On Squalene as an adjuvant in H1N1 vaccines
• Interesting lawsuit filed against the FDA regarding H1N1 vaccines
• Does the Vaccine Matter? Excellent (but long) article. You can read a summary here
• On 60 Minutes’ H1N1 Coverage October 18, 2009
• CBS News Reveals H1N1 Cases Exaggerated
• Washington Redskins cheerleader suffers debilitating neurological side effects following flu shot (video)
• Swine Flu scare of 1976 coverage from 60 minutes unveiling serious neurological side effects
• How Tamiflu Doesn’t Work
• Effectiveness of Tamiflu largely unproven (scroll down to Section headed: “Why anti-viral drugs don’t work either”)
• Tamiflu not effective in 98% of flu cases, including H1N1 (video clip with multiple cited sources)
• More reasons not to use Tamiflu (with citations)
• Tamiflu’s effects on the brain

Edited to add: Truth about Obama’s Declaration of National Emergency (audio interview with written summary below)

Happy reading. I know you’ll make the decision that’s best for you and your family. May you all be healthy, happy, and swine flu-free.