Tammy Amos Instructor Joan Cormier College Grammar/ENG 110 March 20, 2012 How Safe Are Immunizations

for Our Children? Most parents trust the government with the health of their children without doing their due diligence regarding childhood vaccinations. For the sake of their children, they need to take advantage of the informative and reliable sources that are available on the Internet and in public libraries regarding this topic. They will find that kids are being vaccine injured and even killed because of the toxins that are being pumped into their tiny bodies. Parents have been ill-informed, even misled, when it comes to the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations. Children in the United States receive more vaccinations than any other developed country but we have the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) in the world. The children in the States are expected to receive 26 vaccinations by the age of 1, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Japan and Sweden are two countries that require only 12 vaccinations, the least in the world, and have the lowest infant mortality rate of under 3 deaths per 1000 births. Compared to the staggering IMR in the United States of over 6 infant deaths per 1000 births, how can one not want to further their knowledge regarding the safety of these so-called life-saving vaccinations given to our children? Those statistics were all I needed to self-educate myself on this topic. In the 1960s, there were several new immunizations introduced to the general public for protection against infectious diseases, such as DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus), polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. Thereafter in 1969, a new medical term was presented to us called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Soon following, in 1973, SIDS was actually made a cause-of-death category by National Center for Health Statistics. This was the label for which they placed on babies that died in their sleep and no cause-of-death could be determined after a thorough investigation. Before 1969, SIDS was not even a term in our medical

vocabulary. By 1980, it became the #1 baby killer for infants from the ages of 28 days to 1 year old. Although there is not direct scientific evidence proving that immunizations are the cause of SIDS, there are studies showing that an infant was 8 times more likely to die from SIDS than any other cause within 3 days of the DPT vaccine. Furthermore, it was determined that two-thirds of all SIDS deaths have occurred within 3 weeks of the child receiving the DPT vaccine, many within 24 hours. These studies do not include the infant deaths that are categorized as unknown and unspecified causes, which very well may have been SIDS cases that were reclassified by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). There are many studies that link the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine to the childhood disorder of autism. In the mid 1980's, autism was found in 1 out of 2500 children. That number has risen dramatically to 1 in 300 children in the mid 1990's. It is overwhelming the documentation from parents and researchers to support the claim that there is a significant link. There are countless heartbreaking stories from parents that all begin and end the same. They had a healthy, vibrant child that laughed and smiled. These children were developing just as, or even faster, than any other child their age with a bright future ahead of them. That was the case until these children received the MMR vaccine. Without warning, these children stopped talking, could not socialize, and seemed to regress into their own little world. Additionally, there was a study published in1998 by Dr. A.J. Wakefield and his colleagues about developmental disorders in 12 children. His studies showed that 9 out of 12 of these children regressed into autism behavior within 14 days of receiving the MMR vaccine. These children also experienced severe abdominal problems that are also associated with autism. Although a proven link could not be established by Dr. Wakefield, the casual link itself should be enough for the uninformed parent to question the safety of this vaccine. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and pharmaceutical companies, such as Merck, have led us to believe that it is because of these immunizations that our country is close to being completely eradicated of these diseases. The simple truth is that these diseases were already on a decline due to clean water to drink and bathe in, proper food, and better sanitation. Children, many who have been

vaccinated, are still dying from these diseases in impoverished countries, such as Africa, due to the fact that they are suffering from malnutrition and lacking a clean water supply. The immunizations that the United States government and health agencies support and recommend for our children contain toxic poisons, such as mercury and formaldehyde. They are used as preservatives to prolong the shelf life of the immunizations. In recent years, it has been decided to minimize the levels of these toxins because of the rise of vaccine injuries and deaths which made many parents skeptical. Most of these vaccines still contain trace amounts; although the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) stated , There is no safe way to use mercury and scientists have found no safe mercury level in the human body So, why does the World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC), and countless other governmental bodies of the United States continue to support the use of any amount of mercury in the immunizations for our children? Additionally, these vaccines are not measured for the child's age or weight. It does not matter if your baby weighs 10 pounds. Your child will receive the exact same amount of toxins as a child of 20 or 30 pounds. If we are so careful with measuring a dosage of Tylenol or a prescribed medication for our child, why in the world wouldn't we be just as cautious with immunizations? Government agencies and ill-informed physicians use scare tactics to get parents to immunize their children for their financial gain. They tell us our children could die if we don't vaccinate. We see commercials, billboards, and posters everywhere warning us of the consequences if we don't vaccinate. Where are the posters and commercials warning us of the toxic poisons that are in these shots? Who is telling us about the other frightening side of this debate? We, as parents, cannot sit back and believe everything we hear regarding the health and safety of our innocent children. We need to research immunizations and make educated decisions. Our children depend on us to do that for them because they cannot do it for themselves.

Works Cited Cranton, Dr. Elmer M. Heavy Metal Toxicity, Mercury Toxicity, and Related Topics. www.drcranton.com. 24 October 2011. Goldman, Gary S. and Miller, Neil Z. Infant Mortality Rates Regressed Against Number of Vaccine Doses Routinely Given: Is There a Biochemical or Synergistic Toxicity? Human and Experimental Toxicology. Journal. 4 May 2011. Print. Vaccines Did Not Save Us - Two Centuries of Official Statistics. www.childhealthsafety.wordpress.com. October 2010. Article. Vermont. UNEP: No Safe Level of Mercury in the Human Body. healthfreedoms.org. 30 November 2009. Article.