Essay on Why Infant Vaccination Should be Delayed
Essay on Why Infant Vaccination Should be Delayed These days, scientists have invented and made available a whole variety of vaccines. Indeed, there is such demand for vaccines that there is even a certain type for flu. These have all been invented for our protection. The primary function of a vaccine is to strengthen the human immune system so that it can combat various forms of bacteria. Yet, rather than help us fight certain types of disease and infection, vaccines can be influential in causing certain diseases and infections. The fact that vaccines are live-attenuated organisms, which means the pathogens have been partly killed to reduce damaging effects, they can still start infection especially in people with weaker immune systems. Therefore, young children should not be given vaccines because there is high risk of them developing infections that may ultimately cause other effects in the long term. Instead, it is better not to administer vaccinations until a child is a year and a half to three years old and their immune systems have become stable.
The idea of vaccination is not new. Rather, the practice is quite ancient although vaccination usage was not recorded in the early days. In a book by Leon Chaitow entitled “Vaccination and Immunization,” the acupuncturist, osteopath, and naturopath, claims that the father or founder of immunology, Edward Jenner, invented the first vaccine ever recorded. This first vaccine was developed to combat smallpox and was developed by exposing the patient to a cowpox-type bacteria. What Jenner found was that the human body was able to develop its own form of protection against the disease upon exposure to a small quantity of the microorganism. His discovery was so well received that all newborn infants were given the vaccination. This, however, was not to last. The procedure was banned after occurrences of smallpox.
The founder of the Lindlahr Sanitarium, Henry Lindlahr, who was quoted in Vaccination and Immunization, says that smallpox became rife in Germany in 1870 to 1871. Of the one million plus people who caught the disease, as many as 120,000 cases resulted in death. Of these, 96% had received the vaccination, meaning just 4% were ‘unprotected.’ The majority had been vaccinated at least once before they caught smallpox. This led German Chancellor Bismark to inform the different governments in his country that the vaccination was responsible for a number of eczematous diseases and that previous hope of the cowpox virus preventing smallpox had proved wrong.
Despite the prohibition, a French chemist and pioneer of microbiology, Louis Pasteur, again raised the vaccination as a method of immunization. Yet, the say-so of a chemist is not sufficiently credible to restart a procedure that was once banned on humans. Greater credibility is needed from people who deal with and better understand the human body’s physiology.
To add further support to this concept, Australians Archie Kalokerinos and Glen Dettman, the former a physician and the latter a pathologist and medical writer, have contributed to the controversy as follows. Modern-day medicine, and specifically the treatment of disease, has its basis in the germ theory of disease – mostly notably in the theory devised by Louis Pasteur. This theory is founded on the notion that particular diseases are caused by particular organisms and protection against these come from a particular vaccine. There is some doubt about this theory since a number of unprotected Aboriginal infants died, in fact, when given vaccines.
It has been shown throughout history that the invention or development of various vaccines has had its share of pitfalls. The process has caused people to die, most notably young infants, just because they wanted to boost their immune systems and prevent killer diseases. If such vaccinations were delayed, perhaps, until the children’s immune systems were fully developed, death may have been avoided.
As well as the historical lessons there are suggestions that vaccine protection is short-term only and adverse effects will manifest themselves in the longer term. Prime examples are vaccinations against mumps, measles, MMR, polio, and rubella. There are live microorganisms present in vaccines for MMR. According to an article by Bridget Kuahn (published in the Journal of the American Medical Association), the vaccine invented for MMR can result in ferbile seizure and it can lead to inflammation in people whose immune systems are severely deficient. This claim certainly suggests that vaccines can adversely affect the human brain, which is perceived by many members of the public to cause autism. Apart from this worry is the notion that polio can actually be triggered by the vaccine designed to prevent it. Even though polio has been totally eradicated, the vaccine could cause an epidemic to start again. This is because this particular vaccine contains microorganisms that have been inactivated or killed. While the strength or virulence level of the microorganism may have been weakened in terms of ability to bring about disease, it can still start infection especially in those whose immune systems are weak or not fully-developed. In an article by Roberta Kwok (from Burlingame, California) called Vaccines: The Real Issues in Vaccine Safety, there is a good example of this theory. She wrote about a man named Salamone whose son developed polio some while after being vaccinated. Kwok describes how Salamone discovered how vaccines can have very real adverse after-effects, even if these are rare. This man watched his young son became weaker in 1990 not long after being given the oral version of the vaccine. Having undergone physical therapy for around two years and after several visits to his doctor, it was confirmed the infant had polio. The diagnosis was that his immune system had become weakened by the vaccine and he developed the disease. This story demonstrates that we cannot be protected by vaccines but can instead develop a particular disease especially when the body’s immune system is weakened or undeveloped. Having a vaccine enter the human body, whether the microorganism is live or has been killed, will not protect the immune system. Instead, it can destroy those to whom it is given. Therefore, it is better to postpone vaccination until the patient’s immune system is sufficiently mature to create antibodies to defend against live and killed microorganisms.
Furthermore, some world-famous people have campaigned against certain vaccines. For instance, Robert Kennedy, a well-known US politician, advocated that vaccines were not safe, especially those given for measles, mumps, MMR and rubella since they contain thimerosal. The latter is a vaccine preservative to prevent contamination, but it contains mercury, which is neurotoxic or can harm the brain. Kennedy even claimed there was collusion between Government health agencies and Big Pharma to prevent the public becoming aware of the dangers of thimerosal, which he described as a frightening example of institutional arrogance, greed, and power. He therefore concluded that big players in the pharmaceutical industry were poisoning children. Because of the possibility that vaccines may be neurotoxic, new concerns were raised that they may cause autism. Vaccines certainly react differently in different body types, and even if a number of different studies were undertaken, it is likely these will overlook some individuals or some groups of vaccine users. Therefore, journalist David Kirby, a staunch supporter of an activist group on autism, has stood firm in his belief that the thimerosal content in vaccines can cause autism, and that some small groups of children who are particularly vulnerable to vaccines may be missed in more general studies (Vaccination Nation). It is possible that children who developed autism and other longer-term illnesses received their vaccinations when they were very young. Hence, it is best to delay the procedure until essential organs reach full maturity so that they can better cope with any stress caused by microorganisms.
Taking all the issues and arguments into account, it can be confidently said that it is best to delay vaccines until an infant reaches the toddler stage. The reason is that the immune systems in small infants are still undeveloped and essential organs are not sufficiently mature. This can put them at considerable risk of developing infections that may eventually have serious long-term effects. Without exception, parents do not want to poison their children with any vaccine or see them struggle in the long-term with autism and other illnesses. The time has come to understand that vaccines are unsafe and should not be administered to innocent young children while they are still infants.
