A vaccine is a preparation containing the weakened or killed microorganisms that cause a particular disease. When these substances are injected or taken orally, the body stimulates the immune system to produce the necessary defenses against that disease. Adverse reactions to vaccines can occur because of the organisms introduced into the body.
Vaccine related damage provokes controversy of whether vaccines are good or bad. Vaccines and diseases both pose risk so it is hard to decide which side to take. Unfortunately, few studies of the long-term risks of vaccines exist. In July, as a pre-cursor to hearings into thimerosal-containing vaccines and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of exposure to them, Immunization Safety Review Committee questioned Dr. Laszlo Magos, author of Physiology and Toxicology of Mercury and an internationally known expert in field. Two questions he was asked with his answers are as included:
Have there been any studies, including animal studies, which have looked specifically at infant ethylmercury exposure and the effect on neurological development?
"No, it has not been studied."
What is thought to be currently the best hypothesis (if any) regarding the mechanism of neurotoxic mechanism of neurotoxicity of organic Hg (mercury)?
"Unfortunately, there is no answer. Chang (1996) suggested four "major thoughts" on the mechanism of actions. These "thoughts" have not reached the level of a hypotheses, and even less the level of 'the best hypothesis'."
While parents struggle to make hard decisions involving the safety of their children with vaccination, they receive mixed messages from the experts. Though no vaccines are perfectly safe the FDA has gone from deeming thimerosal unsafe to asking vaccine manufacturers to voluntarily phase-out thimerosal from their products. People are now wondering if the vaccines containing thimerosal are in fact safe to use while clinics are using up the extra supplies they have kept stock of since the 1998 FDA request.
Vaccination may damage children in several ways. Live or attenuated virus vaccination can actually produce the infection that the vaccine is supposed to prevent. For example, live polio should never be administered to a child who comes in contact with an HIV patient, for the attenuated virus can "leap" to the HIV patient and produce polio. Reports exist of normal parents who have developed polio from the viral vaccine given to their children.
A second mechanism of damage comes from neurotoxic materials found sometimes in vaccines. Thimerosal is the most widely discussed, since it contains mercury. The amount is small. Each vaccine is equivalent to the amount of mercury found in a 6 oz. can of tuna fish. Nevertheless, some argue that even these levels may be important in a vulnerable child.
The third, and probably the most important theory of vaccine damage, relates to allergic reactions and the development of an autoimmune response, stimulated by the vaccine and its adjuvant. Vaccines always contain adjuvants, which are substances known to amplify the body's response to the vaccine. These adjuvants are known to sometimes cause allergic and auto-immune responses on their own.
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