Vaccination is a controversial topic with chiropractors because of our non-drug and non-surgery approach to health.   This section attempts to present both sides of the vaccination issue.

Vaccination

This section was compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:   Frankp@chiro.org

Vaccination Hysteria Recent headlines on the American College of Physicians website claimed that “Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death for older Americans, causing 300,000 hospitalizations and killing 30,000 to 40,000 Americans every year.”   [2] Those statistics are total rubbish! The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) compiles yearly death rates, categorizing all deaths by cause. During the year 2002, the ACTUAL number of deaths attributed to influenza was only 753.   [3] (See p.16 and the table below)   AND... almost all of those deaths occurred in people over the age of 75, in individuals who had pre-existing serious health conditions, AND weakened immune systems. Accurate statistical analyses are complicated by the fact that the diagnostic codes, which classify diseases (known as “ICD–9 codes”) lump flu and pneumonia together in the same sub-section.   This *could* be why ACP made their mistake, although I seriously doubt it. Here are the actual statistics: DISEASE # of deaths Influenza and pneumonia ....... 65,984 Influenza ................. 753 Pneumonia ................. 65,231 Shamefully, during that same year, when 753 people died from flu complications, 3,454 Americans died from malnutrition — 13 times as many people! It's a shame that we don’t immunize for malnutrition.   [3] Editor's Comment:   The yearly “National Vital Statistics Report: Deaths: Preliminary Data” that is quoted above (Citation #3) has since discontinued breaking out the death rates for "Influenza and pneumonia" into 2 distinct categories, and now lump together the combined incidence, without identifying the deaths caused solely by the flu. My suspicion is that the vaccine industry "fix" is in, and that CDC (or their admin betters) have made it impossible for CDC researchers like Lone Simonsen, Ph.D. (see below) to continue to rattle their chain. More Disturbing Flu Vaccine Statistics Even more upsetting is a study published in 2005 by Lone Simonsen, Ph.D., and his team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes For Health (NIH). They concluded that flu shots have had NO IMPACT AT ALL in reducing deaths from flu complications in people over the age of 65.   [4] Their study discerned no changes in death rates from 1980, when only 20 million people received a flu shot, to more recent years when over 80 million did.   Thus, flu shots appear to be failing to achieve their major objective:   lowering death rates.   [4] Please do NOT dismiss this as an *anti-vaccination* posting.   There is no doubt that vaccinations for polio and smallpox has saved millions of lives. When it comes to vaccinating against nuisance illnesses, I believe that the risk-to-benefit ratio is so vastly reduced that we must look more closely at the actual benefits versus the health risks.

	Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a Cooperative Program for Vaccine Safety of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). VAERS is a post-marketing safety surveillance program, collecting information about adverse events (side effects) that occur after the administration of US licensed vaccines. Reports are welcome from all concerned individuals: patients, parents, health care providers, pharmacists, and vaccine manufacturers.
	Early Life Infections Improve the Function of the Immune System American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic 2006 (Apr); 16 (2): 22–25 This collection of medical citations presented by Dan Murphy, DC demonstrates that early exposure to antibiotic use and Pertussis vaccination contribute to the development of atopic disorders such as asthma, and hay fever, and may also be associated with the onset of pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia. Our thanks to the American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic for releasing this article exclusively at Chiro.Org!
	California Bans Mercury-containing Vaccines for Pregnant Women and Kids Pregnant women and children younger than 3 in California will soon no longer receive vaccines containing more than a trace of mercury, under a law approved this week. Vaccines for those groups will contain no more than a trace of thimerosal (termed thimerosal-free in the industry)—a preservative in some vaccines that contains ethyl mercury. The law takes effect in July 2006, according to news services.
	Doctor's Group Opposes Vaccine Mandates A leading national physician organization [American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)] is calling for a moratorium on all government mandated vaccines and has passed a resolution to that end at their annual meeting. The members of the Association voted this week at their 57th Annual Meeting in St. Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no" vote. "Our children face the possibility of death or serious long-term adverse effects from mandated vaccines that aren't necessary or that have very limited benefits," said Jane M. Orient, MD, AAPS Executive Director. You may want to review their Resolution Concerning Mandatory Vaccines. You may also want to review their Fact Sheet on Mandatory Vaccination.
	Who Will Pay for the Adverse Events Resulting From Smallpox Vaccination? Liability and Compensation Issues NHPF Issue Brief 2003 (Mar 12);   788:   1–15 This paper summarizes liability and compensation concerns surrounding the smallpox vaccination program announced by President Bush on December 13, 2002. The paper examines the nature of adverse health events that are likely to occur in connection with the smallpox vaccine, assesses the liability protections that have been established for organizations and individuals participating in the vaccination program, and discusses the compensation mechanisms being considered to address the damages incurred by volunteers who may suffer from adverse vaccine reactions. Specifically, the implications of the Federal Tort Claims Act, workers' compensation programs, and the creation of a new no-fault compensation fund are explored.
	Chiropractic Students' Attitudes about Vaccination: A Cause for Concern? Canadian Medical Association Journal 2002 (Jun 11);   166 (12) In the survey reported on page 1531 of this issue, Busse and colleagues discovered an unsettling trend during the professional education of chiropractic students. The authors found that while some students had negative attitudes toward vaccination on entering their training for the profession, many others appeared to develop such attitudes as they progressed through their studies. Yet the core curriculum of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC), where the survey was conducted, teaches both immunology and health promotion and is itself supportive of vaccination. In addition, the policy viewpoint of the Canadian Chiropractic Association also supports vaccination as it is currently practised in Canada. The Busse article “Attitudes Toward Vaccination: A Survey of Canadian Chiropractic Students” concluded that “Most CMCC students reported pro-vaccination attitudes, but there appeared to be an increase in anti-vaccination attitudes as students progressed through the CMCC program. This pattern was seen almost exclusively among students who relied primarily on informal sources of vaccine information rather than on core CMCC lectures or prior lectures at university.”
	The Virus and the Vaccine The Atlantic Monthly February 2000 A simian virus known as SV40 has been associated with a number of rare human cancers. This same virus contaminated the polio vaccine administered to 98 million Americans from 1955 to 1963. Federal health officials see little reason for concern. A growing cadre of medical researchers disagree
	Vaccine Extraimmunization - Too Much of a Good Thing? JAMA. 2000 (Mar 8);   283 (10):   1311–1317 The article by Feikema and colleagues in this issue of JAMA suggests that extraimmunization of children occurs considerably more often than previously appreciated. Using data from the National Immunization Survey, Feikema et al examined the immunization histories of more than 22,000 children aged between 19 and 35 months.
	"Shots in the Dark" – An article on the effects of Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) shots The Washington Post   Sunday, Aug. 30, 1998 According to the handout that the federal Centers for Disease Control requires pediatricians to provide parents, the complications from DPT shots are these: 1 in 100 DPT shots will provoke prolonged crying or high fever in an infant; 1 in 1,700 will cause a brief seizure or state of shock. Over the decades, several hundred million pertussis shots have been given around the world – today, nearly 90 percent of American 2-year-olds have been immunized – but there still is no agreement on the graver reactions to the vaccine. The literature has recorded hundreds of instances – perhaps 1 in every 300,000 shots – in which children died within a few days of a DPT shot, or suffered recurring seizures that brought on retardation or other chronic brain damage.
	Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education We provide information on vaccines, and the immunization policies and practices that affect the children and adults of Texas. Our mission is to prevent vaccine injury and death and to promote and protect the right of every person to make informed independent vaccination decisions for themselves and their families.
	Australian Vaccination Network A parent's right to choose what's best for their child...some would say that this is one of the most basic rules of any civilised society. Yet governments all over the world have abridged or denied the right to free choice when it comes to vaccination for our children or ourselves. The Australian Vaccination Network is working to help parents take back that right to free and informed choice by allowing them to see both sides of this issue before making a decision.
	World Health Organization (WHO) Vaccine and Immunization Page WHO is committed to: (a) To ensure the quality and safety of vaccines and other biological medicines through the development and establishment of global norms and standards, (b) To assess the strategies and activities for reducing morbidity and mortality of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), and (c) To reduce financial and technical barriers to the introduction of new and existing vaccines and immunization-related technologies.

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Since 3–01–1998

Updated 5-07-2022