Over the last several months I have delved into this subject on many different fronts. Below you will see the list of questions we have discussed so far.

1. Are vaccinated children healthier than non-vaccinated children?
2. Do the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks?
3. What are the real numbers of children being hurt?
4. Are vaccinations “effective”?
5. Are vaccine doses personalized?
6. Can vaccines cause damage that may not surface for years?
7. Can vaccines cause crib death (SIDS)?
8. Did vaccines eliminate diseases?
9. What if we stopped vaccinating?
10. How many people are really getting diseases?

Please review any of the previous articles you may have missed at www.NeighborsNewspaper.com or at my website www.DonohoeChiropractic.com.

This month we’ll be discussing one very important question. This is where “the rubber meets the road” as they say.

11. What’s in a vaccine?

This is what makes all the difference. As we’ve looked into this subject over the last several months, we’ve seen that vaccines have been shown to cause or contribute to disease, both acute and chronic, create damage that may not surface for years and even play a role in sudden infant death syndrome.

How is all this possible? Well if it were a sterile saline solution that was in that hypodermic needle and injected into our children I don’t think we’d be having this discussion! Clearly, the contents of the vaccine are what make the difference and can open the door to all the previously mentioned problems.

To understand how some of the garbage present in vaccines gets in there, we first have to discuss how vaccines are manufactured.

Whether it’s measles, chicken pox or hepatitis the individual virus has to be grown in large quantities. The viruses are grown in/on a “medium” that nourishes it as it reproduces in large numbers. These “medium” include mostly animal tissues comprised of chicken eggs, monkey, cow, sheep, pig and dog tissues. As the virus reproduces it incorporates some of the material from the “medium” into its own makeup and has the potential to infect our bodies with foreign animal material which can include viruses, antibiotics and DNA.

The virus is harvested (along with some “medium”) and then deactivated so that it can be used to stimulate the immune system into a response without guaranteeing an acute infection. This material is then combined with a multitude of preservatives and additives including, but not limited to, gelatin, casein, formalin (formaldehyde), ethylene glycol (antifreeze), latex, genetically modified yeast, and MSG. Formalin is a dilute formaldehyde solution. Nearly 50 studies have shown a link between formaldehyde exposure and leukemia and brain, colon and lymphatic cancer.

Then we throw in the heavy metals mercury and aluminum. Thimerosal is the form of mercury used in vaccines. OK, I know, thimerosal has been removed form our childhood vaccines. Or has it? The truth is that it is now kept below a new lower level. And don’t be fooled – mercury is still present in vaccines given to adults and in every flu vaccine!

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to exist in nature. In the past children have received up to 125 times the safe limit of mercury set by the EPA (autism skyrocketed). Very interesting to note is that symptoms of mercury toxicity resemble those of autism! It’s also worth noting that mercury moves readily across the placenta into fetal tissue. A toxicology journal reported a study in 1986 which stated “regardless of the chemical form administrated, fetal tissues attain concentrations of mercury at least equal to those of the mother.”

At an October 2001 Institute of Medicine conference, Thomas Verstraeten of the Centers for Disease Control (who had since left and is working for GalaxoSmithKlein) stated that it is "biologically plausible" that thimerosal causes autism. This study was not released to the public, it was repressed. About a year later it was discovered and released. Consumer Reports (not known for balanced vaccination reporting) reported: “Even minuscule doses of mercury can impair the cognitive development of babies and young children. Just this year, the FDA warned pregnant and nursing women and very young children to avoid certain mercury-containing fish. Yet until last year, the same agency permitted the use of childhood vaccines containing mercury in quantities that many consider unsafe!”

The International Journal of Toxicology in 2003 published a study on hair samples which showed mercury levels among 94 autistic children was 1/8th that of the 45 normal children. The lower the level of mercury, the worse the autism. Autistic children cannot get rid of mercury so it may accumulate in their brains.

The “new mercury” is Aluminum. Aluminum is a neurotoxin that crosses the blood/brain barrier. It has not been removed from vaccines and is present at levels that are shown to be toxic. Aluminum has been implicated as a cause of brain damage, suspected factor in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, seizures and coma. A recent report on the flu vaccine indicated that, statistically speaking, if one has the flu vaccine 5 years in a row, they are 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s due to the accumulation of aluminum!

This is just a partial list. Parents who are very careful about their child not eating junk food with artificial colors and flavors would be shocked to find out what is injected into their child’s body. Aluminum and mercury in foods for example, is a serious issue and not to be taken lightly but an injected substance is far more dangerous than an ingested substance. Injected substances bypass the immune defenses (skin and mucus membranes etc.) and have direct access to internal organs where they can accumulate.

Next month we will move on to discuss the benefits of actually getting sick and the benefits of naturally acquired immunity vs. artificial immunity.

Dr. Donohoe is a family practice chiropractor who specializes in the unique needs of pregnant women and children. His office is located at 41880 Kalmia St., Suite 135 in Murrieta. He can be reached at 951-677-6500 or through his website at www.DonohoeChiropractic.com.