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Needles Or Not – Flu Debate

Authored by Dawson Winchester
Reprinted with permission
St. Thomas Times-Journal October 7, 2000

Time again for the annual ‘needles or not’ flu debate. If it weren’t such a damn serious subject it could be considered a silly and immature debate. But it is serious. Deadly serious for your children, loved ones, and yourself if you make the wrong choice. We’re talking about the annual debate over whether it is safe, prudent, or unwise to get a flu vaccine shot.

Should you or shouldn’t you? On the one hand we have the medical establishment, much of the mainstream media, scientists, the government, and the pharmaceutical industry telling us that it is vital to our health to get an annual flu shot. It is a given that the medical establishment would support the use of flu vaccine. Most (but not all) medical doctors operate their practices in conjunction with the drug companies, with a pen and a prescription pad always close at hand. (“Take two pills and call me in the morning.”)

It’s a mystery to me why the mainstream media imagines they know enough about medical matters to endorse the use of flu vaccines. This newspaper, for instance, in a recent editorial promoting flu vaccine, said of a new study: “…those who received the vaccine had 25 per cent fewer episodes of upper respiratory illness…(and) 44 per cent fewer visits to the doctor’s office…than those who did not receive the flu shot.” The editorial, however, did not mention how many people were involved in the study, where and when it took place, or how many people (if any) in the study suffered adverse reactions to the vaccine. Nor did the editorial give any numbers for the people who did NOT receive the flu vaccine and did NOT suffer any illness. Neither was the margin of error in such a study stated, leaving us with just a couple of rather meaningless percentages that proved absolutely nothing.

The record of government in the field of medicine being what it is, tainted blood and all, why would anyone take their word on the efficacy of any vaccine? The pharmaceutical industry? Would you expect these multi-billion dollar companies to tell you of their failures, the times when the drugs they manufactured caused severe illness, and death? Hardly. They are in the business of selling pharmaceutical drugs, and they do it solely for profit. The more vaccines they sell the greater their profit. End of story. Period.

Looking at the anti-vaccine position we find other health care professionals, scientists, and an increasingly vocal number of concerned citizens telling us that it is vital to our health to say “no” to those advocating flu shots. Caught in the middle of this medical crossfire, what’s a concerned citizen supposed to do? Well, if we could be so bold as to make a simple suggestion, it would be as follows. Read, study, and find out everything you possibly can about the pros and cons of vaccines. Don’t just take someone else’s word that vaccines “are good for you!” And don’t take someone else’s word that vaccines “are bad for you!” Make your decision based on your own research!

There are books by the score; check with your local library. And the Internet has more to offer on the subject than the average person could probably read in a lifetime. But, if you are selective, and skip over a lot of the far-fetched nonsense, you will find a wealth of genuine, valid, helpful, information. You can study and be the judge of what manner of treatment is right and what is wrong for yourself, your family, and loved ones. If you type in “flu vaccine” or “flu vaccine reactions” on any computer search engine you will come up with sites advocating and sites condemning the use of flu vaccines.

Sites that promote the use of vaccines tend to deal more with statistics than specifics. (“Influenza infects 10 to 20 per cent of the population, causing about 4,000 deaths, 70,000 hospitalizations, and 1.5 million lost work days in Canada annually.”) Sites that are anti-vaccine can be pretty specific, as in the following detailed description from the Thinktwice website on how vaccines are actually made: “To begin one must first acquire the disease germ, a toxic bacterium or a live virus. To make a “live” vaccine, the live virus must be attenuated, or weakened for human use. This is accomplished by serial passage – passing the virus through animal tissue several times to reduce its potency. For example measles virus is passed through chicken embryos, polio virus through monkey kidneys, and the rubella virus through human diploid cells – the dissected organs of an aborted fetus! “Killed” vaccines are “inactivated” through heat, radiation, or chemicals. “The weakened germ must then be strengthened with adjuvants (antibody boosters) and stabilizers. This is done by adding drugs, antibiotics, and toxic disinfectants to the concoction: neomycin, streptomycin, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum hydrochloride, sorbitol, hydrolized gelatin, formaldehyde, and thimerosal (a mercury derivative).

“Aluminum, formaldehyde, and mercury are extremely toxic substances with a long history of documented hazardous effects. Studies confirm again and again that microscopic doses of these substances can lead to cancer, neurological damage, and death. Yet each of them may be found in childhood vaccines. “In addition to the deliberately planned additives, unanticipated matter may contaminate the shots. For example, during serial passage of the virus through animal cells, animal RNA and DNA – foreign genetic material – is transferred from one host to another. Because this biological matter is injected directly into the body, researchers say it can change our genetic makeup. “Undetected animal viruses may jump the species barrier as well. This is exactly what happened during the 1950s and 1960s when millions of people were infected with polio vaccines that were contaminated with the SV-40 virus undetected in the monkey organs used to prepare the vaccines.

SV-40 (Simian Virus #40, the 40th such virus detected since researchers began looking), is considered a powerful immunosuppressor and trigger for HIV, the name given to the AIDS virus. It is said to cause a clinical condition similar to AIDS, and has been found in brain tumors, leukemia, and other human cancers as well. Researchers consider it to be a cancer-causing virus. “What happens next, once this foul concoction – live viruses, bacteria, toxic substances, and diseased animal matter – is created? This witch’s brew is forced into the healthy child.” Remember, the decision whether or not to vaccinate is a personal one. Don’t be rushed in making your choice. Investigate until you are completely satisfied that you are doing the right thing. Your life, and the lives of your children and loved ones can depend on whether you make an informed and correct decision. Good health, and caveat emptor.


Dawson Winchester is a St. Thomas freelance writer.
His column appears every Saturday in the St. Thomas Times-Journal.
Dawson Winchester’s “The View From here”

planetc1.com-news @ 12:38 pm | Article ID: 972502691

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