[PROVE] Vaccination Foes Neeling Doctors

[Guest guest]

Vaccination Foes Needling Doctors

By Amy Choate-Nielsen for the Deseret Morning News, Utah.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650214377,00.html

Kara is a staunch believer that you shouldn't give cocktails to

babies, especially if a newborn is injected with one in the arm or foot

before ever leaving the hospital.

But while and a growing population of like-minded parents share

their concerns out loud and on the Internet, others, including a majority of

hospital doctors, say those " cocktails " - also known as vaccines - are

crucial to saving lives.

, 53, although not an expert, recently persuaded her son not to

allow his newborn to receive a hepatitis B vaccine, which is normally

administered within the baby's first 48 hours. did allow her six

children to be vaccinated when they were young, but that was before she

started doing research that generated her ill feelings toward the common

shots.

A quick Web search on " vaccination risks " will gather a variety of Web

sites on the subject. One of those sites is www.909shot.com, which is

published by the National Vaccine Information Center, a nonprofit

organization that advocates reform of the " mass vaccination system, "

according to the Web site.

Other sites, however, such as one published by the Center for Disease

Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov, have links to information that favors

immunizations.

" I haven't felt good about vaccinations since my last child was born

20 years ago, " said. " I did have my kids vaccinated. I just had a

really strong feeling that it wasn't good, but I didn't know why. "

said she doesn't feel comfortable with vaccinating children

because she believes vaccines typically contain formaldehyde and mercury as

preservatives. She also says babies are not susceptible to hepatitis B if

their parents aren't carriers of the virus.

Because she believes that vaccines can be harmful to human health,

said she is skeptical of a system that heavily promotes their use.

" I believe doctors are trained in their medicine, " said. " They

believe that a drug can cure anything, and that's just how they're trained.

I don't blame them and I don't put them down, but I don't think they've been

educated in any other way. "

According to Diane Chipman, immunization coordinator for the Utah

County Department of Health, vaccines are constantly being improved.

For example, Chipman says vaccines created after 1999 for infants no

longer use trace amounts of mercury. Vaccines have a shelf life of about 18

months, Chipman said.

Utah's public school system requires students to meet certain

immunization requirements, but parents can object to the immunizations based

on religious, medical or philosophical reasons. Under those circumstances,

about 5 percent of students in Utah County are not immunized, according to

Dr. ph Miner, director of the Utah County Health Department.

If an outbreak of a communicable disease occurs, non-immunized

children are required to stay home.

According to the department, students born before 1986 are required to

have one vaccination each for rubella and mumps; four shots for diphtheria,

tetanus and pertussis; three polio and two measles vaccinations.

In addition to the previous requirements, children born after 1996 are

required to have an additional DTP and polio vaccine, plus three hepatitis B

vaccinations; one chicken pox vaccination, unless the child has already had

the disease; and two hepatitis A vaccinations.

Children can sometimes have a negative reaction to a vaccine, but the

symptoms are usually only a short-term fever or achiness, Miner said. There

is speculation that vaccinations might be related to autism, but Miner says

the relationship has not yet been proven.

" Anyone who would rationally look at (vaccinations) could not at all

question that the benefits outweigh the risks, " Miner said. " You can choose

to not have your appendix out, if you have a ruptured appendix, because you

don't want surgery. That would be something even less dramatic than refusing

to immunize children. "

Miner says vaccinations have saved thousands of lives. If parents stop

vaccinating their children, Miner says, deadly epidemics are certain to

recur, and the effect would be " disastrous. "

Bill Lawler, a chiropractic physician in Cedar Hills, disagrees.

Lawler recently wrote " Kids are Born to be Healthy, " a book in which he

emphasizes natural treatments and dedicates an entire chapter to vaccination

skepticism.

" I consider myself a wellness practitioner, " Lawler said. " I don't

think I'm an end-all cure. I think I'm part of a team. "

Lawler, 50, did not vaccinate his children, and he argues most of the

diseases with required vaccinations are no longer epidemics because of

" better sanitation and better food supply. "

According to Lawler, many parents vaccinate their children on the

advice of their doctors without doing any research. Although Lawler believes

in using as little over-the-counter medication as possible, he says whether

or not you should use vaccinations boils down to philosophy.

" On day one of life, when you give birth to your first child, you have

to decide immediately, 'Do I believe this beautiful boy or girl has the

capability to be healthy on their own, or do I have to put these

vaccinations in them? " ' Lawler said.

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Dawn

PROVE(Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education)

prove@... (email)

http://vaccineinfo.net/ (web site)

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PROVE provides information on vaccines, and immunization policies and practices

that affect the children and adults of Texas. Our mission is to prevent vaccine

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informed independent vaccination decisions for themselves and their family.

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