July 24, 2007

A Message From The CDC

Julie Obradovic sums it up nicely.

Congratulations on your new baby! And Welcome to the War on Disease!
By Julie Obradovic
The Rescue Post

We're the CDC and we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. We'll be working closely over the next several years, and we need to get acquainted more quickly than you think!

Our job as the Center for Disease Control is to control infectious disease as well as possible. We believe that while nutrition and sanitation have substantially reduced the level of infectious disease in our world, the most important tool in doing so has been herd immunity via vaccinations. Admittedly, we have no proof to substantiate this. (For example, the Measles was 97% eradicated by the time the vaccine was developed.)

By now, your brand new little soldier may have already received his or her first piece of equipment (a vaccination) without you even knowing it!

In the late 1980's, the development of the Hepatitis B vaccine allowed us to provide a newborn with protection from this disease within hours of birth. Hepatitis B is a dangerous virus that is usually spread via an infected mother, sexually promiscuous people, and/or intravenous drug users; however, it can also be spread in hospitals, which is likely where you are now. Because of this risk, we believe getting this vaccine into your child as soon as possible is the most responsible thing we can do, with or without your permission or proper understanding. It is imperative you trust us if our relationship is to work.

Over the last several decades, scientists have been able to develop many vaccines to help eradicate and/or control dangerous (and sometimes just-plain-annoying) diseases. In fact, whereas in 1983 children only had the benefit of 10 vaccines for 7 viruses before kindergarten, they now have the benefit of 36! (And the list keeps on growing! Right now, there are over 300 new vaccines in the works! Imagine!)

Of course, all medical benefits come with their risks. We feel strongly, however, that the benefits far outweigh them. You probably don't remember the days when thousands of people suffered or died from diseases like Polio, the Measles, and Diphtheria. Allowing a child to suffer from those and other diseases in an era where we can possibly prevent them is frankly, irresponsible. Furthermore, without your participation in the vaccination program, these diseases may resurface even stronger than before. Ultimately, you might be putting your own child and others at great risk.

In the interest of transparency, however, here are some things to consider about us:

For starters, you should know we function with a high conflict of interest: We are in charge of promoting vaccines, ensuring their safety, and finding ourselves guilty of neglect if they are not. We profit from vaccines substantially, and almost all of our scientists are working simultaneously for the private pharmaceutical companies who manufacture them.

Surprisingly, we can actually not be held liable in a court of law for anything that happens if something goes wrong. In fact, if your child should have a negative vaccine reaction (which we emphasize is very, very rare), you will need to take it up with a specially created "Vaccine Court". Limitations on when you can use this resource do exist for our protection, and therefore if you do not realize your child's negative reaction was due to his/her vaccine within that statute, you are unfortunately without much recourse.

Moreover, any monetary settlement that you receive should the "Vaccine Court" find us liable will actually be paid by you, the consumer; Every vaccine given to children has a $0.75 surcha rge attached that funds these settlements. (In other words, if we mess up, you pay for us to defend ourselves and give you compensation!)

This of course, is in your best interest, as we might not survive a sympathetic jury awarding an astronomical settlement to the few children's families that are ever affected negatively. If that were to happen, pharmaceutical companies might lose the incentive to produce vaccines (which is money), putting all of us at great risk for infection. Truly, we are at the mercy of their bottom line if as a society we want to remain disease-free. As harsh as that reality is, you can surely understand how important your cooperation and participation is for the benefit of the masses. Without you, the system just doesn't work.

Specific risks of vaccination, again rare, include but are not limited to death, seizure, paralysis, mental retardation, loss of motor skills, and other life-threatening, life-altering conditions. We have the ability to identify at-risk children for these reactions, but choose not to because of the expense, and the reality that if we did it in our country, we'd have to do it in others. We simply don't have those resources, and therefore, have decided it's best no one receive special treatment. You will simply not know if your child will have a negative reaction until it is too late. (And, you will unlikely be able to prove it actually was, as the majority of our personally funded research shows vaccines rarely, if ever, do harm.)

The ingredients of a vaccine include but are not limited to, mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, chicken embryos, monkey cells and aborted fetus diploid cells. (Yes, some vaccines contain aborted human fetus cells.) None of these ingredients has ever been individually tested for safety, even though some are neurotoxins. We believe, however, that the small amount of them used prohibits any possible negative effect. We have no proof of this belief.

Vaccines are not regularly studied in combination for any negative consequences they may have when used cumulatively versus individually, even though they are not given individually.

Vaccines have never been studied for long term consequences such as cancer or autoimmune conditions. We simply don't know what consequence they have long term, as we have never studied the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated, and have no plans to do so. The answers to such a study may cause a panic that would prevent people from participating in the program, a potential public-health disaster.

Your doctor will use his/her preferred brand of the required immunizations. Each brand contains different ingredients and different amounts of them. In order to know what they are, you will have to research that privately, as a list of ingredients in lay men's terms will not be provided for you upon your well-baby visits. (As a side note, questioning the doctor about this matter may prove uncomfortable and awkward, as your physician will probably take it personally that you are questioning his/her judgment.)

Vaccinating your child is the law in most states, although there are exceptions. If you chose to opt out of the system, you will be forced to provide a religious or medical exemption that you may or may not have, while signing damaging documentation that acknowledges you are willingly putting your child at great risk and are possibly an unfit parent. You may be investigated for child abuse or neglect as a result. Only a few states allow a philosophical exemption. Entry into a public or private school setting will require compliance with the law of your state.

Vaccines do not work on every person. For some, one is plenty, for others, several are needed. To save time and money, we just give everyone several of them to be sure. The vaccination schedule is universal and not concerned with your individual child’s needs.

Your pediatrician may be compensated based on how well his/her patients follow our vaccination schedule. You can expect a lot of pressure if you don’t comply, and in some instances may be asked to leave the practice.

Finally and most important, your input on how, when and why to vaccinate your child is not welcome. Unless you are one of us, we believe you simply do not have the expertise to know what is best for your child.

Again, to emphasize, we promote the vaccines, profit from them, investigate ourselves for neglect and cannot be held liable if we have committed it. We insist vaccines cause minimal harm, but do not allow independent researchers to validate our claim. (Even though thousands of parents swear their child's Crib Death or Developmental Delay, such as Autism, is due to their vaccine, we vehemently deny this with our own research. We do admit they can and do cause speech delay.) You pay for our legal troubles and your own compensation if it is awarded through a special vaccine court. You have to participate in this program as mandated by law or your parental fitness may be questioned and your child may not be allowed to attend public school. We do not know if your child will have a negative reaction to vaccines until it is too late, even though we have the resources to know otherwise. None of our products or their ingredi ents has been independently tested for cumulative use or long term safety. Questioning your doctor about this system or our product may result in his/her refusal to work with you.

Admittedly, it's not a perfect system, but it's what we've got to offer you. Participate, and accept the aforementioned risks of our flawed program, our lack of safety studies, and a possible debilitating negative reaction, or opt out, and accept the risk of polio and other life altering diseases that you may have prevented in your child (not to mention the difficulty in finding a doctor or attending school). Not a great choice, we know, but one all parents must make.

Ultimately, just trusting us is best for everyone involved.

In conclusion, please remember that in the event your child is hurt via his/her vaccinations, you can take comfort in knowing it was for the greater good. In all wars, some equipment back-fires and there are casualties. While it will be heartbreaking and guilt-ridden, your sacrifice ensures the safety of others. We respectfully remind you though, your little soldier’s sacrifice will only be quietly acknowledged, if at all, so as not to alarm other parents or care-takers. Your quiet suffering is appreciated and expected, and you will likely receive no public sympathy or support from the society who benefited from your family's sacrifice. Unlike other wars, your child will not be considered a hero, no plaque or medal will be issued to him/her, and no public display to honor him/her exists. You will still be expected to have your other children participate in this war regardless and promote the program for others, or risk public criticism and scrutiny. Speaking out about your negative experience and safety concerns will undoubtedly render society to question your mental and parental fitness and is highly frowned upon as irresponsible rhetoric.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know us. And thanks for being a team player. We hope this has informed you about the reality of vaccinating your child. And once again, Welcome to the War on Disease! Together, we will win!

Sincerely,

The CDC

1 comment:

Sara said...

this was wonderful Thank you so much for sharing this. I also have a son with autism and now with a 7 month old daughter people question why I delay shots. I will be sure to forward this.