Artificial Outrage

There’s an old saying that goes, “If you’re not outraged, you haven’t been paying attention.”  What amazes me isn’t that people get angry about healthcare today, but the specific health issues they choose to become upset about while entirely disregarding more serious, far-reaching and immediate threats to our health and well-being.  Without exception, the one healthcare issue that consistently draws the most violent reaction from the media, certain healthcare agencies, special interest groups and a small but misinformed portion of the public is vaccines. It seems odd that people who have had themselves and their children vaccinated would become so enraged at the idea that other people have chosen not to do so. Doesn’t everyone have sovereignty over their own body and by extension the right to make healthcare decisions based on what they believe is best for themselves and their families?  

A Plague of Misperceptions

Perhaps this outrage comes from fear due in large part to the widely-held misconception that epidemics are common, fast-moving and kill millions of people. This is largely false. A quick study of disease outbreaks throughout history will reveal that the death tolls of 74% of all epidemics weren’t even recorded, quite possibly because they were so small. The remaining 26% of outbreaks includes 22 epidemics that list death tolls of less than 1,000, most of which only reached double digits. In the majority of the remaining handful of cases, death tolls are usually listed as “less than 50,000.” Well, less than 50,000 could be 49 or 49,000. As you can see, epidemic death toll record-keeping was far from an exact science throughout history.  To find an epidemic in modern times that killed 1 million people we have to go back to the Hong Kong flu of 1968, but the outbreak was worldwide, spread across an approximate population of 5 billion people at the time. To add even more perspective, over half that death toll (approximately 569,000 people) die of cancer in the United States alone each year.  

Even a casual glance over the list of historical epidemics immediately reveals that nearly all the outbreaks occurred in poor and developing countries where even today unhealthy hygiene practices, overcrowding and a lack of proper civil sanitation systems continues to be the leading cause of disease outbreaks, not un-vaccinated people.

Vaccine supporters often hold the belief that the decline of infectious diseases in Europe was due to the development of immunizations, but the historical record does not support this claim. After installing proper civil sanitation systems, Europe saw a dramatic decline in the number of disease outbreaks almost immediately, and this was long before vaccines or even antibiotics were invented. In fact, between 1860 and 1965 death rates from the large infectious diseases like typhoid, pneumonia, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and others had already dropped by 90% not only because of improvements in sanitation systems and hygiene, but because the human immune system was evolving naturally to eradicate them.

Far From Full Protection 

One of the biggest fears of vaccine supporters is that the unvaccinated are prime targets for pathogens and if infected, will set off a wildfire epidemic wherever they go. Obviously, this isn’t happening, but if it were true, why should they worry? They’ve been vaccinated! They’ve opted for what they’ve been told is total protection against these same diseases. It seems somewhat of a contradiction that their fear of the unvaccinated is an informal admission that vaccines don’t really work. Even worse, evidence shows it just might be vaccinated people themselves that are the disease risk.  In late December 2014, there was a measles outbreak in California linked to exposure at Disneyland that affected a group of 51 adults and children. It immediately brought out the usual rage from the standard pro-vaccine groups. Although infectious disease experts never discovered the source, that didn’t stop the media from blaming some nameless, faceless unvaccinated child as the cause. What the media didn’t share until a week later and without giving it hardly any attention was the fact that vaccinated children who’d received the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine (MMR) also caught the measles right along with the unvaccinated children.  Two things are important here. If vaccines really provided the protection that’s claimed, then none of the vaccinated children at Disneyland should have gotten the measles, but that’s not what happened. In fact, media reports that claimed “most” of the infected children were unvaccinated eventually evolved to read “some” of the infected children were unvaccinated.  Much research exists showing that the measles vaccine doesn’t provide the promised protection. Just one example is a study published in the American Journal of Diseases of Children back in 1965 that showed while antibodies were high in blood samples from children one month after receiving their third injection of the measles vaccine, antibodies were undetectable in the blood of 77% of the children when tested one year later. After receiving a booster shot, 31% of the remaining children (about 1 in 3) still showed no antibodies nine months later.  Interestingly, a measles outbreak occurred in the location and during the 2½ years this study was taking place. It was determined that 125 vaccinated children from the original sample had been exposed to the disease either at home or at school. Of that group, 54 (or 43.2%) developed measles. The researchers would go on to conclude: “It is obvious that three injections of killed vaccine had not protected a large percentage of children against measles when exposed within a period of two-and-a-half years after immunization.”  

The Cure as Disease

It’s been known since the 1960’s that in a high percentage of cases, the measles vaccine can predispose a person to and not protect them from the disease later in life. It’s believed that contracting what’s called atypical measles (AMS) in a vaccinated person is caused by an altered immune hypersensitivity reaction to a natural measles infection due to having previously been injected with the virus. In fact, atypical measles have developed in children up to six years after being vaccinated. This is why reports exist of measles outbreaks among groups of 100% vaccinated people, including a high school in Illinois where records showed all students received the MMR vaccine and yet an outbreak of measles affected 16 of them. Interestingly, an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the “attack rate” of the disease was four times greater for students who’d received the vaccine 10 or more years before the outbreak as toddlers or babies as opposed to those who’d been vaccinated more recently.  

The point is that not only does the MMR vaccine not provide its promised protection, it’s very possible that the Disneyland measles outbreak was caused by a vaccinated child. It’s also very likely that any outbreak of measles today may very well be attributed to the vaccinations themselves.

Measles mortality rates from the Vital Statistics of the United States clearly show the disease was being naturally abated and in sharp decline with infections falling by 98% in the US between 1917 and 1945. (The vaccine for measles wasn’t even available until 1963!) Of course, there is also the glaring fact that according to the CDC’s own data as reported through the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), there were zero deaths from measles in the US in the 12 years between 2002 and 2014. In that same time period, 108 people died as a result of adverse effects from receiving the MMR vaccine. Since then, the CDC has reported only one death from measles in 2015, however finding real data on the age, sex or circumstances of that isolated case has proved virtually impossible. According to my own VAERS search, 12 more people died from the MMR vaccine between 2015 and 2018, the last year for statistics, raising the death toll to 120 since 2002.   

The Fine Print

In spite of these facts and a great deal of additional research, vaccine supporters continue to push the assumed efficacy and safety of vaccines on the public, and none receive more blind, cult-like endorsement and advertising than the flu vaccine. It might surprise vaccine supporters to know that the manufacturer’s paper insert that comes with every box of the flu vaccine, Flulaval, states the following:                       “…there have been no controlled trials adequately demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with Flulaval.”  This means that the flu vaccine has never been clinically tested, and there is no proof that it protects against influenza. Yet the argument for vaccines is entirely based on the idea that scientific evidence proves they provide near total protection against disease. Would you put something in your body that was never tested for efficacy or safety, but simply put out to the public for mass consumption?  “Safety and effectiveness of Flulaval have not been established in pediatric patients.”“Flulaval has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential or for impairment of fertility.”  “There are, however, no adequate and well controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, Flulaval should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”This last remark merely states the obvious — that animals sometimes have different responses than humans to a certain substance, but this is not a disclosure that any animal studies were actually conducted with the flu vaccine either. It clearly states, however, that pregnant women should avoid the vaccine.  While it self-admittedly doesn’t provide protection against infection, the flu vaccine does offer:“Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative. Each… dose contains 50mcg of Thimerosal. Each dose may also contain residual amounts of ovalbumin, formaldehyde, and sodium deoxycholate from the manufacturing process.”Mercury is one of the most powerful neurotoxins known to science, formaldehyde is toxic to the body, and those with egg allergies may experience a reaction to the ovalbumin. Potential problems caused by accumulated mercury from regular vaccinations over time is a great concern.While the flu vaccine doesn’t provide any disease protection that’s backed by actual scientific evidence, it does offer more than 40 side effects that range from dizziness to debilitating neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The vaccine insert states:“…the following adverse events have been identified during post-approval use of Flulaval… Adverse events described here are included because a.) they represent reactions which are known to occur during immunization generally or influenza immunizations specifically b.) they are potentially serious or c.) the frequency of reporting.  “Blood and lymphatic disorders… gastrointestinal disorders… infections and infestations… cellulitis… convulsions and seizures… cranial nerve paralysis… limb paralysis… Guillain-Barre Syndrome… encephalopathy (unspecified brain malfunction)*… arthritis… muscle weakness…” (*Clarification provided by the author.)  

Redirecting the Anger

This was a critical and logical examination of the safety and efficacy of just two vaccines of which there are many. In light of this information, it’s obvious why millions of people would exercise their freedom to not expose themselves or their children to medical interventions that have admittedly never been clinically tested, provide no scientific evidence that they actually work, contain dangerous toxins, predispose them to the infections they claim to prevent and frequently cause serious and sometimes debilitating physical conditions, including death. 

Based on these facts, it makes no sense that vaccine supporters become outraged at people who simply make different medical choices, especially when there are countless real problems that pose much larger and more immediate dangers to the health of America.

So perhaps they should:

• Be outraged that prescription drugs, taken as directed, kill 100,000 people each year.  (That’s one person every five minutes!) Vioxx killed 38,000 people between 1999 and 2006. The flu kills practically no one. At worst, chicken pox killed 100 people per year.  
• Be outraged that while genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in 90% of our food supply have been proven to damage health, fertility and DNA, the US government refuses to follow 64 other nations and ban them or even allow a label to be placed on products so people can know what they’re eating. 
• Be outraged at the millions of gallons of pesticides, herbicides and hormones that are sprayed on or injected into the fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products millions of Americans consume each day that contribute to serious health problems. 
• Be outraged that your laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets all contain known carcinogens that you’re breathing in all day long as you wear your clothes. Long-term exposure to these toxins kill many more people than mumps (a virus that doesn’t actually cause anyone to die).
• Be outraged at mega-corporations spewing pollution into the environment containing chemicals and heavy metals like mercury and aluminum that are known to cause cancer, auto-immune disease and a host of other illnesses that kill tens of millions of people. Even the worldwide death toll of measles is infinitesimal compared to those injured and killed by exposure to environmental toxins. 
• Be outraged that generations of women were convinced to not breastfeed their babies, leaving their children with weakened immune systems. Where is the anger that 33% of all babies today are born via (mostly unnecessary) c-sections, denying them passage through the birth canal which provides important mucosa exposure that’s crucial for inoculating the gut with vital microbes and providing proper immune function?

If we do not support the freedoms of others, our ability to choose will soon become the target of those who would decide how we all should live, and that indeed would be an outrage.   For more health and inspirational insights from Dr. Sadeghi, visit Behiveofhealing.com to sign up for the monthly newsletter or check out his annual health and well-being journal, MegaZEN here. For daily messages of encouragement and humor, follow him on Twitter at Behiveofhealing.