(Originally posted on 7/6/2007)

Friends and patients will recall that I've always said that the theory of vaccination is a sound one.  The idea of introducing a small amount of a disease-causing "bug" into the body to initiate an immune system reaction, resulting in antibodies and subsequent immunity to that particular bug is, on its face, an entirely reasonable notion.  It is the execution of the theory that I object to.

As is so often the case with current technology capabilities, I find myself thinking... "Just because we can brew a vaccine for nearly every known pathogen, does that mean that we should?"  Add to that my "follow the money" charge, as well as our societal attitude (wrong-headed as it is) that we can somehow defeat germs and become disease-free, and vaccinations-in-practice becomes a very messy proposition indeed.

An article by Dr. Joseph Mercola has caused me to wonder:  "Was there ever a time that vaccinations-in-practice, made sense?"  Or, even more to the point:  "Do vaccinations-in-practice make sense in any setting today?"

It could be that in countries which are very poor, where basic nutrition is awful and basic hygiene is absent.......where the specter of preventable disease is so overwhelming, that mass vaccination will almost certainly improve the public health from the status quo ~ even if you factor in the poor manufacturing practices and adverse reactions of vaccines.

As I thought about it, I found that I could even allow that maybe the 3rd World country above was us, U.S., decades ago....... but does it still make sense for us today?... Or have we been so bewitched by the promise of the power of vaccines that we can't see any other way, even in the face of pharma-political corruption, epidemic levels of chronic illness, and the pervading fear-as-sales-tactic antics of the vaccine industry?

Dr. Mercola summarizes it this way:  “Epidemiologic studies…have shown that as families improve their living conditions, hygiene, nutrition, literacy and education, the risk of life-threatening acute infectious, inflammatory diseases very much decreases....... Families with good living conditions, hygiene, nutrition and education probably would benefit from vaccinations very little or not at all."  This an extremely damning statement, given the toxicity of the brews that comprise our vaccines.  Damage with no benefit.......flies directly in the face of the Hypocratic Oath, no?

Our needs (and our kids' needs) change as we learn to take better care of ourselves and our families.  Isn't it time that our health care system catch up a little bit?