Vaccination Nation

Immunizations like Dtap, MMR and the polio vaccination have certainly contributed to a longer healthier quality of life for most people.

By the time a child is six years old here in the United States the CDC (center for disease control) recommends thirty one vaccines.

Some of these doses are received over a span of months in as many as 5 separate doses while others are a one shot deal.

Thirty one doses and the list appears to be growing.

Have we become an over vaccinated nation?

Are these vaccinations really making us healthier?

Or are they making manufacturers of vaccines wealthier?

The latest vaccine controversy is the HPV vaccination called Gardasil.

HPV is human papillomavirus (skin warts or papillomas) that infects the skin and mucous membrane of humans.

There are forty different types of HPV some of which are thought to cause cervical cancer and some of which do nothing and often go completely undetected.

HPV is transmitted through sexual contact.

Gardasil is thought to prevent infection of some of these strands of HPV and therefore decrease the risk of cervical cancer in women who are vaccinated.

Because HPV is transmitted sexually the CDC recommends that women be vaccinated with Gardasil before the age of sexual activity starting as early as 9 and 10 years old.

In addition they recommend that women between the age of 13 and 26 also be vaccinated even though they may have already been sexually active exposing them to HPV.

The idea is that because there are 40 strands of the virus it may still offer protection from the strands they haven't been exposed to.

There is no current test to tell if a woman has ever had HPV and it is not known how long Gardasil offers protection.

Here is the thing.

There is no way to tell if this vaccine would or will ever actually help anyone.

If a young girl receives the vaccination at 9 and never presents with cervical cancer is that a success attributed to the Gardasil vaccination?

What if she does get cervical cancer? Gardasil does not protect against all 40 strands of HPV. Tough break I guess.

A woman 13- 26 gets vaccinated and still gets cervial cancer she was exposed to HPV before being vaccinated?

She gets vaccinated still gets pap smears and never gets cervical cancer? Gardasil or genetics?

She never gets vaccinated has regular pap smears and never gets cervical cancer.

You get the idea.

The CDC lists seven points on their website of things you should know about the Gardasil vaccination.

The seven points range from why it is important to get it and how to pay for it.

The cost being $375 by the way.

What the CDC website does not say is that Gardasil has been linked to over 8,000 Emergency Room visits since it has hit the market in 2006. Including 18 deaths.

Symptoms from the vaccine range from soreness at the injection site to paralysis, seizures, heart attack and death.

Forty-two women who received the vaccine while pregnant spontaneously aborted their baby or their babies were born with severe abnormalities.

Commercial advertisements running on television paint a glorious female bonding picture of mothers, daughters, friends and sisters united together to protect themselves against cervical cancer and its working.

Young girls are flocking to their docs and asking for the shot as reported by CBS .

This irresponsible play on emotion is sickening.

Somebody say just the facts mam, just the facts.

If you listen to the facts that are all crammed into the last 5 seconds of these emotional escapades on TV you'll learn that Gardasil has not been proven to protect against all cervical cancer.

That it may cause blood clotting, nausea and a list of other side effects.

Of course by the time the list is being read on the commercial some people have their heads buried in a tissue and they are already calling their sister to tell her to go get the shot.

I urge you as an optimum health seeker to once again be a critical thinker.

Weigh out the facts, then decide if a vaccination is right for you or your child.

There is just no way to tell how each individual person will react to a drug or vaccination.

And unfortunately, there is no turning back once you've decided to do it.

What may be fine for one person can be life threatening to another.

Ask yourself questions like what are my risks?

Do the benefits out weigh the risks? Can I wait to see what the side effects are before I vaccinate my nine year old?

Finally, research the risks.

Certainly manufacturers aren't going to display the negatives in plain sight but the stories and facts are available to those who search them out.

Remember, it's your health, your body, your decision and your optimum health depends on it.

Tammy Garcia

Wellness Mentor

http://www.vitamarkyourlife.com/