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About Vaccinations

28. november 2005
 
Ministry of Health
Šubičeva 4
1000 Ljubljana
 
Subject: regulation about vaccinations
 
Greetings,
 
In the process of adapting the regulation about vaccination, our Congregation would like to share its concern, and comment.
 
More and more people are aware of pro and cons of vaccination, get relevant information, and might object on the basic of: 
Medical information, Religions, and Philosophy.
 
Please find attached our commentaries and suggestions.
 
Thank you for your attention,
 
Lama Shenphen Rinpoche
Abbot of the Buddhist Congregation Dharmaling
 

Commentary on the vaccination act

 
I) Medical:
The vaccines are not harmless substances, but can have very serious impact and side-effects (from mild reactions to death, though highly invalidating immune reaction and long process of deterioration of the whole immune system).
 
II) Religions:
Some vaccines are containing animal products.
Making and keeping up-to-date vaccines requires lot of animal testing.
 
III) Philosophy:
The compulsory factor, over a substance which is not free from serious side-effect, is a type of violence against human dignity to choose his own destiny and life.
 
I. From a MEDICAL point of view
1. Causes of vaccine accidents
* the vaccine stock itself (infectious or allergic accident), 
* an accidental contamination or by insufficiency of  Purification of the vaccine stock, 
* the resumption of virulence of an alive vaccine (case of the vaccine polio oral examination and sometimes of the BCG), 
* an allergy or an intoxication caused by one of the components of the vaccine (preserving, antibiotic, additives of immunity) or with the residues of the manufacturing process (residues of the culture medium, the products of inactivation or disinfectants or antibiotics used during manufacture), 
* a bad process of injection or a bad proportioning, 
* the non-observance of the counter-indications, 
* the use of multiple vaccines, potentiating the risks of side effects of each vaccine.
 
1.1. Various types of side effects: 
* local or general reactions after vaccination: pain, redness or tumefaction at the point of injection, fever, aches, faintnesses. These symptoms are rather usual. Their frequency and their intensity vary for each vaccine. They must disappear into two or three days, 
* adverse effects minor: articular pain, rash, eczema or attacks of asthma at predisposed subjects,
* serious adverse effects: 
- shock anaphylactic (allergic reaction engraves in the 15 minutes which follows the inoculation), delayed shock (risk of sudden death of newborn), 
- neurological accidents: convulsions, encephalitis, myelitis, polyradiculoneuritis (syndrome of Guillain-Barré), paralyses, multiple sclerosis, etc. 
- serious renal accident, 
- accidents being able to start little after vaccination, or remote of vaccination: auto-immune disease (diabetes, lupus, knotty periarteritis, polyarthrite rhumatoïde, etc), cancer, etc.
 
1.2. Principal counter-indications classically accepted: 
1.2.1. General counter-indications with all the vaccines: 
- fever, 
- infectious diseases in the course of evolution, 
- diabetes not stabilized, 
- chronic evolutionary diseases (constitutional eczema, psoriasis in particular). 
- before any vaccination, and in particular for the vaccines hepatitis B, it is necessary to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages at a patient having personal or family antecedents of multiple sclerosis.
1.2.2 Counter-indications specific to the alive vaccines (BCG, polio oral, measles, mumps, rubella, yellow fever). Because of the activity of the virus which is only attenuated and always presents a risk of resumption of a certain degree of virulence, the alive vaccines are contra-indicated in the event of:
- pregnancy,
- in the evolutionary malignant diseases (except BCG), 
- in all the cases of congenital or acquired immunizing deficit: AIDS, immunosuppressive treatments (chemotherapy, corticoids).
 
2. Hepatitis B
2.1 In France, when Hepatitis B was compulsory, the State had to face several court cases from patients having developed “multiplex sclerosis”. 
2.1.1. The 15 of May 2000, the General Direction of Health sent to several persons a letter stating that they recognize the causality between their health situation and the vaccine against Hepatitis B; opening the door for financial compensation from the State!
2.1.2. The 2nd of May 2001, the court of Appeal of Versailles took a clear position in favour of the victims of that vaccine. Over two thousands persons are nowadays considered as victims of the vaccination against Hepatitis B.
Knowing the mode of   Transmission of this disease, we can wonder if the children deserve to be vaccinated in early age, and be imposed the risk of such heavy potential consequences!
2.2. The 1 800 files gathered by Revahb (Network for the evaluation of the vaccine hepatitis B) showed since it was a very dangerous vaccine, responsible for many cases of multiplex sclerosis, neurological disorders, eye and auditive trouble, and various autoimmune diseases: insulino-dependent diabetes, polyarthrite rhumatoïde, spondylarthrite ankylosing, amyotrophic side sclerosis, purpura, vascularite, glomerulonephritis, etc.
2.3. Hepatitis B is transmitted by blood and sexually. Given the situation in our civilized countries, can we really say that children are at risk?
 
3. Tuberculosis 
Caused by the bacillus of Koch or "Mycobacterium tuberculosis", of the family of the mycobacteries and is transmitted by air (cough). Today still, approximately a person on three is infected naturally in the industrialized countries like France. These infections - one speaks about primary infection - are unapparent (without symptoms) in 90 to 95 % of the case. The primary infection biologically results in the formation of a small round lesion into the shape of nodule in the lungs, quickly eliminated if defenses of the organization are good.
 
Epidemics of tuberculosis appear regularly in groups of vaccinated populations. Twelve years ago, Pr Grosset analyzed nine studies comparing the rate of tuberculosis at vaccinated and not-vaccinated (Medical magazine “Prescrire”, December 1988). Three of these studies show a protection higher than 75 %, three others a protection between 15 and 30 %, the three last show a null effectiveness (0 %), in particular the vastest study in the world, carried out in India in 260 000 children, under the auspices of WHO. Pr Grosset did not say the truth completely. The three studies presented like having a null effect, had in fact a negative effect, as the curves published in two reference works in the Anglo-Saxon countries show it [Clinical Tuberculosis (éd. Chapman and medical Hall, London, 1994) and Tuberculosis, book carried out by the specialists in the tuberculosis of the American Center of control of the diseases (éd. Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1996)]. They reveal that the BCG can be the direct or indirect cause of case of tuberculosis!
BCG is then not only useless, but dangerous.
 
4. Diphteria
That sickness has completely disappeared in France since eleven years. Knowing that the vaccine is not without risk, the maintenance of the anti-diphtheric vaccine obligation for all the children is absolutely not justified.
 
5. Mumbs
Post-vaccine meningitides were higher in 1994 then the meningitides caused by the disease! Up to now, these post-vaccine meningitides never seem to leave after-effects, but was it really necessary to take risks? Indeed, main goal of the vaccination campaigns against the mumps aimed at the prevention of the orchitis of the teenager or the adult and the risk of sterility which results from it. This risk of sterility is overestimated specially knowing that the orchitis affects one testicle in general. Whatever the reality of this risk for the boys, why vaccinate the girls, if isn't to please the pharmaceutical industry? ...
 
6. Measles
6.1. A team of Royal Free Hospital of London published in the Lancet (April 29, 1995) an article which concludes that the vaccine against measles induces a risk of Crohn disease. This serious digestive disease is of auto-immune origin [Comparing a group of 3 500 vaccinated people thirty years ago with 10 000 not vaccinated people of the same age, the British researchers found a proportion three times more significant of disease of Crohn at vaccinated than at not-vaccinated.]
6.2. Another study published in 1997 in Lancet confirmed a possible bond between the vaccines against measles and mumps and the disease of Crohn, like with the autism. Noting that the cases of autism increased considerably since the introduction of these vaccines into the north-eastern area of the Thames and in California, of British and American associations parents of children autists, as well as the National Vaccinates Center Information, American association parents of children victims of the vaccines, accuse the authorities to manipulate the statistics and request an independent investigations into the question.
6.3. While the sickness itself provides a secure immunity, the vaccine does not. This is especially dangerous for pregnant women. In the event of measles during a pregnancy, the risks of abortion or congenital malformation are almost as high as in the event of rubella. The young mothers vaccinated in childhood will be deprived of anti-measles antibody and will not protect their newborn, who will be able to contract measles at an age where it is more dangerous and whereas the vaccine cannot protect them.
 
7. Constitution of the vaccines
Two components of the vaccines pose serious problems:
7.1. The mercury, used as conservative in a derived form, the mercurothiolate (also called thiomersal or ethylmercury). 
7.2. The aluminum, which is used as additive of immunity, by creating an inflammatory reaction which increases the reaction antigen-antibody. 
The strong toxicity of these products is well-known. Their presence in the vaccines is officially admitted, because of the very small quantities used. But they are very active products and their repeated use increases their toxicity!
 
8. T2 theory
There are several studies which proves that when the organism of a child is prevented from experiencing harmless “children sicknesses“, he has much more risks to develop a auto-immune disease in the future, asthma, or skin diseases.
So, we can legitimately ask ourselves: why to vaccinate nowadays children against sicknesses we had as a child, from which we didn’t get any remaining secondary effects, when knowing vaccination might disturb their immunes system?
 
II) From a RELIGIOUS point of view
1.1. Buddhism doesn’t explicitly oppose the usage of animal products in medicine. And the  Tibetan medicine does use some animal components in some pills. 
Though, Buddhism is firmly against pain and torture inflicted to all being, animals included. Which bring us in opposition with laboratory tortures, especially since nowadays we possess the technology which could avoid to use animals for testing (specially since human and animal do not react the same way, anyhow).
 
Lets also take in consideration that European Union does now recognize animal as a “sentient beings” [http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/index_en.htm]
 
III) From a PHILOSOPHY point of view
1.1. Human Rights pass by the right of an individual to choose what is the best for him or her, and for the beings s/he has the full responsibility over, given the situation that s/he has the full understanding of the situation.
Yet, before the act of vaccination, how many patients are fully informed about the risk the vaccination implies?
 
1.2. We do request from good parents to act with good sense in the best interest of their children. If a parent is fully aware of the consequence of vaccination, versus the poor risk for the child to suffer from the “supposingly prevented” sickness, he shall have the right to protect his child, defend himself, in a democratic way.
All parents wishing to avoid vaccination can’t be categorized as “hippies”, “new age”, or belonging to a sect! Some are fully educated, mentally healthy, and many are themselves doctor in medicine.
 
1.3. In France, in year 2000, there were about:
* 100 000 deaths connected with tobacco and alcohol (ie. about 1 death per 585 inhabitants);
* 8 000 killed on the road (ie. about 1 death per 7.000 inhabitants) .
* 78 death caused by meningitis (ie. about 1,3 deaths per 1.000.000 inhabitants).
Yet, we can observe that:
- alcohol and tobacco are sold without restrictions, and even advertised (because it brings lot of profits).
- fast car are sold without restriction, and even advertised (money, money).
- vaccination is compulsory, even if not proven useful, even if proven risky because it does also bring lot of money!
 
So, one can doubt seriously that any compulsory medical act is for his/her benefit, and shall have the democratic right to oppose it.
 

Conclusion

1. Practically, we could leave as compulsory only three vaccines:
* Tetanus,
* Poliomyelitis (oral administration),
* Hepatitis B for profession in high risk of contamination.
 
2. We would remove from compulsory vaccinations the vaccines against so called “children sicknesses” (useless and dangerous): 
* whooping cough (pertussis) - * measles - * mumps - * rubella
 
3. Children under 12 months shall not be vaccinated at all.
 
4. In the case when parents would – under the laboratory pressure – vaccinate their children against further sickness (then Tetanus and Polio):
4.1. An intensive information about the possible risk connected with the injection of the vaccine should be given.
4.2. The doctor performing the act of vaccination should be taken as directly responsible of any serious side-effect in case the risks haven’t been extensively explained to the patient. 
Consequently, we propose that patients – or parents of minor patients - and doctor do sign jointly an agreement stating clearly which information has been provided, and the acceptance of these risks by the patient or parents.
 
5. Would the children vaccines, BCG, and Hepatitis B remain compulsory, the legislator should include an article allowing “consciousness objection”. This is the only democratic option while wishing to apply a large scale vaccination plan.
In this case, “compulsory” would only imply: “strongly recommended and performed on a large scale”; and not anymore: “intruding into individual’s right to get or not a medical act bringing possible serious health consequences”.
5.1. Parents should be able to decide for their children.
5.2. This objection would be performed by patient, or parents, signing a document refusing to comply by the advised vaccinations, knowing the possible consequence of not getting these vaccinations (according to the recommendations of the State). The patients, or parents, would explain why s/he doesn’t want to be vaccinated, or get his/her child/ren vaccinated.
5.3. Accepting “objection of consciousness”, the State would also be able to have a more correct information about who is and who is not vaccinated (instead of parents and patients needing to lie in order to escape), and will be able to conduct correct studies about the impact of leaving the choice to patients, while observing the consequence of it.
 

Note about the Bird Flu

According to several studies, the bird-flue virus is not a serious threat at the actual time, as most of its variation are not contagious directly to human. Not knowing which type of virus will effectively become active against human, vaccination is absolutely useless and not necessary. 
The medication proposed does present lot of risk (several death recorded recently on its account), with no certainty of efficiency.
 
We can notice that the biggest danger reside in the large poultry which are the biggest danger for the formation of the bird flu, for its transfer to human beings and for the start of the pandemic. 
In which way the State, aware of it, will act to protect the life of thousands of its citizens? The only solution which would make sense is to stop immediately the activities of these large farms. Not doing so, the States are actually promoting the source itself for the pandemic to take place!

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