In his 2002 article published in PediatricsDr. Paul Offit (1) states that an extrapolated mathematical formula showed that children can be vaccinated with thousands of vaccines without harm. “Each baby would have the theoretical capacity to respond to about 10,000 vaccinations at any one time.”(2)
It seems that Dr. Offit should undertake a review of human immunology. The idea that 10,000 doses of chemicals, viruses and bacterial fragments could be safely deposited into the bloodstream of an infant or adult without consequence defies medical logic. Direct injection of pathogens into the body bypasses the first four lines of immune defense: the skin, mucous membranes, intestinal lymphoid tissue, and lymphatic neutralization. Contrary to the claims of pharmaceutical companies, the introduction of germs and chemicals into the bloodstream does not “fool” the immune system, as doctors and researchers claim. It contaminates it.
In fact, children are contaminated with up to 51 vaccine antigens by the time they are six months old. If they get all doses of all recommended vaccines, including annual flu shots and boosters for MMR and chicken pox, that number will skyrocket to 113 when they enter school. And that number doesn’t take into account the measurable amounts of formaldehyde, aluminum, calf serum, gelatin and other chemical aliquots injected with each vaccine.
The potential for disaster looms as live and attenuated (killed) viruses are injected through multiple vaccines given on the same day. A study documenting that these dangers are real was published in 1986 in science magazineraising the alarm for more than twenty years.
The study involved injecting two different avirulent (benign) herpesviruses, virus A and virus B, into the footpads of mice. When a mouse received 100 particles of either Virus A or Virus B, none of the mice died. However, if a mouse received only one particle of both Virus A and Virus B, 62 percent of the mice died. (3) In addition, eleven newly created viruses, called recombinants, were isolated from the dead mice. When these new viruses were injected into the next group of mice, three of these viruses were found to be deadly. This study demonstrates that simultaneous injection of two benign viruses can recombine with fatal results.(4)
Offit claimed that 10,000 vaccines could be injected simultaneously without consequence. If only two different viruses can cause death in mice, what would be the potential result of injecting thousands? Children are routinely injected with four viruses at the same time when they receive the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and Varivax® (the chickenpox vaccine) on the same day. Clearly, the risk of health complications is more than a theoretical possibility.
Offit’s study was argued to be “groundbreaking” and attracted substantial media attention at the time of its publication. His intention was to allay the fears of parents who question vaccines and question the need to inject so many vaccines at the same time. Using a mathematical formula to insist that babies have a great capacity to be a repository of a pharmaceutical product will not remove the doubts of the research parents. “Thinking physicians” should recognize this study for what it is: an opportunity to push the oft-repeated mantra that “vaccines are safe and effective.”
However, “thinking parents” might conclude differently: “If the immune system is so strong, why do we need to get vaccinated?”
_________________________________________________
REFERENCES
(1) Dr. Offit is on the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania.
(2) Offit PA et al. (2002). Addressing Parental Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Baby’s Immune System? Pediatrics 109(1):124-9.
(3) Javier, RT, et.al. Two avirulent herpes simplex viruses generate lethal combiners in vivo. Sciences. November 7, 1986; 234 (4777): 746-8.
(4) Ibid. JavierRT.