The Undeniable Truth About Vaccinations, As Revealed By The Experts
Quick question: What do soldiers on a battlefield, pawns on a chessboard and fitness professionals like me have in common?
We are the first line of defense.
A military can have the most advanced tanks, war planes and drones in the world, but when they need to secure buildings, maneuver rough terrain, or deal with hostage situations, having trained human beings on the battlefield becomes crucial. Furthermore, pawns on a chessboard can not only provide a strategic line of defense, but if used correctly, can amplify the usefulness of the other, more versatile pieces.
As a fitness professionals, I use intelligent workout and nutrition programs to help my clients move better, feel better, have more energy, reduce their chances of becoming ill, and provide a myriad other benefits that increase their quality of life. This keeps hospital beds free for when they are needed the most — for emergencies.
In a similar fashion, family doctors armed with vaccines are the first line of defense against contracting seriously contagious diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, influenza, polio, and more. And yet, there’s a recent and disturbing trend whereby parents are flat-out refusing to get their children vaccinated.
Why?
Because they fear it may cause autism, cancer, and/or lead to other complications. But is there any truth to this fear?
Well to find out (and to squash this debate once and for all), I contacted two doctors to help me sort through the science so I can arm you with the real facts about vaccines — the risks, benefits, and the horrific consequences that can arise when someone is infected.
About The Doctors
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky is the medical editor of Examine.com and a licensed, practicing, board certified family medicine physician. After a successful athletic career at UNC-Chapel Hill, he enrolled in medical school at VCOM (Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine) with aspirations to change the world by helping his clients use lifestyle choices (lifting, eating, laughter, and sleeping) as the first line of medicine (when possible).
Dr. Spencer says he owes much of his success to nutrition, exercise science, and of course, hard work. His only other endeavor is to give bodybuilding a real shot (for reasons we may never truly understand). Be sure to visit him here: www.drspencer.com
Dr. Trevor Pfaendtner is a family physician at a small hospital south of Chicago. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in movement science and completed his medical degree at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Besides being a doctor, he’s a powerlifting competitor since 2007 who has attained elite level totals in multiple weight classes and divisions. He plans to pursue fellowship in sports medicine at the completion of his family medicine residency.
How Vaccines Actually Work
Vaccines are drugs created to reinforce the body’s immunity to diseases. They work by mimicking an illness to a very mild degree, which then forces the body to manufacture a horde of defensive cells that learn how to fight off the invading virus. The beauty of this is that once the defensive cells learn how to fight a particular virus, they remember how to do it for a long time. This means if the body is exposed to a real threat, the defensive cells can recognize, target, and eliminate the virus.
Vaccines help your body create mini, highly trained, virus-killing assassins. But when you get vaccinated, you’re not just protecting yourself, you’re protecting others simultaneously through the power of what’s known as “herd immunity,” which Dr. Trevor explains further:
“Herd immunity is a very important concept. If more people are vaccinated against these diseases, than those who cannot be vaccinated for various reasons such as being immunocompromised or an allergy, can still be protected by way of less chance of exposure. People sometimes make the argument that it is “their choice whether or not to vaccinate their children,” but they fail to realize that it should not be their choice to expose someone in a weakened state to a deadly virus. Individuals with congenital diseases, cancer patients on chemotherapy, AIDS patients, and even the elderly are all at greater risk for succumbing to diseases that a healthy individual may be able to overcome.”
Herd immunity has helped eliminate some of the most infectious and dangerous diseases in the history of humanity. In 1979, the World Health Organization declared smallpox as globally eradicated. During that same year, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and prevention declared polio as eradicated in the USA. Tetanus and whooping cough are also a dying breed which are soon to be on this eradicated list assuming we keep saying “yes” to keeping our defenses up.
“When it comes to vaccines, what I only want is for you to get answers to whatever scares you. What are the fears? Is it the unknown chemicals being injected into your child? Is it some bad reaction that someone on the internet told you about? There are answers to your questions, and before you decide to go against vaccines, please be educated about the benefits and risks.” — Dr. Spencer Nadolsky
So Why Do People Think Vaccines Cause Autism?
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield (a former doctor) from the UK released an article in The Lancet where he took 12 kids (9 of whom had autism) from his son’s birthday party, paid money to draw their blood, then fabricated his findings. The untruths he reported led to false conclusions by the public about the safety of vaccines.
It’s important to realize that during this time period, almost every child in the UK received the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine within 12–15 months after birth. And when diagnosing autism, the initial symptoms generally don’t appear until a child is at least 15–18 months of age. As you can see, this creates an inconvenient overlap.
So what happened in Wakefield’s case, is that the parents of these 9 children reported seeing signs of autism a short while after receiving the MMR vaccine not realizing this was purely coincidental. On top of that, the data Wakefield published could hardly be called a study. A sample size of 12 is hopelessly small to draw any conclusions from. Much like flipping a coin, if you flip it 12 times and it lands heads-up 9 of those times, it would be easy to declare “Hey everyone, when you flip a coin, it will land heads-up 75% of the time!”
However, flip that coin a few thousand times and you’ll have a more substantial data to support what most already know: there’s a 50–50 chance of it landing heads-up. But the small sample size of Wakefield’s study was just one of its core problems. This “study” wasn’t randomized or controlled in any way! Gosh, even CrossFit has some sort of measurable standards!
So what Wakefield published in The Lancet was basically an opinion based on the hunch of a few disgruntled parents, pointing their blame-finger in an illogical direction. To combat Wakefield’s shoddy work, a mountain of legitimate studies were conducted by a panel of experts to produce data that would (hopefully) help the public regain their confidence in vaccines. It was a massive undertaking.
“…basically, vaccines help your body create mini, highly trained, virus-killing assassins!” (Tweet This)
One example of the meticulous attention to detail shown by these experts: In 2002, The New England Journal Of Medicine published a study which looked at data for more than 500,000 children born in Denmark between 1991 and 1998. Obviously, these children had received their standard MMR vaccines, and if they caused autism at the high prevalence reported by Wakefield, then 2/3 of these kids should have suffered from it.
So what did the experts’ data reveal? That there was absolutely no link between the development of autism and the MMR vaccine. Not a single one. In light of this (and other large studies that drew the same conclusion), what happened in Wakefield’s scenario? As Dr. Trevor explains:
“The American Academy of Pediatricians, experts in the field of taking care of children, have organised numerous panels of independent scientists with no financial incentive, to investigate the coincidence. No evidence has been found supporting an association between vaccination and autism. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period.
The findings of Andrew Wakefield’s study in The Lancet in 1998 that began the concern about MMR and autism have since been retracted by 10 of the 13 authors. In 2010, The Lancet retracted the study entirely, citing ethical misconduct on the part of Wakefield. Journalist Brian Deer has written several articles that were published in the British Medical Journal, describing the ways that Wakefield’s study was inaccurate.
The truth of the matter is that experts do not know of a single cause of autism yet. It is likely multifactorial and probably genetically based. There is no “contracting” of autism. Children are born with autism if they are going to have autism.”
For a Journal to retract a research paper from its archive is a huge deal. And more critically, a very loud and clear sign that Wakefield erred.
A Doctor No More
It’s one thing to forgive a person’s mistake but in Wakefield’s case, this was no mistake. As Brian Deer learned, the entire anti-vaccination movement was a smear campaign designed to negate the positive and even life saving benefits of MMR.
Why?
So they could sue the vaccination companies for large sums of money. Here’s a more direct quote:
“…While Wakefield held himself out to be a dispassionate scientist, two years before the Lancet paper was published — and before any of the 12 children were even referred to the hospital — he had been hired to attack MMR by a lawyer, Richard Barr: a jobbing solicitor in the small eastern English town of King’s Lynn, who hoped to raise a speculative class action lawsuit against drug companies which manufactured the triple shot. Wakefield had been secretly payrolled to create evidence against the shot and, while planning extraordinary business schemes meant to profit from the scare, he had concealed, misreported and changed information about the children to rig the results published in the journal.” — BrianDeer.com
As you can guess, the scientific community doesn’t look too kindly upon quacks and sell-outs like Andrew Wakefield who blatantly lie. As such, Mr. Wakefield lost his license and was (and still is) banned from practicing medicine in the UK. He was also publicly ridiculed on news channels, an example of which you can see in the video below:
While this seems like good news, the sad truth is that the damage he caused was irreversible for a long time. His fabricated “study” led to an epidemic of fear, guilt, and anger among the general public which resulted in a decade-long health crisis in the UK.
Ten friggin’ years!
That’s how long it took for the medical and scientific community to undo the damage based on one man’s foolishness. And the worst part is that if we in North America don’t smarten up, we are doomed to repeat history.
Enter Jenny McCarthy
This actress and former Playboy model has tried to spearhead the anti-vaccination movement after she wanted someone and/or something to blame for her child’s autism. As Dr. Trevor stated earlier, one cannot just “get” autism; if a person is genetically predisposed to this condition, he or she will be born with it, and as of yet, there is no way to reverse the condition.
Speaking of my good buddy Dr.Trevor, here’s what he thinks about a former Playboy model attempting to talk about a subject of which she has no real knowledge:
“Unfortunately, an individual with no scientific or medical training of any kind was given a voice that has helped lead to a resurgence of deadly diseases that could have been avoided. For example, there has been a recent outbreak of measles affecting 102 people in 14 states as of January 30th. Two of every 1000 individuals infected with measles will die from respiratory or neurological complications.”
Here’s something else you should know: Jenny McCarthy claims that toxins like formaldehyde (which are in some vaccines) also increase the chances of a child “acquiring” autism, and puts their general health at risk. Technically speaking, she’s right about formaldehyde; it’s been declared a toxic substance in Canada since 1999 and is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing substance).
But wait! Before you raise your pitchforks, realize that just by eating a regular-sized apple, you take in more formaldehyde than you would from a vaccine shot. As doctors say, “the dose makes the poison,” and in the case of vaccines, the amount of formaldehyde is so insignificant it’s not cause for worry.
And while Jenny is ranting about the dangers of “toxins,” she openly recommends that that women inject their face with botulinum to look extra pretty. And botulinum is one of the most dangerous and lethal toxins we have available today.
Oh and incase you haven’t figured it out yet, botulinum is much more commonly known as Botox.
It’s hypocrisy at its best, if you ask me.
“No evidence has been found supporting an association between vaccination and autism. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period.” (Tweet This)
What About The “Other” Risks Of Vaccines?
Besides “toxins,” the other substance most anti-vaccination cultists point to when trying to prove a link between MMR and autism is thimerosal.
What exactly is thimerosal?
It’s a mercury-based compound used as an antiseptic and antifungal agent in vaccines, nasal products, and even tattoo ink. The next question is, should we be worried about it? Well according to Dr. Trevor, definitely not:
“The components of vaccines that are often brought up in the argument against their safety such as mercury, thimerosal and other preservatives are in such small amounts that they are not harmful.”
To further drive the point home, my research lead me to a report released by the Immunization Safety Review Committee, which came to the following conclusion on this whole vaccination and thimerosal mess:
“The committee concludes that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. The committee also concludes that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. The committee further finds that potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autism that have been generated to date are theoretical only.”
Yet even after thimerosal was found to be safe, its use in vaccines was halted. It hasn't been in circulation since 2003. Why? Is there something to hide? Not really, it’s just they wanted to play it safe, as Dr. Trevor explains:
“…Because vaccines have a massive reach in terms of public health, they are some of the most highly scrutinized forms of medications in the United States. As such, thimerosal was removed from many of the vaccinations that you know about today.”
But did removal of thimerosal do anything to curb autism? Not at all. In fact, the rate of autism has continued to surge, as the anti-vaccination supporters continue looking for an ingredient to blame.
My question for the public is, will you join the ‘vaccines cause autism’ bandwagon or will you consider that vaccines can (and do) protect and save lives?
If you still aren't convinced of a vaccine’s efficacy, let’s take a look at the suffering that could endure if vaccination is refused (and the once powerful concept of herd immunity completely falls apart).
Consequences of Not Having Your Child Vaccinated
In year 2000, measles was declared “eliminated,” which means it wasn't spreading or being actively transmitted. But that all started to change. In fact, in 2014, there were 644 reported cases of it, which is ridiculous. Instead of making progress, we as a modern civilization voluntarily regressed and made ourselves sick.
Of course, this regression lead to an outbreak. On January 7, 2015, officials released a statement to the public stating that a park visitor from Disneyland was infected with measles. On January 9th, the Orange County Healthcare Agency said that five more people who visited Disneyland were diagnosed with measles, bringing the state-wide total to 12.
Now if you remember what Dr. Trevor said, herd immunity can help those who can’t be vaccinated (like babies who are too young or patients with specific illnesses), but only if those who can get immunized choose. Unfortunately, many parents in California chose not to get their child vaccinated and thus, countless young children ended up with a life-threatening disease. Let me introduce you to a couple of them:
Maggie
This precious girl was diagnosed with cancer. And because of her chemotherapy treatments, she cannot be immunized against measles until the treatments are completed. Unfortunately, she was recently infected with measles after being exposed to an infected child. To save her life, doctors administered 3 shots of measles antibodies, just so she could have a fighting chance.
As if this ordeal wasn't stressful enough for her parents, they’re now forced to:
1) Leave her in isolation
2) Hope her condition is stable
3) Hope she doesn't show any signs or symptoms of measles.
In other words, there’s a chance the antibodies she received might not work. The only way she had guaranteed protection against measles is by relying on (you guessed it) herd immunity. It’s heartbreaking that this little girl’s difficult situation has been become increasingly worse because some parent out there, refused to vaccinate their child.
Mobius Loop
I found this little guy’s story on Facebook. Here was the description:
“This is Mobius Loop. He is the son of my dear friends Ariel Loop and Christopher Loop. He has measles. It was just confirmed. This is real, this is awful and these two photos are 24 hours apart. The good news? He’s getting better. Quarantine ends tonight and the baby seems to be recovering well. The bad news? This was caused by one thing only, total and complete ignorance and selfishness of the anti-vaxxers. Because of people not vaccinating their kids (and when I say “people”, I mean much of the upper crust westside of Los Angeles) this little sprout (who was too young to be protected) fell sick to a HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS epidemic that up until recently, had been a thing of the past. This is infuriating, sad and worst of all, needless.”
What you see above are two very real cases where the choices of others caused the unnecessary suffering of the innocent. But it’s not just babies or young children that are at risk; adults can suffer just as badly. While measles is highly contagious, and the MMR vaccine seems to be the victim of choice, it is not the only one.
It seems the anti-vaccine crowd is looking for an autism scapegoat and usually in the form of an immunization drug. If we allow these naysayer voices to control the administration of vaccines, we are facing substantial setbacks for the human race.
The Bottom Line On Vaccines?
As a parent, is it natural to keep a keen and watchful eye on your child, ensuring his or her safety. It’s critical to remember that just because two instances occur within a similar time frame (i.e., signs of autism running parallel to MMR vaccinations), this does not mean the instances are related. Jumping to conclusions based on junk science instead of substantiated, scientific facts can be costly not only for the child but others with whom that child has contact.
In my opinion, if it’s socially unacceptable to let parents bring peanuts to a nut-free facility, we should be equally as alarmed by those who refuse to vaccinate their kids and yet bring these kids to a public event or gathering.
There should be serious consequences and hefty fines for knowingly exposing an unvaccinated child to the masses. Measles for instance, is highly contagious. It can survive airborne for up to two hours, and to spread requires someone who isn't immunized. What’s more, 6–20%of people who contract measles can suffer from ear infections, diarrhea, or pneumonia, and 1 in 1000 can suffer life-threatening complications that may lead to death.
To conclude this article, I've asked my guest experts to provide some closing thoughts. First, from Dr. Spencer Nadolsky:
“I am not going to be one of those doctors who tells you that you are out of your mind for even considering not vaccinating your children, but from my view point as a family physician, vaccines are one of the greatest medical breakthroughs ever in the history of medicine. Yes there are risks, but the benefits far outweigh them. The mere fact that anyone is afraid of vaccines at this time is testament to how powerful they are since people don’t remember the awful diseases they protect us from. Not only that but when most of the population gets them, those that are unable to receive them are protected as well.”
Second, from Dr. Trevor Pfaendtner:
“As parents, your job is to protect and provide for your children. You want them to be happy, intelligent, and above all, healthy. No parent wishes for their child to suffer from the hardships that can come with having a neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism which is characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Similarly, no parent wishes for their child to suffer from painful, debilitating, and potentially deadly diseases. In fact, it is a parent’s greatest responsibility to protect their children from the potential of harm.
I assure you, there is no conspiracy and I am not on the “Big-Pharma” payroll. I am simply a concerned physician who cares about the well-being of others. Please vaccinate your children and help to shift society’s opinion of vaccination back in the right direction so that efforts can be diverted back to moving forward in research.”
In closing, I hope this article has conveyed enough evidence for you to make appropriate decisions concerning vaccinations. Keep in mind the power of vaccines lies in achieving herd immunity, and we can’t obtain that unless we all help spread the word and raise awareness about the truth. As such…
Please share this article with colleagues, friends, and family members so we can finally place so many diseases where they belong — on the permanently eradicated list!
Edited by Marlene Rawls
About The Author
Sahil M. is the founder of Hardcore Training Solutions and has authored multiple books on training and nutrition. He is also a Gymnastics and Powerlifting coach and has helped everyone from record-holding athletes to regular folks look and perform at their absolute best. If you’d like to work with him personally, go here to fill out an application for a Free, no-obligation consultation. Spots are limited and only select clients are accepted per month.
