"Vaccines and their ingredients: You may be surprised (as I was!) to learn that aborted human fetal tissue is an ingredient in many mainstream vaccines. Take a look and make an informed choice about these issues from now on."I have read anti-vaccine information before. It seems that many of the natural birth, home birth, whole foods, homeschooling, etc. crowd are also anti-vaccine, and I was interested by the idea although I had not done much research. Then, this past week, Jenny McCarthy spoke about the MMR vaccine and her ideas about it causing her son's autism. I was curious, did some research on MMR and autism, and told Joe yesterday that I wanted to consider not giving it to Charlie. But nothing prepared me for the information I read today.
I thought that surely this idea that vaccines were made from aborted babies must just be the latest right-wing rumor making its way around the internet. So, I clicked her link and was brought to an anti-vaccine website that contained a table showing the ingredients in different vaccines. I chose one that I recognized and think that my boys have gotten: Varivax. The chart says it contains (among other things) "human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue." What!?
Still not convinced and since there are so many rumors going around out there, I went to the manufacturer's website and found the prescribing information for Varivax. The first paragraph that describes how the vaccine is made says:
"The virus was initially obtained from a child with natural varicella, then introduced into human embryonic lung cell cultures, adapted to and propagated in embryonic guinea pig cell cultures and finally propagated in human diploid cell cultures (WI-38). Further passage of the virus for varicella vaccine was performed at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) in human diploid cell cultures (MRC-5) that were free of adventitious agents."
I still didn't believe what I was reading and called Merck (880-672-6372) to hear it directly from them. After only a minute or two punching the right numbers on my phone to get to a service representative, Stacey answered. I described going online and finding the prescribing information, and then I asked my question.
"Where did you get the human embryonic lung cells?"
"I will be happy to find that answer for you, Mrs. Holland. Can you hold, please?"
Stacey placed me on hold and when she picked back up, it was obvious that she was reading a scripted answer.
"Thank you for holding, Mrs. Holland. The cells cultured for this and other vaccines were approved by the FDA for use in vaccine development from an aborted fetus from 30 years ago...."
I really didn't hear much after she said "aborted fetus." Nothing else that she said mattered. I do remember her emphasizing the "30 years ago" part, as if profiting from a death that took place a long time ago made it less heinous. I ended the call politely and went and found Joe and told him what I had learned with tears in my eyes.
I have spent the remainder of my free moments of time (stolen in between the normal work of day to day life) pulling up article after article. Apparently, many vaccines were developed using embryonic stem cell lines derived from aborted babies. They actually know in the case of some of the stem lines, what baby it came from (a boy or girl and it's gestational age) and the situation around the abortion! I had no idea! I am still just in shock and feel so deceived. I hate the horror that is abortion and have wept before at the magnitude of its evil. But, I never before today realized that I have ever done anything to support it.
9 comments:
This is sickening! I had thought like you that the hype was probably from those who hype and had not taken much interest in the vaccine issue!Sickening!
Auntie
this really is just disgusting and sad. I was just thinking the other day about how i don't know about anything that is in the vaccines and that the doctors probably don't either. but my question is: what do i do for my kids instead, if i want them to be in the public schools? they have to be vaccinated in order to attend them...any thoughts?
Thank you for doing all the research, and for your compliments. I hadn't had a chance to go to the lengths that you did to solidify the truth of this information, but it was passed to me through a reliable fellow blogger, so I took it seriously. I am still shocked by it, and saddened that it is so horribly true.
Like you, we've probably received vaccinations that are from these sources; I need to do more checking, but at present, having just moved and still sorting through bags and files, I have yet to get my hands on our shot records.
All that to say, I too feel the pain in my gut. I'm not an anti-vacciner... but now I wonder if I should have been....
Jess
Hallie - I too am sickened by this information.
The book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave has information about what is in each vaccine and how it is developed. It is because of what I've read in that book that I'm doing vaccines very differently for Lucy than what I did for Nate.
Also, K, there are ways still to have your children in public school but not be vaccinated. The book I mentioned above has some resources and information about that. You can file exemption with your state for at least some of the vaccines.
Auntie--I still can't really believe it even though I have been reading it for two days now. Thanks for the articles that you emailed me yesterday. They were particularly timely since I have found out all of this.
Jess--Thank you for being the one who first brought the whole thing to my attention. And the compliments were understated, if anything; I really have enjoyed your blog!
My almost 4 month old is due to get some vaccinations at his check-up next week and today I have been researching the ones that my dr. uses to see if they are ok or not.
K--To second what Katie said--from what I have read, all states except for West Virginia and Mississippi allow for religious exemptions from mandatory vaccinations. You would have to research your state to see what to do to get an exemption there.
Also, I have read that there are some vaccines that use non-human (monkey, cow, or chicken) cells to make the vaccines. So, you could find and use those. I'm still researching that.
Katie--I've wondered what you thought about vaccines...what are you doing differently with Lucy? I've always just done the schedule and shots that my ped recommends. That won't happen any more!!!!
Hallie, with Lucy, I'm following some of the recommendations in Cave's book. Perhaps I'll post on my blog about it, but here are the main things I've garnered:
I'm getting her vaccines one at a time (more spread out), so only one shot at each doctor's visit, and we didn't start until she was 5 months (this is because babies' immune systems often aren't ready for all those shots by 2 months). Also, she won't get the combination shots like the MMR; instead she'll get separate measles, separate mumps, and separate rubella shots. Those seem to be the most important things I've gathered--spread the shots out/give them one shot at a time, start later than 2 months old, separate out the combination vaccines, and of course find out what's in the shots and research alternatives! :)
May I also suggest the book "How to have a healthy child in spite of your doctor" as worth reading? I have done vaccines different for each child, just as I've gone from a hospital birth to being home with dad catching. People may think of me as anti-medical-establishment, but really, as you now know, I just want to read lots of information and make up my own mind. We are responsible for so much!
Calli,
Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely ask for it the next time that I go to the library. All of this is just is one more example of how I need to be more discerning in the choices I make rather than just going with the status quo.
We didn't vaccinate till the children hit college/military service age; there seemed to be no options then (and many of my health worries about vaccines weren't an issue at those ages), but I've never heard that info about the vaccines.
We also used "How to Have a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor" but I wonder if it's ever been updated. The other book we used was originally for third world countries "Where There is No Doctor"
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