Continuing on my quest to pull together comprehensive information on both sides of the debate, today I’m going to focus on the ingredients used to make vaccines. My information comes from the Center for Disease Control. The CDC maintains that the amount of ingredients in vaccines are miniscule and therefore are harmless, unless of course one is allergic to them. Others maintain that it does not make sense to give your baby lots of metals and chemicals.
Aluminum gels or salts of aluminum which are added as adjuvants to help the vaccine stimulate production of antibodies to fight off diseases and aid other substances in their action. In vaccines, adjuvants may be added to help promote an earlier response, more potent response, or more persistent immune response to disease.
Antibiotics which are added to vaccines to prevent the growth of germs (bacteria) in vaccine cultures.
Egg protein which is found in vaccines prepared using chick embryos. Ordinarily, persons who are able to eat eggs or egg products safely can receive these vaccines.
Formaldehyde which is used to inactivate bacterial products for toxoid vaccines, (these are vaccines that use a weakened or suppressed bacterial toxin to increase a response to an antigen or a disease, such as the tetanus toxoid used to prepare tetanus vaccinations; toxoids are too weak or suppressed to be harmful). It is also used to kill unwanted viruses and bacteria that might be found in cultures used to produce vaccines.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and 2-phenoxy-ethanol which are used as stabilizers in a few vaccines to help the vaccine remain unchanged even in the presence of forces such as heat, light, acidity, humidity etc. MSG is also found in many foods, especially Asian foods and flavor enhancers.
Thimerosal which is a preservative that might be added to prevent the vaccine from spoiling. Thimerosal is also found in some contact lens solutions and throat sprays.
It sounds like a horrible concoction–does it not? Yet most of these ingredients are found repeatedly in most of the products we use. I have stated before that I certainly respect other parents’ decisions and in fact, one reason I’m doing this series is to try to provide information from both view points so that parents can be as informed as possible when choosing a vaccination course. However, I also think it would be foolish of someone to think that by avoiding vaccinations, you are avoiding all of these chemicals in your child’s system. The truth is, they are so common, that by the age of 3 months your child has already been exposed to everything on this list except perhaps antibiotics and egg proteins. There is a current thought in some research that suggests that overloading the system at such a young age is in part an issue. This is why many parents, including myself, choose to delay and separate the vaccinations.
Look soon for another blog where we will get more into specific vaccines.
Other Blogs on Vaccines:
Are Vaccines Safe? Other Things You Should Know
Are Vaccines Really Safe? Looking at Safety Differently