Let's have a Conversation: Health & Vaccine Safety

We’ve been hearing a lot in the news lately about Measles. Many people read these articles and believe they are unbiased depictions of the world around us. But, the truth is, the articles contain both fact and conjecture thrown together with a pinch of persuasion. Media knows most people only read the first paragraph, or so, before forming an opinion and moving on to the next thing. Hence this post's satirical title--just an example of how to gain attention and persuade the audience using fear (or humor... too soon?). But, seriously, it really isn't funny at all. It's disturbing and harmful, and creates enemies where friends once existed. That being said—I’m not going to go through and defend or explicate these articles, instead, I want to offer some peace of mind regarding measles and some helpful ways to support the immune system, if measles lurks its ugly head close to home.  “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understan...

Origin of Vaccination, c. 1800 I recently posted about the "Pilot comparative study on the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated 6- to 12- year old U.S. children." I learned of this study at the exact time I was re-reading a few chapters from Suzanne Humphries' book:  Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and the Forgotten History . The chapters (6 and 7) go into the history of the Smallpox vaccine and its resistance in Leicester, England in the 1860s-1880s. To summarize: at this time, there was a great push for vaccines in England. The "1867 Vaccination Act [had] consolidated existing laws regarding vaccination and instituted a fine for parents who did not present their children for vaccination within three months of birth" (Humphries, 114). Even with this push for mass vaccination, a smallpox epidemic hit England in the early 1870s. This caused a great loss of faith in vaccinations: "It must strike the reflective observer as rather singular t...