Hepatitis B Vaccine

While driving past one of our schools the other day, I noticed a sign: "Hep B Vaccination For Grade 7." The notice caught my full attention.

Hepatitis is a liver disease seen predominantly in adults, mainly among those using contaminated needles or blood products or among promiscuous individuals practicing unsafe sex. It is not a childhood disease. It is not a killer and it is not as highly contagious as health authorities would like you to believe. As a matter of fact, there are only approximately 300 cases of hepatitis B in North America per year very different from the numbers quoted by health departments. Does hep B constitute a huge problem then? I don't think so.

The health department and your physicians request that your baby or child receive the hepatitis B vaccine for her own protection. The first inoculation of the vaccine is given to babies from birth to six months. However, authorities such as Edda West, President of the Vaccine Risk Awareness Network, and Dr Jane Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, agree that as a child's immune system is immature, the benefits of this vaccine are highly questionable. There have been more adverse reactions to vaccination than cases of hepatitis itself, so much so that France has discontinued its hep B vaccine program.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is calling for an immediate moratorium on hepatitis B vaccines, pending further research on dangerous side affects. As well, it accused schools requiring these shots of practicing medicine without a license. "Children younger than 14 are three times more likely to die or suffer adverse reaction after receiving hepatitis B than catch the disease," the association stated.

"We find it shocking that government health officials cavalierly dismiss reports of serious adverse affects as coincidental and that school officials ignore them all together," Dr Jane Orient, executive director of the association, went on to say.

Let's look at this a little further.

One thing I would like you to be aware of as parents is that the hepatitis B vaccine only lasts between seven and nine years. If that is the case, then why give it to infants? Is there some kind of worry of your child becoming promiscuous by the time he is in grade five? Or is there another sinister reason?

The government is under tremendous legal pressure to offer full disclosure of the benefits and the dangerous side affects before any scheduled vaccination takes place, something that has not been done. This is called Informed Consent. As well, the health department is not big on informing parents that they actually have a choice whether to vaccinate their children or not. This has been conveniently hidden from the public under threats of school suspension.

Many parents are also made to feel that a child would not be allowed in school if she was not vaccinated. Not true! Our local health department has omitted to tell you that you actually have a choice and that vaccination exemption forms are available at your local health office.

Here are some suggestions for you:

• Question everything.
• Ask your doctor about side effects and whether she is aware of the latest research on vaccines.
• Ask for proof not a vaccine brochure from the health department or drug company.
• Learn to recognize a vaccine reaction.
• Ask about the vaccine lot number.
• Ask about liability. This is a good question which should cut through all the bologna.

Finally, you may want to have your doctor sign your very own "Consent for administration of vaccination" form. It shifts responsibility for any potential reactions and future complications to the person actually administering the vaccine. If your doctor or health department representative will not sign it, beware. Copies are available from our Centre for a nominal fee.

Remember, you have choices. You are your child's health guardian.

Contact the Patient First Chiropractic Centre at (905) 335-3901.

For more in-depth information about vaccines, read Natural Alternatives to Vaccination by Dr Zoltan Rona, number seven in the alive Natural Health Guide series. Available at your health food store or through alive books (800-661-0303).