Researchforlife's List: Hep B Vaccine

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological  disease that attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles (muscle action we are able to control, such as those in the arms, legs, and  face). The disease belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are characterized by the gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons.
• Motor neurons are nerve cells located in the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord that serve as controlling units and vital  communication links between the nervous system and the voluntary muscles of the body

• When  parents are considering whether or not to vaccinate their children, one of the  things that must be considered is aluminum toxicity. Aluminum is added to a  number of vaccines to help them work better. Normally, one wouldn't consider  aluminum to be a problem. It's a naturally occurring element that is present  everywhere in our environment—in food, water, air, and soil. It's also a main  ingredient in over-the-counter antacids. And because the body doesn't absorb  aluminum, it's harmless when swallowed.
  

  • aluminum is harmless when swallowed
• www.fda.gov, search on "aluminum  toxicity
• as I read each product insert and saw the number of micrograms (mcg) of aluminum  contained in several vaccines, I wondered, "Has anyone determined what a safe  level of injected aluminum actually is?" I didn't have to wonder for long,  because the answer is easy to find; go to www.fda.gov, search on "aluminum  toxicity," and you'll find several documents about aluminum.
  
• • Several documents about aluminum from the Food and Drug Administration
• Aluminum may reach toxic levels with prolonged parenteral  administration

  • See Definition of parenteral administration within the Encyclopedia Britannica (in short, vaccines are injected parenteral, not enteral. Parenteral could be through the veins, skin, or muscles. They are injected intramuscularly. Enteral would be via "digestion".
• For a tiny newborn, this toxic dose would be 10  to 20 mcg; for an adult, it would be about 350 mcg.
  

  • mcg: Micrograms (a mcg is 1/1000 of a mg) very small
• However, none of these documents or studies mentions vaccines; they look only at  IV solutions and injectable medications. Nor does the FDA require labels on  vaccines warning about the dangers of aluminum toxicity, although such labels  are required for all other injectable medications.
• Calculating Aluminum in Vaccines
   Here are the current levels of aluminum per shot of the following vaccines, as  listed on each vaccine's packaging:
   
   * DTaP (for Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis): 170-625 mcg, depending on  manufacturer
   * Hepatitis A: 250 mcg
   * Hepatitis B: 250 mcg
   * HIB (for meningitis; PedVaxHib brand only): 225 mcg
   * HPV: 225 mcg
   * Pediarix (DTaP Hepatitis B Polio combination): 850 mcg
   * Pentacel (DTaP HIB Polio combination): 1500 mcg
   * Pneumococcus: 125 mcg
  
• • Read below to understand how many micrograms of aluminum are in all of the vaccines babies under 2 years of age receive:
• other words, a newborn who gets a Hepatitis B injection on day one of life  would receive 250 mcg of aluminum. This would be repeated at one month with the  next Hep B shot. When, at two months, a baby gets its first big round of shots,  the total dose of aluminum could vary from 295 mcg (if a non-aluminum HIB and  the lowest-aluminum brand of DTaP are used) to a whopping 1225 mcg (if the Hep B  vaccine is given along with the brands with the highest aluminum contents). If  the Pentacel combo vaccine is given along with the Hep B and Pneumococcus  vaccines, the total aluminum dose could be as high as 1875 mcg. These doses are  repeated at four and six months. With most subsequent rounds of shots, a child  would continue to get some aluminum throughout the first two years. But the FDA  recommends that premature babies, and anyone with impaired kidney function,  receive no more than 10 to 25 mcg of injected aluminum at any one time.
• As a medical doctor, my first instinct was to worry that these aluminum levels  far exceed what may be safe for babies. My second instinct was to assume that  the issue had been properly researched, and that studies had been done on  healthy infants to determine their ability to rapidly excrete aluminum. My third  instinct was to search for these studies. So far, I have found none. It's likely  the FDA thinks that the kidneys of healthy infants work well enough to excrete  aluminum before it can circulate through the body, accumulate in the brain, and  cause toxic effects. However, I can find no references in FDA documents that  show that using aluminum in vaccines has been tested and found to be safe.
• the American Academy of  Pediatrics (AAP), who in 1996 published a policy statement, "Aluminum Toxicity  in Infants and Children," that made the following points:
  
• * Aluminum can cause neurologic harm.
   * A study from 30 years ago showed that human adults increase their urine  excretion of aluminum when exposed to higher levels of the metal, which suggests  that adults can clear out excess aluminum.
   * Adults taking aluminum-containing antacids don't build up high levels of  aluminum in their bodies.
   * Reports of infants with healthy kidneys show elevated blood levels of aluminum  from taking antacids.
   * People with kidney disease who build up bloodstream levels of aluminum greater  than 100 mcg per liter are at risk of toxicity.
   * The toxic threshold of aluminum in the bloodstream may be lower than 100 mcg  per liter.
   * The buildup of aluminum in tissues has been seen even in patients with healthy  kidneys who receive IV solutions containing aluminum over
   extended periods.5

  • See third and fourth bullets above: Notes the contrast in the ability an adult has, in comparison to an infant, regarding the excretion of aluminum Reads: Adults taking aluminum-containing antacids don't build up high levels of aluminum in their bodies.* Reports of infants with healthy kidneys show elevated blood levels of aluminum from taking antacids.
• However, nowhere in this paper was there any mention of aluminum in vaccines.
   
   To put this in perspective: Because the body of the average adult contains about  5 liters of blood, receiving more than 500 mcg of aluminum in the bloodstream  all at once will be toxic if the kidneys aren't working well. (Toxicity has also  been seen in patients with healthy kidneys.) Because a newborn's body contains  about a liter (300 milliliters) of blood, more than 30 mcg of aluminum floating  around in the bloodstream could be toxic if the baby's kidneys aren't working  well. The body of a toddler or preschool-age child contains about 1 liter of  blood, so more than 100 mcg in his system could be toxic—and, as we've seen,  babies can receive more than 1000 mcg of injected aluminum all at one time.  Fortunately, this amount doesn't all go into the blood at once, but is slowly  diffused into the bloodstream over a period of time from the muscle or skin  where it was injected.
  
• But that is the main point of this article. No one has measured the levels of  aluminum absorption by the bloodstream when it is injected into the skin and  muscle of infants, or the levels of excretion from the body via urination. All  of the FDA and AAP documents that I've read state that aluminum might be a  problem, but that they haven't studied it yet, so we should limit the amount of  aluminum included in injectable solutions. But,
   again, no one is talking about the levels of aluminum in vaccines.
  
• What I think may have happened is that because aluminum used to be found in only  one vaccine—DTP, an older version of the current DTaP vaccine—no one
   thought much about it. Then, in the 1980s, the PedVaxHib brand of HIB meningitis  vaccine was released, which also included aluminum; but other brands of HIB  vaccine did not, so again, no one thought much about it. In the 1990s, the  Hepatitis B vaccine began to be widely used; in the 2000s, the Pneumococcus  vaccine; and, more recently, the Hepatitis A vaccine. Administering one  aluminum-containing vaccine at a time involves only a small amount of the metal;  administering four such vaccines simultaneously is a different story. It seems  this issue has simply escaped everyone's attention. Or has it?
  
• They looked only for evidence of external symptoms of aluminum  toxicity, not internal effects.
• Nor did they do their own research; instead,  they reviewed all available studies conducted by other investigators. Despite  all this, the Cochrane Collaboration study essentially closed the book on  investigating aluminum toxicity from vaccines, without really having opened it  in the first place.
  
• Among the vaccine's  potentially toxic components are the adjuvants aluminum hydroxide and squalene. 
  
• Aluminum adjuvant linked to  gulf war illness induces motor neuron death in mice.
  

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• • Begin reading here
• • Vaccines are ineffective when confronted by a new strain of the virus that they do not cover.
• Vaccine Reactions: Most of the safety studies done on anthrax vaccine have been conducted by the Department of Defense, are unpublished, and reportedly do not include long term follow-up, according to military veterans advocacy groups who have reported anthrax vaccine damage. Reported reactions to anthrax vaccine have ranged from mild to severe local reactions, fever, chills and nausea that resolve without permanent damage to serious reactions resulting in permanent autoimmune and brain dysfunction, including chronic disabling fatigue, persistent headaches, severe joint pain and crippling arthritis, numbness and muscle weakness, severe memory loss, paralysis, seizures and death. It is estimated that 20 to 48 percent of all those vaccinated have some kind of reaction to anthrax vaccine, ranging from mild to severe. 
• During the past four years, a series of congressional hearings have been held in the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee on anthrax vaccine safety, efficacy and lack of informed consent protections in the military’s mandatory vaccination policies. Testimony from vaccine injured military veterans have included several hundred cases where career soliders have faced court martial rather than agree to be vaccinated or revaccinated with anthrax vaccine after serious reactions have occurred. 

• Other Considerations:  The vaccine manufacturer’s product insert states that “studies have not been performed to ascertain whether Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed has carcinogenic action or any effect on fertility.” 

   

     The Vaccine Manufacturer: The anthrax vaccine was developed at Fort Detrick by the Department of Defense, which still holds the patent. For many years, the anthrax vaccine was manufactured by the Michigan Department of Health. In 1998, manufacturing was taken over by Bioport Corporation when they purchased the plant, made modifications, and geared up to meet the Pentagon’s goal of vaccinating all 2.4 million active duty and reserve troops with anthrax vaccine. Bioport has failed FDA quality control inspection several times, which has curtailed vaccine supplies and use of the vaccine in the military.  
• Plans for Vaccination of High Risk Persons: As of November, 2001, about 500,000 of the 2.4 million U.S. troops and reservists had received the anthrax vaccine.  In response to the exposure of U.S. civilians to anthrax through contaminated mail, the Centers for Disease Control began making plans to use some of the military anthrax vaccine stockpiles available to lab technicians, bioterrorism investigators and others currently at high risk for anthrax exposure.  There has also been discussion about making anthrax vaccine available to police, firefighters and postal workers. 
• Because the vaccine has not received final FDA approval, the vaccine continues to be classified as experimental. 

• BEFORE YOU GET VACCINATED: 

   

     When making a decision about whether to get vaccinated with a particular vaccine, including anthrax vaccine, you need to become fully informed about the risks and complications of the disease the vaccine is designed to prevent, as well as the risks and complications of the vaccine. In addition to information in this report, you should consult one or more doctors as well as obtain more information from other resources. 

   

    At a minimum, you should ask yourself the following questions before getting vaccinated: 

   

  1.      Are you sick right now with a viral or bacterial infection?

   

  2.      Have you had a bad reaction to a vaccination before?

   

  3.      Do you have a personal or family history of:

   

   

   
  • vaccine reactions
   
  • convulsions or neurological disorders
   
  • severe allergies
   
  • immune system disorders
   

   

   

  4.      Do you know if you are at high risk of reacting to vaccines?

   

  5.      Do you have full information on the vaccine’s side effects and contraindications?

   

  6.      Do you know how to identify a vaccine reaction?

   

  7.      Do you know how to report a vaccine reaction?

   

  8.      Do you know the vaccine manufacturer’s name and lot number? 

• Physical Exam: It is a good idea to have your doctor give you a physical exam before each vaccination to make sure the results of the exam are written in your medical record so you have proof that you are in good health at the time of vaccination. Be sure to tell the doctor if you have recently recovered from an illness or if any of the members of your family are ill.

   

     Detailed Medical History: The examining physician should take a detailed personal medical history, including family history, before you are vaccinated. Be sure to mention if you or anyone in your family has a history of vaccine reactions, convulsions or  neurological disease, severe allergies, immune system disorders (such as thyroid disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, asthma, eczema), or other chronic health problems. 

• REPORTING A VACCINE REACTION 

   

     If you suffer a serious health problem within 30 days of vaccination, your doctor should report what happened to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). If your doctor will not report, the National Vaccine Information Center will help you report. You can obtain a government Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting form by calling 1-800-822-7967. 

   

     Any serious deterioration in mental, physical or emotional health following vaccination should be reported. This includes development of such symptoms as persistent fever; extreme pain and swelling at the site of the injection; severe joint pain; tingling in hands or feet; numbness or muscle weakness; disruption in sensory perception such as vision or hearing; serious memory loss, inability to concentrate or depression; extreme fatigue; persistent headaches; seizures or other chronic health problems that were not present before vaccination or worsened after vaccination. 

   

     The National Vaccine Information Center also maintains a Vaccine Reaction Registry that serves as an independent oversight mechanism on VAERS.  You can report a vaccine reaction to NVIC on this web site. 

• KEEP YOUR OWN RECORDS 

   

     Ask your doctor to write down any deterioration in health you suffer after vaccination in your permanent medical record, as well as the date, manufacturer’s  name and lot number of all vaccinations given. Ask for a copy for your personal records. 

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• How is hepatitis B spread? 
   
  • Hepatitis B virus is spread by coming into contact with blood, semen, and vaginal secretions
   
  • It can spread from the mother to her child during birth
   
  • Common causes of transmission include: unprotected sexual contact, sharing needles among injection drug users, re-use of contaminated needles and syringes
   
  • Sharing of razor blades or toothbrushes can also transmit hepatitis B
   
  • Blood transfusion is rarely a risk factor for transmission in the USA and Canada since it is routinely screened for hepatitis B
   
  • It is NOT spread through water, food, hugging, kissing, and casual contact such as in schools or the workplace
• • Hepatitis B is spread by coming into contact with blood, semen, and vaginal secretions.
    It is Not spread through water, food, hugging, kissing, and casual contact.