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Are 271 Mandatory Vaccines On The Way?

by — 2015-10-13 in Drugs & Medications
Vaccination truthers have been publishing articles reporting that American children will soon be required to take a staggering 271 different vaccines. It is true that at least 271 vaccines are under development, but legal requirements are another matter.

Chances are that if you are connected to Facebook, or you read any natural health news, you have seen articles claiming that 271 new vaccines are under development in the United States, and soon every school child and many adults will be required to take all of them. 

There is an element of truth to this claim. As of the end of 2013, there were in fact at least 271 new vaccines under development in the USA. The publication News Medical identified 395 vaccines in development as long ago as 2010. 

Vaccines are likely to be released by 2025 for:

  • Certain kinds of breast cancer (not every kind of breast cancer, as some publications have suggested).
  • Certain kinds of cervical cancer (tied to specific strains of human papillomavirus).
  • Certain kinds of lung cancer.
  • Certain kinds of pancreatic cancer.
  • Ebola.
  • Dengue fever.
  • Yellow fever.
  • Cholera.
  • Some strains of malaria.
  • Allergic asthma.
  • Lyme disease.
  • Peanut allergies.
Eliminating these often-fatal diseases would seem to be a good thing. Anti-vaxxers, however, raise the concern that there are probably only so many vaccinations that the human body can take. They happen to be right about that. Where they are wrong is to suggest that everybody will be required by law to take every vaccine.
 
Think about it. Women aren't not going to be required to take some future vaccine for prostate cancer. Men are not going to be required to take a vaccine for estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer. (That's because they would never get these diseases.) 
 
People who aren't allergic to peanuts aren't going to be required to take vaccines to prevent peanut allergies. No one is going to worry about Lyme disease in the Mojave desert. Malaria vaccine isn't going to be required in Barrow, Alaska.
 
It's true that vaccines cost tens of millions of dollars to develop, and pharmaceutical companies expect to earn hundreds of millions of dollars as a result. It's also true that the total cost of vaccinations in the US alone may approach $100 billion in 2025, which is about the same as the total cost of hamburgers in the US. What isn't true is the cockeyed notion that every vaccine in every instance is some money-making scheme for some politician who will vote to make taking it a legal requirement in his or her state, even if a few have been.

READ The New Anti-Cancer Vaccine That Actually Works

Survey data show that seven out of 10 pediatricians in the United States deal with at least one parent per year who expresses "vaccine hesitancy." This is defined as being slow to accept or actually refusing a vaccination for a child on the basis of belief in a conspiracy theory, or because of reports of horrible side effects of the treatment in other children. 

 
There's nothing at all wrong with questioning a vaccine, and there are in fact cases in which a particular vaccine is wrong for a particular child. 
 
However, physicians report that:
  • Parents who agree to have their children vaccinated usually ask what the vaccine is for, agreeing to the vaccination when they understand the reasons why, and
  • Parents who do not agree to have their children vaccinated usually do not ask what the vaccine is for, they simply reject it.

What's New About Required Vaccines In The USA?

It's always fair to ask your physician whether his or her own children are vaccinated. It's always fair to ask what the evidence is for a vaccine, and whether or not it contains certain potentially harmful ingredients. (Expect your doctor to know more than you can find on the Internet, ask your doctor, don't inform your doctor.) 
 
It's also fair for your doctors to ask you to sign a waiver, relieving them of legal liability, if you refuse to get a shot.
 
The required vaccinations in the US in 2015 are a lot fewer than 271. There are some changes to vaccination schedules, however, that would surprise most anti-vaxxers.
  • The new guidelines limit the number of children who can be given live-attenuated flu vaccine, the nasal spray influenza vaccine. Children who have had asthma attacks in the past year probably won't get the nasal spray. Children aged 2 to 17 who take Aspirin in any form won't get the spray. Neither will pregnant women, people who have compromised immune systems, or people who are allergic to eggs.
  • Infants (under the age of 12 months) should be vaccinated for measles before they are taken abroad (where risk of getting the disease is higher). They still need the two-shot sequence of measles vaccine when they get back.
  • The meningiococcal vaccine (vaccine for bacterial meningitis) should be given to children traveling to parts of the world where the disease is endemic, especially sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The new vaccine that covers more strains of bacterial pneumonia, Prevnar 13, is now recommended for all adults over the age of 65. It is given in addition to the older vaccine, Pneumovax 23, which is now given to adults over the age of 50. The two vaccines cannot be given at the same time. If you have already had the old vaccine, then you should wait a year before getting the new vaccine (Prevnar 13). If you have never had either vaccine, then you should get the new vaccine first, and the old vaccine six months to a year later.
  • Pneumonia vaccine is now recommended for all adults 19 and older who have cochlear implants, leakage of spinal fluid, or compromised immune systems (such as people who have HIV or who are on steroids or chemotherapy).
  • Everyone except infants under the age of six months should get a flu shot every year. Adults who are allergic to eggs should not get the nasal vaccine. They should get a shot with a variety of the vaccine called Flubok.
  • Hepatitis A vaccines are recommended for parents adopting infants from abroad.
  • Hepatitis B vaccines are recommended for diabetics 59 and younger, and for anyone who has more than one sex partner in a six-month period.
  • All adults should receive a one-time pertussis booster shot.

READ 'Why I Oppose California's SB 277 Bill': A Unique Insight Into The Minds Of Anti-Vaccine Parents

The new guidelines recommend the shingles vaccine for adults 60 and older "as long as they are not pregnant." If you are 60 or older and pregnant, please contact us at SteadyHealth so we can print your story.

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