Why Chickenpox Vaccine? Saves the U.S. money!

Whaaaat?? For real?! Yes. Damn straight.

Most people know that chickenpox in children is a relatively harmless childhood disease. It gets riskier to contract chickenpox as you age.

The chickenpox vaccine, however, shifts the distribution of cases from children (who are not likely to experience problems) to teenagers and adults (who have higher complication rates).

Why would they do this?

Because “the U.S. could save five times as much as it would spend” on the shot by avoiding the costs incurred by moms and dads who would have to stay home from work to take care of their sick kids.

Sweet.

REFERENCES:

Miller, Neil Z. Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? Santa Fe, NM: New Atlantean, 2002. Print.

Wharton. “The Epidemiology of Varicella-zoster Virus Infections.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 26 July 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8856352>.

Halloran, M.E. et. al. American Journal of Epidemiology, 1994; 140:81-104. As cited in Medical Sciences Bulletin, “Chickenpox vaccine approved.” (April 1995), p. 2

Gorman, Christine. “Chicken Pox Conundrum.” Time. Time, 19 July 1993. Web. 26 July 2013. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,978876,00.html>.

Some Serious Reactions from Hepatitis B Vaccine

… aaand this is about that time in my day when I realize it’s gonna take me forever to finish my Master Herbalist degree. I keep finding things I want to research even further.. and then I keep getting taken further and further down that notorious rabbit hole.

I’ll try to be brief.

I’m reading the 2012 publication of Neil Z. Miller’s Vaccines: Are they really safe and effective? . I just read some of the adverse reactions that he listed from the Hepatitis B Vaccine: Diabetes, MS, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Bell’s palsy, brachial plexus , optic neuritis, central nervous system demyelination, lumbar radiculopathy, transverse myelitis, autoimmune reactions, thrombocytopenic purpura, anaphylaxis, arthritis, fever, headaches, pain, vomiting, vertigo, herpes zoster, and convulsions.

Most of these conditions are not commonly used in lay language. So I thought I’d look them up (the ones I’m not clear about) and share what I find these conditions to be.

The info is all taken from The U.S. National Library of Medicine:

Guillain-Barre syndrome – Guillain-Barre syndrome is a serious disorder that occurs when the body’s defense (immune) system mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system. This leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness and other symptoms.

Bell’s palsy – Bell’s palsy is a disorder of the nerve that controls movement of the muscles in the face. This nerve is called the facial or 7th cranial nerve. Damage to this nerve causes weakness or paralysis of these muscles. Paralysis means that you cannot use the muscles at all. (WebMD simplifies it as paralysis of one side of your face).

Brachial plexus – Brachial plexopathy is pain, decreased movement, or decreased sensation in the arm and shoulder due to a nerve problem.

Optic neuritis – Optic neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve. It may cause sudden, reduced vision in the affected eye.

Lumbar radiculopathy (aka “Sciatica”) – Sciatica refers to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg. It is caused by injury to or pressure on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is a symptom of another medical problem, not a medical condition on its own.

Acute transverse myelitis – is a clinical syndrome manifested by weakness and sensory loss, generally in a symmetrical pattern, below the affected spinal segment. The term transverse myelitis implies that the whole cross sectional area of the spinal cord is involved. Symptoms evolve over several hours to several weeks.

Thrombocytopenic purpura – Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a blood disorder that causes blood clots to form in small blood vessels around the body, and leads to a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia).

… but wait! There’s more!

Dr. Mercola lists “60 things that can go terribly wrong Hepatitis B Vaccination” and GreenMedInfo has 47 scientific articles listed under “Problematic Actions of Hepatitis B Vaccine”.

Just thought you should know 🙂

REFERENCES:

Miller, Neil Z. Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? Santa Fe, NM: New Atlantean, 2012. Print.

“National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 23 July 2013. Web. 26 July 2013. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/>.

Mercola. “60 Things That Can Go Terribly Wrong with Hepatitis B Vaccination.”Mercola.com. N.p., 7 July 2011. Web. <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/07/60-things-that-can-go-terribly-wrong-with-hepatitis-b-vaccination.aspx>.

“Vaccination: Hepatitis B.” GreenMedInfo. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013. <http://www.greenmedinfo.com/anti-therapeutic-action/vaccination-hepatitis-b>.

Shingles Vaccine (ZOSTAVAX): just so you know…

Manufactured by: Merck
Brand name: ZOSTAVAX

Just so you know…

You can still get shingles even though you’ve had the vaccine.
The vaccine only works 50% of the time.
It may or may not lesson symptoms (esp. pain) of shingles if you get the vaccine and still get shingles.
You can get shingles multiple times.
ZOSTAVAX contains a weakened chickenpox virus (yet you can only get it if you already have the chickenpox virus in your body…)
ZOSTAVAX is supposed to work by “helping your immune system protect you from getting shingles.” (Could you not just help your immune system without the vaccine..?)
ZOSTAVAX cannot be used to treat shingles once you have it…

Side Effects of Shingles Vaccine (ZOSTAVAX)

These are the side effects listed from the manufacturers website:

The most common side effects that people in the clinical studies reported after receiving the vaccine include:
• redness, pain, itching, swelling, hard lump, warmth, or bruising where the shot was given.
• headache

The following additional side effects have been reported with ZOSTAVAX:
• allergic reactions, which may be serious and may include difficulty in breathing or swallowing. If you have an allergic reaction, call your doctor right away.
• chickenpox
• fever
• hives at the injection site
• joint pain
• muscle pain
• nausea
• rash
• rash at the injection site
• swollen glands near the injection site (that may last a few days to a few weeks)

“The vaccine is not recommended for those with immune systems weakened by disease or drug treatment, women who are pregnant or might be pregnant and people with active untreated tuberculosis. Nor should the vaccine be given to anyone who has had a life-threatening allergic reaction to gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin.” (Brody, NYTimes.com)

Ingredients

You already know the active ingredient for ZOSTAVAX is weakened chickenpox virus. Here’s the inactive ingredients for ZOSTAVAX:

sucrose (sugar), hydrolyzed porcine gelatin (pig tissue), sodium chloride (salt), monosodium L-glutamate (MSG), sodium phosphate dibasic (anti-caking additive), potassium phosphate monobasic (food additive, cigarette additive, fungicide), potassium chloride (toxic chemical compound).

My Conclusion

It just… doesn’t make any fucking sense. So.. you’re at risk for shingles if you have the chickenpox virus already in your body. So.. you inject yourself with the chickenpox virus (among other things) to somehow boost your immune system.. because your immune system needs excess chickenpox virus in order to not get shingles…?? K… But… You can get shingles more than once. So how would it be helpful to put the same live virus into your body that causes shingles… in order to prevent from getting it… if you already have the virus in your body… and can get it multiple times anyways… ? I’m confused

I’m also not thrilled with the 50% efficacy. If 1 out of 3 people will get shingles anyways… then only 33% of the people who got vaccinated, statistically, should have gotten shingles. So if the vaccine worked.. wouldn’t the percent efficacy be more than 67% if it were to be considered effective?

The only for real ‘cure’ that I can see is prevention by means helping your body’s immune system function optimally. And you can do that at ANY age.