Vaccine herd immunity debunked

(NaturalNews) "Herd immunity" is not sufficient rationale to mandate widespread vaccination, says renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock, in an article published on the website VaccinationCouncil.org. Indeed, he says, the very concept itself does not hold water.

Blaylock was among the developers of a groundbreaking neurosurgical technique for removing intraventricular tumors that is still used today. He also developed a new treatment for hydrocephalus and was one of the first neurosurgeons to implement high-intensity nutritional supplementation as a complementary treatment for patients with craniocerebral trauma. Blaylock recently retired from his neurosurgery and nutrition practices to focus on full-time nutrition research.

Blaylock is the author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (1994), Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life (2002) and Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients (2003). He also publishes a monthly newsletter, The Blaylock Wellness Report.

Based on faulty premise

Herd immunity refers to the idea that, if enough of the population is vaccinated against a disease, there will not be enough vulnerable individuals to allow the disease to spread. This should therefore protect even the unvaccinated population (such as children too young to receive the vaccine). Conversely, many vaccine advocates have argued that people who refuse to get vaccines are threatening the nation's herd immunity and thereby placing the health of young children at risk.

In his article, Blaylock challenges the entire premise of this argument.

"Herd immunity is mostly a myth and applies only to natural immunity – that is, contracting the infection itself," he wrote.

Blaylock notes that the concept of herd immunity was first described in people who had already contracted certain diseases, such as measles, that can only be contracted once. The "natural immunity" acquired from such infections, Blaylock notes, lasts a lifetime. And when vaccines were first introduced, scientists assumed that they would likewise confer lifetime immunity.

This promise has not been borne out, which is why booster shots are now suggested for a wide variety of vaccines. Indeed, vaccine protection only seems to last between 2 and 10 years, Blaylock says.

Where are the epidemics?

Another pertinent fact is that boosters for these vaccines were introduced only relatively recently. Thus, for more than 70 years, doctors assumed that vaccine-induced immunity lasted a lifetime, and no one got booster shots. That means that the first few generations to receive childhood vaccination likely had no resistance left to those diseases by the time they were adults.

"If we listen to present-day wisdom, we are all at risk of resurgent massive epidemics should the vaccination rate fall below 95%," Blaylock wrote. "Yet, we have all lived for at least 30 to 40 years with 50% or less of the population having vaccine protection. That is, herd immunity has not existed in this country for many decades and no resurgent epidemics have occurred. Vaccine-induced herd immunity is a lie used to frighten doctors, public-health officials, other medical personnel, and the public into accepting vaccinations."

Blaylock wrote that, when physicians question his reasoning, he replies to them with a simple proof.

"When I was a medical student almost 40 years ago, it was taught that the tetanus vaccine would last a lifetime," he wrote. "Then 30 years after it had been mandated, we discovered that its protection lasted no more than 10 years. Then, I ask my doubting physician if he or she has ever seen a case of tetanus?

"Most have not. I then tell them to look at the yearly data on tetanus infections – one sees no rise in tetanus cases. The same can be said for measles, mumps, and other childhood infections. It was, and still is, all a myth."

Sources:

http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org

http://www.russellblaylockmd.com