Suggestions you can use to wade through the information on vaccines

(July 2019 Update)

I will start of this post by saying that I am very cautious about vaccines in my own animals and myself.  I believe vaccines offer immunity for years, if not for a lifetime, and potentially down the generations as well via the colostrum.  I’m not going to answer the vaccine question for you, or for your animals.  Rather than attempt to sway you to my way of looking at vaccines, I’m offering some definitions and some resources so you can go out and do your own research and make up your own mind.
You can google any one of these words, or combinations of these words, and come back with hundreds of relevant and not-so-relevant websites.  The links I provide will lead you to more links, as well as the names of well-known veterinarians.  Go forth and learn!

Terms like disease, infection, bacteria, virus, sickness, illness, toxoids all get tossed around in conversations about vaccines.  Do you find the terms confusing?  I know I used to.  So let’s talk a bit about the labels we use.

Here is a little background on pathogens. These organisms are present in the air, water, food, soil, on your skin – basically all over the place.  These organisms get into the body in a few different ways.  They can be eaten, inhaled, or enter through the skin.

The body has defenses each of these types of entry.
Organisms that are eaten are usually killed by the stomach acid.
Organisms that are inhaled are normally captured by the hairs and mucous in the respiratory tract and then expelled.
The skin is a physical barrier.
Organisms that get around these barriers are then attacked by the body.  The immune system has a variety of cells that attack invaders and destroy them.  For a more detailed explanation of the immune system, http://thyroid.about.com/cs/endocrinology/l/blimmune.htm has an explanation of each type of attack cell.

The theory behind vaccines is that the vaccine introduces a safe form of the disease organism into the body so that the body mounts a defense against it.  Then the body has the immune cells and memory to fight that organism if ever exposed again

Some thoughts for you to ponder about vaccines:
Vaccines often introduce organisms into the body in a way that organism normally wouldn’t enter.  If the body is designed to kill a particular organism with stomach acid, and that organism is injected through the skin, will that change how the body responds?  If an organism is normally inhaled, is injecting it through the skin the best approach?
Another question about vaccines is the use of combination vaccines.  How often in nature would the body be exposed to multiple serious organisms in one single moment?  In a single day?  In a single wound?
Then there is the question of how to make the organism in the vaccine safe.  A live vaccine risks introducing the disease.  Killing the organism means it must be preserved.  Many of the preservatives are known to be toxic, like the infamous thimerisol (mercury).
There is also a question of dosage.  Would you give the same dose to a pygmy goat and a large meat goat?  To a toy poodle and a great pyrenees?  Currently, the manufacturers recommend one dose for all sizes.
There is also the question of how long immunity lasts.  After a natural exposure and recovery from an infectious disease, immunity often lasts for life.  So how often should vaccines actually be given?
How about the safety studies on the vaccine.  If the vaccine is going to be a combination killed vaccine, did the safety studies use the same combination in killed form, with all the preservatives?

Now let’s circle back for a moment to the common expression “disease-causing pathogens” and “contagious diseases”.  The entire theory of vaccination is based upon Pasteur’s original work with germ theory.  One little complication with that – Pasteur may have gotten it wrong.
Started by Pasteur, the basic premise of germ theory is that germs/bacteria/viruses cause disease. Béchamp, Bernard and others continued the research and drew some interesting conclusions which turn the conventional medical model of germ theory on its ear.  Here are a few links to Pasteur and the issues with his theory.  (These links often vanish from the internet almost as quickly as they are posted.  )
http://www.whale.to/v/disease2.html
http://susandoreydesigns.com/insights/pasteur-recant.html
There is much debate over whether or not Pasteur recanted before his death. http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/history/biographies/louis_pasteur.htm This link appears to offer solid research that Pasteur did NOT recant.  His contemporaries Claude Bernard and Antoine Bechamp had very different ideas about pathogens and disease, so you may choose to google them as well.  I personally think Bernard got it right with his thoughts on pH and the health of the host.  A healthy host with correct pH fights off pathogens.

Nosodes are similar to vaccines because they trigger the body to mount an immune defense against a pathogen.  Nosodes are different from vaccines because they contain the energetic or vibrational signature of the pathogen, rather than the actual pathogen.  Many feel the nosodes may be a safer option.  Others feel the nosodes are ineffective.  I personally am comfortable with nosodes.

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/nosodes-can-they-replace-vaccines/

Many folks have their horses and goats tested for contagious diseases.  Animals that test positive are removed from breeding programs, or removed entirely.
Many goat producers cull (remove from their herd) any goat that tests positive for CAE, CL or Johnes (you can do an internet search on these pathogens for more details).
Horse folks euthanize horses that test positive for EIA (Coggins test)
So far, dogs don’t get culled for diseases.
Logic tells me that an animal showing symptoms for a disease, obviously struggling to thrive, and testing positive for that pathogen’s antibodies, is a good candidate to be removed from the breeding pool.
However, what about culling animals that are thriving, symptom-free, yet test positive for the pathogen’s antibodies?  That positive titer means that animal fought that disease and WON.  Do we truly want to remove that superior immunity from the gene pool? If you subscribe to the theory that pathogen transmission is controlled by the health of the host, how much risk is a positive animal creating for the herd?  I don’t have an answer – just asking the questions to get you thinking logically about where our culling choices could be taking us.

Many veterinarians have written and researched extensively about vaccines, nosodes, vaccinosis and miasms.  A few of the most well-known are:
Dr Richard Pitcairn
Dr Donna Starita (deceased)
Dr Edgar Sheaffer(no longer practicing)
Dr Martin Goldstein
Dr Jean Dodds
Each of their websites has links to various books and articles that offer more clues.  You can also google their names combined with any of the vaccine terminology to uncover more articles of interest.

For a look at the human side of pathogens and vaccines, I suggest the book Evidence of Harm by David Kirby.

After doing your research, you have likely narrowed your approaches down to:
Let my vet and doctor decide for me because I am overwhelmed
Do a modified reduced vaccine schedule, and take steps to reduce the vaccine side-effects
Run blood titers and vaccinate only as needed
Use nosodes instead
Focus entirely on improving my health and immune system and my animals as well

If you choose any of the first 3 options, there are some additional steps you can take to minimize the effects.
As soon as the needle is withdrawn, slap a bentonite clay poultice over the injection site.
Give micronized cleaned zeolite orally for several days to absorb any heavy metals (I use Waiora NCD)
Give prebiotics with meals for a couple days before and after the vaccine
Give Ester C (buffered vitamin C) for a couple days before and after the vaccine
Give homeopathic Thuja occidentallis 30C once after the vaccine
If possible, use single-valent rather than combination vaccines. (Hint:  some users report killing live vaccines  in a hot water bath just before use to avoid the preservatives in killed vaccines. Use this method at your own risk.)
Separate single vaccines by several weeks
Do not vaccinate during stress, or within 2 weeks prior to stress (stress=travel, showing, breeding, pregnancy, deworming, weaning, trimming, etc)
*For a large herd all getting vaccines on the same day, zeolite, prebiotics and Ester C can be added to drinking water or blended into feed.  Clay can be applied at the time of the shot, and allowed to dry up and fall off without further handling. The thuja can be given orally at the time of the shot.

I encourage all people who share their lives with various critters to form their own conclusions about appropriate care for their animals and themselves. These links, thoughts and questions will give you a starting point in your search for your own truth.  Enjoy!

Carrie

copyright (c) 2016-2019
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or AVMA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.  Always consult your veterinarian or doctor about any changes to your or your animals’ health program.