FaceBook Post by Dr. Palevsky

http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/February-2011/College-Bound---Navigating-Vaccine-Choices.aspx

DR PALEVSKY’S COMMENTS: There is a common misconception in our society that if we don't see a specific disease in the community, like meningitis, we are led to believe that the germ that causes that disease is either not present in the body, or not present in the ...environment. This is unfortunate thinking, because it is incorrect.

The surfaces of our bodies are filled with trillions of bacteria lining the skin, nose, sinuses, mouth, throat, ear canals, intestines, and airway. Where do they come from to inhabit our bodies? From the air. And, where do the 4 Neisseria meningitidis bacteria exist in the environment, that are then used to make the meningitis vaccine? In the air. And, where do these bacteria exist in our bodies because we breathe in the air? In the nose, sinuses, mouth, throats, and ear canals of our children, and in us. And what's the likelihood that children, by the time they are vaccinated with the meningitis vaccine at 11 or 17 years of age, have breathed in these 4 bacteria that then become a natural part of the multitude of bacteria that line their noses, sinuses, throats, mouths and ear canals? Extremely likely.

Think about it. Children are exposed to trillions of bacteria that line the surfaces of their bodies without these bacteria causing any diseases, and we're saying that because the children haven't yet had meningitis from these 4 bacteria, they somehow haven't been exposed to them by the time the vaccine is given? Unlikely.

It stands to reason then, that from a statistical perspective, children are more than likely to have been exposed to these 4 bacteria, perhaps long before they are vaccinated between the ages of 11 and 17, along with the trillions of other bacteria lining their bodies, and somehow they have managed to not get sick from them. Somehow, the immune systems lining their upper airways don't perceive that these bacteria are a threat by their presence, or by the presence of the trillions of other organisms lining the upper airway.

It is silly to think that the 4 bacteria in the Neisseria meningitidis family that are included in the meningitis vaccine are the only 4 bacteria in the environment that children have somehow found a way not to be exposed to by the time they go to college, despite there being a colonization of trillions of bacteria along the surfaces of their bodies that make their way into the body just by breathing and living. So, if meningitis is to occur, it's not going to happen because children are suddenly exposed to these 4 bacteria. It takes more than the exposure to bacteria to cause disease. There are multiple other factors, that have nothing to do with the presence of these bacteria, that make children susceptible to developing meningitis.

Another unfortunate misconception is that the injection of these 4 Neisseria bacteria into our children's bodies will somehow protect them from getting meningitis by helping them to produce antibodies to the bacteria. It won't necessarily. And, here's why:

Antibodies are not the only way in which our immune systems are protected from bacterial diseases. Think about the trillions of bacteria that are lining the surfaces of our body. We co-exist with these bacteria. Our immune systems are in constant contact with these bacteria. Yet, we don't produce antibodies to every one of the trillions of bacteria that are on the surfaces of our bodies, and we seem to be protected from getting sick from them. That's right. We are covered in trillions of bacteria, lining the surfaces of our bodies, and we are protected by them without having antibodies to maintain that protection.

How is it then, that our bodies are not threatened by these bacteria? How is it that we don't get immediate or frequent diseases from exposure to these bacteria?

As it turns out, we have a protective immune system along the surfaces of our bodies that can protect us from disease, without the need for antibodies to perform this protective role. There are aspects of the communication between our immune systems and the trillions of the bacteria we are exposed to, that identify the bacteria as "friendly," and signal the immune system to recognize them and be protected by them at the same time......without the need for antibodies to fulfill this protective role.

Antibodies are not the be-all and end-all of protection from diseases. To inject these bacteria, with the thinking that the production of antibodies against them is going to be the best means by which we are protected from them, is short-sighted and lacking in understanding of how our immune systems work. So, just because the vaccine catalyzes the immune systems in our children to produce antibodies, doesn't fully mean that our children are going to be protected from getting the disease.

Lastly, the lack of safety studies re: this vaccine is a huge concern, not to mention the increased incidence of neurological complications, such as Guillan-Barre syndrome in adolescents and adults who receive this vaccine. And, where are the safety profiles of what happens to the immune systems of our children when they are injected with the vaccine ingredients? They are non-existent, and all efforts are made to divert attention from these scientific questions by the system that manufactures, recommends, and sells these vaccines to the public.

It's simply a vaccine that doesn't make medical sense.