Many parents do not think twice about taking their children in for routine vaccinations, as they are an integral, and heavily pushed, part of the conventional medical system. But this decision turns out to be a life-or-death one for more children than you might think.

Last month in India, 9-month-old twin girls died suddenly, just 15 minutes after receiving a measles vaccine.

The family has received no explanation, and an official investigation into the incident is so far turning up little information. The doctor who administered the vaccines has disappeared, the clinic where they were performed has been shut down for the time being, and the Indian Medical Association's local president is at a loss.

He did report, however, that although the doctor had a "fresh supply of the vaccine … there could be something wrong with the batch …" Reportedly, similar deaths in two other regions in the country have also been reported.

This news, shocking and tragic as it is, is not unheard of.

This past August, four children also died in Indian villages during a routine immunization drive. Like the current case, the investigators had little to say by way of explanation, except to state, "This is a case of adverse event following immunization … This is not a new phenomenon …"

Every Vaccine Carries a Risk of Injury and Death

It is not a "new phenomenon" for children to die or become seriously ill after being vaccinated, because the risk is present every time a child receives a vaccine.

Unfortunately, this fact is not shared with parents so they can make an educated and informed decision on whether or not to proceed.

If you knew that death or permanent disability/injury was a possible side effect, you might think twice before agreeing to have your child vaccinated, especially for illnesses that kids typically easily recover from, like chicken pox, the flu, and rotavirus -- or illnesses your newborn has virtually no risk of catching, like hepatitis B.

As Barbara Loe Fisher, founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, recently stated:

"The truth is, nobody knows how many vaccine victims there are in America, how many of the 1 in 6 learning disabled children; or the 1 in 9 with asthma; or the 1 in 100 who develop autism; or the 1 in 450 who become diabetic, can trace their chronic inflammation, disease and disability back to vaccine reactions that have been dismissed by public health officials and doctors for the past century as just "a coincidence.""

A quick search of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reveals nearly 1,000 U.S. deaths related to various vaccines. With over 70 vaccines included, VAERS is an excellent tool that can help you easily identify which vaccines are associated with the most side effects.

It is important to know, though, that only a tiny fraction of the reactions are actually reported. Studies have estimated that less than 10 percent, to as little as ONE percent, of side effects are ever reported, so the true side effects, and deaths, are easily FAR higher than the reported statistics represent.

This is information that you, as a parent or even when deciding on vaccines for yourself, need to be aware of.

Australian Children Suffered Seizures After Flu Vaccine

As we gear up for flu season in the United States, one glaring example of the side-effect risk of "routine" vaccinations can be taken from Australia.

The Australian Department of Health and Aging has just confirmed that its main seasonal flu vaccine was "causally related" to fever and convulsions in 99 children in 2010.

An analysis by Heath Kelly, head of epidemiology at the state infectious diseases laboratory in Melbourne, further revealed that getting the Fluvax vaccine was actually worse than getting the flu, as the vaccine caused two to three hospital admissions due to convulsions, for every hospital admission the flu prevented.

This vaccine is very similar to the one being administered in the United States right now, with no warning to parents whatsoever!

How Much Risk are You Willing to Take?

This is the question you need to ask yourself when deciding on the very important decision of vaccination.

Studies of parental attitudes toward vaccination have repeatedly demonstrated that parents still prefer their child dying from an actual disease than dying from side effects associated with vaccination.

This is one reason why increasing numbers of parents are refusing vaccines. In 2008, 39 percent of parents refused or delayed vaccines for their children compared to just 22 percent in 2003. Among the top reasons for their decision:

• 27 percent said too many shots were recommended
• 26 percent questioned whether vaccines really worked
• 25 percent cited worries that vaccines might cause autism
• 24 percent worried about side effects

The media would have you believe that those who refuse vaccines are ignorant but when you examine the facts, mothers with college educations and higher incomes are actually LESS likely to vaccinate their children than those with less education.

Studies have also shown that the higher the education and income bracket of the parents, the lower the acceptable risk becomes.

For instance, in order to achieve a 90 percent acceptance rate (a typical target for recommended childhood vaccines), one study found that parents would accept no more than 1,794 cases of vaccine-related intussusception (a problem with the intestine in which one portion of the bowel slides into the next) caused by the rotavirus vaccine, per year.

This incidence rate corresponds to 359 surgeries and 14 deaths, 11 of which could be related to the rotavirus vaccine.

Does this sound like an acceptable risk to you?

Because to me it is a shockingly high risk, especially when you consider that rotavirus is typically mild in most U.S. children, entirely treatable with fluids and rest, and the infection provides natural, longer lasting immunity that will protect your child.

So that would be one risk I, personally, would NOT be willing to take.

But even if the risk for some vaccines is low, what you may find when you examine the research carefully is that the benefit for many vaccines is virtually nonexistent, which then means there is a big question about whether to accept ANY risk.

Earlier this year, for instance, more than 1,000 people came down with the mumps, and almost all of them had been vaccinated against this disease! So the MMR vaccine apparently does not always work as advertised, meaning you're taking a risk of a serious reaction occurring for nothing.

These are the types of risk-benefit analyses you should perform with each and every vaccine your child is expected to take. Do not go in blindly, as your child's life is very much at stake.

Did You Know Safety Studies Have Never Been Done?

Federal public health officials recommend children should get a total of 69 doses of 16 vaccines from day of birth to age 18. You should know that this current "one-size-fits-all" vaccination schedule has never been proven safe.

No studies have been done to examine if the benefits of this unprecedented number of vaccines outweigh the risks, so it is very much a large, uncontrolled experiment that your child is expected to take part in.

What the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has done is assume that there is no difference in giving a child one vaccine than giving them five, 10 or 14 all at once. They have simply chosen to ignore the fact that giving multiple vaccines at one time is, in fact, very different from giving just one.

They have also chosen to ignore the fact that this vaccine "prescription" is the same for every U.S. child, even though it's well known that all children are not the same biologically -- and some children will not be able to survive the currently recommended vaccine schedule without suffering serious harm to their health.

It's your child, so it's up to you to make an informed decision. For parents who are looking for the truth about vaccinations, you can continue your journey by searching this site and also visiting credible, reliable resources like the National Vaccine Information Center for more information.

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