1) VARIVAX is recommended by Merck for children 12 months and older.

2) Chicken pox has a better than 99.99% compete recovery rate followed by life-time immunity.

3) The FDA VAERS' (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) first year surveillance of VARIVAX included over
1,500 reports. 76 were serious adverse reactions that included 2 deaths. While a VAERS report does not prove a
causal relationship between the vaccine and the death or disability that follows, the vaccine is highly suspect
in all such reports.

4) The FDA has stated that fewer than 10% of serious adverse reactions and deaths following vaccines are
reported; independent researchers cite lower rates. The federal govermnent has paid families of vaccine killed
and disabled children nearly $100 million in tax-payer dollars each year since 1986 through the National Vaccine
Injury Compensation Program (NVCIP).

5) Studies show that up to 3% of VARIVAX recipients contract chicken pox from the vaccine, and that some chicken
pox cases may be contracted from recently vaccinated children. Vaccine recipients may therefore pose a health
risk to pregnant mothers or family members with chronic health problems or compromised immune systems.

6) VARIVAX has an estimated effectiveness of 6 - 10 years. Vaccinated children may thus be unprotected as
adults, when hospitalization and deaths from chickenpox occur at rates 10 and 20 times higher than in childhood,
respectively. (Half of the measles cases in the late 1980's outbreaks occurred in adolescents and adults--most of
whom were vaccinated as children.)

7) California's Pacificare Health Systems HMO chose not to recommend VARIVAX; medical director Dr. William
Osheroff said, "The real issue is all of the unanswered questions about Varivax...This is a very benign disease
in children, but the vaccine may create a false sense of security as these kids get older and find themselves
non-immune. Chickenpox as an adult is a serious disease."

8) A 1995 edition of Health Magazine stated, "As with any new vaccine, researchers won't have complete
information on its effectiveness until it's been in use for at least a generation."

9) Some parents reported a correlation between VARIVAX and seizures. (The FDA Vaccine Data Safety Link has
recently reported that seizures following DPT are "common," although the DPT vaccine has been in use for decades.)

10) VARIVAX was developed with the use of aborted fetuses. This may pose religious and/or ethical considerations
for some people.

11) Infants today may be protected from chicken pox by maternal antibodies from their mothers. However, due to
VARIVAX's temporary immunity, vaccinated girls may not have maternal antibodies as adults. Their future children
may be susceptible to chicken pox as infants, when they are too young for the vaccine. (The percentage of measles
cases in infants has increased significantly in the years following the widespread use of the measles vaccine).

12) Shingles, a sometimes debilitating condition, is caused by the chicken pox virus. It usually occurs after
age 50 in a tiny percentage of persons who had chicken pox as children. The relationship between VARIVAX (a live
virus vaccine) and shingles is unknown. In 10 years of use, nearly 1 out of 1000 vaccine recipients have
developed shingles. There is no way to know how many of the remaining 999 out of each 1000 will also develop
shingles in later years.

13) According to the National Vaccine Information Center, many healthcare professionals are very concerned that
the live vaccine virus may "reactivate later in life in the form of herpes zoster (shingles) or other immune
system disorders."

14) Dr. A. Lavin of the Department of Pediatrics, St. Luke's Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, strongly opposed
licensing VARIVAX, "Until we actually know...the risks involved in injecting mutated DNA [the vaccine] into the
host genome [children]."

15) Some studies suggest that chicken pox in a vaccinated child may be milder than in an unvaccinated child.
However, some experts believe that this may be due to the vaccine suppressing the illness, which could actually
signal a more serious underlying chronic condition. For example, "Atypical measles" is a disease that occurs only
in people previously vaccinated for measles, and it is far more serious than regular measles. It is not yet known
if "atypical chicken pox" cases will appear as a result of the use of VARIVAX.

16) VARIVAX contains MSG (monosodium glutamate) in 2 forms, according to Jack Samuels, an expert on MSG.
According to the FDA, MSG is not advised for infants, children, or pregnant women or children of childbearing
age, and people with affective (mental/emotional) disorders.

17) According to VARIVAX product literature, the vaccine contains gelatin and trace amounts of neomycin, and
should not be given to people allergic to them; it should not be given to anyone with an immune disorder, or
anyone receiving drugs which affect the immune system such as chemotherapy or steroids; it should not be given to
people with untreated tuberculosis or certain other infections.

18) Those who may suffer from any chronic condition or who are taking medicine on a regular basis (or whose
family members do) should also consider avoiding this vaccine.
 
 

This article is provided courtesy of 
Informed Parents Vaccine Information Home Page
 

I want to thank all of you once again for your support during GVAL’s first few years. Please continue to help us put lifesaving information in the hands of the families who are not yet completely informed and are preparing to vaccinate their children. Everyday GVAL receives telephone calls, letters, and e-mail from families looking for more information on vaccines and their serious side effects. We need the support of your membership to continue the assistance to these families. They need to hear the other side of the story as well. As a parent who lost a child from a vaccination, I only wish that I would not have been so conditioned and had been aware of the ever-growing concern over this issue. I plead with you for your continued support in this most worthy cause- the saving our children’s lives. Please renew your tax-deductible membership today, as it may help to save a life tomorrow.

GVAL’s Advisory Board:
Dr. Viera Scheibner, Research Scientist 
Dr. Hashem Cyrus, Neurosurgeon 
Dr. Richard Lindwall, Chiropractor 
Lawrence Harris, Attorney at Law 
Reverend Bill Gaddie

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact us at the following address: 

Global Vaccine Awareness League
25422 Trabuco Rd., Suite 105-230
Lake Forest, CA 92630-2797

E-mail: Michelle@gval.com 
http://www.gval.com/ 
"The best decision is an informed decision" 

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