Un-"acceptable risk"
I used to think of pneumonia as a really, really bad cold. And, apparently, so do most people. After Bernie Mac succumbed to it last month, I heard several of my friends wonder aloud "Who dies from pneumonia?" Unfortunately, I'd found out the answer to that question about 15 years ago, when my father almost died from it. And he's not the only person in my family to have been attacked by this stealth enemy: Just last year his brother, my uncle, lost his own battle against it. So you'd think I'd be all for the pneumonia vaccine if it could protect others from the same fate. But the price of that so-called "protection" is more than I can stomach. You see, for the past year, the pharmaceutical giant Glaxo has been testing its version of the pneumonia vaccine in Argentinean children from low-income families. But that's not the most disturbing part of the trial -- or the pneumonia vaccine. This is: Since that study began, 12 of the babies who were part of that study have died -- presumably as a result of the vaccine itself. Of course, Glaxo argues that that number is quite small in proportion not only to the number of infants enrolled in the trial (around 15,000) but also to the overall number of deaths caused by pneumonia each year. And those points may be true. But we're talking about innocent, defenseless babies here. Which makes the whole notion of "acceptable risk" seem downright tasteless. Particularly when there's really no need for anyone -- adult or child -- to undergo the pneumonia vaccine to begin with. As Dr. Wright has mentioned before in Nutrition & Healing, there are a number of natural bacteria-destroying methods you can use instead. Some of the most effective ones are zinc and colloidal silver, but for a complete rundown of his top picks, refer back to the October 2007 issue of Nutrition & Healing (which subscribers can download for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on to the Archives with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent newsletter). Also, according to another alternative health pioneer, Dr. Joseph Mercola, essential oils -- particularly oregano, rosewood, and thyme oils –- have been shown to inactivate harmful bacteria, including pneumonia. The bottom line is, there are ways to protect yourself from pneumonia without submitting to a potentially deadly vaccine. And if you do happen to come down with it, remember that, while it is a serious condition, it doesn't have to be fatal. The earlier you seek treatment, the better off you'll be. Sources:
"Infant deaths disputed in Glaxo vaccine trial," Pharmalot (www.pharmalot.com) 7/15/08
"12 babies die during vaccine trials in Argentina," Dr. Joseph Mercola's eHealthy News You Can Use (www.mercola.com), 7/31/08 | 
