January 29, 1998 – In an interview published in the American journal Natural Health In December 1997, Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the most publicized figures in “natural health” in the United States, spoke out in favor of vaccination.
The subject of all controversies and all passions, an important source of income for multinational pharmaceutical research companies, vaccination is a practice that continues to raise many doubts and questions, particularly among people using alternative and complementary approaches to medicine. health.
Analyzing the issue from a “risk and benefit” perspective, Dr Weil believes that the benefits outweigh the risk in most cases. “The vaccination debate can only happen in a country where most people are vaccinated,” he said. If Americans still suffered from the diseases for which vaccines have been developed, we would hear much less questioning. ”
Dr Weil believes, however, that the risks of vaccination must be reduced by ensuring that children who receive these vaccines are in good health, that they are not too young, and by giving them homeopathic medicines to reduce the symptoms caused by vaccines.
While acknowledging that vaccination has been able to dramatically lower the incidence of certain diseases and even make smallpox go away, Dr. Richard Moskowitz, a homeopathic practitioner opposed to vaccinations, points out that it is not clear how vaccines work against them. long term. He says he has observed a resurgence of chronic health problems in children, such as ear infections, asthma and dermatitis, following vaccinations. In fact, some countries, such as Canada, have documented a steady rise in cases of asthma and allergies in children.
Vaccination prevents acute immune system reactions, Dr Moskowitz says, but perhaps at the cost of chronic reactions to a host of otherwise minor problems. However, the two doctors completely agree to blame the excessive use of antibiotics as a very important factor in the weakening of the immune system, especially in children.
Chickenpox and flu
The only vaccine Weil doesn’t think is necessary is chickenpox, a relatively mild childhood illness that doesn’t cause significant complications. On the other hand, while he believes the annual flu shot is almost a hoax because manufacturers may very well miss the active strain which varies from year to year, Weil believes that the elderly and people with chronic breathing problems may benefit from a flu shot.
“The flu is not a mild illness: it is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. Even though most of the flu that we have seen in recent years weren’t very aggressive, the virus can mutate and take on very virulent forms that can kill healthy young people very quickly. If I were told that the coming flu looks like the one of 1918 [NDLR : qui tua plusieurs millions de personnes], I would not hesitate to get vaccinated. ”
Ultimately, in the absence of evidence or studies to clearly show the link between vaccination and increased chronic disease or decreased immunity, Dr. Weil leans in favor of vaccinating children. Dr Moskowitz, on the other hand, believes that the acute reaction to childhood illnesses is an essential component in the maturation of the immune system and leans in the opposite direction. Between immunization, a short-term good, and the risk of weakening the immune system, a long-term risk, reason does not know which way to lean.
HealthPassport.net
From Natural Health, November-December 1997
