Thank you, Sherri, for your welcome words of
support. You, like many who use and support the site, have been courageously
outspoken about the potential dangers of vaccines and I am grateful to you for
that.
And although I heartily
welcome any spotlight on the role Vaccination News has played in fighting
vaccine mandates and promoting genuinely informed choice, I take strong
exception to Colgroves characterization of Vaccination News, which presents ALL
SIDES of the vaccination controversy, as being anti-vaccination (see
mission statement).
Granted, my personal view is that the benefits of
vaccines are over-rated and the risks generally unknown or unacknowledged. But
if there is to be any meaning in the phrase informed choice and if I am to
have any integrity in promoting it, I must stand for the rights of all parents,
those who choose to vaccinate as well as those who do not.
So I must also thank you for providing the
opportunity to clarify that point. Sandy
Sandy,
I purchased a
new book this week, "State of Immunity" by James Colgrove. It is an historical
account of vaccination policy and how we came to have mandatory vaccination. On
page 6 of the book, Vaccination News is mentioned:
"Those
skeptical of vaccination, especially parents, have forcefully rejected the use
of coercion. Their stance is succinctly captured by an anti-vaccination Internet
site called Vaccination News, which declares itself to be 'against a parent, any
parent, being forced to do something that has even a remote chance of harming
their child.' This altitude exemplifies an important psychological phenomenon
relevant to vaccination and risk: the preference for errors of omission
over errors of
commission." The web address,
www.vaccinationnews.com is fully referenced in the book's endnotes.
Sandy has spent
many, many years of devoted time putting together a library of information.
There is nothing like this site, with so much information all in one place. Her
tireless drive to educate the public about the hazards of vaccines is starting
to pay off. The mention in a very mainstream book and the more than 1 million
site visitors demonstrate how much progress has been made. Many thanks to your
efforts, Sandy!
Vaccination News
needs to continue. It cannot be replaced nor recreated. I urge everyone to
support this site. If each visitor could contribute $5-10 per month, this
valuable work can easily continue.
DISCLAIMER: All
information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for
general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the
knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended
as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate
is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in
consultation with your health care provider.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"