It is our children who are taking all the risks
 NO says Jackie Fletcher, from Haydock, founder of JABS I ACCEPT vaccines have played a major role in eradicating many illnesses, and statistically most people in the UK are in favour of the childhood vaccination programme. However, it is important to realise a small number of those children vaccinated will react adversely, a few seriously, and that these might suffer severe injury, such as brain damage. Therefore parents need to be cautious. The new five-in-one vaccine for babies was announced last week and came as a surprise for parents and medics alike. The existing DTwPHib (+ live polio drop) combination vaccine has until now contained thiomersal, a preservative derived from mercury which is a known neurotoxin. We have reports of children in the JABS group who have suffered neurological damage similar to mercury poisoning after being given this combination vaccine. Our group welcomes the removal of thiomersal in all vaccines. In the past when the Department of Health (DoH) senior medical advisers have proclaimed new vaccines to be very safe and effective against the diseases. Unfortunately, this hasn't always proved to be the case. When MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988 it was described in this way but four years later two of the three brands of MMR had to be withdrawn because they were found to be causing mumps and meningitis in some children. With the four-in-one DTaPHib booster vaccine they had to recall thousands of children to have another booster jab because the Hib part was less effective when combined with the other vaccines. The DoH is phasing out useful single jabs such as those for diphtheria and tetanus and introducing combination jabs that have not been shown to be fully tried and tested in the UK. Vaccine chiefs state the five-in-one vaccine has been used safely in Canada for seven years, but a summary of the adverse reactions experienced with this vaccine in Canada is already circulating widely on the internet. It would be helpful for parents to see information on any pre-introductory trials carried out in this country. Doctors say children are exposed to viruses and bacteria every day through what they eat and the world around them. The big difference is when you eat or breathe in something it is subject to the body's total immune response. A vaccine punctures the skin and is absorbed through the tissues into the bloodstream where it can get to all the major organs in the body. The DoH officials keep holding up epidemiological studies as proof that the current system is safe. Epidemiological studies are the wrong kind to detect adverse events. They keep looking at data, but we want them to look at children. We must remember that it is our children who take 100% of the risk with the introduction of any new vaccine. * Now tell us what you think on the DEBATE MESSAGEBOARD | 
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