A US vaccine company has applied for permission to infect up to one thousand individuals, including children, with genetically modified live bacteria contained in an oral vaccine. PaxVax recently submitted their application for permission to begin the first of three international clinical trials for the new oral cholera vaccine “via oral ingestion of the GMOs”. [1]
PaxVax claims to have several safeguards in place to “restrict the spread and persistence of the GMOs and their introduced genetic material” during this clinical trial. That precaution itself should lead any parent to question the wisdom of administering genetically modified live bacteria to their child.
[adrotate banner=”21″]
The Problems With GMOs
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have earned a great deal of media attention in recent years, and rightfully so.
In a two-year research study in 2010, hamsters were fed GM soy. Most of the third-generation hamsters had lost their ability to have babies. Other disturbing findings from the study included the discovery of hair inside the hamsters’ mouths, slower growth, and a higher mortality rate among offspring. [2]
Numerous other research studies have shown that GMOs pose serious health and environmental risks, including reproductive disorders, immune system disorders, accelerated aging, organ damage, gastrointestinal problems, and cholesterol and insulin problems. [3] The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) recommends that “physicians advise all patients to avoid GM food.” [4]
Although the FDA claimed in 1992 that GMOs are safe, many of their own scientists disagreed with that decision. Dozens of classified government memorandums have since been made public as the result of a lawsuit, showing specific, key objections to the use of GMOs. Unfortunately, the scientists’ recommendations for long-term studies about the safety of GMOs in our food supply were ignored as appointees followed executive orders to claim GMOs were safe. [5]
In over sixty countries, including Japan, Australia, and the entire European Union, complete bans or severe restrictions have been placed on the sale and production of GMO-containing products. [6]
We simply don’t know the long-term effects of introducing genetically modified organisms into our food supply and our bodies. There have been no human clinical trials conducted to evaluate the safety or long-term effects of consuming genetically modified organisms in our food.
The closest thing we have to a clinical trial was dubbed a “human feeding experiment, ” in which published results indicated that “the genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function.”
In simpler terms, genetically modified proteins may be produced in our bodies continuously after we have have eaten a food containing GMOs.
The Problems With GM Vaccines
The problems associated with using GM vaccines are similar to the problems associated with consuming GM foods. Dr. Joseph Mercola, a widely respected health expert, explained these very real concerns using technical language as well as laymen’s terms in a well-written article on his website in 2012. Here is the short answer — or lack thereof — to the questions many parents are facing about the use of GM vaccines:
“What happens when foreign DNA is inserted into the human body is a mystery. Will it trigger undesirable changes in human cells or tissues? Will it combine or exchange genetic material with human DNA? Will it transfer to future generations? No one knows.” [7]
Unfortunately, this is not the first time a genetically modified vaccine will be used. A previous version of this vaccine, known then as Orochol, was registered for use as a prescription drug in 2000, under the condition that adverse events would be monitored and reported.
Back in 1999, the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee conducted a risk assessment study of the use of Orochol. Although they claimed that “the vaccine poses no significant risk to the environment or the community,” in their risk assessment, they outlined the potential for multiple risks to health and human safety and the environment:
“Human health and safety
Potential hazards that may be posed to human health and safety are whether:
- Orochol® vaccine might be harmful to vaccine recipients; and
- Orochol® vaccine might be harmful to people accidentally exposed to the vaccine.
Environmental safety
Potential hazards that may be posed to the safety of the environment are whether:
- GM bacteria might persist in the environment;
- GM bacteria might cause disease in organisms other than humans; and
- GM bacteria might be able to transfer the mercury resistance genes to other microorganisms and harm the environment.” [8]
Orochol is no longer produced. Effectiveness was estimated at sixty to ninety percent, and its protection lasted a mere three months before a booster vaccine was needed. In some US trials, protection for subjects only lasted a week. In a field trial of more than 67,000 subjects in Indonesia, Orochol did not offer “significant protective efficacy.” [9]
Are the short-lived perceived benefits of using GM vaccines really worth the long-term risks?
What the Government Isn’t Telling You About GM Vaccines
If you think that this new cholera vaccine is the only GM vaccine, you are wrong. There are other GM vaccines currently in use or proposed for use in the near future, including at least one flu shot, a vaccine which has come under heavy scrutiny recently for its ineffectiveness.
In January 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a GM vaccine for seasonal influenza outbreaks. This GM flu shot, known as Flublok, is recommended to healthy adults ages 18 – 49 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on their website. [10]
However, there are several important facts to consider regarding the use of Flublok which are not mentioned on the page of the CDC’s website that talks about this GM vaccine. The CDC makes no mention of the fact that this flu shot is genetically modified or the fact that its effectiveness is a mere 44 percent, as stated on the Flublok package insert. [11]
Nor does the CDC share the fact that two people died during the clinical trial.
In the section titled “Is this vaccine safe?” the CDC only lists “pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches” as possible side effects. However, a closer look at the vaccine’s own “Warnings and Precautions” section details the following side effects:
- allergic reactions
- respiratory infections
- headaches
- fatigue
- altered immunocompetence
- rhinorrhea
- myalgia [12]
Other Problems With Genetically Modified Vaccines
According to PaxVax’s application for their proposed clinical trial, “There have been no credible reports of adverse effects on human health and safety or the environment resulting from any of these releases.” That is pharma-speak for “there have been no credible studies to assess the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.”
One facet of this genetically modified vaccine allows the bacteria to grow in the presence of mercury. If traditional bacteria can’t even grow well in mercury, do you think it is healthy for our children to have mercury in their bodies? Do our children need another mercury-laden vaccine?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 100,000 – 200,000 deaths worldwide each year from cholera. According to WHO, the “provision of safe water and sanitation is critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases” and oral cholera vaccines “should not replace conventional control measures.” Malnourished children are also at greater risk for dying from cholera. [13]
Socially responsible measures would dictate that clean water and adequate nutrition should be provided to the most impoverished people in areas where cholera is more widespread, rather than promoting the spread of live, genetically modified cholera bacteria.
Conclusion
PaxVax claims to produce “socially responsible vaccines.” Is a vaccine containing genetically modified bacteria really socially responsible?
Is it socially responsible for governments, healthcare providers, and pharmacy technicians to not tell you they are injecting you with a genetically modified vaccine?
If you object to the use of GMOs, or if you are trying to avoid the use of GMOs in your household, you will certainly want to avoid genetically modified vaccines. If you would like to learn more about the vaccine ingredients injected into your child, download our free Vaccine Ingredient Summary now.
[contentbox headline=”References” type=”normal”]
References
- http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf…
- http://www.responsibletechnology.org/article-gmo-soy-linked-to-sterility
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBPY6rcgoTs
- http://www.responsibletechnology.org/docs/140.pdf
- http://www.biointegrity.org/list.htm
- http://www.responsibletechnology.org/docs/140.pdf
- http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/02/vicky-debold-on-gmo-vaccines.aspx
- http://www.ogtr.gov.au
- http://www.who.int/immunization/sage…
- http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/qa_flublok-vaccine.htm
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21835220
- http://www.naturalnews.com/039013_flu_vaccine_insect_virus_gmos.html
- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/