I write in response to the Sun Journal front page story (March 1) “Vaccine question pits science vs. choice.” The story may not be “fake news” but is possibly something worse —sloppy journalism, which misstates a point of view and then refutes it.

For example, I did not say “that nobody dies” from measles. I said death from measles is less likely than death from vaccine — depending, of course, on variable factors in the child’s immune system. It makes more sense to me to strengthen children’s immune systems rather than to trigger a milder disease in hopes that will arouse an immune response quickly.

The better alternative is to focus on more serious problems arising from common causes — addictions, obesity, untrained driving, medical errors, allowing chemical additives in food, etc.

If you recognize that last cause of childhood weakness (chemical additives), it can help make sense of the statement from Sylvia Moore-Leamon that my wife and I have a “cockamamie desire to crunch granola” and refuse to do right by the greater community. Leaving aside the fact that neither if us cares for granola, the statement is puzzling until noticing the terminology is usually applied to consumers and farmers of organic food — which our family is, most certainly. And, according to USDA and other authorities in government, organic food is no better for health than any of the synthetic-laced products accepted as “safe” by the FDA.

OK; if you agree that conventional food products are perfectly safe then, by the same token, you can have full confidence in vaccine safety. History will tell.

Or, maybe history has already told, if we have ears to listen. Centuries ago, blood-letting was a standard treatment for a number of ailments. Not today, of course, and one person who changed that was my ancestor, William Harvey, the scientist who demonstrated blood circulation — despite opposition from the establishment.

When Mahatma Gandhi’s wife was dying in a British prison, he refused to allow her to be injected with penicillin, which doctors believed would prolong her life. The Brits feared if she died in prison there might be riots. Gandhi’s refusal was based on her adherence to a Hindu religious tradition which Gandhi respected, even though he did not share it. The current debate on vaccinations raises similar questions of personal religious liberty versus conventional government authority.

Finally, we come to “herd immunity.” I wonder about “herd immunosuppression” arising from the ever-growing infliction of vaccines on a mass scale. The similar problem with mass use of antibiotics on people and livestock has led many authorities to question such use.

Arthur Harvey, Hartford


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