Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
Is it not possible to honestly acknowledge the sad realities of life without being called callous?

What if the profits Big Pharma derives from vaccinations against common, normally minor, diseases, were directed instead to improving air quality. How many respiratory illnesses would be prevented and how many deaths would be postponed (deaths cannot be prevented)?

1% of the population or more has inflammatory arthritis. The link with vaccines is well established. This too can be a truly horrible disease.
Flu vaccines are a major life saver. The flu is not a minor disease. Part of the problem is people call various bugs the flu whether or not they know they have the flu.

If you want to redirect resources, how about redirecting the billions people spend on homeopathy, which has been researched to death, has no active ingredients, and does not work.

As far as the connection with arthritis, a link with vaccines is far from well established. From the CDC:

After decades of vaccine use in the U.S., current research shows no definitive evidence proving vaccines cause chronic illness.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, there is no known link between vaccines and fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus. . .


In a comprehensive 1994 study of adverse events associated with vaccination, the Institute of Medicine reviewed the possibility of a link between diphtheria and tetanus vaccines--these vaccines are generally given in combination--and arthritis. The Institute found that it is biologically possible for these immunizations to be associated with arthritis, primarily because the tetanus toxoid has the potential to induce serum sickness, which is a source of a temporary form of arthritis. However, the Institute also found that the evidence available in scientific studies up to 1994 was inadequate to determine whether this biologically possible link actually occurs. Since those findings were reported, one group of researchers found a link between rubella vaccine and temporary, acute arthritis, arthralgia (joint pain) or myalgia (muscle pain) when the vaccine was administered within 12 months of giving birth.(2) Another group found no evidence of any increased risk of developing chronic arthritis, arthralgia, or myalgia within the 12 months following vaccination; the women in this study were of childbearing age.(3)

Similarly, the Institute found that a link between hepatitis B vaccine and acute or chronic arthropathy (inflamed, painful joints) also is biologically plausible, but the studies available are inadequate to accept or reject a causal link to vaccination. A link between the disease, hepatitis B, and arthropathy has been proven.

http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/qa.htm#Do%20vaccines%20cause