Questions the Media Need to Ask on Vaccine Safety

There are questions about our nation’s health not being asked, particularly with regard to vaccinations. There is plenty of ammunition for doubt in the medical establishment on this subject. The conflicts of interest are impossible to ignore. Remember there are more big pharma lobbyists on Capitol Hill than Congressman and Senators combined.

These questions should be the seeds of doubt necessary to get a truly curious person interested.

First and foremost: Why was thimerosal [which contains mercury] taken out of most childhood vaccines, if it is allegedly safe? Many vaccines still contain “trace amounts” of mercury, 1 mcg or less per dose, according to the FDA. Why would it be added to vaccines in any amount when there is no known “safe level” of mercury exposure?
With regard to the amount of mercury still used in many flu vaccines (25 mcg), what study shows that it is safe for pregnant mothers or infants when, according to the EPA, it would require a 550 pound person to process that much mercury? Given this information, why does mercury remain in 48 million doses of flu vaccines recommended by the CDC for infants, children, and pregnant mothers?
If thimerosal is safe to inject into pregnant women, why is it listed in California under Proposition 65 as a reproductive toxicant?
Why has the CDC refused to compare the overall health of vaccinated children to unvaccinated children? (See this media article on the Amish)
Why are vaccines not required to undergo the same rigorous safety testing required for other prescription products?
Why does our government continue to promote vaccines as safe and effective when it has paid out more than $3.6 billion to families of vaccine-injured children through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program? Why does our government claim vaccines don’t cause autism when we know at least 83 of those claims are linked to autism and vaccines?
Why is it only optional for doctors and parents to report vaccine injuries given the gravity of many injuries and the potential to save others from harm?
Why have vaccines never been tested for carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or impairment of fertility, despite the fact they contain ingredients recognized as potential carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxicants?
Why does the CDC only assess the efficacy of vaccines in preventing infectious disease and never assess the potential long-term effects?
Why is the mainstream media not reporting on whistleblower and CDC scientist William Thompson’s claims of vaccine/autism research fraud? And why has Thompson not been subpoenaed by Congress?
Lastly, why has there been vehement pushback from health organizations and even members of Congress on the formation of a Vaccine Safety Commission, an entity that would help ensure the integrity of our vaccines? What are they afraid of?

Disregarding Parents

Before an eye-opening Washington press conference (watch here), the World Mercury Project solicited emails from parents telling their stories of vaccine injury. Within a few days, more than 6,000 letters poured in.

They were heart-wrenching stories of horrific injury and even death to children who had been healthy prior to vaccination. One moment their child was a robust and typical lively kid and within days or even hours of vaccination, there was loss of eye contact, head banging, speech loss, excruciating headaches and declining cognitive ability. The stories were remarkably consistent. These phenomena are not anecdotal, they’re epidemic.

For the parents of vaccine-injured kids, these unanswered questions are haunting and ongoing. The helplessness they feel as parents and lack of help they receive from the media eat at their spirits like a bloodthirsty leech. As for me? I have no dog in this fight – only a desire for truth and a longing for journalism of old.

We all had that teacher growing up who said, “The only dumb question is the one not asked.” Think about that. When it comes to our nation’s kids, our most treasured asset, should we look the other way? Should we ignore the incertitude? When in doubt about a matter as important as our children’s health, should we take the first answer (and our chances) or should we exhaust every single possibility and seek the truth?

It’s time for real journalists to step forward. Go against the grain. Stand up to the powerful. Be willing to lose your job in the effort if that is what it takes to get answers. Real answers. David beat Goliath. And we can too. Our kids are so worth it.

Kathleen Kennedy is a 25-year veteran of local, national and international television news. In 1992, she joined Turner Broadcasting to co-anchor its prime-time newscast, The World Today on CNN. Throughout her career at CNN, Kennedy served as a news anchor for its sister networks Headline News and CNN International, seen in more than 200 countries around the world. During her career as a news anchor and reporter, Kennedy covered major breaking news of the past two decades.