In 2011, two reasonable bills concerning vaccines were introduced in our Legislature. One required doctors to give parents a list of all the ingredients in childhood vaccines. The other made it easier for children to stay in school without being immunized.

Unfortunately, these bills did not pass. Unfortunately, too, battle lines have since been drawn to more forcefully restrict parental rights over their own children.

In order to sway public opinion, the pharmaceutical, medical and media domains have all joined in this battle. They testify that risks and fears regarding vaccines are completely unwarranted. Consequently, they pass off the legitimate concerns of parents and their statistical findings as “fringe opinion” or “philosophical musings.” What arrogance. Parents are not stupid, and they are quickly learning to really question supposed authorities.

In a column in this newspaper on Feb. 21, Dr. Sydney Sewall quoted scientists who said, “The effects of giving multiple vaccines at once have established that ‘immunologic overload’ does not occur.” Sewall then said, “We are built to withstand thousands of invading organisms all at once.”

However, in 2000, a Government Reform Committee considered that “there may be a significant risk to the immune and neurological systems of some children. … By introducing so many different vaccines at the same time, it’s possible that we could be blowing a child’s immune system, just like overloading the electrical system by putting too many plugs into one outlet.” Are people aware that 49 doses of vaccines are given to children before the age of 6?

I believe the “herd immunity” that the pro-people are pressing for is a myth. This sounds more like a desire to create a “herd mentality.” Those who believe that multiple inoculations are effective should have their children vaccinated. But I say, no thank you to mandated vaccines.

Pat Truman

Hallowell