Dr. Galvin’s article on dealing with vaccination hesitancy in parents shed light on a disrespectful and disturbing practice of subtly pressuring parents to vaccinate.
Long gone are the days where we can blindly accept the safety of vaccines as a general principal. Vaccinations were once the gold standard of protection for children and the population at large. They may still be appropriate and lifesaving. But we would be foolish not to examine what has changed.
Pharmaceutical companies now have enormous influence and power within the FDA and medical journals – the two safeguards meant to protect people from harm. They use enormous wealth to lobby politicians and influence once trusted medical journals. When a pharmaceutical company gets a new vaccine added to the CDC schedule, the payoff is massive.
After working more than 20 years at the New England Journal of Medicine (one of the most prestigious and influential publications in clinical medicine), Dr. Marcia Angell, a former editor-in-chief said in 2009, “it is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines.” Her skepticism was echoed in 2015 by Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, who wrote “The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.”
Some pediatricians report that the data of their own patients show that unvaccinated children are healthier across the board. These anecdotal stories do not arise to the level of scientific rigor required for proper study. Yet, given the conflict of interest behind the studies that are published, we must look deeper. Is there a definitive study proving that vaccines are safe?
The answer is no. However, the head of Infectious Disease at the Henry Ford Health Center – one of the top ranked research institutes in the world – did do a comprehensive, definitive study. Dr. Marcus Servos, who is entirely pro-vaccine, undertook the study called “Impact of Childhood Vaccination on Short and Long-Term Chronic Health Outcomes in Children: A Birth Cohort Study.” The data was considered uncommonly reliable because it was tied to health insurance companies. So, if a patient was treated out of state, the medical records were still available to the study. Dr. Servos’ findings: vaccinated people are 2.5 times more likely to have a chronic disease.
Dr. Servos did not publish his study. He was filmed by hidden camera stating that it would ruin his career. The Henry Ford Health Center issued a statement that the study was unreliable because the data and the methodology were flawed – despite the fact that it was their data and their top scientist’s methodology (Dr. Servos was also entrusted to run the Moderna Covid vaccine trials). Nevertheless, the study was widely shared among doctors and scientists and debated in a 2025 Congressional hearing.
Another reason for healthy skepticism when it comes to vaccines is the explosive growth in the number of children with autism. Following big pharma’s exemption from liability for vaccine injuries in 1986, the number of vaccines administered to children has gone from seven in 1986, to 16-18 in 2025. At the same time, the incidence of autism has gone from one in 2,000, in the early 1980s, to one in 31 children today. Read this paragraph again. Let it sink in.
Lastly, a fundamental precept of medical care involves informed consent, which is the law across our nation and under international law. It requires voluntary agreement, full disclosure of information, and the personal capacity to decide. Full disclosure demands that patients understand the nature, duration, purpose, methods, and potential risks or hazards of a procedure or experiment.
Dr. Galvin shared a quote from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2024 report in which they state, “the general consensus is that clinicians should introduce routine vaccinations in a presumptive format (‘Sarah is due three vaccines today.’) rather than in a participatory manner (‘Would you like to get Sarah vaccinated today?’).” The approach goes on to say the best way to deal with parents who have concerns about vaccines is to remind them their concerns stem from a fraudulent article written by a British physician who had his license revoked.
The AAP’s approach is a violation of informed consent. It does not address the issue of vaccine injuries but rather dismisses concerns about them.
I am not an anti-vaxxer. Both of my parents were doctors. I grew up getting the required immunizations. My parents and the greater scientific community relied on the safety and efficacy of vaccines. No doubt, many lives have been saved. My argument is not that vaccines are bad. My argument is that we don’t know and informed consent is non-negotiable. Especially considering all that has changed and the fact that we are putting these vaccines into children. We must use caution. We must ask questions. We must have full informed consent. And we must NEVER pressure parents into an uninformed decision, especially at a time when inexplicably, one in 31 children now suffer from autism.
