Vaccination fascination

Sallie Elkordy only knew her sister Mary Bess as mentally retarded.
Mary Bess was eight years older, so before Sallie was even conceived, her sister had already received the polio vaccine at her one-year-old check-up and had experienced the side effects.
Elkordy is individually sponsoring a tour throughout New York to warn people and spread the truth about vaccines with other parents whose children have been injured or have died from vaccines.
"My parents never put two and two together," Elkordy said. "But we eventually found out that my sister was very severely retarded, most likely because of the vaccine that she had received when she was younger."
Mary Bess died at the age of 23 due to unknown reasons. She would be 58 years old.
According to the Center for Disease Control Web site, the polio vaccine was initially administered at a child's one-year-old check-up.
"He or she [received] a primary series of at least three doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), or four doses of any combination of IPV and OPV," the Web site said.
The polio vaccine was not recommended for routine vaccinations on Jan. 1, 2000 because of the risk of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP), which affects approximately one out of every 2.4 million children.
"I feel responsible to warn every person and parent in New York," Elkordy said. "Our children are being pumped with vaccines without our consent."
Elkordy admits that she is against vaccines all together, but is especially angry about the fact that it is happening without a person's consent.
"This is affecting our children mentally, neurologically and [fatally]," Elkordy said. "And right now, there is nothing that we can do to stop it."
Elkordy invites senators and legislators to her events, which stops in Manhattan, Queens, Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Poughkeepsie and Rochester. She also hopes to stop in Syracuse and Binghamton.
According to her, Elkordy has a long list of parents and other people that have had experience with vaccines to speak at the tour spots.
Elkordy is concerned with the bill S4779B, in the Public Health Law section of the New York state legislation. According to the bill on the New York Senate Web site, the general purpose is "to ensure that the immunization against HPV is administered to people at a time when it is most effective."
The state senate is currently trying to pass this bill, along with the others that it has, to stop the routine and mandatory injection of STD-preventative vaccines.
According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Web site, vaccines are not 100 percent safe as they cause pain and some severe side effects. However, none of these severe symptoms result in permanent damage.
The CHOP Web site also stresses that vaccines are preventative against the actual disease, which are much more dangerous than anything that the vaccine could cause.
There is a strenuous process in deciding whether vaccines can be recommended or required for children.
Vaccines are initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and then seek recognition from Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, according to CHOP's Web site.
"If a vaccine is considered to be safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration, and useful for children by the ACIP, AAP and AAFP, then the vaccine is of value and should be given," the Web site said. "Systems are in place to protect children against rare side effects from vaccines."
Elkordy will be at University at Buffalo on Saturday at 2 p.m. in 101 Allen Hall. Parent activists, Jesse Calhoun of The Ameros and other guest speakers will be in attendance.
Elkordy encourages all students, parents, medical professionals and state officials to come and be educated about what they do not know about vaccination danger.

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