Why this (or any) pandemic should be about more than vaccination status

This is a controversial topic and I’ve delayed writing about it because I’ve worried about how I might be perceived. But the longer this goes on, the more my silence is complicit to a system that feels highly unethical. I encourage you to read this with an open mind. The more that we argue with one another and negate each other’s lived experiences, the more we become divided. We miss the chance to grow and broaden our perspective. It is absolutely okay to disagree with me, and in fact, I salute your ability to think for yourself, but let it be critical thinking rather than fear-based conditioning that gets you there. If this triggers you, I invite you to go deeper. My intention is not to cause more polarity, but rather put a voice to the concerns that I have around medical dogma and coercion. I am not alone in this thought, though it is becoming increasingly difficult to speak about this publicly. 

I am not delving into the pros and cons of vaccination in general here. My dear friend and colleague Jenna Hamza, ND wrote a very well written piece on the topic at the beginning of this pandemic, and you can find that here:

https://jennahamza.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/on-vaccines/

Contrary to governmental and media propaganda, many folks that are vaccine hesitant are not actually “anti-vax.” I’ve had vaccines and I’ve administered vaccines. Many, like myself, believe that the pros and cons of any medical intervention should be taken into consideration on an individual basis. For instance, I wouldn’t give a toddler a routine childhood vaccination if they had a fever and runny nose at the time they came into my office. I want to ensure that his/her immune system has the best chance to produce antibodies (rendering the vaccination more effective) and allow this little body the opportunity to use its resources to fend off the current infection before I add another agent into the mix. I support an individualized vaccine schedule in kids that is in alignment with their unique genetic and epigenetic makeup, as well as how healthy they appear in my office at the time of the scheduled shot. 

I am 100% against vaccine mandates, the same way I am against every single person with hypertension or diabetes or migraines receiving the same treatment, or identical prophylactic pharmaceutical intervention. Medicine does a terrible job of healing in a one-size-fits-all approach and moreover, it truly shines when catered to the individual. This principle is why conventional medicine truly excels in acute trauma, but largely fails to address chronic disease. If you are struggling with a chronic illness, do you want to go to a doctor and be listened to, or do you want your clinician to follow an algorithm that by nature is impersonal and refuses to take your unique circumstances into account? 

Is your migraine related to grief, stress, lack of essential nutrients, dehydration, an aneurysm? Is perhaps the variation of triggers the reason why one medication does not work for everyone?

Is the reason your body presents with symptoms of viral illness related to metabolic dysfunction, gastrointestinal permeability, systemic inflammation, a toxic relationship/community? Are you living in an extremely polluted city? How is your indoor air quality? Severe stress? Unrelenting anxiety? Is there a deeper reason some of us have little to no symptoms and others are taken down for weeks or months? Can we even have an educational discussion about this?

Isn’t there so much more to address?

Having lived with an autoimmune dis-ease for 15 years, I’ve personally gone through the gamut of allopathic (conventional) and holistic approaches to healing. I was first recommended chemotherapeutic agents and immunosuppressant biologic agents at the age of 20, and they changed my life. In a lot of ways, I am glad I pursued this path at first, because I know first-hand how good it feels to have quick fix, to feel like you’re being taken care of by medicine. But this is not the whole story.

In my early 20’s I lacked the knowledge, the community, and the agency to pursue the path of healing I am now on - one that is beautifully full of challenges, growth, unlearning limiting programs and conditioning, and discovery. But I also recognize the damage that taking an immunosuppressant for 5 years did to my growing, young body. When we take a medication to treat a symptom, and we inherently don’t address the root cause, the conditions that caused that illness to manifest in the first place are still very much in motion. Additionally, this mindset does not even consider the potential side effects of said medication OR creates a demand for a second medication to alleviate the side effects of the first medication, which might even induce a side effect necessitating a third medication. Does this sound like health to you? 

In my health journey, I reached a breaking point when I was faced with the possibility of losing a finger due to antibiotic resistant infection or having unmanaged debilitating autoimmunity. I knew there was more to healing, that I wasn’t rendered a life of either chronic infections or autoimmunity, despite what all my specialists claimed. Ironically, if I had stayed on this immunosuppressant (muting a large portion of my immune system), I would likely be much more dependent on another medical intervention at this time. 

Now, however, I have an intimate relationship with my immune system. I feel viscerally when I eat foods that don’t agree with me, I understand why my migraine is happening, and I stopped throwing supplements at my body like it needed fixing. I listen. I trust myself. Our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for.

I support you being the healthiest version of you. If that means you want to get a vaccine to protect yourself, get a vaccine. If that means you need to drink more water, eat more fiber, move your body, remove toxic relationships or chemicals from your life, and practice more self-love, then I support you there too. 

Viruses mutate and evolve, as we’ve now seen. We’ve coevolved with them for thousands of years. It seems extremely myopic to focus on an intervention that doesn’t resolve the root cause of infection (and potentially might be less effective than natural immunity – which is hardly investigated), especially when it may not be the best course of action for some of us that have fought tooth and nail to get the health back that we have today. 

Where there is risk, there must be informed consent. With coercion, there is no informed consent. We are quickly moving into an era where innate body intelligence is not respected, and health autonomy is for people that don’t believe in “the science.” This is a dangerous game. 

Science has always advanced and adapted as our understanding of reality grows or changes. Science, by definition, should always be questioned based on the available evidence that we have at that time. In fact, the most anti-scientific action we could take as a society is to stop questioning our methods and our results. “Science” is contingent upon the question asked (was a null hypothesis even proven or disproven?) and the motives of the person/group asking the question. There is no such thing as “absolute” science even though it may temporarily feel comforting to believe in such a concept. What is most concerning to me now is the lack of discussion or debate surrounding many aspects of this pandemic. Lack of discussion and/or debate is inherently unscientific. Do we really want to live a in a society where our experts are afraid to speak out?   

An example of a scientific discovery that is slow to reach our general understanding is that even though we know the strong connection of the microbiome (the inner ecosystem of your body consisting of bacteria, archaea, etc) to health, especially to the immune system, we still recommend anti-septic practices to “protect” us, even though these very practices used in excess can destroy our own internal defenses. Scientific research can take decades to reach the mind/hands of the clinician or overarching medical standard of care. Zach Bush MD (a triple board-certified physician) has several great educational resources on his website including information on the microbiome, virome, and innate immune system that are free to the public and extremely informative. You can access his page here: https://zachbushmd.com/knowledge-base/

In my eyes, we’ve lost precious lives in what should be a wake-up call to us globally, a wake-up call that we are very unhealthy, not just physically, but mentally as well. Foods subsidized by the US government do not support health. We have important biomarkers that predict disease severity, but they aren’t discussed. We know sunlight, community, mindfulness, and exercise heal, but there is no place for them in this narrative. All of this is not to assign blame, but to help us find a sustainable path forward, to recognize that our Earth is sending us signals of distress, that mother Nature is speaking loud and clear that something must change. We are not learning from our mistakes. The path forward, of needing, or worse requiring, ongoing (experimental) chemical intervention to prosper in this world goes against everything I believe this critical point in our era of mankind is telling us. We’re destroying our soil systems, our air, and our water supplies at the expense of ourselves, and we aren’t learning. 

May we all unite in the way we best know how. May we respect each other’s journeys and learn from one another instead of allowing fear to divide us. May we have compassion and listen. May we hold space for those that share our opinions and even more for those that have different life circumstances and thus, differing opinions than our own. 

I honor you and I will continue to see you as a human, regardless of if a medical intervention or decision is or is not in alignment with your truth.  Sending love and health to you, your loved ones, and our greater ecosystem that is in so dire need of this level of vibration.