Sweden Decides NO Mandatory Vaccinations
Sweden, a country that surpasses the United States in health markers like infant mortality rate, maternal health and well-being, and life expectancy, upheld the principle of Informed Consent for medical interventions (like vaccines) this week by voting against bills that would make vaccines mandatory. 7 new vaccination bills were introduced to the Parliament, including bills that would make vaccination mandatory for all children, introduce flu and pneumococcal vaccination for all elderly people over 65, and begin HPV vaccination for all young men. However, all bills were rejected.
Sweden currently offers less than half the number of vaccine doses on their routine schedule compared to the United States, and not surprisingly, Swedish citizens are actually healthier than Americans:
Sweden’s child mortality rate is only 3 per 1000 kids under 5 years old, compared to the United State’s 7 fatalities per 1000 kids*
Swedish women rank 5th in the world in maternal health and well-being, compared to the United State’s 33rd place rank*
Sweden’s life expectancy (ranked 15th in the world) is 3 years longer than the United States (ranked 43rd)**
Despite the new mandatory vaccine law in California which requires 34 vaccine doses for every child that enters a public or private Kindergarten, most States in the US and virtually all European Nations recognize the fundamental human rights of their citizens to make unique medical decisions for themselves and their families. And outisde of the few serving the powerful Pharmaceutical lobby, most politicians and policymakers, like the Swedish Parliament, know that mandatory vaccination laws are unethical and unnecessary:
Many vaccines (like whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, injected polio) don’t prevent disease spread from person to person anyway
The risk of moderate to severe side effects makes forced vaccination ethically problematic
Some vaccines, like hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, have no benefit because infants and children aren’t at risk
The United Nations Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights states “Any preventive medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned . . . The consent may be withdrawn without disadvantage or prejudice.”
Despite the multi-billion-dollar vaccine industry’s success in getting their products mandated in California, and their push to continue introducing new vaccine bills in other states and countries, the worldwide support of mandates seems to have stalled as public awareness of problems with vaccine safety and even efficacy continue to arise.