Powerful Myth: Childhood Vaccines Saved "Millions of Lives"
Firm, Fixed, False Belief Difficult to Break
By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
I watched a young doctor getting his chance on prime time CNN last night giving commentary on RFK. He welled up with great enthusiasm declaring the entire childhood vaccine schedule was safe, had been used and trusted for decades, and then he finished strong by asserting vaccines had saved millions of American lives. He was parroting a 2024 CDC report based on exaggerated statistical models that claim 1.1 million lives were saved by vaccines since 1994. As a reality check, In the United States, approximately 29 out of every 100,000 children between the ages of 1 and 19 die each year, according to America's Health Rankings. This translates to roughly 20,000 child deaths annually, according to a study by NBC News. The causes of death vary, with firearms, unintentional injuries (including car accidents), and poisonings (including drug overdoses) being significant contributors.
We take this up in Chapter 1 of our new book “Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality.” Over the centuries, sanitation, improvements in water, food, and air quality, and reduction in filth and squalor had the largest impact on reductions communicable diseases. As modern medicine has advanced with antibiotics, antivirals, steroids, monoclonal antibodies, and modern pediatric ICU care, it would be very rare for a child to die of any infectious disease whether there is a vaccine or not. Trauma and accidents have always been a far greater mortal threat to kids than infections.
Having considered this, in 1946 the year before the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT) vaccine was introduced, there a total of 3085 deaths from those illnesses. In 1952, the year before the polio vaccine was introduced, the worst outbreak year, the number of polio deaths was 3145. So no matter how many diseases the young CNN doctor could imagine and even considering all the years since each vaccine was introduced, there is no conceivable way they saved “millions of lives.” There were simply too few lives at risk to make such a claim.
Please enjoy our scholarship as we take on many firm, fixed, false beliefs that have arisen out of an exaggerated fear of infectious diseases and a blind “faith” in vaccines that rivals organized religion.
Please subscribe to FOCAL POINTS as a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.
Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
President, McCullough Foundation
Thanks, Dr. McCullough...Simply by stating the statistical facts and actual numbers you have blown the myth of "millions of saved lives by vaccines" out of the water. The "polio epidemic" is something I remember....having grown up in an agricultural community in which the toxic insecticide known as DDT was liberally applied everywhere...including inside the home. There were several sad cases of children encased in metal supports having been crippled by the "polio virus" in my class, which I now believe was similar to the "covid virus" in that it did not exist and was caused by environmental factors. A "polio virus" was a convenient scape goat on which to place the blame for the atrocious and visible damage the spray caused not just to insects...but to the human victims. I remember my Dad patrolling around with a giant spray "push" device....looking for insects to annihilate. Lucky for us we spent most days outside...building forts and playing games with neighborhood kids in the woods and fields far away from his bug killer stuff. No one was sick in my family--but not because of "vaccines"...We ate the stuff produced on local farms....vegetables and meat were fresh and dairy was delivered to a box on our porch in glass bottles. Oh well...it was a different world....Not better...just different. Our medical doctor made "house calls" ...can you believe it?
If only the young doctor would look into SIDS, he’s realize that vaccines have actually taken more lives: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/how-sids-became-the-perfect-cover
And we’re not even talking about the injuries such as autism: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/stop-calling-it-autism-start-calling