Avoiding Yellow Fever Vaccination – Why I decided to fly to South America

Upon researching my potential bus route I learned that taking the bus all the way to South America was not possible because of the “no man’s land” known as the Darian Gap. While there are ways through, I ultimately decided not to travel through Central America. Busing would take a long time. I would be spending many days having to deal with border checks and fees. I would be getting irradiated by cell phones/WiFi the whole time. Additionally, I would have to pay for accommodations along the way and try to find healthy chemical-free food. My chances of ending up in a dangerous city increased as I would be traveling through many cities on the bus. An article online claimed that the pollution from busing all that distance would be worse than flying, from a carbon emissions perspective.

In summary: it would take longer, probably cost more, be more dangerous, be more hassle and likely have a bigger carbon footprint. Several friends suggested to me that I just fly to where I want to go.

The deal breaker for me though was the Yellow Fever vaccine requirement of several countries that I would be traveling through on the bus.

I have a dead sibling, primarily due to vaccine injury. I know many parents who have told me of adverse impacts on their children due to vaccination. If you need any convincing of the corruption of drug companies and the danger of vaccination, I suggest you check out the documentary VAXXED and the ongoing investigations into the vaccine/drug industry by the journalist Del Bigtree.

VACCINE REQUIREMENTS

After some online research I learned that these South American countries have a risk of Yellow Fever transmission by mosquitoes:

Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana
Guyana
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Venezuela

These are tropical areas along the equator. If I entered any one of these countries (starting with lower-Panama, if coming from the North) I would need to have a “yellow book” vaccine certificate to enter any of these countries:

Bolivia, Colombia, French Guyana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname: Source

So basically there would be no way of busing through South America without addressing the vaccine issue.

The only way to avoid being vaccinated is to get a doctor to fill out paper work stating that I am allergic to one or more of the components in the vaccine, including eggs, egg products, chicken proteins, gelatin or the latex used in the stopper of the vaccine bottle. Alternately I need to show that I am in an immunocompromised condition. Contraindications include:

• Allergy to vaccine component
• Age <6 months
• Symptomatic HIV infection or CD4 T-lymphocytes <200/mm (or <15% of total in children aged <6 years)
• Thymus disorder associated with abnormal immune-cell function
• Primary immunodeficiencies
• Malignant neoplasms
• Transplantation
• Immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies

The doctor would need to fill out an exemption form…

A friend of mine was in Ecuador. She wanted to travel to Bolivia but would not get the Yellow Fever vaccine. She was able to pay a doctor to fill out the paperwork for her to get the exemption. She was not tested for allergies nor did she do any other official proceedings. If you know a doctor who defends the freedom of patients to opt out of vaccination, this may be an option for you too.

VACCINE DANGERS

I found this video. It is specific to the dangers of the Yellow Fever vaccine (start at 49 minutes, 14 seconds in). It is about the documentary Malcolm is a Little Unwell, which charts the descent into madness of veteran foreign correspondent Malcolm Brabant after a routine Yellow Fever vaccine for an assignment in Africa.

VACCINATION IN CONTEXT

I have read the data on Yellow Fever.

I don’t conceptually have a problem with medical personnel designing vaccines and making recommendations for their use (though I prefer natural selection to mass vaccination). The problem is when vaccines become mandatory. If we are expected to inject a substance that carries a risk of death, major neurological health issues and other problems, we should be given the option to opt out of vaccination.

I would prefer to take my chances with the Yellow Fever transmitting mosquitoes. At least in that situation I have some control over the risk. I can wear protective clothing and apply mosquito repellent.

Certainly after reading this horror story: “A mass sterilization exercise’: Kenyan doctors find anti-fertility agent in UN tetanus vaccine,” about vaccines being used to sterilize women without their knowledge in Africa, I am even more suspicious of any vaccine program. (Note: I wanted to know if this incident was real. I emailed the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association mentioned in the article. As is the norm these days, I did not receive a reply. I have heard from a whistle-blower within the biotech industry about an application for transgenic crops designed with the ability to induce sterility after people consumed the engineered plants. Such crops would be delivered to countries with a “population problem.” I consider the Kenya story plausible.)

I know from my family’s experience and the experiences of many others that vaccination is dangerous and should not be required of anyone.

The rational for vaccination is that it saves more lives than are lost due to vaccine injury. This seems like it could be true in some situations. Unfortunately pharmaceutical corruption and the profit motive above all else has made vaccination a dangerous prospect. The companies that manufacture vaccines are not liable for any harm caused and thus have little incentive to make a safe product. There are also a whole variety of dangerous substances in vaccines.

While the vaccine programs of the past may have saved many lives, the same is increasingly difficult to claim today. If fact the opposite may be true: that the vaccine programs of today have cost many lives and harmed many more.

Whatever the truth may be and whatever your personal beliefs are regarding who you trust, we should always have ownership over our bodies and that of our children. I will continue to resist mandatory vaccinations and fight for the freedom to choose what (if anything) is injected into my body by our corporate governments.

THE DECISION TO FLY

Though I was somewhat interested in seeing the land and people of Central America, my time in Mesoamerica gave me a pretty good idea of what to expect. I knew that I did not want to live in the tropics due to the heat and humidity, tropical diseases, poisoness snakes and other dangerous wildlife. I prefer Mediterranean, subtropical or temperate climates. Based on these preferences I knew I would skip over the equatorial tropical areas as a long term home.

I did not have a doctor who could help me with the vaccine exemption paperwork. I also did not know how difficult it would be to find one. So I thought it best to pass over the tropical zones requiring vaccination.

I looked into traveling by freighter but this was slow and very expensive.

I also considered going down to the docks in Livingston, Guatemala to see if I could get a sailboat ride. I was tempted to do this but decided against it. I don’t fancy the idea of hanging around port cities. It would also probably take several different shorter trips to get to South America. I might still have to deal with the vaccine issue when coming into port. It would also be difficult to convince a boat captain to turn off his radio frequency emitting devices while we travel for several days. If I was seeking adventure travel I might have chosen this option but I am seeking sanctuary, not adventure. I expect that in the future I will get my fill of adventure.

I hate flying due to airport security, cost of flying, being exposed to high levels of electromagnetic radiation, and the fast pace of transit via airplane. With flying, the focus is just to arrive at a destination rather than appreciate the journey.

Despite my reservations about flying, it seemed like the best option.