When Healing Becomes Educating, Vol. 6 - Waldorf Research Institute

Fig. 4. Diptheria Cases.
Source: Statistisches Bundesamt Wiesbaden.
Now, if one looks at the general program for standard vaccinations on
the background of this downward trend for infectious diseases, one is really
amazed. The injections are all given during the child’s first year, and the
majority of them during the third month. As we noted above, large numbers
of BCG inoculations are still being given on the first or second day after
birth—which is completely unnecessary according to the curve. DPT shots
are still being given in the third month, although if anything the diphtheria
curve in Fig. 4 should warn one not to do this, since the occasional side
effects can be very severe (for instance, transverse lesions in the spinal cord
and paraplegia); the epidemiological pertussis curve does not justify early
shots either.
And with regard to tetanus, Fig. 6 shows us that the age group from
50 to 75 years is the only one which is relatively endangered. The tetanus
curve from 1959 to date (not shown) shows a downward tendency just
like all the others, which in this case might even be due to the widespread
inoculations which are given to children. But tetanus is not an infectious
disease; individuals are endangered only if their slightly bleeding wounds
get street dust, horse manure, or garden soil, etc., in them. Puncture wounds
by thorns, etc., with the exclusion of air can be particularly dangerous. Here
one could ask why a 3-month-old child should be protected against this. For
children only get such wounds when they begin to run and play under less
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