Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Proof

Image of Extraordinary Claims quote by Marcello Truzzi You’ve probably seen this quote, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof“, or a similar one, before somewhere.

This particular one is attributed to Marcello Truzzi, but a variation of it is credited to Carl Sagan.

Typically, it’s used in a religious context, when reminding theists that the burden of proof rests with them, and not with the unbelievers.

This is not only because the theists are the ones making extraordinary claims (i.e. that one or more supreme beings exist that created and oversee everything), but also because it is, of course, impossible to prove a negative.

But it’s also highly relevant to the subject of vaccination.

Why?

Well, this is the claim that the pharmaceutical companies, the government, and the majority of the medical profession make:

You can safely prevent disease and improve health by injecting a young child with bacteria or viruses (either live, attenuated, or dead), foreign proteins and human / animal DNA strands, known neurotoxins (e.g. aluminium, and mercury, in the form of thimerosal), carcinogens (e.g. formaldehyde, glyphosate), and other assorted chemicals (e.g. polysorbate 80), thus bypassing the body’s first line of defence and, in some cases, the protective blood / brain barrier.

That is most certainly an extraordinary claim!

That being the case, then the burden of proof has to be on those making this claim.

Why?

Because the vaccine manufacturers are the ones making claims that their products are safe and effective, while the so-called anti-vaxxers (who should, more accurately, be called “ex-vaxxers” in most cases) are simply denying those claims.

Remember, the default position is to not believe a claim or assertion until sufficient evidence has been provided to justify those claims and assertions.

And therein lies the problem, because such proof has never been provided.

For example:

Where are the gold standard, double-blind placebo-controlled studies that clearly prove that vaccines are safe? (Hint: almost all vaccines are tested against a “placebo” that is either another vaccine, or one or more of the adjuvants of the vaccine being tested, but neither of these are inert substances, as they ought to be.)
Where are the studies that prove the entire childhood vaccine schedule, as administered, is safe and effective, by establishing whether the various vaccines interfere with each other’s effectiveness, or whether synergistic toxicity will result? (Hint: not only do no such studies exist, but a spokesperson for the CDC is on record as stating that they are “not supposed to do studies like that”. Note that this video has now been deleted from YouTube, but there is a version here, although I could only see the captions, not hear the audio.)
Where are the studies that prove each of the individual ingredients in vaccines (e.g. aluminium, thimerosal, polysorbate 80, MSG, formaldehyde, human DNA strands, monkey kidney cells, neomycin, lactose, squalene, octoxynol-10, hydrocortisone, egg protein, E. coli, human albumin, potassium chloride, phenol) are safe to inject, and at what levels? (Hint: for the most part, they do not exist.)
Given that there is no concrete evidence of a positive correlation between antibody levels and actual immunity, where are the studies that prove vaccines actually prevent the diseases they claim to prevent? (Hint: frequent outbreaks of “vaccine-preventable” diseases among the vaccinated indicate that vaccines do not guarantee protection. In addition, people with high titers have been shown not to be immune to a disease, while some with low to non-existent antibody levels have been shown to be immune to a disease. Also, check out original antigenic sin and the balance between TH1 and TH2.)
Where are the studies that show unintended contaminants (e.g. other viruses such as SV40 and Porcine Circovirus) are not present in the administered vaccine? (Hint: this is one reason why the Supreme Court classified vaccines as “unavoidably unsafe“.)
Where are the studies that compare the health of unvaccinated children to that of vaccinated children? (Hint: the government has consistently refused to conduct such studies on the grounds it would be “unethical”, while at the same time injecting millions of children with untested biological products, which would also have to be considered totally unethical.)
Where is the proof that vaccine-induced herd immunity actually exists? (Hint: information from the CDC’s own website shows that vaccines do not confer anything like lifelong immunity, and also that adult vaccination coverage is on average well less than 50%.)
Where is the proof that injecting vaccines into pregnant women is safe for both them and the foetus(es)? (Hint: even vaccine manufacturers state that vaccines should not be injected into pregnant women unless there is a compelling reason to do so. In addition, many vaccine inserts state the product has not been tested to see whether the vaccine is safe for pregnant women and their unborn babies.)
Where are the studies that prove vaccines do not cause cancer, DNA mutation, or reproductive issues? (Hint: pretty much every single vaccine insert clearly states that the manufacturer has not conducted such tests.)

To summarize, then, the claims that vaccines are safe and effective are unproven, and in the words of Christopher Hitchens, “That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.“

At this point, I was going to address some of the responses you will likely encounter from those who believe that vaccines are both safe effective, and offer rebuttals, but then I realized that we should not constantly have to be defending our position.

The whole point of this article is to highlight the fact that it is the pro-vaccine organizations and individuals who bear the burden of proof, not us.

Until they can provide evidence that vaccines have been thoroughly tested for safety and that they truly do provide immunity to the diseases for which they are manufactured, we can assume the default position indefinitely.

Is this stance naive?

Maybe, but those of us who deny their claims of safety and effectiveness have been on the defensive for far too long, letting the pro-vaccine side of this argument control the conversation.

It’s time for us to stand up for the real science, which is undeniably on our side, because if there’s one fact we do know, “vaccine science” is not settled, because that’s not how real science works.