Vaccines have been touted as one of the great advances of modern science.

But even amid government efforts to get more people immunized against measles, flu, and many other diseases, there is mounting evidence that vaccines may not be the medical miracle they have been touted to be:

The flu vaccine has been found to be largely ineffective this season.

In the measles outbreak tied to Disneyland in California, many vaccinated people have nonetheless contracted the illness. Health authorities had previously declared measles eradicated from the U.S.

There was a fast-moving outbreak of mumps cases among pro hockey players, many of whom had been vaccinated.

Not only are vaccines proving less effective than promised, but many people are avoiding them because of possible side effects, say experts.

“It’s not that vaccines don’t work at all,” says Gabe Mirkin, M.D., an Orlando-based physician. “It’s that we were led to believe they offer lifelong immunity when they don’t.

“How on earth do 20-year-old men on the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team all come down with the mumps if they were vaccinated as kids?”

In fact, there ‘s a pending lawsuit regarding the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine which claims the U.S. government purchased an estimated four million doses of mislabeled and misbranded vaccine for at least a decade.

Whistleblowers claim vaccine tests were fudged to achieve favorable results by adding animal antibodies to blood samples.

The Blaylock Wellness Report , a monthly health newsletter. “The only way to have full immunity is to get the disease itself,” says retired neurosurgeon and vaccine expert Russell Blaylock, M.D., author of, a monthly health newsletter.

“If a child is breastfed, well nourished, and healthy, the side effects of common childhood diseases should be minimal and he or she WILL have lifelong immunity,” Dr. Blaylock tells Newsmax Health.

“There have been millions of reports about the negative consequences of vaccines, but nobody is talking about that. I have seen devastating neurological diseases develop as a direct cause of vaccines.”

Another issue of concern is potentially dangerous ingredients added to the vaccines.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “Chemicals used in the production of vaccines include a suspending fluid, preservatives and stabilizers, and adjuvants or enhancers that help improve the vaccine’s effectiveness.”

And right on the CDC’s own Web page, is a list of common additives, many of which are toxic:

Aluminum gels or salts of aluminum to help improve vaccine response.

Antibiotics to prevent bacterial growth during production and storage of the vaccine.

Egg protein founds in flu and yellow fever vaccines which may trigger an allergic reaction in some people.

Formaldehyde .

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and 2-phenoxy-ethanol , which are stabilizers and can cause allergic reaction.

Thimerosal , a mercury-containing preservative to prevent contamination and growth of harmful bacteria.

“And they don’t mention LPS, or lipopolysaccharides, which are also added to some vaccines and have been linked to many neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis,” says Dr. Blaylock.

The American Society of Microbiology acknowledges the use of LPS in vaccines, but says its use “is restricted because of unacceptable toxicity.”

The bottom line is that vaccination is not a foolproof way to avoid disease. American children are the most highly vaccinated in the world —receiving some 49 doses in 14 vaccines before the age of 6. But that hasn’t stopped them from being among the most chronically ill childhood populations among Western nations, say experts.

Dr. Blaylock says that benefits and risks need to be weighed on a case-by-case basis. He points out that vaccine manufacturing is the number-one money maker for big pharmaceutical companies, which use their lobbyists and influence to sway the government to make shots mandatory.

And he also points out that the flu vaccine hasn’t cut deaths and hospitalizations from the flu, despite all the government campaigns and pressure to have everyone vaccinated.