So, I have been following the vaccination schedule my doctor recommends for Jayden and I haven’t really thought much about it because it is something all kids go through, right? Well, it seems that many more parents are opting out of getting these vaccines because of fears of autism, too many shots at too young of an age isn’t good, being natural, etc. Washington State is in the bottom 5 of states with regards to the number of kids being immunized.
I’ve been doing some research to educate myself on both sides of the issue and am trying to make a decision about future vaccinations. I feel that with anything you do in life, some amount of things can go wrong. It would be horrible if Jayden’s life was altered due to a vaccination. I’m freaked out at the possibility of something going wrong, of his little immune system not being able to handle something and that maybe he’ll react negatively to the shot. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.
At the same time, these vaccines were created for a reason. People DIED from these diseases the vaccines are intended to prevent. Massive amounts of people. So, is it safer to take your chances versus letting a disease make a come back and take the lives of innocent people?
Do you know they now have a vaccine for the Chicken Pox? I thought that was a relatively easy thing to get through besides all the itching but apparantly you can get shingles from it so they figure it is better to prevent it. Are we going to have vaccines for everything??
My gut feeling is that Jayden should get the vaccines and everything will be ok but am I just blindly trusting the doctors that are just “practicing medicine”? Do I listen to the parents who say their kids have died right after getting a vaccine? The parents that say their child was altered and has never been the same? The government that put these vaccines in place to protect us?
What is the right thing to do?? I’m totally stressed out.
I would recommend reading “The Vaccine Book.” It’s a great resource and gives an objective look at whether or not to vaccinate your child. Plus, the author, Dr. Robert Sears, offers an alternative vaccine schedule as an option. It’s a wonderful book.
http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/
leighnut –
Thanks for the recommendation! I followed Dr. Sears’ baby book so not sure why I didn’t check to see if he had anything on the issue. I fear I am too late in some of the spacing out but my baby has been fine so far. I will definitely check it out to help with future vaccinations.
You should just think that it’s actually good for you
There has been no credible link established between any vaccines and autism. All established studies on the matter have totally debunked the original research that showed a link as shoddy, deceptive and fraudulent.
There are adverse effects though. Like nausea, dizziness, rashes, and even anaphyleptic shock. This is true of almost any medication. Talk to your paediatrician about your concerns. If you don’t have a friendly paediatrician – go find one!
The benefits of vaccination far outweigh any concerns. Not only do vaccines prevent deadly diseases, but even non-deadly disease such as chicken pox can be dangerous and cause serious life-long complications. Vaccines are method of getting immunity without actually getting all teh bad stuff from the disease itself.
Not getting vaccines is not only dengerous for your child, but every child in your community. Unvaccinated children are gateways for contagions to enter your community. Vaccines aren’t 100% effective, so they still rely on minimising the contact of children with diseases.
Encourage your fellow parents to vaccinate their children, and don’t let your children play with unvaccinated kids.
For more information talk to your paediatrician, GP, and follow some links in a post I wrote
http://zayzayem.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/anti-vaccinationists-winning-the-war-against-healthy-children/trackback/
What zayzayem says is spot on. Properly-done studies have failed to show any link between vaccines and autism, and as you’ve become vaguely aware, when faced with that, the antivax crowd has chosen to shift the goalposts (now it’s “toxins”, not thimerosal; all right, now it’s that they’re getting too many at once, not toxins; etc.).
Vaccines do have side-effects, like any medication. And yes autism is scary, but children *die* from the diseases these vaccinations protect us against.
I have two small children and they’re both getting the vaccinations our pediatrician recommends.
BTW, when it’s said that a doctor is “practicing medicine”, that doesn’t mean he’s training for it–”practice” has a second meaning, which is to do a job as your profession. It’s usually used only with medicine, but can be used with other professions.