DO YOU VACCINATE?

Last week, health officials in Minnesota that five children were infected with a bacterial infection known as Hib; Haemophilus influenzae type b. Three of the affected children had not received any vaccinations, including the 7-month-old who died, according to the CDC.

We want to know, do YOU vaccinate your child? Do you think vaccinations should be mandatory or left up to parents to decide?

TELL US HERE!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by specialk on February 1, 2009 at 6:18pm

i wasn't going to mention this but since the HPV vaccine was mentioned i feel compelled to. the HPV vaccine is probably the single most problematic vaccine created thus far.

it has been fast tracked through the approvals process and has the least amount of research to back it's safety up. it's had more adverse reactions since it's distribution than any other vaccine.

the amount of dishonesty and corruption surrounding this vaccine is astounding and i'm ashamed of my government for pushing it onto young girls. i have no doubt that in ten years, there will have been little or no drop in cervical cancer.

Laurie W said:

Of course I vaccinated my children and they have their children vaccinated, So many life threatening illnesses can be prevented. I am a registered nurse, I would not think twice about it. I am on the side of science and medicine on this one. Note how poliomyelitis and smallpox have been virtually eradicated by the World Health Organization. Unvaccinated children are not only at great personal risk, but if they contract one of these deadly diseases, can pass it on to other unvaccinated children AND adults. There are enough illnesses in this world that are so far unavoidable. It makes sense to prevent those that can be prevented. As to the rise in autism, there is no evidence that immunizations cause this, There has been some hype, but it is not substantiated. Note that diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, have long been in use without the alleged link to autism. As for meningitis, it is so deadly that there should be no question about it. And why not prevent cervical cancer? My children are grown and parents and certainly not autistic, and neither were their peers. The grandchildren likewise. By the way, in the past, many, many children died of these illnesses in infancy or early childhood. They had huge families but buried more than half of their progeny, so citing people who lived to ripe old ages does not prove anything. These people are fortunate in their genetic pool and their chance avoidance of contagion and, of course, accidents.

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Permalink Reply by VHgroupie on February 3, 2009 at 9:37am

My DD is 19 now but always received her vaccinations when it was time. She never had any problems or major side effects at all. Back in the 90s parents didn''t worry so much about this issue, you just did it. Today parenting is totally diffrerent now. IMO if you choose not to, you can live with the consequences if your child gets sick or dies.

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Permalink Reply by mindy on February 4, 2009 at 10:11pm

My daughter is 6 years old and ever since she was born I have made the choice to vaccinate her. I'm not a medical doctor or a nurse, just a mom with an opinion, and here it is. I believe that it is the way "your" body reacts to the vaccine and not the vaccine itself. If it was the vaccine wouldn't everyone who got it, be sick? My daughter has been in school or pre-school since she's been 3 and nothing has happened to her. I would not stop my daughter from being around other kids who were not vaccinated. And I believe that it is a parents choice. That parent is taking the risk and the chance that their child will not get a life threating disease. If the child does get vaccinated and by chance becomes autistic, they still have their child in one way. If that same parent chooses not to vaccinate their child and they die, their child is gone forever. And yes, I'm sure there will be some parents out there who will say, "If your child is autistic, you lose a part of them forever." And I do understand that. But, like I said, this is just my opinion. Thanks :)

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Permalink Reply by Bec Thomas on February 12, 2009 at 10:01pm

Out of my 3 children we have some of the vax but my youngest has none. The reason my youngest has none is because my oldest and middle sons had some close calls. I got really fed up with the industry and the poor quality control and oversight and deceided I didn't want to risk my children for Eli Lilly's financial gain. 2 of the vax's my oldest son received were later found to be able to spread the virus they were vaxing for. Another given to my middle child as an infant was found to be dangerous to be given to infants. Luckily we miss the rotavirus vax disaster altogether but not by much. Than the Chicken Pox vax was release and the testing and trials for it were so pathetic that I just couldn't give it to my kids. So I think all parents should have the choice and that they should do the research before hand unlike I did with my first son. We've been told we need to do this, and in some cases we should, but we should be looking at the risks, and be finding better safer ways to do it instead of just shelling out money so that pharmaceutical companies can make record profits.

I also have Eczema, it runs in my family and they have now found out that getting the small pox vax can not be given to people that have eczema because it can kill us, my grandmother really wishes they would have known that when she was a kids and had to get the vax for small pox it almost killed her and they had no idea why at the time. These vax's should be better researched and tested!

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Permalink Reply by Laurie W on February 13, 2009 at 5:10am

Actually, most vaccines are made from attenuated (weakened) or dead viruses or bacteria. That is how they work.
The body's immune system senses their presence and build up the corresponding antibodies to resist them. The smallpox vaccine is not used routinely anymore. The World Health Organization successfully eradicated it, but, as we know, the virus does exists in laboratories and there is always the biological threat People who get shingles can tell you how miserable that is. Really. And getting chicken pox as an adult can be very serious.
Whatever.
I am no fan of pharmaceutical companies, but thank God modern medicine has the means to protect us from many plagues of the past, and to cure infections that used to be deadly. Would you refuse antibiotics to a child with pneumonia or a serious staph infection?

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Permalink Reply by Tracey on February 18, 2009 at 6:02am

Yes I do vaccinate my children! The way I see it is if all these vaccinations caused so many problems, wouldn't all of us be sick?? I'm sure the MMR vaccinations I got as a child were probably loaded with way more mercury than vaccinations today, if any still have mercury in them. I think the parents who claim "religion" are being stubborn and selfish, not thinking about what the consequences will be for their child and others. To claim religion is simply an insult to those of us who believe in God, it's pathetic! I do believe it's the parent's choice but if you choose to not vaccinate, I do agree with the refusal of your child into school. If you don't vaccinate, please keep your children home because I don't want my children or myself around them!!!!

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Permalink Reply by RP Mom on February 18, 2009 at 4:07pm

I personally had my children vaccinated and I do believe that the parents should decide if their children should be vaccinated. A parent's decision is what is best for their family and I respect their choice either way. I appreciate that we live in an age where there is lots of information out there to allow us to educate us and make the right decisions for our own families.

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Permalink Reply by Joanne on February 25, 2009 at 11:28pm

I think vaccinations should be left to the parents. Each parent has done their own research and makes their own informed decisions on whether or not to vaccinate their child. My little boy gets vaccinated but we spread out the combined shots and have delayed a couple of other shots, so as to spread out the amount of vaccines he gets at one time. Though my pediatrician (along with most of the medical community) is adamant that vaccines have nothing to do with autism or other behavioral and physical issues, it makes me feel better to know my child is getting vaccinated and is not getting inundated with chemicals all at once. Others go one way and don't vaccinate at all and other parents listen to their pediatricians verbatim. Every parent believes they are doing what is right for their child.

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Permalink Reply by Mother of Nature on March 26, 2009 at 10:31pm

I would like to add that in NC you DO have to have the child vaccinated to enter public school unless there extenuating circumstances

I would like to comment on this since I do not vaccinate and my child attended school in Waynesville, NC. There are many states and schools that will harass you and give you a very hard time about vaccines. They will try to convince you that they don't have to accept your child... but if the school is public? They do. You have to be strong enough to stand your ground and know your rights... but they cannot tell you that you have to vaccinate. You sign a waiver stating that you understand that if something goes around your child is "at risk" and you cannot hold the school responsible for any illness your child picks up that they have vaccines for. Generally they require a written reason as to why you don't vaccinate. If you are just lazy and don't vaccinate because you don't feel like taking your child... they may offer help or find info for you, but if there is a reason you have chosen to opt out of this they lay off after awhile.

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Permalink Reply by Mother of Nature on March 26, 2009 at 10:39pm

flyjawn said:

i wasn't going to mention this but since the HPV vaccine was mentioned i feel compelled to. the HPV vaccine is probably the single most problematic vaccine created thus far.

it has been fast tracked through the approvals process and has the least amount of research to back it's safety up. it's had more adverse reactions since it's distribution than any other vaccine.

the amount of dishonesty and corruption surrounding this vaccine is astounding and i'm ashamed of my government for pushing it onto young girls. i have no doubt that in ten years, there will have been little or no drop in cervical cancer.

Laurie W said:
Of course I vaccinated my children and they have their children vaccinated, So many life threatening illnesses can be prevented. I am a registered nurse, I would not think twice about it. I am on the side of science and medicine on this one. Note how poliomyelitis and smallpox have been virtually eradicated by the World Health Organization. Unvaccinated children are not only at great personal risk, but if they contract one of these deadly diseases, can pass it on to other unvaccinated children AND adults. There are enough illnesses in this world that are so far unavoidable. It makes sense to prevent those that can be prevented. As to the rise in autism, there is no evidence that immunizations cause this, There has been some hype, but it is not substantiated. Note that diphtheria, tetanus, typhoid, have long been in use without the alleged link to autism. As for meningitis, it is so deadly that there should be no question about it. And why not prevent cervical cancer? My children are grown and parents and certainly not autistic, and neither were their peers. The grandchildren likewise. By the way, in the past, many, many children died of these illnesses in infancy or early childhood. They had huge families but buried more than half of their progeny, so citing people who lived to ripe old ages does not prove anything. These people are fortunate in their genetic pool and their chance avoidance of contagion and, of course, accidents.

I am studying to be an RN and have researched vaccines and actually while I was taking A&P I thought of something... polio and smallpox have been irradicated... true (almost). But at the same time they came out with a vaccine they also "discovered" aseptic and sterile techinique which as a nurse you know dramatically reduces the spread of disease.. Interesting. Also, as one generation contracts a disease and aquires an antibody for that disease the antibody is passed on to the children and so on through generation after generation... so do we really know that vaccines have taken care of the issue or is it that people have learned about cleanliness and combine that with the bodies own defenses and our bodies may have irradicated those diseases through their own natural ability to "vaccinate".

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Permalink Reply by Mother of Nature on March 26, 2009 at 10:59pm

babymakes7 said:

I believe it should be up to parents. I also firmly believe in getting your children vaccinated without a doubt.

Robin said:
The way I see it is, my grandmother is 87 yrs. old. She was not vaccinated while growing up and has always been very healthy.

While this may be true, I do not think this example will be the same in all cases. Like in my case, I am 31 and I do not eat any vegetables. Zero, zip, period. I have never broken a bone, had to have any major surgeries, or ever get sick. Just this past week, my daughter went to the Dr. and was diagnosed with the flu which then passed it on to my wife. I spent just as much time, or actually more with my daughter to make her feel good, slept in the same bed and shared drinks with my wife. Did I get the flu? Nope. The most I got was one day I had a slightly sore throat for about 3 hours and that was it.

That's not all, when we lived in Kansas City a couple of years ago, the school had an outbreak of lice which even spread to my wife as we did not know till later it had happened. Same thing there...shared the same bed, had kids laying with me, even on my arm. I never did get lice.

Now, seeing that I have been healthy, does that mean I am going to make sure my kids never eat any veggies? Hell no. What has worked for me will not work for everyone else. Everyone's body and their body's needs are different. Just like what might be fatal a child in a vaccine may kill them later in life when they get that disease.

Moving on... this new study shows no connection between vaccines and autism. This argument will never die.

From the article:

The controversy began with a 1998 study in The Lancet that suggested a link between the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Dr. Offit and co-author Jeffrey Gerber, MD, PhD, also of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, reviewed more than a dozen large studies, conducted in five different countries, that used different methods to address the issue, and concluded that no data supported the association between the MMR vaccine and autism. The correlation between MMR vaccine and the appearance of autism symptoms is merely coincidental, the authors say, because the MMR vaccine is given at the age when autism symptoms usually appear.

That lice thing was funny actually... my daughter (who has no vaccines) never gets anything! There was an outbreak of lice at her school and I GOT IT! Not her... flu goes around.. Iusually get it twice before its gone. My husband is like you.. he never gets sick. But he isnt real big on hand washing either and me being a nursing student cannot stand that but he says if he starts waching his hands he will get sick! lol..

anyway... about the Autism thing. There are some trying to blame Autism on the vaccine. Meaning the child would never have autism if they werent vaccinated. The studies I have read say the child has precursors to the disorder and in some disorders or diseases (such as cancer) the cells that differentiate to cause the disease only need a promoter... kind of like a key to unlock the potential and they are saying the vaccinces are that "key" that unlocks the potential. In other words the child may have had a genetic marker for autism but it might not have displayed itself if the child had not had vaccines. I didn't vaccinate and it was a scarey difficult decision but something told me not to (I believe it was God). I sisnt' know why... but the feeling was strong. Come to find out, I had to have an MMR booster when I started working at a hospital... within 3 weeks I was nearly unable to walk. They tested me for everything thinking I had Lupus... turns out after calling the manufacturer of the vaccine I recieved it was a REPORTED adverse reaction to the vaccine. When I started school they wanted me to have this vaccine again and I gave them a letter from the company stating it would be dangerous to have it again as my body may react more harshly a second time. It took me 6 months to recover and I had to quit my job. Manufacturers of vaccines know these things and dont post them. My daughter could have this same allergy and who knows what type of reaction an infant could have had. also, several years ago when the flu shot was running out I was working at a clinic and people were panicked about this. Well the reason the shot was running out is because they makers in England quit making it due to low profit. If it's "SO SERIOUS" profit should not matter right? wouldn't the government pay for it if it was such a danger not to have?
I feel parents should have the right to chose since there are no guarantees.