To Vaccinate or Not Vaccinate

I noticed a couple of days ago that a Facebook friend asked if anyone on hers friends list chose not to vaccinate their children, and if that choice put the public at risk. I answered and said that we do not choose to vaccinate – it was not an easy choice at all – and that my children seem to be very healthy. As a matter of fact, they did not have even the slightest cold over the whole fall/winter this year.

Whether or not you choose to vaccinate is a very personal decision, with positives and negatives on both sides of the argument. Certainly, one would reason that not vaccinating leads to a higher risk of catching measles, whooping cough, or any of the other diseases that vaccinating are thought to protect you from. Not sure that I fully agree with that – handwashing is the number one way to prevent the spread of disease and illness, and there are no risks to that (unless you accidently splash soap in your eyes, LOL).  On top of hand washing being more prevalent than in generations past, we are also more likely to disinfect our homes at the first sign of illness. We know that cleanliness can help stop the spread of disease. Is it worth it to “risk” not vaccinating?

Vaccinating has its own risks entirely – besides the side effect of fevers, aches and pains, and soreness in the area of the injection, children can develop headaches, seizures, brain injury, or worse.  Most doctors refuse to fully discuss these risks – our own pediatrician stated that there is very little conclusive proof that any of these issues can be caused by vaccines. Are you kidding me?! You think that overloading a newborns immune system with chemicals such as aluminum (known to cause Alzheimer’s), formaldehyde (not only is it used to preserve dead bodies, it is also known to cause cancer), ethylene glycol (antifreeze), phenol (a disinfectant), and other preservatives/chemicals doesn’t have some ill effect on babies and young children?

We have a generation of parents becoming more aware of the chemicals in the food our children eat – “organic” is a word proudly boasted by moms at playgroup – and yet these same moms will blindly allow a nurse to inject their children with hundreds of chemicals and preservatives without question. Where is the sense in that? At least know what is going into your children. Do the research yourself. Would you fill a bottle with the chemicals listed above and feed it to your baby? Not even in the tiniest of portions, I would imagine. So why blindly allow a doctor – who gets tremendous freebies from drug companies to push their meds – “strongly encourage” you to allow these toxins to be injected into your kids.

A lot of parents worry that they would not be able to send their kids to school if they didn’t vaccinate. Schools and doctors would love for you to believe that, but please don’t. Most any state allows for exemptions, you just need to ask for the form. Or, you could always homeschool. :-)

I am not saying to absolutely not vaccinate. I am saying that parents need to educate themselves and make responsible decisions. Don’t just go with the flow – know why you are doing what you are doing and understand the risks on either side. Being passive as a parent is, in my opinion, extremely irresponsible.