Immunization debate?

Question

What does everyone think about immunizations?

I know that a lot of parents are against immunizations, because they fear a connection with autism and other things. However, there have been studies on this that show no connection between the two. And I know that every once in a while a child might have a bad reaction to a vaccine.

But isn't it better that we protect against diseases that are far worse than getting a shot?

There are 20 states that allow parents to sign a waiver for philosophical reasons so their children can attend school without vaccinations. This is partially because these children can act as "free riders", depending on the other children that have gotten immunized. (how can they catch a disease that isn't there?)

But, what if more and more children came to school without being immunized? Would this make our Immunization plan worthless? Wouldn't we see a rise in some diseases we have worked so hard to rid ourselves of?

Answer 1

People have been getting immunized for YEARS! I think it's stupid that people are trying to find any connection to ANYTHING so they can think they are preventing things. Just like microwaves cause cancer. It's a bunch of bull, and this world will be doomed in my opinion.

Answer 2

I agree with you. I immunize my kids. The risk of autism, that is like you said, not proven, is much less than the risk of getting a disease. I heard this past summer about a school system in Ohio (I think it was) that most the kids did not have their immunizations, and 1 of the schools were shut down and over 75% of the children were hospitalized (I forgot with what) but was almost life threatening, that could have been avoided by getting immunized. I can tell you I do NOT want my kids to go to school with un-immunized children. Who knows what would happen if they did contract something. That is not a risk I will ever take with my children's life!

Answer 3

I think the recent out breaks of whooping cough and measles, both of which can be life threatening should be reason enough to immunize. The risk of disease isn't from children in the US not being immunized it is from illegal immigrants that are more likely to be exposed to disease that haven't been immunized. the biggest risk they carry is tuberculosis. You might have a crabby kid for a few days, and mine get really crabby, but it is worth the benefits.

Answer 4

there is a lot of research out there suggesting that certain immunizations cause some very bad side effects like autism. especially look at mercury, which is in many vaccines as a preservative. you can demand vaccines now without mercury, and that is the only way i would use them.

Answer 5

Anyone who lived through the polio time, or measles will probably be very much in favor of immunization.

Answer 6

Well, it looks like you have a few questions there.. =)
I would like to tell you in advance... This is an extremely complicated issue. I'm sure that I wont be able to explain everything to you in my answer. This is something that I have been researching for years. It is very complicated. Some people spend a lifetime researching this subject. It's a very important issue. Ultimately, vaccinations play such a big role in your health or the health of your children.

***"What does everyone think about immunizations?"***

In my opinion, most people are in favor of vaccinations. Unfortunately, I also feel that most of these people have never truely researched the subject. Many people trust blindly in their doctors. I feel that this is a huge mistake. This is an important DECISION. You need to put a lot of thought into it. You need to research it.


***"But isn't it better that we protect against diseases that are far worse than getting a shot?"***

Ok.. Here's where it can become complicated and time consuming. But this is where your research needs to start. With this question. However, the question that you are asking here is broad. You are comparing "diseases that are far worse" to " getting a shot" ... In order to truely answer that question, you would have to be much more specific.

-You should research each individual disease. Look at the risks of actually getting the disease. Look at the symptoms and complications of the disease. Look at treatment options for the disease.

-Then, look at the vaccination for that specific disease. Look at the side effects of the vaccination.

-Then, compare the two sides. Ask yourself questions. What are the chances that my child will get this disease? Is the disease all that bad? Is it treatable? Does the vaccine for this disease have any potential side effects?

Once you do that, with each disease, then you will need to come to your own conclusion. It's your childrens health. You will have to live with your decision. Whether you decide to vaccinate or not. If a doctor tells you that you have to vaccinate and you do... then (god forbid) your child becomes damaged by the vaccine, will your doctor be the one who has to live with the outcome?
No. You will. This why the decision has to be up to you. Vaccinations or not, you will have to live with your decision.

I will give you some examples.

The first vaccine that is usually given to a newborn is Hepatitis B. So lets look at Hepatitis B (for example).

HEPATITIS B:
How is Hepatitis B transmitted?
-Occurs when blood from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected.
-HBV is spread through having sex with an infected person without using a condom (the efficacy of latex condoms in preventing infection with HBV is unknown, but their proper use may reduce transmission), by sharing drugs, needles, or "works" when "shooting" drugs, through needlesticks or sharps exposures on the job, or from an infected mother to her baby during birth.

I got that information from the CDC Fact Sheet:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/fact.htm

So, if you are not having unprotected sex with an infected partner and you are not an IV drug user, then your risk is VERY low of actually getting the disease.

-Lets take a look at who the CDC is recommending that vaccination for…Starting one shot at birth and another one at 1-2 months. Then, there are 2 more shots of Hep B after that.

-Treatment for Hepatitis B
OK… So what would happen if someone ends up getting Hepatitis B?
“According to Harrison's, in cases of acute hepatitis B "most patients do not require hospital care" and "95 percent of patients have a favorable course and recover completely" with the case-fatality ratio being "very low (approximately 0.1 percent)." Those who recover completely from hepatitis B infection acquire life-long immunity. Of those who do not recover completely, fewer than 5 percent become chronic carriers of the virus with just one quarter of these in danger of developing life threatening liver disease later in life, according to Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease (1994)”
http://www.washingtonfreepress.org/62/hepatitisB.htm

So, now that we know some facts about Hepatitis B, we need to look at the risks of the vaccine.

The first place to start could be the VAERS database. The CDC has a program called VAERS (The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). Most people don’t even know that this website exists because doctors and nurses usually don’t mention it. It is a US Government run database.

The link below is a search criterion that I entered. This search shows you all reactions to the Hepatitis Vaccine. You'll have to scroll down past the page numbers to see the data.

If you want to run your own search, you can just go to the bottom of the page and click on "New Search". This is the first place that I go to search for adverse reactions to vaccines.

http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?PAGENO=4752&PERPAGE=10&VAX=HEP

Those are facts. It is straight from the CDC. They are all adverse reactions that people have had to the Hepatitis vaccinations.

Once you have facts regarding the disease and the vaccination, you can determine if it is worth the risk or not. This needs to be done on an individual level. Some vaccines are multiple vaccines in one vaccination, (MMR for example) so you would need to look at the risks of Measles, Mumps, Rubella and compare the risks of those 3 diseases to the MMR vaccine.

Going back to my Hepatitis example:
1)There are many adverse reactions to the vaccine. The CDC VAERS database shows that some have died from it, some have become permanently injured.
2)Hepatitis B is contracted primarily by unprotected sex with an infected partner or IV drug use. So, it is safe to say that a young child is not at risk for catching this disease.
3)Most patients do not require hospital care and 95 percent of patients have a favorable course and recover completely.

By looking at those facts, I would feel confident to make the decision to skip the Hepatitis B vaccine. My newborn is not an IV drug user and is not having sexual intercourse. So in this case, the risk of the vaccine highly outweighs the risks of getting Hepatitis B.

Remember… the vaccine can be administered at a later date in life. So if you feel that the risk factors of the disease have changed, then you can always vaccinate later.

In regards to Autism..
This is another big, complicated discussion. But I will mention a few things in regards to what you said :
***"there have been studies on this that show no connection between the two."***

According to the CDC:
"Current scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, or any combination of vaccines, causes the development of autism, including regressive forms of autism."

You also need to look at some other factors...
Just because the tests do not support the hypothesis that MMR causes autism, it doesnt mean that it doesnt cause or attribute to autism. It would also be true if I said:
"Current scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, or any combination of vaccines, DOES NOT CAUSE the development of autism, including regressive forms of autism.

So in other words, they have not found any evidence that the MMR causes autism.

BUT

They have not found any evidence that the MMR DOES NOT cause autism either.

So, it doesn't disprove the occurrence.
There have never been ANY (not one) study done using Vaccinated children and Non-Vaccinated children as control groups. If anyone knows of any, I would like to see the data. It has never been done. So, how can the benefits / risks of vaccination be truely proven, if there is no non-vaccinated control group? There cant.

***"But, what if more and more children came to school without being immunized? Would this make our Immunization plan worthless? Wouldn't we see a rise in some diseases we have worked so hard to rid ourselves of?"***

This argument confuses me. As I mentioned earlier I feel that it should be personal choice for parents to vaccinate or not. But, how can it make the Immunization plan worthless? It's either worthless or it's not. What is a vaccination supposed to do? Protect you from the disease. Either it does or it doesnt. If you have been vaccinated for a disease, you should be able to come in contact with that disease and not become infected.

But that isn't the case. There have been many cases of fully vaccinated people becoming infected with the diseases that they are supposed to be protected against.

Here is a recent Mumps epidemic.

"Of the 133 patients with investigated vaccine history, 87 (65%) had documentation of receiving 2 doses, 19 (14%) 1 dose, and eight (6%) no doses; vaccine status could not be documented in 19 (14%) patients."

65% of the children infected with Mumps had the recommended vaccinations. That's a lot.

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5513a3.htm


Mom of 4 also mentioned something similar:
"I can tell you I do NOT want my kids to go to school with un-immunized children. Who knows what would happen if they did contract something. That is not a risk I will ever take with my children's life!"

You don't sound very confident. It sounds like you have doubts as well.
***"Who knows what would happen if they did contract something."***

I do, because I have researched this subject thoroughly. Many of these diseases are not as bad as they are portrayed.

Click on this link and look at some reactions to vaccinations.
Take a look at the age of the patients as well. Either way, you ARE taking a risk. It is absolutely up to you to decide.


http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?LOWAGE=&HIGHAGE=&SEX=&STATE=&PRIOR_VAX=&VAX_DATE_LOW=&VAX_DATE_HIGH=&CUR_ILL=&VAX=&VAXDOSE=&VAXMAN=&VAXROUTE=&VAXLOT=&VAXSITE=&ONSET_DATE_LOW=&ONSET_DATE_HIGH=&REPORT_DATE_LOW=&REPORT_DATE_HIGH=&SYMPTOMS=&HISTORY=&L_THREAT=&ER_VISIT=&DIED=&HOSPITAL=&DEATH_DATE_LOW=&DEATH_DATE_HIGH=&X_STAY=&RECOVD=&LAB_DATA=&DISABLE=Yes&OTHER_MEDS=&V_ADMINBY=&V_FUNDBY=&PAGENO=1&PERPAGE=10

Again, as I mentioned, this subject is way too complicated for this forum. This is something that takes years and years of research. My opinion is my opinion. Yours is yours. Ultimately, you are going to have to live with your decision. You need to research it thoroughly and decide. You need to feel confident about your decision. After doing research, if you decide to vax or not to vax, it is up to you. IMO the only BAD decision is a BLIND decision.