[NovasMama]

Do you vaccinate? If no, why not?

 

[jlw617]

I'm glad you posted this, I have lots of reasons why we don't but just one is the fact that I have very good friends with children that have suffered directly as a result of vaccines. I'm worried because I live in a state now where people are very pro vaccine and I've had a hard time finding a pedi that is ok with my choice.

 

[Alyssa Drough]

Prepare for a massive argument or for this thread to be closed...

 

[Alyssa Drough]

And yes we vaccinate.

 

[jlw617]

The sad thing is usually I find the people that are cruel and argumentative are the people that are pro vaccine...I'm not saying all are like that nor that anti vaxers are never like that and normally I don't offer that info (that we don't vaccinate) but sometimes I'll see debates and its 99%of the time name calling and belittling from provacciners saying that people that don't vaccine are stupid and uneducated...like I said I have many reasons but I usually don't get into it because they tend to fall on deaf/critical ears...which btw I'm not saying that's what you're saying Alyssa, you're just stating the facts, but I thought that maybe it wouldn't have to be like that because of the type of forum this is.

 

[Alyssa Drough]

I'm only saying because I've seen plenty of vaccination debates on this forum and they have turned ugly.

Personally I think both options carry risk. No, vaccines aren't 100% safe but I'd much rather take that risk than leave my child vulnerable to deadly diseases.

I also strongly advocate herd immunity. The WHO had a realistic target of completely eradicating measles in the western world in 2015, but the 'anti-vax' movement/trend ruined it.

Even IF IF IF a child MAY have negative effects from a vaccine, which is very rare, that is still much better than them actually catching the diseases they're made to protect against.

 

[jlw617]

I would have agreed with your last statement until my best friend that I've known since high school had her first child, he experienced a very bad reaction from a vaccine and now has severe juvenile arthritis, he at one point when he was 3 could not even walk, I also have two ladies who I am friends with that go to my church, both their sons had severe reactions and now have autism...it can't be that rare if I personally know 3 people who know that they know that they know that their children's health problems stemmed from vaccines...yes the reactions are rare but I just can't justify the risks of the side effects, if we can't even give our babies whole milk or peanut butter until they're a year old amongst other things, why would I put a slew of chemicals into their new bodies?
Also, my first daughter literally almost died from a rare reaction to albuterol, we were told to make phone calls to our family, so experience from that has also made me much more aware that rare reactions are possible and can be life altering.

 

[jlw617]

I respect your reasons to not vaccinate, but I have a lot of reasons that I choose for not vaccinating.

 

[Pearls18]

I vaccinate because I don't want my children to die from or be injured by a preventable disease.

 

[staralfur]

Yep, sure do. Why? Because the anti-vaccination bandwagon is plenty full and the more people who jump on, the closer we get to seeing a resurgence of fatal, preventable diseases, and that is just absolutely ridiculous to me. So I take the very small risk that my daughter may have a bad reaction to a vaccine to a) give herd immunity a chance to fight the declining vaccination rates, and b) to know that I did everything possible to protect my daughter if/when these diseases make a comeback (measles, anyone?).

People who lost their children to these diseases at one point in time would be appalled by the carelessness we treat them with now. We don't see children regularly dying from these diseases anymore so some people shrug them off.

We also live in a society with this weird mentality that the Internet makes us experts on everything. It's wonderful to have access to so much information but it's also important to remember that it doesn't mean we're always getting reliable information or know how to accurately read/analyze the information. There needs to be some trust in medical professionals, immunologists, etc. - people who dedicate their lives to this stuff. I think it's kind of cynical to dismiss things just because "Big Pharma" is involved, as I've seen so many anti-vaxers do.

 

[vermeil]

Measles info from WHO

Key facts

Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.

In 2013, there were 145 700 measles deaths globally – about 400 deaths every day or 16 deaths every hour.

Measles vaccination resulted in a 75% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2013 worldwide.

In 2013, about 84% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 73% in 2000.

During 2000-2013, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health.
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/

 

[Hunbun]

Personally I think both options carry risk. No, vaccines aren't 100% safe but I'd much rather take that risk than leave my child vulnerable to deadly diseases.

This essentially sums up my thoughts on vaccines.

I think if I chose not to vaccinate I would become paranoid about letting my children out and around people incase they caught anything.

 

[tallybee]

Yes my children are vaccinated and so will this new one be. It's a no-brainer. I trust scientific evidence and medicine. The benefits massively outweigh the risks. I don't want to contribute to the undermining of herd immunity. I am dismayed to see that vaccines havery - by all but eradicating certain diseases - made them a victim of their own successes. Because people with no experience of the diseases which used to kill and hurt so many fear a vaccine more than the disease.

 

[Natsku]

No brainer for me. I vaccinate Maria to try and prevent her getting vaccine-preventable diseases and to help protect those that can't be vaccinated or are too young yet to be vaccinated. I couldn't live with myself if Maria gave measles or whooping cough or something to a newborn or an immune-compromised person - they could die and it would be my fault.

We know that vaccines are safe for the vast majority of people, only a tiny minority will have a bad reaction like an allergic reaction and we know they don't cause autism or anything like that. The tiny risk of an allergic reaction or a seizure is worth taking compared to the much bigger risk of those diseases.

 

[Alyssa Drough]

https://distractify.com/alex-scola/vax-fax/?ts_pid=2

Very interesting article about an anti-vaxxer and why she changed her stance.

 

[misspriss]

We don't vax. My parents made the choice not to have me vaccinated, which is probably why I considered not vaccinating in the first place.

I am not comfortable with the other ingredients in vaccines. I am not comfortable with the schedule. I am not comfortable with the use of aborted fetal cells (no matter how old they are). I am not comfortable with the blind push for vaccines. I am not comfortable with the lack of accountability (you cannot sue vaccine manufacturers if you are injured by their vaccine).

The way I see it, my children do have a risk of getting a disease. But it isn't that great of a risk. And IF they get the disease, they only have small risk of having any long term complications.

If I inject them with substances I am uncomfortable with, they have a risk FOR SURE of having a vaccine reaction. Small enough risk, but I am putting them at risk.

Where my child (as I have, except chicken pox) can go through life and not contract a single disease that a vaccine is available for, thus never have a risk of long term complications from a disease, if I inject them with small amounts of poison, that carries a risk and I am doing it on purpose. It's guaranteed risk, where with diseases, it's a risk of getting a risk.

 

[Sprite2011]

Sorry but what vaccine has aborted fetal cells in???
I have no interest in an argument I am just genuinely interested Inn where you got that info from?
For the record I am very pro vaccination in my career I have seen children die from preventable diseases and as I routinely perform critical appraisal on research I am very comfortable in my decision.

 

[Alyssa Drough]

Yes the risk of your child catching one of these diseases is very small BECAUSE vaccines have been fighting them off in the general population.

However because of the increasing number of anti-vaxxers, cases of the diseases are therefore increasing as well. The virus would have died out but now there are more unprotected people out there so the virus can spread easier and stay alive.

We were so close to eradicating measles. So close!

 

[Natsku]

Cell strains were developed from the cells of aborted foetuses in the 60s (aborted because of high risks of birth defects due to rubella) and vaccines were made from these new cell strains. New foetal cells aren't added at all, the original cell strains are just kept going. Don't see what the fuss is about, the abortions would have happened anyway, and its much more effective and safer to use human cells to grow vaccines than animal cells which is the other alternative.

Edit: Oh, and those cells aren't actually present in the vaccine that is given to people, its cultured in them but the vaccines are purified so there are no actual human cells in the vaccine when you get it.

 

[misspriss]

Sorry but what vaccine has aborted fetal cells in???
I have no interest in an argument I am just genuinely interested Inn where you got that info from?
For the record I am very pro vaccination in my career I have seen children die from preventable diseases and as I routinely perform critical appraisal on research I am very comfortable in my decision.

It's lines grown from aborted fetal cells from the 60's and/or 70's I believe, but still human not animal growth medium. the MMR, DTap, and a maybe 1 more?

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf

^Ingredients in US vaccines, by vaccine.

DTaP-IPV/Hib (Pentacel)- MRC-5 (human diploid) cells
Hep A (Havrix)- MRC-5 cellular proteins
Hep A/Hep B (Twinrix)- MRC-5 human diploid cells
MMR (MMR-II)- WI-38 human diploid lung fibroblasts
MMRV (ProQuad)- MRC-5 cells
Rabies (Imovax)- MRC-5 human diploid cells
Varicella (Varivax)- residual components of MRC-5 cells including DNA and protein
Zoster (Shingles – Zostavax)- residual components of MRC-5 cells including DNA and protein

I just skimmed through it real quick, I might have missed some.