Last July I posted a VERY long post about my thoughts regarding vaccination and my kids in particular. As I stated in that post I am always learning and still making decisions regarding how I want to "protect" my children in the future. I decided to error on the side of caution and stop vaccinating, and to this day I am very glad that I have. I do not feel that I knew enough of what vaccines entailed and why I was choosing to vaccinate to just blindly allow them to be given to my girls. If you want to know some of my concerns regarding vaccines check out my July 25th, 2011 post. Today I want to share with you some of my new found information and how my mind has possibly changed over the past year regarding this highly debatable subject.
When I think about my kids getting an illness, as serious as one that they have created a vaccine for, it terrifies me- much like it would any parent. But, as those closest to me know, I am not one to take something or allow it to happen to me or my kids "just because". You better prove it to me for me to be on board. Especially when it comes to my kids. I just felt that I had no choice in the matter and felt totally under-educated by my family physician. With that being said, one huge stumbling block for me is the fine line of protecting my children in the way I see as best, but then potentially putting other kids (including younger siblings) at risk if my kids were to get a "vaccinatable" disease. I struggle with this a LOT.
I am forever still learning but, here is where my mind sits currently after much research and prayer. I will give some vaccines to my kids currently and if/when we have more. Like I said in the last post, I am in no way against the "theory" of vaccines. I totally agree with the thought behind them and the "good" that they are intended for. My biggest hold ups are the potential side effects from the vaccine ingredients, the effect vaccines may have on us in the future, and simply the "unknown" and blind forging ahead without regard to possible consequences.
Here is a break down of what vaccines I plan to get and abstain from, and a short reason why:
Hep B- No. Hep B is largely an adult disease, spread by blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and saliva. It is not transmitted through casual contact, up to 30% of infected people show no signs or symptoms (kids even less), and pregnant mothers are routinely screened for Hep B. If anything, this vaccine would make more sense being given to teenagers, rather than a 1 day old baby.
Rotavirus- No. Common childhood illness that resolves in a week. Leading cause of diarrhea worldwide and nearly all American kids have had it by age 5. Can cause severe dehydration but supportive therapy usually gets them through fine. Vaccine's potential side effects are not worth the risk.
DTaP- The jury is still out. This is a potential, yes. Although I will wait until my child is 6 mos. to a year before vaccinating. This would primarily be for the Pertussis part of the vaccine and wish that it could be a separate, isolated vaccine. The problem is however, that people can still get Pertussis even if vaccinated. Many cases of Pertussis go improperly diagnosed as bronchitis and such. They've also discovered that the vaccine immunity starts to wane in 10-15 years. Thus adults, then need to keep getting boostered. Not sure on this one yet. The vaccine also has quite a few side effects that are known.
Hib- Yes. This is definitely one illness where the severity of infection outweighs the vaccine risks. Once again however, I will wait until my child is 6 mos. to a year before vaccinating. They have shown that the risk of Hib is decreased greatly with breastfeeding- something that I feel strongly about and love to do until my kids are at least a year old. So, this is a yes.
Pneumococcal- Probably, no. This is another meningitis illness, however seems to be less severe than Hib, often causing ear infections. One factor is that there are 90 known strains of Pneumococcal, the Prevnar vaccine only covers 7. There are significant known risks with the vaccine, and the vaccine's effectiveness has been questioned by the National Vaccine Information Center. So, probably no at this point.
Polio- Probably, no. Risks don't outweigh the benefits at this time for me. Risk of exposure is low and even if they get the virus 95% of polio cases go unnoticed. I truly believe media hype has added more scare to this disease than it is due. Still learning and deciding on this one....
Flu- No. Flu vaccines only cover a few of the many virus' circulating that year. They contain heavy metals and other ingredients that I think the risk is not worth it. Definitely will not get one again while pregnant.
MMR- This one is a hard. Due to the recent outbreak of the Measles in our area, people are on high alert and the media is going crazy. I do believe that this disease is a serious illness, with a higher mortality rate than I am comfortable gambling with (about 1 in 1000-3000), and for that reason I would like to vaccinate against the Measles. I wish the Measles was a singular vaccine but it is not offered as such any longer. My moral problem with this vaccine is that it contains WI-38 (among other not so good ingredients), which is female aborted fetal tissue and DNA. My stomach does not sit well with "condoning" abortions for the use of vaccine development, nor the fact that human DNA is then injected into my daughter.
IF, I decide to get this vaccine for my kids, it will most likely be right before they go into school around 4 years old. They say that the older a child is when they get the MMR the better the immunity they develop, and I would only then have to expose them to all of the toxic ingredients once.
Chickenpox- No. I hope my kids get this virus while young to develop life long immunity. This vaccine also contains MR-5, male aborted fetal tissue, as well as a slew of nasty ingredients. I'm not convinced this vaccine is doing anyone any favors. Unfortunately, because of the vaccine and the reduction in Chickenpox cases, adults are now getting the illness when their immunity wears off, or if they've never had either. This means that adults are now at risk, when the illness is much more severe later in life. So, maybe when my kids are 18 they can get this vaccine. Hopefully, it's safer then.
Hep A- No. Up to 70% of kids have no symptoms at all. Mortality rate is extremely low. Exposure to Hep A provides life long immunity. Good hygiene makes a world of difference.
Meningitis- No. But we may think about it when our kids go off to college.
HPV- ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I encourage everyone to do the research on this vaccine whether you have a girl 8-12 years old or not. It was only researched for 18 months before being put on the market and people are seeing devastating side effects (including some that I know about here in our own county). I would not be surprised if it gets pulled or majorly re-vamped in the next few years. Not to mention that there is no better Cervical cancer prevention than getting your yearly PAP.
Ok, that is my list, for now. I encourage everyone to do the research. Being informed is the only way you can guarantee you are doing the "right" thing. It's not easy and believe me facing the opposition of differing views is hard and I know it will get much harder as my girls get into school. Like every parent, I'm just trying to do what I think is best for my kids.
Here are some of my resources:
