Do feel that vaccines are a choice?

meghans30 · April 2010

I watch an interesting show about the debate to whether vaccinate or non. The question of "Does the MMR cause autism," was also brought up. Both my boys are vaccinated, but I can not say that I was always fully comfortable with the amount of vaccines give at one time, but I also did not discuss these concerns with the pediatrician because there were signs posted stating the office followed the guidelines set by the CDC. I would cringe each time my kids were poked and question whether this was what we should be doing,

I'm open to everyone's opinion. LEt's dicuss

Rebekah1021 · April 2010

I think they are a choice, but I did vaccinate DD on the schedule at my pedi office.

My great-uncle was left crippled from polio and my mom had the mumps when she was a teenager and said it was really bad.

I know for the most part, the diseases are not common around here, but I feel safer knowing that I have gotten DD the vaccines, because you never know where people are coming and going and what they carry.

LuvinMyKids · April 2010

We vaccinate our kids, but we go by Dr. Sears' alternative vaccination schedule. In going by his schedule, a child never gets more than 2 vaccinations at one time. MMR is given alone since it's one of the most reactive vaccinations. Vaccinations, that don't need to be given as early as traditional schedules suggest, are delayed. I make lots of separate trips to the doctor's office with DS#2, who is 18 mos, just for shots, but it's well worth it to not have him getting 3, 4 or 5 at once. It works well for us.

penguingrrl · April 2010

I have been through many peds and finally found one I love and one of the major issues was vaccines. My older daughter was very reactive as an infant (high fever for over a week following vaccines, twice). As a result, I give 1-2 vaccines per visit and had a lot of trouble finding a ped willing to do that. Many told me that reaction "couldn't possibly be from the vaccines" or "it's worth it to avoid the disease." I never questioned vaccines, just the aggressive current schedule. My current ped is very happy to follow the Sears schedule, which is what we're doing. I'll admit that while I know the vaccines are better than the diseases (which is why I give them), vaccines terrify me and I'm a nervous wreck for a good week after each kid gets any shot, watching for any reaction. Since I slowed down and only give 1-2 per visit neither girl has reacted, so we have found what works for us, but after what we went through vaccines will never make me truly comfortable.

Aliliv · April 2010

hmm.....I think vaccines should be a choice; however, I also think that it would be great if a majority of the population is vaccinated to keep up herd immunity in order to help protect those who are immunocompromised or can't get vaccines.

ToledoDeux · April 2010

Obviously they are a choice, since they're not mandated by law. And IMO, it's the only responsible choice.

CleoKitty · April 2010

Yes, they're a choice. You can argue whether or not you think it's a wise choice, but it's still a choice nonetheless.

penguingrrl:
I never questioned vaccines, just the aggressive current schedule.

Me too. My kids are still getting their vaccines, we're just spacing them out and doing them much more slowly. (Some vaccines like Hep B and chicken pox we're delaying until adolescence.) They don't get more than one shot per visit. Luckily though I haven't had issues with any of the doctors we've seen- I think in this town they're just really used to alternative vax schedules and don't even bat an eye anymore. We know LOTS of people who don't vax at all so I suspect that the local pediatricians are cool with delayed schedules as opposed to no immunizations at all.

luckyluvr · April 2010

Flame me, but I don't think they should be a choice. One of the points of vaccination is to eradicate deadly diseases. If people would just get the vaccination, maybe one day there wouldn't be a need. I also don't question the schedule. Doctors know more than I do. Millions of babies are immunized every year, and it's not an issue. I could go on for days about what an idiot Jenny McCarthy is, but I'll leave that alone. Sometimes things have to be done and mandated that we don't like, but it's for the best interest of the mass population.

eclaires · April 2010

Well they are a choice as they are not mandatory and you can get an exemption to attend public school, which requires vaccines.

However, I guess the better question is should it be a choice - and my reaction to that is sort of torn. I don't think it should be mandated by the government, and I do think that people who want to spread them out should have that option. All of that said, I do think it is incredibly irresponsible not to get them, and personally, I feel that it is MY responsibility as a healthy individual with a healthy child who has no reactions to vaccines to get myself and him vaccinated because there are a lot of people among us who medically cannot get vaccines and I think they need to be protected by those of us who can.

Also - the MMR/autism link is complete BS. And the doctor who performed the one study that started that mess is a total quack.

AggieCouple · April 2010

Eradicating deadly diseases has its deadly consequences too. Humans and pathogens evolve, in some times symbiotic ways, and disrupting nature can lead to unintended consequences. We don't realize this until we've gone down the path so far, that our entire species in the Western Hemisphere can't deal with something as natural as pollen.

That being said, we also have our kids on Dr. Sears' vaccination schedule. It's a hard choice. Since our kids are the first generation to receive *so* many vaccinations, we won't really know the consequences until it's too late.

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