The question of whether or not to vaccinate kids is one that intrigues me. I've become interested because there has been a flood of media coverage on the subject lately and I have been thinking about all angles of this controversy. One question that I read about was about letting vaccinated and non-vaccinated kids play together. I have never even considered that before. What would I do if friends of Jenna's weren't up on their shots? How would I feel if I knew that kids in her preschool class were given exemptions and weren't vaccinated?
My answer is that I don't know. There's a lot to this whole issue and it's one worth investigating and talking about. Here's what I know. . .
#1 Doctors overwhelmingly say that the benefit of vaccinating kids far outweighs the risks.
#2 Many people strongly believe that something in the vaccination shots is causing the autism epidemic.
When it was time to have our girls vaccinated, I really didn't think twice about it. The girls have both had all their shots. I trusted my doctor and believe that vaccinations are not only good for my kids, but for the greater good of people on a whole. Outbreaks can occur in if the percentage of vaccinated people in a given area go below 75-95%, depending on the disease.
On the other hand . . . what if vaccinations are causing autism? What if that could be prevented. We were at camp last week and met an incredible family that has two autistic boys. Their mother strongly believes that vaccinations are to blame. She says that both boys were normal, healthy children until about 18 months, right after their shots. They have actually gone through some kind of treatment (that I can't remember the name of now) to have the metals from the vaccinations removed from their bodies. She says that there is a huge improvement in both boys.
Seeing autism first hand makes one wonder if this issue is being swept under the rug and not being given the attention it deserves. I don't know, but I wonder.
I also wonder about spreading vaccinations out. The family at camp with the autistic boys said that after all of her research, she would recommend to any parent who plans to vaccinate to have every shot done separately, even if it costs more money in co-pays. She believes that giving so many shots at one time (because there are several vaccinations in one shot) could be part of the problem.
We have an excellent pediatrician and she has recommended spreading shots out for my girls, and I am thankful for that because I wasn't as aware of the risks as I think I should have been.
So the debate goes on . . .I guess I don't have a clear cut opinion. I am a believer in vaccinations all but erasing dangerous diseases, but see that there could be a link between autism and these shots. I hope someone figures it out though. There are a lot of families suffering.
3 comments:
Laura, I went through this with Ronan. Someone told me Ronan had all these autistic "symptoms" and that the vaccinations are to blame. I decided to space out the vaccines, but I AM going to make sure he has them all. The debate comes in the preservative within those vaccines and luckily for us, our pediatrician gives the ones without the preservative. (Single doses). I have my own opinions about vaccines causing/not causing autism...but I think the main thing we should all get out of it is to be aware of it...because we may miss signs of autism and wait too long to treat it.
This is an interesting subject, especially as the autism rate has skyrocketed over the past few years. Researchers are still trying to figure out why, but it does make you wonder...
I taught a wonderful middle school boy who had autism and his parents believed it was due to vaccinations as well.
It's hard to know what to do. I'm still conflicted, especially as baby two comes...
I've often thought about this too. I wonder, is Autism this much more prevelant or are we just smarter and more apt to accept that our child has it?
These debates can be endless battles. With others and within yourself.
You have to do what you believe. I think the single doses are a good idea & I wish I were more educated on this topic when it was time for my kids to be vaccinated. It wouldn't have changed my decision to have them vaccinated but it may have changed the timeframe[s].
*sigh* things were a lot easier when Chris was a baby. I was young, niave and did whatever the docs told me. lol.
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