Vaccination/Immunization -- Why is there a problem?
 

I have a cousin who is a mother of two children and she rails against vaccinations on Facebook 24/7, 100 percent of it being simply "vaccination is bad" and doesn't let her children get vaccinated against any diseases. Initially I'm inclined to simply call her another paranoid victim of some screwed up agenda I don't know about... but I realize that I know next to nothing about the movement against the vaccination of children. Something about Mercury comes to mind, but I'm pretty much in the dark about it. I've tried to do research but everything I've read so far that opposed vaccinations were composed of a lot of distrusting opinion based on very little factual information.
I, being a reasonable guy, decided I would seek out the facts and stances on this issue before I rip her a couple new ass holes and threaten to call child services on her or something.

She doesn't even let her children eat salt, btw. And she's a Vegetarian, so she doesn't let her children eat meat either. Just letting you know the kind of person I'm talking about... The kind that takes parenting beyond parenting.

So you can see why I'm interested in the opinions on this.

That's extreme. My best friend is studying microbiology and part of the problem is we sterilize to such a point that we don't develop immunities and natural resistance in our body. Also, the side effects of some vaccinations can be scary. Though I do think, in general, both are good things. People just shouldn't get carried away to either extreme because both have their own negative consequences.

A lot of anti-vaccination people think vaccines can cause things like Downs Syndrome, but there's really no evidence to back that up. The whole thing was started by some British scientist who, if I remember correctly, has himself renounced the hypothesis.

Either no one got the memo, or there's something else fueling the fire.
Are there any actual studies on this? Neutral or otherwise?

After a bit of googling I realize I had part of that wrong. The belief is that the vaccines can cause autism not Downs syndrome. What I was right about is that it was a British doctor (Andrew Wakefield) who pretty much singlehandedly caused the hysteria. He wrote an article about it in The Lancet which I guess is the reliable source believers point to. It was revealed to contain falsified information though, and he lost his medical license.

Wow. I need to check this out, seriously. It's just weird that so many mothers (from what I hear) have a hard-on for this, even when something like what you said is apparently known information. But I guess since I didn't know about it, it's completely possible that others don't as well. I would just have assumed that when a person's own child's safety is at stake, they would want to be sure.
I get the feeling that my cousin does nothing but research (and uses that as a substitute for instinctual/common sense parenting) so I just had the feeling that there was some source I wasn't aware of.

I guess the mechanism of a vaccine does spook people a bit.

I could maybe understand if she was spooked by a very recent immunization, but the testing that they undergo before release is pretty extensive. My mother manages a clinical research company in charge of testing drugs and immunizations before they're released to the public. I'll ask her her thoughts of said parents and if their fear has any sort of rationality to it.

Another aspect of this is that a lot of people are relying on the idea that they don't need to vaccinate their children because everyone else's children are being vaccinated, thus their children are theoretically protected (there's a term for this that I can't remember for the life of me...herd immunity maybe?) The problem with this is that there are more than just a few people that have this idea, so loads of kids just aren't being vaccinated. Things like this are what lead to things like the recent Whooping Cough outbreak here in California - it's not coincidental.

That being said, I'm definitely not in favor of getting vaccinated for everything, and I do think that a lot of vaccines that have come out (especially in the last five years or so) are purely for making money by feeding off of fear. I refuse to get the H1N1 vaccine and I don't get flu shots. I do understand why people would, but it's my choice not to. I think it's dangerous to get every vaccine that's thrown at you, but it's just as dangerous not to get standard vaccinations for chicken pox, polio, MMR, etc.

I definitely agree with what Ethan said there are good and bad factors on both sides, and in general we have become too sterilized for our own good and we aren't acquiring immunizations naturally. I hope I'm not completely off the point of the thread, but working in Early Childhood Education I hear a lot about this on both sides of the arguments and feel like I have some insight.

My daughter, at 4 years old, still hasn't had any of her vaccinations and with any luck, will not ever. The many of the vaccinations given to children have mercury as a component and there has been shown a direct correlation between childhood vaccinations and autism. Of course the FDA and other agencies vehemently deny this, but the evidence is overwhelming.

I get the flu shot every year only because I get it for free from the government and I work with kids who carry a LOT of germs and I have a compromised immune system. But I can definitely understand why you wouldn't opt for a flu vax, they aren't in my opinion 100% necessary.

As for other vaccinations, some I think are very important. For example, I think the HPV vaccine for young girls/women is something I would encourage my hypothetical children to get (I got it too a few years ago!) because there is a huge stack of extremely conclusive research that links the HPV virus with cervical cancer. If you don't get HPV, you will be much much much much much much less likely to get cervical cancer. There have been all sorts of scares about the apparent horrible side effects of this vaccine but I had all 3, and so did most of my friends, and we experienced no side effects at all. My mum, who is a medical scientist, also says that a severe reaction to the vaccine would be extremely rare.

http://www.bittenandbound.com/wp-con...arthyoprah.jpg

do i really need to type up 991 more words?

I think the word you were looking for is "underwhelming". The fact is for the past decade there is only one vaccine (the flu vaccine) given to children that contains traces of mercury, not "many". And the kind of mercury used in that particular vaccine is one that is quickly excreted from the body.

I studied autism as a specialist to my teaching degree and there is no direct correlation between childhood vaccinations and autism at all. Autism continues to be a condition that baffles medical experts/ parents/ individuals and every few years there is a new trend of blame to try and figure out how autism occurs. There is definitely no DIRECT correlation, there may be some kind of vague link in some research but it is not enough to draw conclusions.

In fact, in the more current studies, research has shown that children with ASDs have often had less exposure to to thimerosal-containing vaccines than the children in the studies who did not have an ASD. And I can tell you that the last twenty extensive studies have found absolute no correlation between childhood vaccinations and autism. I can provide a link to the research if you're interested (as I did a case study on some children involved).

However, strong evidence does suggest links between genetics and autism. It's a classic case of people trying to prevent autism by suggesting that it is environmental factors that contribute to it, rather than genetics (something you cannot really prevent).

NO NO NO NO NO NO!! I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it's not a credible source. Jenny McCarthy maybe? If it were true that vaccinations were a direct cause of autism, there would be an almost equal amount of boys and girls with the condition. Right now, the ratio of boys to girls with autism is about 4:1.

My brother has autism, and so I like to keep on top of new developments regarding the condition. There was a study done recently here in Toronto that links autism to a faulty chromosome: Why more boys than girls are autistic - thestar.com. Makes much more sense than the notion that vaccines cause autism!

Good luck to you when your daughter starts school. They're going to be all over you regarding the fact that she doesn't have any vaccination records...

So basically what we're looking at is some doctor publishing a flawed study, the media latching onto it, and all the housewives simply believing the most controversial thing?

It just seems that something this important wouldn't still be a subject of debate if there were definitive answers. Where are all the studies that absolutely prove either case?
Me personally, I would vaccinate my kids if I had any. I'm just wondering why I know people who would take the risk of leaving their children open to the same diseases that killed many people before we had an answer for it, because of what's looking to be a theoretical link to Autism.
If I didn't know any better, I would have to assume that everyone here who's been vaccinated is Autistic.

Yeah, I agree with you in entirety FD. There are countless studies that disprove the links between vaccinations and developmental or other disorders, but I think people still cling on to the whole 'mass scare' thing that was created by a very few minor, flawed, and inaccurate studies.

I was born with a disorder of the immune system so getting vaccinated when I was a baby/ child probably saved my life.

I've always had my children vaccinated on schedule, on the advice of their pediatrician who is an immunology specialist and member of several child protective committees. I realize vaccines are not totally safe, but in my opinion they are much more safe than contracting the diseases they protect against. I think well-intentioned parents who opt out of vaccinating their children should take into account that as vaccination rates drop, the immunity of the community at large weakens and their unprotected children (along with the elderly and immunity-compromised people) will be the most vulnerable in a potential outbreak.

I just dropped a baited hook to my cousin asking her for her personal recommendations for sources of why she supports anti-vaccination, under the guise of simply being interested (and conveniently ignorant).

When I get some links from her, I'll post them here after going through them myself. I'll be wanting some opinions on them.


I'm really interested in this, because thus far, I think not vaccinating your children against known deadly diseases is nearly equal to criminal negligence, but it's also important enough for me to want to figure out factually before I'm ever in the position to make a decision regarding it. And I don't want to campaign against my own family unless I have some pretty convincing evidence.

Measles is making a comeback thanks to anti-vaxxer idiots

As a Floridian I think I should be allowed to shoot any unvaccinated person who comes into my vicinity as part of the stand your ground rule.

Clearly being at risk for dangerous contagions is more threatening than dark skin.

Youre not at risk if youre vaccicinated. Right?

Well alot of people think they can compromise your immune system and leave you open to getting autoimmune diseases,etc later in life........

A lot of people think that Donald Trump is a good president.

A lot of people think not a lot are good at it.

Yes the brainwashed do.........

Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary: Excipients Included In U.S. Vaccines [PDF]

Directly from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]

Rekt

you have to get immunization to get into a private college in connecticut. im sure thats state wide too https://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5581/fbj4fbjpg.png

i just got them too, still able to run and work out. :o:

Unless you used a dirty needle, you'll be fine.

Most public schools "require" them, but you can get exemptions [on either medical, religious or philosophical grounds, depending on the state].

How To Legally Take Vaccine Exemptions In The U.S. [PDF]

I'm all for the medical exemption, those are the people who immunization protects.

What are your feelings on religious or philosophical exemptions?

I view it as virtually being the same as granting someone a license to kill because it reflects their religion or philosophy.

If we’re going to have a government they should see to it that everyone is immunized (unless there’s a legit medical reason why not) people who try to refuse should simply be overpowered, restrained, and given the vaccine against their will. There’s no room for compromise with the retards on this one.

If you object for religious or so-called philosophical reasons, then go rot on an island with the other tards.