Wednesday, January 28, 2015

To Vaccinate or not?






To vaccinate or not to vaccinate has become as personal as political beliefs and religious choices. There is so much controversy regarding vaccination. I believe that parents on both sides of the spectrum are doing what they think is best for their children and that no one has the right to judge or criticize either side.

My views on vaccines may be very different to yours and that does not make me right or wrong even though we feel that we must protect our decision or views vehemently.
If children are vaccinated and the vaccines work as well as advertised, why are they feeling threatened by unvaccinated kids....doesn't it stand to reason that the vaccinated are now protected? Shouldn't the kids that aren't vaccinated be more fearful as they are supposedly not protected from contracting a childhood ailment?


Some believe that it is necessary for the development of a healthy immune system, to get all or most of the childhood ailments, like measles and chickenpox and mumps, therefore making these types of vaccines unnecessary at a young age? Wouldn't it be better to support and assist children in building and sustaining a healthy immune system?

Maybe the quantity and timing of vaccines needs to be addressed. Is it safer to wait until a child's immune system is stronger and better developed before vaccinating? Is it better to reduce the number of vaccines administered. Should there be a vaccine for every little thing? Have vaccines proven to help or have their side effects way outnumbered their benefits?
Do we need to be better informed about what is truly in each vaccine? Are they marketed via the fear factor to unsuspecting parents and consumers who want to do the right thing but are being mislead?
These are the types of questions I would like answered.


There is no doubt that this will remain a hot topic and one which causes a lot of judgement amongst individuals. I think it is important to be educated on the subject and to ask many, many questions before deciding one way or the other. It is never a good idea to vaccinate an individual with an impaired Immune system. It is not always visible when the Immune system is impaired either, so the choice remains personal for the parents or the individual making the vaccine decision.