Opinions on Child Vaccinations??...*everybody*

[TPK]

My tale of woe involving wife & 9 month old child can be found over in Soc's board, too long to rehash here.


A real bugaboo between wife & I are the child vaccinations.

I want daughter to get them, wife doesn't.

Wife's refusal has nothing to do with Religion etc.

Wife does not rely upon medical professionals for advice on this matter. In fact, wife has taken child for well checks only 2 times since birth.

Seems that wife read about the MMR-Autism research and believed it. For those who don't know about this MMR study, a UK research team found a supposed link between MMR & Autism. Study was published but later retracted so now this issue appears dead. It did however, scare a lot of parents, and preyed upon the fears of these parents.

I believe the vaccinations are SO vital to the child's health that I would never imagine not having her vaccinated. Yes there can be adverse reactions to vaccines, but they are few and far between and the risk of NOT vaccinating is greater than the risk of vaccinating. My opinion was formed by meeting with pediatricians and asking them questions about all this. I have yet to find a pediatrician who is against vaccinations.

Being that this is a child related forum, I felt this was an excellent chance to get opinions from forum members about this.


1. Please give me your general opinions on vaccinations...Pro & Con.

2. Anybody not vaccinating and for what reasons??

3. Anybody's child have a bad reaction to a shot and what was it??..and what was the outcome??

4. Anybody have to go thru court to get a child vaccinated?

5. Anybody that did go thru court and got an order to not vaccinate I'd love to hear from.....and why court ordered it.


I intend to battle this issue in court, and hope to win. Any past experiences with this issue in court with any forum member will help me.


None of my friends or family members ever resisted getting a child vaccinated. I have asked for opinions from all of them, none suggested not having child vaccinated.

My daughter is already way behind in these vaccinations. I can't imagine what I'd do if child somehow died or became permanently ill from not getting vaccines. Not to mention what I'd do to wife if this happened as well!

Insights???

Cheers!

TPK

[joni]

I feel very strongly about this.  There is no relation to MMR and autism.  Absolutely none.  There's no validity to mercury poisoning either.  Most dosages are single generated doses and do not contain mercury.  You get more mercury exposure from eating a can of tuna than you are exposed on mass produced vaccines.

Not having your child vaccinated can kill you child.  Further, it unnecessarily exposes all children to this given people who do not vaccinate their child rely on people who do vaccinate their child in order to minimize their children's exposure to viruses.  For example, a classroom of 30 kids, 29 is vaccinated, one is not.  The one child who is not vaccinated is safer because the other 29 kids are, and this is not because the dangers do not exist.  

It's like playing roulette.  You can only afford to win as much as you want to lose.  These are the facts: chicken pox can kill your child, mumps can kill your child, measles can kill your child.

Here's the web site for the CDC's National Immunization Program

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/

Info on vaccine safety:

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/gen/of-interest.htm

Here's the web site for the American Academy of Pediatrics

http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/immunizations.cfm

.    
Why Immunizations are Important

"I've heard that vaccines are not needed because these diseases were disappearing even before the vaccines were developed."

This is not true. Many diseases do not occur or spread as much as they used to, thanks to better nutrition, less crowded living conditions, antibiotics, and, most importantly, vaccines. However, this does not mean that the bacteria and viruses that are responsible for these diseases have disappeared. Immunizations are still needed to protect children from these diseases.

For example, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) diseases were a major problem a few years ago until the vaccine was developed for infants. Over several years, we went from 20,000 cases of Hib diseases to less than a few hundred. The vaccine is the only explanation for this decrease. Unvaccinated children are still at risk for Hib meningitis and other serious illnesses.

"Chickenpox is not a fatal disease, so that vaccine is not necessary."

This is not true. Each year, about 9,000 people are hospitalized for chickenpox. About 100 people die from the disease. The chickenpox vaccine will protect most children from getting chickenpox. Since the vaccine was licensed in 1995, millions of doses have been given to children in the United States. Many studies show the vaccine is safe and effective. Research is being done to see how long protection from the vaccine lasts and whether a person will need a booster shot in the future.

"I am breastfeeding so my child doesn't need immunizations."

Immunizations are still needed. While breastfeeding is the best nutrition for your baby, it does not prevent infections the way vaccines do. Your child may have fewer colds, but breastfeeding does not protect against many serious illnesses such as whooping cough, polio, and diphtheria like immunizations do.

"These diseases have been virtually eliminated from the United States, so my child doesn't need to be vaccinated."

Without immunizations at the right times, your child can still catch infectious diseases that may cause high fever, coughing, choking, breathing problems, and even brain injury. These illnesses may leave your child deaf or blind or cause paralysis.

Immunizations have reduced most of these diseases to very low levels in the United States. However, some of these diseases are still common in other parts of the world. Travelers can bring these diseases into this country. Without immunizations, these infections could quickly spread here.

Immunizations also help people who cannot be vaccinated or who do not respond to vaccines. They can only hope that people around them are immunized.

©  COPYRIGHT AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.    

[sharptimes5]

>1. Please give me your general opinions on vaccinations...Pro
>& Con.
>
I am the mother of a 2 yo boy, custodial sm to an 8yo girl and have another due in March.  In our state, a child must have certain vax to be able to attend school, not to mention the fact that I really wouldn't want my child playing with a child who hadn't been vaccinated.  To me, an injection that causes pain for a few days far outweighs the risk of getting a disease that will last for weeks or possibly cause death.  I don't really have any cons on the subject.

>3. Anybody's child have a bad reaction to a shot and what was
>it??..and what was the outcome??
>
My 2 yo had a bad reaction to the chickenpox shot.  It didn't cause any permanent damage of any sort, but he did have a high temp, swelling at the injection site and an ugly rash.  When that happened, I did kick myself for allowing the vax since it's not required, but nothing truly bad came out of it.

>My daughter is already way behind in these vaccinations. I
>can't imagine what I'd do if child somehow died or became
>permanently ill from not getting vaccines. Not to mention what
>I'd do to wife if this happened as well!
>
Your daughter can be caught up slowly with her missed vax.  I was out of the state for approximately a month with our son due to a family emergency and missed an appt for my son where he was to recieve 3 shots, but they spread them out over his next 2 appointments with no problem at all.
What is your wife planning to do about your daughter's education?  Is she planning on homeschooling her for her entire education?  I plan on homeschooling my son for the first 3 years of his elementary education, but still got his vax done.  I know that most public schools will not allow a child to enroll without a vax record...could be useful for your case.

Carol

[MyAngels4]

I wanted to answer a couple of your questions here. I am the CP of 3, ages 11, 8, 7 and my hubby has 50/50 of his daughter age 8.

>1. Please give me your general opinions on vaccinations...Pro
>& Con.
>3. Anybody's child have a bad reaction to a shot and what was
>it??..and what was the outcome??


My oldest and my youngest (both boys) have had all their vaccinations.

My middle child (my daughter) had and allergic reaction (so the Dr's determined) to the Pertussis part of the DTP shot. BUT, she had lost weight, instead of gaining and when she got the DTP at 2 months, the Dr. should have listened to me and done some more investigation of why she wasn't gaining weight. She basically was turning blue and having trouble breathing. She was life flighted to Dsm, and is fine today. Although while there, we found out she had a disorder and that is why she wasn't gaining weight. She is blind, autistic, and MR, with other issues. I do NOT contribute this to the MMR vaccine, it is related to the disorder, which she had at birth, but wasn't caught by the Dr's. She wasn't given the pertussis part of the DTP again, and just given the DT.

If you will see I said I have a younger son. Even after the problems with my daughter, I went ahead and had him vaccinated and he is fine today, in fact, I think he is the brightest of all three of my children.

I think some of the main concern about linking MMR and autism is the Thermisol connection. Perhaps making sure that this is not in the shot, will help alleviate any fears.

HTH,
MyAngels4

[ocean]

What does the ex say about that? LOL You can not enroll your child here unless you have a whole list of shots and they just added the chicken pox shot to the list this past year...even the older children need to get it now to stay in school.  Would this get her on the ball with it?? Call the school district nearest you and ask...if you go down there, they should have the form for you with the list of madatory shots.
I work in the shcool, and I have seen a couple of children get the chicken pox with and without the shot so not sure how much that helps but it seems to get most of them immuned. As for the rest?? I just would not want my child with Polio or the others and the Pro's outweigh the few that have problems with it.

[TPK]

I believe my wife has some sort of mental disorder. She just was never the same person after giving birth.

It's like talking to a brick wall on the vaccinations, she's misinformed and stubborn in her ways.

I TOLD her child will need it for school, she doesn't listen.

Problem is, she thinks she's acting in child's best interests, but is unaware that her idea of best interests isn't the same as the rest of the world.

Keep the opinions coming, this is great input!

TPK

[janM]

I once saw footage of a child with whooping cough. It was dreadful. It looked like the child was drowning in mucus.

Maybe showing her something like that will have an effect. I hope so.

Can you report her, or can her doctor, for medical neglect?

[TPK]

>
>Can you report her, or can her doctor, for medical neglect?


My doctor called child services and they investigated her. Caseworker told me it's not a crime to not take child to dr. or not vaccinating.  I guess they're waiting for something serious to happen.

My wife lied to them about everything too.

She's just a BAD parent.

TPK

[KAT]

Personally, I agree with your wife. My 4 year old is not vaccinated and I'll share my story as to why that is. I also have a 20 year old son. He was such a wonderful child when he was born. Happy, healthy, great baby. Then he was vaccinated at 4 months. His world, my entire world changed with a single stick of that needle. At the time I had no flipping idea, now I know better. I have photos taken at intervals during his infancy (of course). You can see a distinct reaction caused by the vaccinations due to the size of his head. Following his vaccinations he SCREAMED blood curdling screams for 48 hours straight. I called the ER. The doctor on duty said just give him Tylenol he might have pain at the injection site. It didn't work I called back & was told yeah, sometimes they just cry after they are vaccinated. NO kidding? Brain swelling ya' think? Fast forward this kid was NEVER EVER THE SAME. He had sensory problems, he could barely be touched. The house had to be totally quiet or he would be set off. He never slept a full night again. He potty trained himself at 17 months simply because he was unable to tolerate the wet feeling of the diaper. He diagnosed first by our family doctor then by a specialist at John Hopkins at the age of THREE with ADD & ADHD. Needless to say the rest of his life is and was a battle. I had to learn a great deal of patience & some hard core parenting skills. Any question as to why I have a 16 year difference between my children is explained above. You think I wanted to be an older Mom, no but I knew that there was NO WAY I could handle it again.

Again, I trusted the doctors. No, ADD isn't caused by vaccinations we don't know why some get it some don't. I consider that a great big crop of bureaucratic doodoo. Yes, it is a conspiracy. Do you actually think for one minute the drug companies are ever going to admit it & face total ridicule, lawsuits & bankruptcy? NO.

You know, we put much more research into the new cars that we buy then what we allow the doctors to put into our children's little bodies. How many actually read the pamphlet that comes with that toxic substance? Very few. It's the cattle mentality that leads us to believe the government and the doctors. You also do realize that your nice family doctor who makes big fat sloppy profits from vaccinations also has immunity from your lawsuits don't you? You can't sue him/her. Try this test; this is what I did after being held against my will by my son's doctors. I told him that okay, I'll agree with what he was saying but first he would have to sign a letter from my doctor that would guarantee he could be held personally financially responsible for any and all adverse reactions that my son experienced. Two weeks later we were forwarded a letter from the practice that whoops, he no longer works there. Go figure. If vaccinations don't cause serious injury and death then WHY do we have the Vaccination Compensation Board? Because they DO. If you believe for one minute that statistics that they put out then you have been FOOLED. The statiscs do NOT show settled cases. The average wait to go to trail is 8 years. Parents of severely injured children have bills to pay they don't have that long to wait so they settle. Sad but understandable. However what is NOT told to you is that these settlements (because they don't claim fault) are not included in their so called statistics and the parents agree to a permanent gag order. Nice huh?

If you think for one minute that ANY of the states have laws that totally & fully REQUIRE you to vaccinate your children then you obviously HAVE NOT done your homework. That is a FALSE ASSUMPTION. Every single state has exemptions for religious, medical or philosophical. In VA it's a simple notarized statement that is available on line from the health department.

You really don't think that for one minute if polio (which according to the CDC has now been eradicated in the US) will come back wearing the same hat which your children & yourself have been vaccinated against do you? The same with small pox. It changes all the time. Vaccinations do not offer lifetime immunity. I was vaccinated in 1963 I still caught the mumps & the measles. I now have lifetime immunity. My friend had her kids vaccinated for the whooping cough, the GOT the whooping cough (albeit in a milder form) but they got it several times in a one year span.

The biggest piece of marketing for a vaccination I have ever witness to is the chicken pox vaccination. Don't worry parents!! You won't loose time off work because we can fix it so your kid doesn't get sick. Your child will also not be guaranteed immunity. They still don't know how long it will last. Serious complications arise when adults get the chicken pox. You also might want to investigate why Japan is now researching that this vaccine is the primary reason for the increase in a very rare form of DEADLY testicular cancer in very young men (they been using it for 25 years).

Folk, I could go on here but I will close with saying this. There are OTHER ways to give vaccinations then combining them into one visit. Your doctor can order the vaccinations separately & you can pick them up at your local pharmacy. You can also wait until your child is more neurologically developed in order to vaccinate. If you went to get vaccinated today there is no difference in the dosage that would be given to your 4 week old. There are also many, many homeopathic remedies available should your child get sick.

There is NO REASON in the day & age of internet access to make a UNIFORMED CHOICE. I didn't go looking for vaccinations to be the cause of my sons' problem, I thought it was something I did, something I ate but highly extensive research in this area showed me otherwise. I'm listing some sites below. Also research INDEPENDENT studies not just those sponsored by the government or the drug companies.

http://www.909shot.com
http://www.vaclib.org./
http://www.lacarte.org/health/vaccination/
http://www.new-atlantean.com/mmr.htm
http://www.compassionatesouls.com/chickenpox.html

If ANYONE tried to vaccinate my child they would be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.


KAT

[TPK]

I have had the chance to speak with daughter's Dr when wife did take her there.

Doctor was very concerned about her not being vaccinated. He informed wife that this was the viral season and child is at great risk. His advice fell on deaf ears.

Wife told him "She doesn't need vaccinations because I don't take her to areas with high poverty"

I'm still scratching my head on that one.

She's also misinformed about diseases being eradicated. Yes, most are gone but  the USA is a revolving door where anybody can enter this country and spread a disease. It defies logic to think this can't happen.

Last week my wife was very ill with something (flu?) but doesn't seem to care that the child could die from getting what she has. Yes you can make informed decisions, but don't make unintelligent decisions based on being Naive.

Just look at the diseases going wild due to the Tsunami overseas. Tens of thousands could die just from the diseases.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of coverage and information about Tsunamis after what happened overseas. One of the reports I read from a scientist indicated that a Tsunami could happen on the East Coast (where I am). What happens if it does hit here and the diseases start popping up?

Reactions to vaccines appear to be the exception rather than the norm. I personally don't know anybody who ever had a bad reaction.

KAT, I'm sure if your 4 year old came down with a disease (and possibly died) that otherwise would've have been prevented by vaccines, you'd be on the other side of the fence.  I'm curious where these ant-vaccine sites get their research from (if any). I would also like to know how you determined your child suffered damages from a vaccine?

TPK