To Vaccinate – Not to Vaccinate (or somewhere in the middle!)

Ok I am going to attempt to touch on a topic that I know is very HOT right now and VERY controversial. Now with that said lets just agree that we all have our own opinions. I am sure many of us have done our fair share of research and well this is just MY OPINION!

So recently there has been an awful measles outbreak nationwide. Which in return has caused an up rise in debate about childhood vaccinations. Now I will start out by saying that I am a mom of four kiddos and all of my kids have been vaccinated. HOWEVER, my opinion on the matter has evolved through the years since having my first child 11 years ago.

When I had my first daughter 11 years ago, I did what they doctors told me, I showed up every few months, allowed them to vaccinate my daughter with as many and whichever vaccinations they deemed fit. When my daughter was about 6 months old I met my best friend. I quickly learned that she did not believe in vaccinating her children and that her son had never received ANY vaccinations. It was at that time we had many discussions and I decided to do my own research on the matter. Through research and many discussions with my best friend and many other moms who chose not to vaccinate the kids, I learned that one of the biggest reasons people did not vaccinate was because of fear of their child contracting autism as a result of the mercury (or thimerosal) used in immunizations. However, you may be happy to learn that after doing a good amount of research I learned that by 2001 the mercury/thimerosal which is what was found to possibly cause autism was removed from most vaccinations given to children before the age of 6.

So there is a little personal history of my experience with vaccinations and what I have learned about people. Now I want to share my opinion on where I stand RIGHT NOW! Ok so I am not sure if I am totally alone here…but I find myself in a middle ground. I am in between those who believe kids NEED to be vaccinated and those who believe it is their choice. I believe that kids should be vaccinated by the time they are school aged and if parents do not want to do so than perhaps they should also make the choice to find alternative schooling outside of public school (homeschooling, private school). I know that may sound a bit extreme, but I do believe parents have the right to make decisions for their own kids, and with that decision if they knew before hand that by making the choice to not vaccinate their children by school age, they would have to make alternative plans of schooling, it may cause them to think a little more deeply about the decision they are making.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the fears of those who do not want to give 7 shots in one day to their 6 month old sweet baby. However, I feel that if people would realize you have the ability to pick and choose which vaccinations your kiddos get and when then maybe they would feel better about either vaccinating or not. I did this with my fourth child. I chose to only have him vaccinated one at a time with several months in between vaccinations. My goal is to have him fully vaccinated by the time he begins kindergarten. This was my choice and yes my right as a parent. But because I do not want him at risk in school, I am making it a priority to have him immunized by 6 years old.

Think about it this way – instead of just doing whatever the doctors tell you, make the decision for yourself. Be wise. Getting vaccinated is not something to take lightly. It is important, because the older your child gets the more at risk they become. If your child contracts the measles or chicken pox later in life it could KILL THEM! I know this because my mom nearly died from getting the chicken pox as an adult. So I am not saying that by you not vaccinating your kids you are putting mine at risk, I am simply saying that by not vaccinating your kids you are putting your OWN kids at risk. Let me also say that I know that vaccinations do not protect you from contracting the disease if you are directly exposed. However if vaccinated it will greatly reduce the illness if you do happen to contract the disease, and thus reduces the risk of death. Remember there is a reason they created vaccinations (and give them for FREE!) It was not to make money for our government, it was to protect our population from epidemics. So for every person not vaccinated it is allowing for more opportunity at keeping the disease populated and thus more spread of the disease (and yes even to those who have been vaccinated).

So how do we protect our kids from these diseases, without making us feel like we are putting them at risk while infants? My opinion and suggestion is this – please for the sake of your kids and mine vaccinate your kids. BUT take your time. Wait to give them their vaccinations until they are a little older. At the very least get them the most essential vaccinations by the time they are school aged. This way all our kids can be better protected! Give them just one vaccination at a time like I did. Read up and research the different vaccinations and give them the ones you feel are the most important first (ie. MMR, chicken pox, polio…)

Finally, I just want to say YES – I know this topic is controversial! YES this was a long ranting blog post about my opinion. BUT I have done my research. I have taken the time to read up on both sides and have talked to friends, family and even strangers about this topic, and well like I said somehow I feel I have fallen into a unique position on the matter. I am in the middle. Parents do have the right to make their own choices for their kids, BUT they also need to think about how their decisions affect others (including their own kids futures). I really just wish there were an easy way to tell parents that they could still give their kids vaccinations, but just later in life and in smaller dosages. In my opinion it’s the best of both worlds!

***Please feel free to share your thoughts, but lets keep it friendly. I do not feel like I have accused or attacked anyone through this post and would hope that you could chime in on your opinion without doing so as well!