Still undecided on the safety of vaccines? Wonder what infant vaccination schedule to follow?
A Facebook friend shared this recently:
A friend posted an article this morning that was posted by a local pediatric office. It's very persuasive and convincing that you must be crazy if you think vaccines are not safe. I have three unvaccinated children and continue to wrestle with the issue, but also continue to build a strong natural medicine cabinet to fight illness. Anyway, I was curious what you or your readers had to say about it.”
So you may be wondering why I'm sharing this, when I've written quite a few anti-vaccine posts here in the past. While we used to vaccinate, and gave our youngest some shots but not all (read all about that here including which ones we did or did not have him get), unless something changes our minds, you never know, we no longer vaccinate.
But here's the deal. I have often asked you not to make any of your own decisions based on what you read here on my site, but rather to use what you learn here to motivate you to do more of your own research. I want you to be fully informed, and aware of both sides of the issues I write about. That is why I shared that link.
But I'll also tell you what I think of it.
I don't disagree with a lot of the information in the article. It's true that coincidences can happen after shots that people could attribute to vaccine related problems. It's also true that most people who get shots never experience anything more than slight side effects.
Here's why we still won't vaccinate though…
- As a general rule, I do not trust pharmaceutical companies and the governmental agencies that regulate them. (Here's a glaring reason: Wait 'til you read what happened when we went to the doctor's office for shots once!) No, I don't believe that there's some big conspiracy to inject something harmful into our kids through vaccines and bring down the human race. But I do believe that their bottom line is money. There just isn't enough research to know for sure what the long-term effects of vaccines are. Why would a drug company pay for expensive research like that, when it might show something that could put them out of business and that could easily be blamed on many other things in between the shot and when someone got sick years later?! A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis at twenty-eight? Cancer at six years old? Learning issues beginning in third grade? Hyperactivity disorder? Autism? I'm not saying I'm positive that any of these things are related, I'm just saying who really KNOWS what the long-term effects of these vaccines could be?! And not just because of what might be inside the vaccines, but also what it does to our bodies when our natural immune system processes are circumvented. Besides, they make money not by keeping us healthy, but by keeping us sick. Sad but true.
- Too many stories like this one make me not blindly trust my doctor or vaccine companies, watch Vaxxed to hear about a CDC whistleblower with a scary story.
- Here's a good book on the topic: A Shot in the Dark.
- The more natural way is always my first choice. Letting our bodies build up natural immunity whenever possible rather than injecting foreign substances into our blood stream just makes more sense.
- The 7 reasons that originally convinced me to re-think all of this still stand, look those over for more help in making your own decisions. (Included there is information on whether or not vaccines really did eradicate certain diseases… Or if the rates were declining before the vaccines.)
- Be sure to watch this for more helpful information: The Greater Good.
- Lastly, this chart is another commonsense wake-up for me. It shows the CDC recommended shot schedule for 1983 vs. 2013. Scary isn't it?!
What do you think after reading that article? Share below in the comments!
- Learn more about natural remedies here!
- Healthcare workers: how to refuse mandatory vaccines and not get fired.
photo: AJC1
Christine Hebert says
I have refused some vaccines and allowed others. In retrospect, I would have refused the MMR if I had known ahead of time it had aborted fetal cell lines. The varicella vaccine has aborted fetal cell lines, as well. I believe varicella vaccine, in particular is about money. Now they are marketing it as “shingles vaccine” to the elderly. My children all had chicken pox naturally. My daughter caught it at school from a child who had been vaccinated.
I took a flu vaccine this past winter because I was in the hospital with a MRSA skin infection during a flu epidemic. The doc also ordered a pneumonia vaccine which I refused. Normally I would have refused the flu vax as well, but given the fact that the place was crawling with flu patients (and probably staff), I felt it was prudent. I have different pedis for my 2 youngest children. My son has a male, my daughter a female. The woman always gives me a harder time about vaccine decisions. We have gone round and round over Gardasil (Have you seen the latest on that one?). When my daughter can make her own health decisions, she can say yes or no. I will say no until then.
Allyson Bossie says
Oh, and did I mention that the countries that DON’T vaccinate have a ZERO, yes I said ZERO SIDS Rate? Australia has done further research than we have. Well, at least they honestly report their findings, and they report that every single case of SIDS in their country happened at the 2, 4, 6 month and a year age: all vaccination times for them. Coincidence? I think not
Melinda says
Curious… where do you get this statistic about countries that don’t vaccinate have ZERO SIDS… and which countries don’t do any vaccinations?
Anita says
One may find it interesting to know that many cases of SIDS are associated with a high degree of alcohol usage on the part of the caregiver(s), and may constitute negligence.
Allyson Bossie says
First of all, let me say that when I birthed my four kids, I was in the naive, un-researched majority that just do what the doctor says and I did vaccinate all of my children. Now here is why if I had to do it over again I would. From my personal experience, I wouldn’t give them because I believe they are the cause of some serious allergies in my children. If you do the research, food allergies started rearing their ugly heads right after vaccines began. I have three epipens for children who are literally deathly allergic to three different items. I also have one son who is a level 3 allergic to almost every food item that is in vaccines (think peanuts, eggs, wheat, gluten, etc). I also have a daughter who suffers from serious eczema that she wasn’t born with. She was fine until she started getting vaccines and it has been a serious skin battle since. She is allergic to wheat, gluten, milk products, eggs, and the list goes on. These reasons alone are enough for me to wish I had done research and relied less on doctor recommendations.
KitchenKop says
How I wish I could go back, too!!!
Melinda says
I could write a long article about our journey with vaccines… from “normal” to really not normal with our six kids. We do still vaccinate with the bottom line being… we live in a third world country where many do still die from things that vaccines do help prevent. I have a 7 mo old baby. We are “behind” on his shots because I choose to be. We only do one each time… about once every month to 2 months. Maybe I’m doing him more harm than good?? I like the The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. We are American… but realizing my husband’s coworker (a national) died from tetanus was just confirmation that IN SOME CASES, vaccines are not a bad thing! I certainly do a lot of praying each time our baby gets one though. I think an important thing is to be nice to others in their choices. No one knows FOR SURE what the best is…for everyone. Blessings!
KitchenKop says
I totally agree, we all need to pray and research on our own and make the best decisions for our families. 🙂
Kelly
Melinda says
and I should add… we do not get ALL the vaccines that are recommended these days. And I weigh the contents of the vaccines (according to the book I mentioned above) to decide which I will pair if I decide to do more than one at a time.
Anne says
We have vaccinated our children but do it on our terms. First, no vaccinations in the first year of life. Second, ONLY one shot at a time. Third, only the ones we think are important. Our list is similar to the 1983 list but does include chicken pox because my husband has not had the disease.
Now I will tell you why. Note I am posting this at the end of the comment hoping most readers don’t get this far. We vaccinate because we are WEENIES and are tired of fighting so much in society. My kids participate in many things the require vaccinations (such as scouts, sports, camps, colleges, etc) where is is a pain to have to get special variances. I have so much in my life that I have to FIGHT (i.e. obtaining Raw Milk) that I don’t want to add one more thing. Also, I believe my kids are actually in a high-risk group because so many of our friends do not vaccinate. An outbreak (unlikely as it might be) would spread like wild-fire in the circles my children travel in. Finally, I believe I can vaccinate without harm because my kids are VERY healthy. Ironically, once we completed the vaccinations, I was at peace. I no longer had to wrestle with this decision.
Do I advocate vaccinations? NO- Each family is unique and you need to make the decision for yourselves.
Signed~ a lone voice in the wilderness
Lori says
Anne you are too funny. I admire your honesty. Yes it is hard to continually fight for every little thing. We are all weenies somewhere in our lives! Good luck!
KitchenKop says
Hey everyone, here’s another post that someone just shared with me: https://www.heavyonwholesome.com/2013/06/my-experience-with-childhood-vaccines.html?m=1
Kelly
Denise says
“It’s also true that most people who get shots never experience anything more than slight side effects.”
I would not call life long effects of vaccines slight side effects. Even those who only show some mild side effects within a certain time of vaccinating have life long issues like cancers and autoimmune and there are many others.
It is impossible to be vaccinated and not sustain injury – it is an insult to the immune system and shows up in many different ways, often long after the fact. Much of chronic illness today is believed by many very smart medical people to be due to subsequent effects of vaccines on the system. They are usually not immediate.
KitchenKop says
OK, what I should’ve said is that most don’t experience any *immediately obvious* side effects… Beyond that we just don’t know.
Kelly
A L says
It really irks me when people try to say unvaccinated kids put their vaccinated kids at risk. Are you kidding me? You’re going to talk about how safe and effective vaccines are and then turn around and say your children are at risk even though they’ve been vaccinated? And when you bring this up you inevitably get the ” mumble mumble herd immunity mumble mumble” – like they’re conceding the point that vaccines aren’t effective in and of themselves, all the while citing something which doesn’t exist. For herd immunity to occur, a huge majority must have IMMUNITY to a given disease. Vaccinated does not equal immune. And even if they definitely did confer immunity, it is a recognized fact that the immunity wears off at some, ultimately unknown, point. So for herd immunity to exist, vaccines MUST confer immunity, and then all vaccinated people must receive boosters for the rest of their lives to retain said immunity. This is simply not the case – there is way less than the needed percentage of people walking around “unprotected” by vaccines at any given time and yet we haven’t seen the catastrophic re-emergence of deadly diseases that’s always used to try to scare/guilt us into vaccinating. This is because the majority of them were on the decline before vaccines were even introduced – simply because of better sanitation, hygiene etc. I could go on and on but the information is out there… What I’m really trying to say is if you want to vaccinate your children, that’s your business, but stop trying to make yourself feel better about it by making stupid claims about the people who don’t.
Kat says
Vaccinated children aren’t at risk, it’s unvaccinated kids, such as newborns, who haven’t had vaccines for measles, whooping cough, etc., but who are at risk of being exposed to diseases because of the increasing number of unvaccinated children. The vaccinations for polio and smallpox almost completely eradicated those diseases in this country. While we still have a way to go regarding standard of healthcare in this country, vaccinations have saved the lives of countless children in the last century. That’s why I will continue to vaccinate my children according to the recommended schedule, because there is no evidence to support that vaccinations are harmful, but there is evidence that acquiring those diseases can cause disability or death, as they did for centuries before the development of the disease. It’s valid to not trust government or drug companies, but these diseases aren’t imaginary – they’re very real, and the vaccines are developed to prevent them. They’re not made-up vaccines for made-up diseases, and I will always choose the vaccine over losing my children to diseases that should have died out years ago. Believe me, I believe in holistic medicine and herbal remedies, but they are not everything. So far my toddler has a great immune system. So sure, he might beat measles, but at the expense of his sperm count. He might recover from mumps, but lose his hearing. He might survive whooping cough, but be permanently brain damaged. Those are not risks I am willing to take.
A L says
Hi Kat, I was specifically referencing the numerous people I’ve heard make comments like, “I won’t let your unvaxed kid play with my vaxed kid.” – people who do think I’m putting their vaxed kids at risk by not having my own.
However, I believe your point is invalid as well. Firstly, vaccinated kids can and do still carry and contract the diseases they’re vaxed against. (Evidenced recently by the whooping cough outbreaks during which the majority of those affected were vaccinated.) Secondly, numerous vaccines are given over a number of months/years and are not considered efficacious until fully completed, therefore, even following the recommended schedule leaves months or years where vaxed kids could be considered just as risky to the newborn/elderly/immunocompromised. Additionally, as I stated above, people should be receiving boosters at regular intervals for the rest of their lives in order to not be considered a risk themselves. All that to say, acting like the vulnerable are put at risk solely because people choose not to vaccinate is not accurate.
On the same note, if you want to talk about who is putting that population at risk – I think personal responsibility needs to come into play. If you have a newborn and youchoose to bring them out into public places then it is you who are putting them at risk, not the public. If you’re immunocompromised the same applies. And like I said above, you’re just as likely to be exposed to something by someone who has been vaccinated as by sometime who hasn’t.
As for your other points, I disagree that it was primarily vaccines that rid us of the diseases – there are numerous, well educated people that disagree as well. I also submit that there is “no evidence” that vaccines are harmful only because nobody will conduct a proper study of them. There is also the matter that statistically speaking, the worst manifestations of the diseases you mentioned are relatively rare and in the majority of cases the diseases are fought off without the side effects you mentioned – oftentimes with the benefit of lifelong immunity (and in the case of breastfeeding mothers, protection of their newborns from the diseases.)
However, you are certainly free to follow your beliefs regarding the issue. I still stand by my point that I am not putting anyone more at risk by not vaccinating than I would be by vaccinating.
EC says
We got chicken pox from fully vaccinated kids.
We were exposed to pertussis – very close contact – by a fully vaccinated family. (We didn’t get it, I did the high dose vitamin C protocol.) Yes the pertussis was lab confirmed.
My first rethinking of vaccines was 10+ years ago when it started to come out that some vaccines were made using aborted fetal cells. Even if not everyone finds this morally offensive, there’s the aspect of having absolutely no idea how this human DNA influences the recipient epigenetically.
jennifer says
Great post AL . As an LPN and alternative minded mom -I see all sides of this subject and struggled for several years after having my first 2 children to find support and knowledge in what my gut /GOD was telling me –do not vaccinate ! After having several Dr lectures -I found my voice with child number 3 -found a new Dr who was helpful in supporting my view /feelings and knew if there were any health issues I could not deal with in my herbal /alternative ways ,he would be there for assistance.I feel the immune system is made to deal with illness and normal childhood illness can be strengthening to it .
It pains me to see how people who vaccinate ,eat total crap ,have no real reasons for what they do other than follow Drs orders -can then criticize people who try to maintain or build real health and are informed and active in their well being .
Sorry for the rant.
Jeanmarie says
Excellent response.
Ellen says
Are you aware of the measles (usually you find mumps cited as the cause) connection to infertility? It can happen with any sustained fever but it only affects fertility if the boy has reached puberty, in rare cases. My husband always rolls his eyes at this one. He had mumps twice (despite being vaccinated – that was when his mom stopped vaccinating) and we have half a dozen kids. No fertility issues.
As for viruses, yes, they can settle in the ear and cause damage but then again so can any virus, even one not on the vaccine schedule. So your best bet is to be in the best health possible to fight off the diseases that you will encounter in your life.
Ginny says
Good points, Kat. I was reading an article recently about how our generation doesn’t have a memory of the damage done by polio, measles, etc. (who among us knows someone in an iron lung?). It’s different for my parents’ generation; my dad vividly remembers being seriously ill with whooping cough during the 1940s. As our collective memory of the terror of these diseases fades, we tend to undercut their significance and be more afraid of the vaccine than of the disease itself.
I am with you on the risks you are not willing to take. And while I definitely believe in parents doing research on this issue, I also trust my doctor because I believe that eight years of medical school and twenty years of practicing pediatrics counts for something.
Denise says
Ginny, no one on either side of this debate minimizes how awful some of these diseases were. The issues are, do vaccines really prevent them, or was it something else that has changed making the likelihood of getting them negligible and are vaccine manufacturers being honest about what the side effects of these vaccines are.
We are at a point where very real side effects from these contaminated chemical cocktails are more likely than that we will ever get the diseases.
What it comes down to is: Did vaccines eliminate these diseases or did vaccines take credit for the natural decline of them? We also need to explain the huge number of fully vaccinated children who get the disease anyway as well as the number of adverse reactions to the vaccines.
I am heartily sick and tired of the debate. There is no amicable resolution because of the passion on both sides. I did not vaccinate and my sisters and cousins did. I am the only one who has no children on the autism spectrum. Cause and effect? Maybe, maybe not.
This issue now is not who is right – but of MY right to choose whether to vaccinate my children or not and someone else’s right to fully vaccinate their children. What is coming, should the Convention on the Rights of the Child treaty be ratified is someone ELSE will decide for parents what is best for their children. We see it in other nations right now.
If you want to vaccinate – do it. But don’t call those of us who make another choice ignorant or uninformed. In most cases we are more informed and know more because we don’t just accept what a doctor says. Eight years of medical school means nothing to me because I know things and more things than many doctors I have seen. It’s all in what you are taught.
Cancer is an example. Oncologists go through all the training and they still stick to chemo and radiation as the gold standard for cancer treatment even though the success rate to five year survival is about 2%. They completely ignore that FACT that alternative cancer treatments have a success rate of over 75% in the same cancers.
So . . . no I do not accept that a doctor knows more than a well informed person who makes it their goal to learn and not just maintain the status quo. I refused all treatments doctors recommended for seven auto immune conditions – and I am not, after 24 years, dead or in a wheelchair like they said I would be. I know more about my conditions than they do.
So read, learn, get informed. I won’t condemn anyone for deciding to vaccinate. But neither will I accept derision and condemnation from those who think my decision is the wrong or uninformed one.
Ginny says
Denise, if my post came across as being derisive and condeming, I do apologize. I certainly did not intend it to be so. (When I write a comment over morning coffee while also getting breakfast for the kiddos, I guess I miss certain nuances that might come across as differently than I intended!).
I guess vaccines should join politics and religion as hot-button issues I should avoid in future. 🙂
God bless!
Ginny
KitchenKop says
I actually think you’re both being respectful about disagreeing and I’m thankful!!!
Kel
Denise says
Ginny, you were probably more respectful than I. I am just so tired of people saying we are abusing our children or we are uneducated – and your post did not do that – and so I went on to cover some points that had nothing to do with your post!
I just really do want everyone to have the choice. I value freedom. I don’t condemn others for vaccinating even though I think it is a bad decision, but I don’t want to be condemned for making the opposite decision.
And please don’t avoid those issues. It could result in someone not finding Christ or not having vital information they needed. Keep talking and God bless!
Ginny says
No worries, Denise! It’s all good.
Have a great weekend.
B L says
I can tell you this. My kid got a Hep B at birth, and nothing else (I was told it was required by the state, and TX may indeed require these, I don’t know). Then this past week we were part of the Hep A scare… and she (age 6 1/2) and I got the Hep A vaccines, hearing so MANY horror stories about Hep A. Well, I have to say neither of us has been sick in, well, a long time. And we have been sick since taking the vax. I really regret it, in hindsight. Vaccines kill your immune system, in my opinion. If you eat well, and work to keep a healthy immune system, you’re doing shot in the foot to vaccinate. Anyhow, I understand it’s not good anyhow unless we get the booster Hep A in 6 months… so it was all for nothing, because I will not be getting it, that’s for sure, and neither will she. She had a 24 hour fever of 104, and was sick as a DOG, still experiencing aftereffects. But anyhow, that’s just where I’m coming from. I hope we can all state our opinions and not throw jabs at each other here…
Margaret says
My oldest is nearly 15 years. All of our children are unvaxed, primarily for this reason:
Why would a drug company pay for expensive research like that, when it might show something that could put them out of business and that could easily be blamed on many other things in between the shot and when someone got sick years later?! A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis at twenty-eight? Cancer at six years old? Learning issues beginning in third grade? Hyperactivity disorder? Autism? I’m not saying that I think any of these things are related, I’m just saying who really KNOWS what the long-term effects of these vaccines could be?! And not just because of what might be inside the vaccines, but also what it does to our bodies when our natural immune system processes are circumvented. Besides, they make money not by keeping us healthy, but by keeping us sick. Sad but true.
I just do not trust that the pharmaceutical companies have my children’s best interests at heart. I am not alarmist, and I can see some situations where I would be willing to allow some vaxes. However, I think generally speaking, there are too many unanswered questions about vax safety, efficacy, and mechanism of working to blindly inject them into my children’s bodies. The sheer amount of vaccines being pushed today gives me further concern. It seems like a lot for a small body to handle.
Lily says
There is so much ignorance in that article, that it is written by and only persuasive to those who lack the ability to use their own critical thinking, and haven’t ACTUALLY researched both sides. As she claims those who don’t vaccinate do so out of fear, her choice to vaccinate is founded on fear as well.
The choice not to vaccinate, shouldn’t be based on fear, but rather a real understanding of immunology. When you take your research beyond stats, history, anecdotes, and even studies, to the bottom line of the chain of events that occur when you INJECT immune provoking agents and biologically toxic materials into the body, it is clear how, pending an individuals immune and genetic status, a reaction can and in many cases does occur to varying degrees, including and but limited to neurological damage.
It takes a sheer amount of monumental ignorance to not see the clearly toxic soup that is contained in a vaccine vial. And to think that somehow the attenuated viral protein contained therein will cause a miraculous chain of events resulting in inaccurately labeled immunity, yet the other toxic metals, chemicals and filthy foreign proteins will be filtered out of the body without a hitch, is flat out stupidity. Injecting material is bypassing the primary defense system of the body. And those other toxic and foreign materials need to be dealt with as well via a completely unnatural route. They don’t just vanish into thin air.
The altered status of immunity that is prevalent today because of nutritional and environmental factors coupled with genetic predispositions altering the body’s ability to not only deal with these factors but deal with unnatural immune modulating and toxic substances being administered in a very unnatural way (once again, bypassing the body’s primary and God given way of dealing with anything that doesn’t belong there) paints a very clear picture. Vaccines are not safe for everyone!
A few of her most ignorant statements showing she has done very little research and is simply regurgitating generalized statements rather than citing actual sources:
“Yet dozens and dozens of studies have found, using appropriate scientific methods with millions of children from all sorts of populations, that vaccines do not cause these and other health issues. Most often, there is not even a biological mechanism that makes it possible for the vaccine to cause the condition in question”
“….and their personal experience feels like it trumps the mountains of scientific information showing that a vaccine didn’t and cannot cause what they think it did.”
And the last statement that is so commonly used and shows not only her own lack of faith in the effectiveness of these vaccinations, but that anyone can feel justified even while making baseless and contradictory claims.
“So they share their “vaccine injury” story, feeding unfounded fears that ultimately put my vaccinated child, and millions like him, at risk.”
People like this make me sick with their judgements based on NOTHING but their own personal opinion and their “mountains of scientific evidence”. Those mountains must be from another planet. Good for her that her baby didn’t have a bad reaction. Had she fallen into the other category and then immersed herself in the world of trying to heal her child, maybe she’d then find the evidence that has apparently eluded her but yet is firmly backed by the science of the body and brilliant doctors, not by statistical science, those with a vested interest and big corporations.
Alexis says
Wow. Well said.
Jen says
As a molecular biologist (in a former life… SAHM now), and a scientist having studied graduate level immunology… well said! I felt the same repulsion upon reading that ridiculous post.
Lori says
Well said! My doctor gave a lecture on vaccines and possible risks and even she said there are risks. A huge problem is with the number of vaccines. In the 70 s there were hardly any and they weren’t repeated and doctors were more cautious. I didn’t get one shot because I had excema.
Unfortunately I had to retake the MMR when i entered college because I got it at 17 months and not 18. Anyway you can’t discount anecdotal studies and considering there is a governmental fund set up for people who have reactions to vaccines proves that even our government agrees this is a problem. They did thus so we couldn’t sue doctors or vaccine companies which certainly would happen.
As I have gotten older I can see that there is more fear about not getting vaccinated which is why they are starting to for e health care workers to get a flue shot. This is pretty sad.
Jeanmarie says
Terrific comment, thanks so much.
Dawn says
Had I known back then what I know now, I definitely would not have given my kids so many vaccines. They’re teenagers now, and one of them developed a serious digestive illness after receiving the Meningitis vaccine 6 months before.
I don’t think that’s the sole reason she developed her illness, but I suspect it – and the sum accumulation of vaccines and other toxins – was a contributing factor.
There wasn’t nearly as much awareness 15 years ago, and I was barely on the internet at all! I had a gut feeling that administering so many vaccines at once might overstimulate the immune system, but the pediatricians always seemed to be so sure it was the right thing to do. They can be very convincing, you know?
Lesson learned: trust your gut. It’ll never fail you.
These days, our children are exposed to more toxins than ever before. They’re coming at them from all angles. So, any way a parent can minimize them is a good thing. There’s no such thing as perfection, but each of us has to find our balance.
Our best defense is to make informed choices. When parents start to read food labels, and check out the ingredients in vaccines and personal care products, they’ll see how many things are listed that they don’t recognize.
All any of us can do is to make decisions based upon the information we have, and hope for the best. If we worry too much, the stress will kill us faster than any vaccine or chemical will! So, it’s not easy.
Thank you for encouraging people to keep connecting the dots and doing their own research before they make decisions. It is a democratic right that all parents should exercise regularly.
To sum up my philosophy –
Your choice is your voice! Use it wisely.
Jo-Lynne {Musings of a Housewife} says
I am SO conflicted on this issue. We vaxed all our kids on the typical schedule; they are 7, 10 and 13 now. It seems like at this point, they had no discernable issues, and we might as well finish it up. But if I could go back and do it again, I would like to research each shot individually and maybe do them selectively. I’d definitely take a slower schedule, but I think I’d still do some, but probably not all. Anyway. It’s too late for me, but thanks for sharing all sides of this issue for those who are still making these choices.
I appreciate your comments and reasonableness. I can’t stand the alarmist anti-vax types. They aren’t doing anything for their cause.
“No, I don’t believe that there’s some big conspiracy to inject something harmful into our kids through vaccines and bring down the human race. But I do believe that their bottom line is money. There just isn’t enough research to know for sure what the long-term effects of vaccines are. Why would a drug company pay for expensive research like that, when it might show something that could put them out of business and that could easily be blamed on many other things in between the shot and when someone got sick years later?!”
That is the bottom line, as far as I’m concerned. We just don’t know, and of course the pharma companies aren’t going to fund studies that put them out of biz. So it’s just such a crapshoot. I feel like so many health issues are like this. It’s sad.