The KInd Life Community Forum

I picked up a book at the library on the history of vaccination that was incredibly interesting. It definitely had a slightly more conservative bent to it (meaning pro-vaccine), but was also pretty fair I would say in presenting the facts. One big thing I found interesting was that there have been issues with vaccines from their inception, issues with things like brain injury and death. And actually, vaccines are a heck of a lot safer than they were a century ago. Another interesting point I thought was that diseases themselves can also cause brain injury and death (among other things). After reading that, it does make sense to me how statistically, vaccines can be considered safer than the diseases themelves. However, every time you get a vaccine, just like every time you get a disease, there is a risk. So, while I can see the value in vaccines, what doesn't make sense to me is why we would recommend soo many vaccines for our kids, including things like Hepatitis B that they would never be exposed to as young children. I've had this discussion with our pediatrician, your newborn baby is not likely to have sex or shoot up heroin - Hepatitis B is a bloodborne disease. So why insist that babies get 3 Hepatitis B shots? It would make more sense to recommend vaccines only for the most serious communicable diseases that children are likely to be exposed to. Not give them every possible shot the drug companies can conceive of. That's not to mention all of the other random things in vaccines (as Dani mentioned), and the argument that they could be involved in the development of auto-immune or other problems just in the way they are administered and effect the immune system.

One thing we were told about flu shots by my son's cardiologist is that a lot of times they get use the wrong strain of virus anyway. She does not get flu shots, and she's a pediatric cardiologist. She said your best defense is lots of handwashing.

I was asked today by a classmate if I had gotten the flu shot (we get them free at the university) becasue unfortunately I had a cold for about 5 days. I said no, and she asked if I've ever had the flu, and I said no. She looked at me in shock and asked why I wouldn't get the shot when were in a cesspool (in school all day in confined spaces with so many people). I told her that I don't trust the junk put into shots, and if I do get sick, well, I'll be miserable and hopefully it won't be too serious, but so be it. I'm not putting poison into my body on the chance that it might prevent something. She said the doctor in our class (she's a student, too) and told her to please go get her flu shot - that people can be sick for a couple of weeks to a couple of months, and that she's seen people die. Well, yeah, most doctors are gonna say that. I really hope I don't get sick in this new environment, but I'm not willing to get a shot to prevent it. Hopefully I won't be on here complaining of dying from exhaustion from the flu. But I do agree that one of the most important things is to wash your hands often, and not touch your face.

(Obviously this is about seasonal shots. I don't know what I would do if I have kids, but I'm inherently distrustful of most mainstream medicine)

I totally agree with Vegmom - it's like anything else with your kids, all you can really do is get as much info as you can and make the decision you think is best based on the info you have. We also did an alternative vax schedule, and split out live virus vaccines. We have not yet done chicken pox, but may - chicken pox to me is a tricky one. It's not like back when we were kids and everyone got it at some point. My concern is if my son does not get the shot, and is not exposed to it as a child, that he could be exposed as an adult when it would likely be a lot more serious.

and the HPV vaccine! oh my! they are finding it is causing infertility, and it also only covers the tiniest fraction of types of hpv that can cause cervical cancer. They made that shot a requirement in Texas for getting into school and there was such protest by parents that they withdrew the mandate. The deal with that is if a state mandates a vaccine for entry into public schools, then the vaccine company is absolved on some level of any injury that may come out of that vaccine. So of course all the Pharm companies push to get vaccines mandated - it saves them money and makes them money - and often times if they cannot get a vaccine mandated, they actually will withdraw it from the market because do not want to risk the possible cost of harm it can cause. And who gets vaccines mandated in states? politicians....politicians who are given very generous donations by pharmeceutical companies.......its all a business - but of money, not of your childrens health.

Not that I have an opinion or anything about vaccines.....