Need advice on childhood immunizations...

[Katybarstool]

My kids are late 20's/early 30's now, but as their dad and I had a history of epilepsy, they were not allowed to have the measles or whooping cough vaccines. Unfortunately, the eldest became very ill. Turns out he was incubating measles. He had seizures and was (wrongly) thought to have meningitis. Thankfully, he was okay, but we were worried sick that the other two would catch them.

When I was a small child (when Noah was a boy!) there was no such thing as measles injections, and I developed pneumonia due to measles. It left me with bronchiectasis.

It's a difficult decision, and one I'm glad I don't have to make. If I did, I think I would agree with the person who said, be selective, and space them out.

Kathyx

[stephL]

When my son was a baby,  he had his first round of immunizations and after doing extensive research I decided not to continue. We all know a lot about the pros, I was was looking for arguments against. There is so much to it that cannot all be possibly covered in a forum discussion. But here are a few ideas to consider.



The efficacy and safety cannot be guaranteed and you will have to sign to waive your legal rights before your child is immunized. Some medical doctors advise against vaccines, they feel that the risks outweigh the potential benefits. It's a decision that is not be taken lightly, a small percentage of kids who have an adverse reaction suffer things as severe as brain damage and death.  Critics argue that epidemics like the bubonic plague and polio run a course through the population and die out of their own accord. They claim that polio was well into decline before the vaccine became available. Most medical professionals will admit that the only cases of polio that occur nowadays are caused by the live version of the vaccine.


Remember that none of the routine childhood diseases themselves are fatal, it's the complications of those diseases that can be life-threatening. Keep in mind that Pediatricians are at the bottom of the physician earning scale and vaccines are an important factor in keeping their practice profitable so they have a financial incentive to recommend them. I live near Philadelphia Pennsylvania, where we have large Amish Communities nearby who do not immunize. The tourism industry in and around their communities is big business so I assure you, they are are not isolated and well exposed to the rest of society and they live in good health.



What really shocked me was learning that the sector of the pharmaceutical industry that produces vaccines is plagued by scandal (no pun intended) and sadly, it's never reported in the news. Whenever you hear about a 'shortage' of flu vaccines, it's caused when a lab somewhere in the world has been shut down by it's government because of unsanitary manufacturing practices. I also read about how the culture for a vaccine is grown in the kidney tissue of a monkey and critics say that it's a shock to the immune system to have undigested animal tissue injected directly into the blood stream, especially in the case of an infant who has an immature immune system.


Don't buy into the scare tactics when school and daycare officials threaten that your child cannot be admitted without vaccinations. Every state in the US has an exemption for medical, religious and some, but not all, contain an exemption for personal belief. You can take the religious exemption without belonging to a particular Church by stating you believe in some of their tenets and mentioning your moral conscience and this being related to belief in God, or a higher being, etc. Most school authorities are afraid to interfere with anyone's religious freedom for fear of a lawsuit they can't win, so they usually back down pretty easily at the mention of religious beliefs.


Best thing to do is contact your state and find a copy of the immunization law, type up a short exemption statement to fit the particular wording of the law in your area. It's not necessary to have it notarized, but it looks more official if you do. Most banks provide notary service to their customers free of charge. If it's not worded specifically to fit the law, it may be rejected, in which case you will have to change the wording and submit a new document. :p