Those of us born in the 40's and 50's remember what it was like to get all of those childhood diseases (I would like to stand anyone who dismisses the mumps as a minor ailment up against a wall and pummel their throats with a club for an hour or two, just to give them an idea of the kind of pain involved). Our parents remember what it was like shepherding children through these disease; caring for the ones who survived with permanent sensory or neurological damage and burying the ones who didn't survive at all.

My older cousin lost three of her children. Three!

If the anti-vaxxers refuse to listen to the voice of reason, could they at least listen to the voices of experience?

Thank You! I really wish more people would study history and listen to their elders instead of watching Jim Carrey and Jenny MacCarthy on Larry King for medical advice. I mean on the one hand you have the historical record, our ancestors, all the scientific bodies in the world, decades of medical research, basic risk analysis, all saying and urging the same thing and on the other you have Jim Carrey and Jenny MacCarthy. Yet people still turn to them, rally behind them...because they're...celebrities, comedians, fashion models? Gah! These are the same type of folks who rallied pogroms during the Black Death. They're taking advantage of autism tragedies in a despicable way--getting people, who can be given no explanation at present, a lie to latch on to. It's false comfort, the consequences are truly grave and it needs to be called out.

The problem is the anti-vaccination crowd are too young to remember all of the nasty and deadly childhood diseases from the past. Plus they are basically selfish leeches who screech about vaccines being dangerous on one hand but then on the other they expect everybody else to vaccinate their kids in order to develop herd immunity.

With all due respect, the medicine was much different back in the early 1900's. I had the mumps as a child (about 22 years ago), It sucked!!! But thanks to modern medicine it went away relatively fast and I was just fine. Most things that are vaccinated against are all easily cured by antibiotics or other modern medicine. There is however, no cure for autism, diabetes or other diseases linked to vaccinations. I do not vaccinate my children and its not because I am crazy or uneducated. My daughter had a very bad allergic reaction to them and I will not risk her or any of my other children getting an auto immune disease (which she also got from it), severe allergic reaction or even dying to get a mumps or chicken pox etc. vaccine. These are all easily curable conditions in our day and age. So for me, the risk of the vaccine itself out weighs any benefits. I do believe that as many if not more children have permanent negative effects or have died from vaccinations then by any of the illnesses that they are vaccinating against.

faithispower7:

Most things that are vaccinated against are all easily cured by antibiotics or other modern medicine.

Wrong on many levels.

Antibiotics kill bacteria. Vaccines protect against virus. Antibiotics do nothing against viruses. Therefore, antibiotics do not easily cure the things we are vaccinated against.

The common flu kills 36,000 people a a year in the US. I am sure they will all be very comforted to know that modern medicine could "easily cure" them.

"I do believe that as many if not more children have permanent negative effects or have died from vaccinations then by any of the illnesses that they are vaccinating against."

Then yes you are crazy or uneducated, or just willfully ignorant.

@faithispower7 “These are all easily curable conditions in our day and age….I do believe that as many if not more children have permanent negative effects or have died from vaccinations then by any of the illnesses that they are vaccinating against.” They are not. I’m sorry, but you are so wrong and so misinformed. In reality, the first part of your statement (above), is a great testament to the power of the vaccines. Vaccines have made those illnesses so rare that we don’t hear about people coming down with those illnesses in the US and therefore think that they’re no big deal. But they are. I’m not going to tell you about how many hundreds of thousands of people DIE around the world from mumps, chicken pox or measles. Nor, will I tell you about the thousands of other people that survive the illness yet are left to live with physical or neurological disorders that those illnesses can lead to. You can research this all on your own. But here’s a nugget for you. Before the vaccine, in the US each year approximately: 450 people died because of measles, 48,000 were hospitalized, 7,000 had seizures, and about 1,000 suffered permanent brain damage or deafness. You’re trying to argue that every year, we have as many if not more than 450 kids dying from vaccines? Or that more than 1000 kids every year are brain damaged or have deafness because of a vaccine? The media goes into a frenzy every summer when a few (like, 5) shark attacks kill or injure people. Why wouldn’t they go into a frenzy with nearly 500 kids dying from vaccines? The only answer is that it is simply not happening. Only in a FIRST WORLD country, would you have someone refusing a vaccine for such dubious claims. Ask a parent in the Saraha region of Africa if they want a vaccine for their child and they wonder why you're even asking. H*LL yes, they want one. You, on the other hand, have the luxury of living in the US where these illnesses are not daily threats anymore. So you make up these dilly-dallying arguments based on some "enlightened reasoning" you apparently have. If thats the case, why don't you argue for vaccines to be eliminated as part of the US's and UN's foreign aid programs? “I had the mumps as a child (about 22 years ago), It sucked!!! But thanks to modern medicine it went away relatively fast and I was just fine.” You got through the mumps because of your immune system, not because of “modern medicine.” Treatment for mumps is only supportive. Meaning you can take pain relievers, fever reducers, drink lots of liquids, but there is no treatment, not 22 years ago or today, that will treat anything but the symptoms of mumps. You were one of the lucky ones. And lastly, I consider it more than ironic that for someone who lauds “modern medicine” so much, that you’re so reluctant to get your kids vaccinated. Vaccines are perhaps one of the most significant medical advancements in modern history. I mean, how many kids do you see with polio anymore? Yet you’d prefer to rely on “modern medicine” like aspirin (around since the late 1800s) to treat the symptoms of preventable illnesses.

I do not vaccinate my children and its not because I am crazy or uneducated.

No, you're just terribly gullible. Stop drinking the koolaid and do a little research about the (non-existent) link between vaccines and conditions such as autism and diabetes.

Quinn941-

before you going throwing stones into the glass house of stupidity, here's a "nugget for you":

According to the CDC- not some random number out of the air:

incidents of REPORTED vaccine effects: <link>
Approximately 30,000 VAERS reports are filed annually, with 10–15% classified as serious (causing disability, hospitalization, life-threatening illness or death).

So that means that 3,000-4500 cases of reported reactions are "serious". I am pretty sure that is WELL over the 450 cases of death that you questioned! How 'bout them apples? (keeping with your condescending food references!)

karenlynn:

before you going throwing stones into the glass house of stupidity, here's a "nugget for you":

According to the CDC- not some random number out of the air:

incidents of REPORTED vaccine effects: <link>
Approximately 30,000 VAERS reports are filed annually, with 10–15% classified as serious (causing disability, hospitalization, life-threatening illness or death).

So that means that 3,000-4500 cases of reported reactions are "serious". I am pretty sure that is WELL over the 450 cases of death that you questioned! How 'bout them apples? (keeping with your condescending food references!)

Ok, so 3,000 - 4,500 serious reactions per year (it was actually under 3,000 in 2008) . Lets compare that to some other numbers Karen.

Flu, the common little bug you get each year, kills 36,000 people in the US each year. So right there, ignoring all other diseases, 3,000 serious events from a vaccine is worth it to prevent 36,000 deaths. But we arent just talking about flu vaccine are we. We are talking only 3,000-4,500 serious events out of millions of vaccines given each year for a myriad of illnesses.

World wide, measles kills around 200,000 per year. Most of those who die were never vaccinated. Small pox killed 300,000,000 to 500,000,000 people last century. In the US, the polio vaccine prevented 1.1 million cases of polio, saved 160,000 deaths, and saved $180,000,000,000 in treatment costs from 1955 to 2005.

I could go on and on about the triumph of vaccines. There are literally reams of medical publications documenting this. The very website you link to support your not giving vaccines says this: "Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases resulting from the use of vaccines."

Anytime you take any medicine there is a small chance of an adverse outcome. Even if its just Tylenol. The benefit of vaccines greatly outweighs the less than 1% risk you call quote. I cant believe you look at those numbers, use it to justify not vaccinating your son, and spout off "how 'bout them apples".

I sincerely hope your son doesnt pay the price illogical decision.

FETUS-

Quote taken from Quinn941's original post:

"You’re trying to argue that every year, we have as many if not more than 450 kids dying from vaccines? Or that more than 1000 kids every year are brain damaged or have deafness because of a vaccine? The media goes into a frenzy every summer when a few (like, 5) shark attacks kill or injure people. Why wouldn’t they go into a frenzy with nearly 500 kids dying from vaccines? The only answer is that it is simply not happening."

My response was merely an answer to his questions; I used CDC's numbers, directly off of their website (link included).

While I greatly appreciate that you repsonded with numbers that you are comfortable using to justify vaccinating, I am still not comfortable- and thankfully, I continue to have a right to choose for my son.

I have posted many times on this article, and I will restate what I have said on many other discussion boards-- I DO NOT OPPOSE VACCINATION. I am opposed to 1: the current schedule that is recommended (and I am completely supported by my son's pediatrician), 2: the current ingredient list of common childhood vaccines, 3: being mandated to vaccinate a VERY HEALTHY little boy.

I have also stated in past posts, that it is unfair to assume that you have any idea of the personal reasons that I do not vaccinate-- we have family histories of lupus, MS, cancers, diabetes, egg allergies, other allergies and autism (I do believe that there is a genetic predisposition that acts as a catalyst for autism as a "vaccine injury")--

My son has caught 2 common viral infections since he was born- and he has recovered from both without any medical intervention. (I am also not comfortable risking the use of Tylenol when his body was showing that it was quite capable of combatting on its own-- and I was under the supervision of his pediatrician).

I will consider giving him vaccinations for things that I believe DO outweigh the RISK, WHEN I FEEL HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM IS ABLE TO PROCESS THE VACCINE (not the virus- the additives in them).

"I sincerely hope your son doesn't pay the price illogical decision." While I'm sure your sincerity is anything but genuine, I DO SINCERELY HOPE that my son never has to suffer for ANY decision that I make-- not physically, mentally, or emotionally, but I'm fairly certain that NO parent can say that they have made ALL of the right decisions. I do my best to educate myself, consult with people that are more knowledgeable on the subjects than I am, factor in our own personal family experiences and weigh the odds. And I can say, without hesitation, that thus far, I feel I am doing a damn good job!

Well, my hope is sincere. Not that it matters. I could not be more convinced that you are wrong, but you are entitled to live how you wish. I will continue to argue with posts such as these. I realize I am not going to change many minds and that it fine. I just hope to present enough of an argument to keep others from being convinced by you. If enough Americans believed as you did, we would move US medicine back to third world standards and start fighting diseases we have already conquered like small pox and polio.

The FIRST recommended vaccination for INFANTS-- at birth, within hours of being born-- is HEPATITIS B...

Taken from wikipedia.org search hepatitis b

Transmission

Transmission of hepatitis B virus results from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. Possible forms of transmission include (but are not limited to) unprotected sexual contact, blood transfusions, re-use of contaminated needles & syringes, and vertical transmission from mother to child during childbirth. Without intervention, a mother who is positive for HBsAg confers a 20% risk of passing the infection to her offspring at the time of birth. This risk is as high as 90% if the mother is also positive for HBeAg. HBV can be transmitted between family members within households, possibly by contact of nonintact skin or mucous membrane with secretions or saliva containing HBV.[23][24] However, at least 30% of reported hepatitis B among adults cannot be associated with an identifiable risk factor.[25]

If I am not infected with HepB and I'm fairly certain that my newborn will not be shooting up, tattooing himself, or hiring a prostitute, do you agree that AT THE VERY LEAST, that particular vaccination should either A: not be given or B: delayed to a later date when it may be an issue???

"Approximately 30,000 VAERS reports are filed annually, with 10–15% classified as serious (causing disability, hospitalization, life-threatening illness or death)."

Hello Karenlynn. I actually used to read the Serious Adverse Event Reports for drugs under development. In one particular study, the drug was in the final stages of development for Parkinson's disease which meant I had to read literally hundreds of such reports. There are a couple things you should know.

First, the events are reported regardless of causality or as your link says "even if uncertain that the vaccine caused the event". So any event that occurs after vaccination (depending on timing for some problems, i.e. finding cancer right after vaccination wouldn't count) is reported. Therefore, you would expect a sizeable number of reports considering the millions of vaccinations per year. If you gave a million people a glass of water and reported all the events afterwards it would make water look scary.

Secondly, not all "serious" events are equal. If you tripped on your front porch the next day and had to be hospitalized for a broken leg that would be a report whether you felt woozy or perfectly fine. The life-threatening illness in particular can be a very broad category. Actual deaths were very very rare, and probably are for the VAER's as well.

If I am not infected with HepB and I'm fairly certain that my newborn will not be shooting up, tattooing himself, or hiring a prostitute, do you agree that AT THE VERY LEAST, that particular vaccination should either A: not be given or B: delayed to a later date when it may be an issue???

And of course everyone knows that infants only come in contact with their parents, and so are only at risk of catching diseases from Mom & Dad.