Irritability, fever, severe constipation, bladder paralysis, muscle weakness, muscle paralysis, and death. These are some of, but not all, the symptoms of just one of the diseases that babies are first vaccinated for: polio.
The US appears to be divided on the topic of vaccines, which arguably shouldn’t be a controversial issue. Vaccines are given to babies starting from month 2, up until about year 5-6 when they finish their vaccination schedule. They protect from several diseases, some of which can be fatal, especially when a child is young and their immune system is weaker.
- Hepatitis A&B
- Tetanus
- Chicken pox
- Measles
- Mumps
- Meningitis
- Polio
- Rotavirus
These are just a few of the diseases that starter vaccines protect from. You choose not to vaccinate your children, and that is the risk that you are setting up. It may be your right to choose what you believe is best for your child, but if your views are different than those of the medically trained professionals, you might want to rethink. Your child’s life could be at risk.
There are a few reasons – the credibility is up for interpretation – why a parent wouldn’t vaccinate their child, composing of personal and/or religious beliefs.
Some people won’t vaccinate their children because some vaccines use historic fetal cell lines. A common misconception, but vaccines do not have any fetal tissue in them. The original development was on previously deceased fetal cells from the 1960s and 70s, as it would not be ethical to test on living people. From then on, those fetal cell lines have been used in vaccines, and through the purification process, there is no fetal cell tissue.
A portion of religious parents think that what happens to their child is God’s will, and believe in the reliance on prayer to heal the sick. To those who believe this, God has gifted you with intelligent doctors and modern medicine. Why would he not want you to use the gifts at your disposal to protect your child?
Something that needs to be clear: vaccines do not cause autism. This notion came from the Wakefield studies, which have been proven to be false. The studies had major flaws that compromised their credibility and have been disproven by other studies. Even if it were true, I would rather my kid be autistic than have the small chance of them dying from a disease.
Fact-checking different sources for information is important, no matter the topic. Too many people will look online, find one fear-mongering source that supports their decision, and run with it.
For example, the website, A Voice for Choice’s claims that vaccines contain the neurotoxin, aluminum, in amounts that exceed the EPA’s safety regulations. Babies receive about four milligrams of aluminum from vaccinations during the first year.
Infants also receive about seven milligrams of aluminum from nursing. Adults ingest 7 to nine mg of aluminum per day.
Vaccination rates in the U.S are continuing to decrease yearly. Eventually, we will lose herd immunity, a form of indirect protection against contagious diseases, when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune, and infection will spread faster.
With the safety and innovation of modern medicine, the safest and smartest thing you could do to protect your children would be to vaccinate them.
