I am a veteran RN, a Bible-believing Christian, and someone who has studied the issue of vaccines, and the history thereof, so I can be better informed using scientific evidence. As a result, I know of no clear scientific evidence that vaccines cause any harm at all, except for allergic reactions, which any person might have to any substance. Yet thousands of children and the elderly die or get severely ill every year (this is a conservative estimate) from viral and bacterial infections that could have otherwise been avoided by simply getting their vaccines. And then there are those children and elderly persons who have gotten sick from these same unvaccinated children and adults–so is this a moral or ethical decision? Do the people making these decisions really care?
It is my (and leading infection control doctors and researchers) strong opinion that not getting vaccinated is just plain wrong-headed. That the only people who should be allowed to avoid vaccines should be a child or an adult who has been determined through written documentation by their medical doctor stating that their immuno-compromised health may be affected (which frankly, would be fairly rare.) Avoiding vaccines is denying the worth of vaccines – which could otherwise protect tens of millions of people (and animals, for that matter) every year, and have protected billions over the last two hundred years.
The act of vaccination omission should be illegal and is selfish, for God’s sake, and actually could be interpreted as a willful, illegal act of child and elderly neglect. They should stop listening to people on Twitter, YouTube and other places who simply do not know what they are talking about, and that even includes doctors and nurses who should have read the now mounting research on the subject by now, and therefore should know by now that vaccines are highly safe and effective, as far as any medication can be. But many of these healthcare personnel stick their heads in the sand because it makes the parents much happier and secure that what they are doing is the right thing for their child. Some of these so-called deliverers of care keep this going because they like the attention it brings, but they all are being foolish, and many are selling books and videos that prey on parents’ emotions, mostly women really (sorry, but it is factually true), who are afraid for their child, which then gets the husband concerned for their wife and child to the point where they stop or never start vaccinations, all based on no viable scientific data whatsoever. It makes them appear to be uncaring of the lives and health of others, which I know is not their intention, but nevertheless is the result. One of many examples to this kind of mass hysteria is ‘the “Flat Earth’ people, who deep down know the truth, but are ‘deaf’ to the facts because they simply want to believe. The same holds true for ‘Alien Visitors’ groups, ‘We Never Went to the Moon’ crowd, or the ‘Elvis is still Alive’ people of the ’80’s and ’90’s.
Instead of being an ‘anti-vaxxer’ on no more than heresay, they should consider an alternative vaccine schedule that spreads the administration of vaccines out over a longer period if it makes them feel better about it. You can get alternative vaccine schedules from your doctor or on the internet (make sure you are getting it from a approved, competent source), but to not vaccinate at all is ridiculous hysteria on an issue that does not scientifically exist. For instance, there has been little statistical evidence of an increase with children who have been diagnosed as having autism since the mid-1990’s when the use of multiple vaccines increased substantially. The data is rather easily explained when you factor in the earlier autism cases that where missed in previous decades in the last century and earlier due to the lack of scientific advances at that time.
So then, if vaccines are safe, why haven’t you protected your children or grandparents? Would you withhold antibiotics from a child who has a respiratory infection? Antibiotics have many, many documented cases of side effects; in fact, much more than vaccines have had. Withhold neosporin ointment for your child’s bloody knee scrape? Neosporin can have major side effects, and it has more documented side effects and adverse reactions than vaccines. Withhold a steroid inhaler for their asthma? Steroids can have major side effects for a significant portion of the population. Did you know that if you were to willfully and repeatedly refuse any of these medications and more to your severely ailing child and they were to die or be permanently harmed as a result, or as in a similar result regarding the elderly in your immediate family, you could be charged with a crime and go to jail, and some have.
So, what should we, as a community, do? All children, except for those specific cases noted above, should be required to be fully vaccinated based on their age no later than the time they enter school, public or private, and with any child who is being placed in a nursery, daycare or preschool. Religious reasons should be no exception. Don’t take your friend’s or some celebrity’s word as some sort of gospel! Most of these people may be well-meaning, but they are grossly misinformed.
Now, if you do not believe in what I am stating, then do the homework yourself – read the research completed by unbiased scientists. Read about the English research doctor who started this manic anti-vaccine craze who later was found to be in gross error with his conclusions based on false and skewed data, just to get the result he was looking for. The last I have heard, he has been discredited by the scientific community and is still banned from serving as an MD for his actions. Yet he continues to uphold his anti-vax stance because it sells his books and gets him invited to paid speaking engagements. Is this the kind of ‘false-guru’ you want inspiring and motivating you? Come on folks, wake up!
So then, what should be the ultimate questions you should ask yourself?:
Why do you think vaccines are so different from any other medicine you and the world have commonly used?
Do you think your reason to withhold vaccines is a rational one when all unbiased clinical results say otherwise?
Should others die or get seriously ill for your decision, which is based on misunderstanding and lies?
Taking all this into account, why are you still afraid of vaccines?
My 3 Cents Worth... 