Remember your first shot? I don't. The thing most of us feared when we were children is a distant memory or a mild inconvenience if it must be repeated in our adult lives.
When we were born, we got vaccinations. Before we could go to preschool, we had to get shots. Before elementary school, there were more. Again before middle school and high school, we all (mostly) got vaccinated against the most common and harmful diseases children are susceptible to.
My shot record is full of doctors signatures, dates, and check marks saying that I am vaccinated against a multitude of things, including measles/mumps/rubella, TB, Hepatits; the list goes on. As far as I know, there was hardly ever a problem with vaccinating children. I was protected from those diseases and viruses, and so were my classmates.
Now, however, there are mothers lying to get the children out of those required vaccinations. Many parents believe vaccinations are causing forms of Autism in their children. In order to prevent their child from receiving the vaccines, parents are stating that their religious practices do not condone the vaccinations.
Where is our world going to end up? The FDA and the CDC would obviously not allow harmful or dangerous vaccinations to be pumped into our children, would they?
Can you imagine a world without these vaccinations? People argue that African peoples should be given a vaccination for Malaria, and I agree. But when we are offered vaccinations that are harmful to our culture, we decline?
Tuberculosis and Hepatitis don't sound very fun to me. I'd rather put up with the shot and trust the people who actually know about the drugs/vaccinations/whatever know what they're talking about.
You wouldn't question a doctor for hitting your knee to test your nerves; you wouldn't tell a chef he is using the wrong spice in a dish he created. They know their practice, just like the people who regulate vaccinations know theirs.
I'm not saying "always trust the government," but there are some things that we need to get over. No offense, but I don't want the kid who has TB because his mom didn't want him vaccinated against it sitting next to me in English class.
[This was in response to an article from MSNBC, under link]
[Tried to keep it short. I've done a little research and I'm willing to expand and edit this blog if there is an interest.]
Hear Hear!! Finally...someone with some sense! Yes, mercury can build up in some vaccinations. But we can't prove that mercury poisoning causes autism. And mercury shows up in places other the vaccinations.
This world would be a terrifying place without these immunizations. TB and hepatitis are already resurging in many aras of the world, with the advent of antibiotic resistent strains. The vaccine still protects you from these. Why would you put yourself in line for a potenetially uncurable, life-threatening disease when you could easily avoid it? Not to mention all the other people you/your child will infect and potentially kill/maim while they are sick. It's like refusing to vaccinate your dog against rabies.
Infectious diseases are dreadful, life-altering things, particularly those we vaccinate against. Just go back and read any of the less sanitized versions of history
Thanks for the comment!
I was so worried about posting this... with the recent media attention against vaccinations, I was afraid I was going to get a bunch of people jumping down my throat right off the bat.
I'm glad to see that there are others in the world who don't want to catch horrible diseases from the Kid Whose Mom Refused.
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
Before mothers become hysterical about getting their kid vaccinated or not they should think of the pros and cons. First, there isn't any hard evidence that these shots hurt kids. Parents just want someone/something to blame for their kid being sick. Second, I'd be much more afraid of my kid getting a disease he could die of if I didn't get him vaccinated.
Definitely.
Maybe it's just my nurturing soul, but I don't want to see anyone's kids sick let alone my own.
I don't understand how it is so easy for these mothers to disregard the facts when it is their child's lives at stake. Maybe it's because I'm not yet a mother, but honestly, put the facts before some stupid irrational fear that has been studied and worked on to be prevented.
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
I've heard it said that by getting the vaccination you are effectively getting the illness. I've also heard of chiropractors refusing to vaccinate their children because they believe their way is better. In Africa there is a movement to reject Western-provided medicine because it supposedly results from a conspiracy to kill or sterilize Africans.
The ignorance. It boggles the mind.
T.k.
I know! I mean, technically a vaccination is a "piece" of the virus that is going to "infect" you in order to make you IMMUNE to the virus itself...
I don't know why people twist that to fit their own fears. It's a brilliant way to make us immune to deadly, horrible infections, but people would rather make it a conspiracy and not get vaccinated.
Oh, the humanity.
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
I wish there were a way to get biology onto the ACT/SAT/etc. so students would actually have to understand science in order to go to college. Alas, that would be too difficult, what with everyone learning different things at different times. It would help with the next generation if we could pull science into testing.
T.k.
That's a really good point. I hadn't thought about that.
So you think if people were more educated in science they would understand the true nature of these vaccinations and learn to trust them more?
It makes sense, it really does. It's really shameful in our society how quickly mob mentality takes over because of our lack of education.
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
I see it as incentives. What do schools gain from teaching children anything other than math and English, since those are the only two subjects they are tested on, and the testing influences the schools budget? Give the schools a reason to teach it and the children a reason to learn it and you might get a little more enlightenment. I don't know for sure, having never done anything of the kind; this is nothing but speculation.
Thanks for the compliments, by the way. Even if we on this forum can do nothing to change things -right now, at least- it's nice to at least be able to debate them and reach some impossible conclusions.
T.k.
Oh, no. The flu vaccine actually has a live flu virus (well, a bunch, actually) in it. It's just attenuated, so it doesn't have as much virulence as the actual virus that will infect you. But it's not pieces of a virus... it's a complete virus.
~C
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That's interesting. I didn't know the specifics, so thank you for sharing.
T.k.
I could also give you a study that shows that as Thimerisol (mercury preservative) was used in more vaccines, the number of social behavioral disorders (like autism) went up, and when thimerisol stopped being used, they went back down.
I'm waiting patiently for the girl to give her rebuttal presentation. It should be interesting.
~C
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[Hello,
Thanks for the comments you guys, I'm really excited to hear what you all have to say and present my side of the story.]
I don't deny that you are correct about the Flu Vaccine. I don't want to say I knew that because it didn't present itself at the top of my mind, but after seeing that you said it I realize that I did know that and I didn't take it into account in the comment I made about what vaccinations really are.
As for the link between autism and mercury content in vaccinations, there is evidence that high doses of mercury cause neurological damage (i.e. autism). My argument against this point is that the vaccinations that contained the mercury that was causing autism were banned. If there is damaging mercury in vaccinations now, it is so little that it does not cause a problem.
Yes, there was a 700% increase when the number of vaccinations went on the rise. But since then, precautions have been taken to make the vaccinations more safe for those who will receive them.
All drugs have gone through amazing evolution... cocaine was once used as a pain reliever and bronchial dialater, but once it was found dangerous, it was pulled from the market and made illegal. Certain vaccinations were found to have a link to some dangerous side effects, and they're not used anymore.
I understand and agree with what you are saying, but I still stand by my argument that it is irresponsible to deny your children vaccinations based on past studies of past methods.
Alicia
Sources:
-www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/thimerosal.htm
-www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity
-http://72.41.23.143/Autism%20Declines%20When%20Mercury%20Vaccines%20Banned.htm
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
I didn't say that you should not get vaccinations for the fear of causing autism. But somewhere up above, someone said that there was absolutely no evidence showing that vaccinations could lead to autism. I can show you a journal article that contradicts that. That's all I was saying.
And apparently, the Pediatrics Board is moving away from banning thimerisol in vaccines. I don't know if it's being incorporated back into vaccines, but that's what I've heard.
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Oh yeah, I see.
Then I definitely agree with you :).
I'd be interested to see of thimerosal is going to be used again... and what justification they have for not banning it, since there was evidence that it was causing problems.
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
http://health.yahoo.com/news/179787
Thanks!
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
Thank You!
Yep. I noticed we both took different aspects of this situation and argued them... you more the religious claims and I the fact that parents are denying the vaccines.
I thought it was really interesting all the stances that could be taken from both of our arguments and figured people could use the connections to form their own stance.
:)
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Even though you could just click my picture :) http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
Actually...there are multiple vaccinations that use an attenuated form of the disease, including the original vaccine...vaccina (for smallpox) which used cowpox, which is very similar to smallpox but considerably weaker.
In Africa, there is definitely that superstition, but it surely hasn't been helped by the recent Nigerian polio outbreaks. For those of you who missed that...in Africa, World Health Organization workers vaccinate kids with the Sabin version of the vaccine, not the Salk version. It uses live, attenuated poliovirus which can mutate back to full-strength wild poliomyelitis. Essentially, the vaccine has mutated back into the paralyzing form and caused quite a few cases of polio...doesn't exactly help our cause over there. Plus, HIV can be transmitted through the hypodermic needles used to administer vaccines. As a general rule though, this all is pretty rare.
Still though...we really need the federal government to take a stand on the dearth of science education in this country. It's a shame that Americans are three times as likely to believe in The Creation as in Evolution, though it is scientific fact.
I followed your link from another blog. This was a very good read. :-)
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