The topic of vaccines and if they are safe and effective comes up quite frequently in my office. For some, this can be a very sensitive subject. Some parents claim that their child was indeed harmed by vaccines. Other parents claim that their children received all their vaccines and had no negative reactions.
The purpose of this article is not to cause inflammatory conversations but to hopefully stimulate a positive and informing dialog. Each of us have the fundamental right to choose what we feel is best for our children and we should be tolerant of someone who chooses to do differently based on their research and experience.
My wife and I vaccinated our first child. We chose not to vaccinate the 8 that followed. We did not notice any dramatic negative side effect from vaccinating our first with the exception of a possible decreased overall immune system function. This is nothing we could document and there were several factors that could have contributed. For example, our first child had recurring ear infections and we repeatedly gave a lot of antibiotics and children’s pain reliever. Were her recurring ear infections caused by a decreased immune function from the mercury and aluminum that were contained in the vaccines? I have no proof either way. Our health habits improved as we got older and wiser. We handled childhood sicknesses differently as we got older and wiser. We didn’t run to the medical doctor for every sniffle. We learned that sometimes it is best to let sickness run its course. One thing is certain, our later children did not get sick as frequently as our first.
My intent is to allow you the opportunity to question the status quo. I invite you to question vaccines: Are they really safe and effective. Here is a quote from the National Vaccine Information Center:
“Vaccine choice is a fundamental human right. American children are experiencing an epidemic of poor health, with 54% of our children suffering a chronic illness or neuro-developmental disability. Nearly 9 million children have skin allergies. Eight million have respiratory allergies. Seven million have asthma. Five million have a learning disability. One in 400 is diabetic. And 1 in 50 kids has autism. What you may not know is that science links all these chronic illnesses to vaccines. Vaccine injuries are real and some are life-threatening. The U.S. government acknowledges that children have been severely injured and killed by vaccines.”
There are ways to strengthen the immune system naturally. If you don’t want to put the effort into that, it may be right for you to vaccinate your children. Just understand that there are risks.
The first book I read when I began questioning was written by Neil Z. Miller and it is entitled Vaccines: Are they really safe and effective. It’s an easy, short read that can help you decide if you are ready for more in depth research.