This is the first post I’ve made about vaccines. I will start by saying that I just really want parents to do their homework and make an INFORMED decision based on what they think is the best interest of their child.
I admit, I was uninformed by choice when my first son was born. People tried to tell me the dangers, but I didn’t want to hear it; I wanted my child to be ‘safe.’ After my second son had a vaccine reaction after his 6 month shots, I began to research for myself and was astounded at what I found. If you decide to vaccinate, or not, I respect your opinion. My goal is to shed some light on information that is not always readily available to parents, so they can make the best decision for their family.
The following is the information found in the insert in the DTaP vaccine. When you go to your doctor, they will be able to pull this out of the box, or you can read it on the FDA’s website. Who actually reads this? I’m not sure many doctors, nurses, or parents have, but here is some information that absolutely shocked me.
I copied this directly from the FDA.gov site, where you can read further. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm101580.pdf
It states that reported adverse reactions to the vaccine include SIDS and autism. How can our government continue to report that there is NO correlation between vaccines and autism, yet the very package insert says that this “reaction” has occurred? It makes me so angry!
While I understand that most children don’t have these severe reactions, the reality is that autism has increased 78% in the last decade in the US, with 1 in 91 children diagnosed with the disorder. When you look for a reason, no one knows why, but they are quick to state that vaccines have nothing to do with it.
I read a great article linking autism to vaccines, namely the MMR vaccine, based on the words coming directly from pharmaceutical giant Merck and the US Government. Read it here.
I guess my big beef with vaccines is that they are not accurately represented. As parents, we are pressured to get them, and if you refuse them you are made to feel like a horrible parent. You even have to sign a waiver stating you know the risks of not vaccinating. However, the little sheet they give you about each vaccination that you are to read and sign before your child gets their shots, does NOT contain the whole story. If that sheet of paper said that an adverse reaction to the vaccine you were about to put in your child was death (SIDS) or autism, would you think twice about getting the shot?
For a comlete list of all vaccine inserts, please see this link, and print them out and take to your doctor. If they start to question your decision to not vaccinate, or not fully vaccinate, pull out the inserts and start a discussion. Chances are, they haven’t read them, and you will be educating them.
How are you responding to this information as you read it? Please chime in, because I know it is a heated topic, and I personally have been on both sides.
Shared with: Women Living Well.
Thank you for tackling this sensitive topic. I am quite shocked about the DTaP insert. I know it states that those reactions have only been reported (not proven), but can you imagine how frequently they must have been reported in order to be added to that list? I have twin girls who are 19 months old. I have pushed out some vaccines, made sure they never received a vaccine while they were ill, and certainly cringed every time we went in for shots (not from the pain, but from possible consequences), but they have both received all vaccinations for their age. I feel a lot of pressure to vaccinate my children from family, every PED we have been to, and everyone around me except a select few mothers that have similar concerns.
I don’t want my children to suffer from a terrible disease that they could have been vaccinated against, but I also don’t want the possible consequences from vaccinations. I feel stuck. Whooping cough is spreading like wildfire right now and other diseases could potentially do the same. Of course, that information is also used to scare parents into vaccinating their kids. I wish there was a better solution, something that could protect our children from both dangerous diseases and the adverse effects of vaccinations. Deadly diseases scare me. Vaccinations scare me. The rising rates of autism scare me. What our country believes is safe for our children definitely scares me.
I honestly don’t know what to do about this issue. I am currently extremely grateful that my children show no signs of adverse reactions to their vaccinations. I hope it stays that way, but hope really isn’t enough.
I look forward to reading other’s comments on this topic. I feel that too many times we (parents, consumers, citizens) do what we are told without fully knowing what we are getting ourselves into.
Thank you for sharing. I had many of those same feelings the last four years. Of course, you never want to see your child suffer, but a lot of these illnesses we vaccinate against in this country, were normal childhood diseases. All kids got chicken pox, measles, possibly mumps. Yes, some kids had severe complications of those diseases, but the numbers show very few deaths. There have been more serious comlications from the vaccines than the diseases themselves. I truly feel that we have traded acute diseases (measles, etc.) for chronic ones (rheumatoid arthritis in children, severe allergies, eczema). I read that children with eczema are actually cured after they have the measles. But since we never allow our kids to get these childhood diseases, their bodies never receive the benefits of having them.
Then there are the other diseases like whooping cough that aren’t normal childhood diseases. This is where the waters get murky. I know parents who don’t get the MMR vaccine, but will do the pertussis vaccine by itself (you have to order it and often pay for it yourself) rather than get the DTaP.
I personally feel that homeopathy is the answer we have been looking for in terms of helping our bodies heal themselves from these diseases. If my child gets whooping cough, I know there are many homeopathic remedies for it, and I can choose the correct one based on their symptoms. If my child has chicken pox, I again will reach for my homeopathic kit to get them through the illness. We have already healed our bodies of strep throat (I posted an article about it) and my son’s eczema, and many other things, and I have confidence that it will get us through these vaccine illnesses as well.
I think the reason I kept vaccinating my children was the fear of what if they do get one of these diseases, doctors won’t be able to help them. But, I didn’t know about homeopathy then. Now that I have educated myself in homeopathy, and work regularly with a professional homeopath, I don’t have that same fear, and now fear the dangerous reactions vaccines have, and the incomplete immunity they give.
Thank you for the response! It’s very helpful! Did you post anything about how you got through your son’s eczema issue? I would be really interested in reading about that. I’m just getting into natural remedies, so I don’t know a lot about homeopathy yet, but I hope to get there soon.
I did not post about how we treated the eczema. It is so individual based on each child, that I didn’t want people to think it was a one remedy cures all kind of thing. We sought the help of a trained homeopath and worked with her for a few months . He was still very young, and his case uncomplicated, so he did well fairly quickly. Other cases may take years to heal.
As the mother of a baby less than 6 weeks old (that is, too young for a pertussis vaccine) and a friend of families with immuno-compromised kids (who also couldn’t get the pertussis vaccine, though they would have if they could) who are especially vulnerable to pertussis and other vaccine-preventable diseases, I simply don’t understand how it’s ethical to choose NOT to vaccinate your kids. You are putting my baby and other kids at risk of contracting really awful diseases. Please explain to me how this is an ethical choice.
I know this is a very heated issue, and everyone feels very strongly. I respect your feelings. From my research I have found that more children die and/or are injured from the pertussis vaccine than those who die and/or are injured from the disease. It is widely reported that the pertussis vaccine does not offer complete immunity, and 81% of those who come down with the disease ARE VACCINATED, meaning you are more likely to catch the disease from someone vaccinated than unvaccinated. The DTaP vaccine has reactions including autism and SIDS (this is on the FDA’s website, click on the link above in my article to read the vaccine insert.)This is why we have chosen not to receive this vaccine.
I should also add that my son had a vaccine reaction at 6 months old, could have been DTaP or a different one, not sure since they were all together. Therefore, I feel it is in the best interest of my child not to receive further vaccines because the risk of injury is very real. If I thought these vaccines were completely safe and effective, you’d bet I’d be first in line to get them. I don’t want to see my kids or anyone else’s sick, but I personally feel the risks for my children outweigh the benefit.
In response to Arden:
It is not ethical nor morally right for you to force your briefs or lifestyle upon anyone else. Your belief in the myth of “herd immunity” is a misnomer and is constantly being disproved by studies and statistical facts. The studies conducted by the vaccine manufacturers also were done incorrectly in most cases as they don’t use placebo’s and instead use other vaccines. That in of itself is damning enough. There also has never been one single vaccine proven to be effective at providing immunity against what they are supposed to be immunizing against. So armed with just a fraction of information how could one justify endangering their own children’s lives let alone forcing someone else to endanger their children’s lives? I don’t generally say anything against other people choosing to vaccinate their children although I think it’s reckless until someone tells me I should endanger my own children to ease someone else’s fear. Nobody has the right to tell someone else what chemicals to put in their body or that of their children. I respect everyone else’s privacy and right to self ownership, and expect the same in return.
I vaccinated my oldest son and he has asthma and bad allergies. My next two children were not vaccinated and are in perfect health. I can’t justify to myself after all that I have learned about vaccines to inject my kids with those toxic chemicals regardless what anyone tells me.
Thank you for sharing your views Adam. I do feel allergies are a nasty effect of vaccines as well.
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