But I didn't want to get people's hopes up that I would be providing the actual information. This is just a research guide and is not intended to provide anything more than food for thought. These are the questions I asked myself when I first started searching for vax info, as well as additional questions born from that research, and I hope it will help others as they search and decide if it is right for them.
I hope to someday get a chance to organize my findings into this question/answer format, one for each vaccine preventable illness. (Now wouldn’t that be a juicy resource to post!
) But this should be good to get folks started. Most of the answers can be found right here on the board, in Tracy’s Cheat sheet, or in any of the books from her cheat sheet, and many of the questions have plain ol’ commonsense answers. So to actually post what I’ve found would probably be a re-invention of the wheel and might not be all that useful after all. 
But for now, let me know what you think of the format and if I’ve left anything out. And please feel free to post anything you’ve found that is similar – no worry of hurt feelings on my part...
A commonsense guide to determining if vaccinations are right for your child.
The obvious
You DO need to research this! If your doctor wanted to do any other preventative procedure that would alter your otherwise healthy child I would hope that you would research that procedure first. Vaccines are no different. They are intended to alter your child’s healthy immune system for the purpose of preventing illnesses your child does not yet have. This is intended to be a permanent alteration and cannot be undone. It stands to reason that a thoughtful parent would want to know as much about the process as possible *before* it is done.
Do a balanced research of the vaccine information
Check the manufacturer’s inserts for the vaccine and it’s warnings and contraindications. Is there anything there that contraindicates the vaccine for your child? Are there any documented possible side effects that seem risky to you? What are the odds of a reaction? What is the available treatment for those reactions? Are there other side effects that have been implied, but not yet confirmed? What is the vaccine made of? Do you object to any of the components? What is the purpose of the components? What side effects do the individual components have? How many shots are required of this vaccine? Why? Has that number ever changed in association to vaccine availability? (In other words, if the supply has been low in the past have they lowered that number because they didn’t have enough of the vaccine to go around?)
Check independent sources that object to the vaccine. Why do they object? What studies do they have to support their claims? Who funds these sources? Who funded the studies?
Do a through research of the illness itself.
DO NOT SKIP THIS PART! Are you crazy?! This is the whole meat and potatoes of why people vaccinate in the first place! Also, no vaccine provides 100% protection, there is a possibility your child will get these illnesses whether you choose to vaccinate or not, and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
Who is at risk of contracting this illness? How is this illness treated for a mild case? For a severe case? What are possible complications of the illness? How often do those complications occur and what can be done to prevent those complications should your child become sick? How often did people get this illness before the vaccine was invented? How often were there complications before the vaccine was invented? How often does this illness occur in your area today? Has there been any change in the way the illness is diagnosed since the vaccine was developed?
Do your search in an organized manner.
Follow the immunization schedule. Research the illnesses that you child will be vaccinated for in the same order he or she will receive the vaccine.
Finally, some questions about the process in general that will apply to every vaccine
What are some of the reasons a vaccine manufacture would not have enough supply to meet the demand? How does a vaccine go from development, to approval by the FDA, and eventually become required by state law? Are there any steps in that process that you question? Has there ever been a vaccine or vaccine component that has been recalled or removed for any reason?
I hope to someday get a chance to organize my findings into this question/answer format, one for each vaccine preventable illness. (Now wouldn’t that be a juicy resource to post!
) But this should be good to get folks started. Most of the answers can be found right here on the board, in Tracy’s Cheat sheet, or in any of the books from her cheat sheet, and many of the questions have plain ol’ commonsense answers. So to actually post what I’ve found would probably be a re-invention of the wheel and might not be all that useful after all. But for now, let me know what you think of the format and if I’ve left anything out. And please feel free to post anything you’ve found that is similar – no worry of hurt feelings on my part...
A commonsense guide to determining if vaccinations are right for your child.
The obvious
You DO need to research this! If your doctor wanted to do any other preventative procedure that would alter your otherwise healthy child I would hope that you would research that procedure first. Vaccines are no different. They are intended to alter your child’s healthy immune system for the purpose of preventing illnesses your child does not yet have. This is intended to be a permanent alteration and cannot be undone. It stands to reason that a thoughtful parent would want to know as much about the process as possible *before* it is done.
Do a balanced research of the vaccine information
Check the manufacturer’s inserts for the vaccine and it’s warnings and contraindications. Is there anything there that contraindicates the vaccine for your child? Are there any documented possible side effects that seem risky to you? What are the odds of a reaction? What is the available treatment for those reactions? Are there other side effects that have been implied, but not yet confirmed? What is the vaccine made of? Do you object to any of the components? What is the purpose of the components? What side effects do the individual components have? How many shots are required of this vaccine? Why? Has that number ever changed in association to vaccine availability? (In other words, if the supply has been low in the past have they lowered that number because they didn’t have enough of the vaccine to go around?)
Check independent sources that object to the vaccine. Why do they object? What studies do they have to support their claims? Who funds these sources? Who funded the studies?
Do a through research of the illness itself.
DO NOT SKIP THIS PART! Are you crazy?! This is the whole meat and potatoes of why people vaccinate in the first place! Also, no vaccine provides 100% protection, there is a possibility your child will get these illnesses whether you choose to vaccinate or not, and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
Who is at risk of contracting this illness? How is this illness treated for a mild case? For a severe case? What are possible complications of the illness? How often do those complications occur and what can be done to prevent those complications should your child become sick? How often did people get this illness before the vaccine was invented? How often were there complications before the vaccine was invented? How often does this illness occur in your area today? Has there been any change in the way the illness is diagnosed since the vaccine was developed?
Do your search in an organized manner.
Follow the immunization schedule. Research the illnesses that you child will be vaccinated for in the same order he or she will receive the vaccine.
Finally, some questions about the process in general that will apply to every vaccine
What are some of the reasons a vaccine manufacture would not have enough supply to meet the demand? How does a vaccine go from development, to approval by the FDA, and eventually become required by state law? Are there any steps in that process that you question? Has there ever been a vaccine or vaccine component that has been recalled or removed for any reason?
Sure, what do I care...really it's just a bunch of questions...you can't copyright questions can you? :LOL
