More Families are Shunning Vaccinations

[runes]

from the New York Times today.

AS states move to require more vaccines for school-age children, an increasing number of parents are saying no to some of the inoculations. They are seeking exemptions from the state in growing numbers, citing religious reasons or saying that they believe the vaccines will do more harm than good.

“We realize parents are going to have concerns, and rightly so,” Mr. Bolduc from Connecticut’s health department said. “But we feel very strongly in following the national recommended schedule. The risks from vaccines are outweighed by the benefits.”

Nevertheless, some parents say they want to make their own decisions for their children.

and that's the way it should be!

[applejuice]

Yah!

s up

and that's the way it should be!

...and it has been that way in most of Europe and the Western World for decades. It is about time the US caught on and stopped lying to its citizens.

The same diseases and "epidemics" as polio disappeared from Europe at the same time as the US without massive, coersive vaccination programs being forced on the trusting populace.

[CarrieMF]

I think the introduction of the Chicken Pox vaccine is what started alot of parents questioning them. The majority of us had the CP without any lasting effects so they started to question the rest of them, whether the disease is bad.

Then the increasing number they're coming up with has more parents questioning them too. With each new vax they come up with it makes parents more suspicious.

[Gitti]

That, plu$ the HUGE profit$ they are making.

Maybe we've reached the 100's monkey. Then watch out! It will be total revolt.

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by applejuice

It is about time the US caught on and stopped lying to its citizens.

Originally Posted by Gitti

Than watch out! It will be total revolt.

Hopefully!

[CanidFL]

This is great news but at the same time it worries me. What happens when more and more people go for the religious exemption. Obviously not all these people are religious like I'm sure most of us aren't on this board that use a religious exemption.

Do you think this could backfire and they will take away this exemption if the vaccination rates get too low?

Just the cynical me thinking the worst

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by CanidFL

This is great news but at the same time it worries me. What happens when more and more people go for the religious exemption. Obviously not all these people are religious like I'm sure most of us aren't on this board that use a religious exemption.

Do you think this could backfire and they will take away this exemption if the vaccination rates get too low?

Just the cynical me thinking the worst

Do you really think that's a possability? What an unholy uproar THAT would cause!!! I dunno if that could go over...

[TanyaLopez]

I think it's more likely that people will agitate to have pick-and-choose philosophical exemptions. Some of the people not liking the onslaught of new vaccines on the recommended schedule have got to be lawmakers. And lawmakers in general like to be re-elected. Not that it always works out so nicely, but I think that's more likely than losing the current exemptions.

[Deborah]

I vote for social pressure. A lot of news items and fake YouTube videos and so forth doing this sort of stuff:

Showing that babies die from diseases--
Blaming these deaths on the unvaccinated--
Who are selfish, affluent, educated, people who don't care about the common good-
Or are the unwashed masses who need to be vaxed by force--

I think they'll try to make non-vaxers and selective vaxers look like very bad people. Unscientific, people who bowl alone and throw their trash by the road, religious fanatics but also people who abuse the religious exemption, etc., etc.

We could probably put together the news stories ourselves.

Side note to selective vaxers on this board: you all are going to be trashed just as vigorously as the total non-vaxers. To the vax pushers we are all really, really, really bad people who are not doing what we are told to do!

[kristin1924]

Thank you so much for posting this article. I just passed it on to my family/friends. This is great.

Kristin

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by Deborah

I think they'll try to make non-vaxers and selective vaxers look like very bad people. Unscientific, people who bowl alone and throw their trash by the road, religious fanatics but also people who abuse the religious exemption, etc., etc.

But how did people ever attain changes?

Surely the medical establishments doesn't make changes in their health care as long as they have willing participants?

Changes have to come from the bottom up. How is that accomplished then?

[Deborah]

Change comes from thick skins and persistence.

I didn't say that these strategies would work, just that I thought they would try them.

And it is already true that people will attack other people for not vaxing and say stuff like:

"You are exploiting herd immunity.

[SabraMamma]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

I think the introduction of the Chicken Pox vaccine is what started alot of parents questioning them. The majority of us had the CP without any lasting effects so they started to question the rest of them, whether the disease is bad.

I agree that this was a turning point probably for many b.c it was the first thing the current generation of young parents can relate to having personally. We all had it!

Originally Posted by CanidFL

This is great news but at the same time it worries me. What happens when more and more people go for the religious exemption. Obviously not all these people are religious like I'm sure most of us aren't on this board that use a religious exemption.

Do you think this could backfire and they will take away this exemption if the vaccination rates get too low?

Just the cynical me thinking the worst

No- it could get things going in the other direction. MORE personal and philosophical exemptions are coming!

[krizzanne]

I have to read the intro to the article again (no time right now), but there was something that bothered me about the article.

They only gave support about why people should vaccinate.

they talked about the fact that people were not vaccinating, but gave no real reasons WHY.
On the other hand, they did mention that the who, cdc, fda, etc... have all 'proven in studies that vaccinating doesn't cause autism' and someone stated that vaccines are the reason we don't have the diseases...

Couldn't someone have said just one or two FACTS about problems associated with vaccines. Like the seizures, like the ear infections, like no real decrease in meningitis, like no placebo studies (I know, I know, definition of placebo), thimerisol killing dendrite cells impairing tcell function, like .....ok I will stop.

[runes]

yes, it's a pretty biased article, albeit in a subtle way. it's biased by omission, like you said krizzanne.

even the title. more parents SHUNNING vaccinations. it very connotes that people are not doing so due to making fully informed choices for their families, but avoiding vaccines for emotional reasons. they could have called it:

More Families Researching and Declining Vaccines

[Kimmiepie]

yes, it's a pretty biased article, albeit in a subtle way. it's biased by omission, like you said krizzanne.

even the title. more parents SHUNNING vaccinations. it very connotes that people are not doing so due to making fully informed choices for their families, but avoiding vaccines for emotional reasons. they could have called it:

More Families Researching and Declining Vaccines

Which is exactly why I don't usually forward these articles to my pro vax family..because it makes us look stupid.

[sdm1024]

I think the introduction of the Chicken Pox vaccine is what started alot of parents questioning them. The majority of us had the CP without any lasting effects so they started to question the rest of them, whether the disease is bad.

This is what got me researching.

[slymamato3]

When my oldest was 2 we walked out of the peds office because I wouldn't go for the cp shot. Then my dp now my dh gave me info from his chiro and the research began. My 14y/o says she remembers us storming out of the office. Needless to say she never received another shot and neither of her sisters have had any. I have to agree with some pp's that the way they leave out that we are making the choice to "shun" vax because we have educated ourselves is a bit irritating. How frustrating that so many parenting decisions we make in our childrens best interest make others regard us as irresponsible:

[amydawnsmommy]

I'm glad to see that the New York Times is printing this (what is actually happening on this front) instead of denying it.

It's important for parents who are giving the vaccines without questioning them to see this.

[13Sandals]

as soon as state legislatures start mandating yearly flu shots for flu kids (now that the CDC has made the recommendation) the states without philosophical exemptions will get the push they need. NY and NJ are getting closer and closer to philo exemptions...if you live in either of these states - NOW is the time to call your reps..