Vaccines

[H.Starr]

Direct quote regarding autism and vaccines:
"stacks of studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have failed to expose a link."
Why?? Because there isn't one!
Parents just need someone and something to blame for anything that is ever wrong with their children. "Can't be bad genes, must be vaccines!" "My baby was born deformed. It can't be because I drank a case a beer every week while I was pregnant, it must be prenatal vitamins!" etc etc.
Come on.
Some kids are autistic. Whether you vaccinate them or not won't change that. You'll just end up with an autistic kid more likely to get sicknesses/diseases, or an autistic kid less likely to get those things.

[lismom2]

Direct quote regarding autism and vaccines:
"stacks of studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have failed to expose a link."
Why?? Because there isn't one!
Parents just need someone and something to blame for anything that is ever wrong with their children. "Can't be bad genes, must be vaccines!" "My baby was born deformed. It can't be because I drank a case a beer every week while I was pregnant, it must be prenatal vitamins!" etc etc.
Come on.
Some kids are autistic. Whether you vaccinate them or not won't change that. You'll just end up with an autistic kid more likely to get sicknesses/diseases, or an autistic kid less likely to get those things.

The incidence of autism now is too high to ignore. Autism is something that affects the entire community. We will be paying for these children for the rest of their lives through tax money and charities (as I think we should be doing). I don't think parents are looking for something to blame, rather, they are trying to find a reason and I completely sympathize and understand how many parents have drawn the conclusion that vaccines have contributed to their children's current health. Vaccinating your child is a personal choice for your family. Vaccinate your kids, don't vaccinate your kids, but don't put someone else down because they had a happy, healthy blossoming child that had a vaccine reaction that either is or mimic's autism. How would you feel if it was your child? You would be searching for answers left and right! The CDC and AAP both have several billions of dollars wrapped up in vaccine production and are sponsored by large pharmaceutical companies. Conflict of interest much? How many years and lawsuits and studies did it take for large tobacco companies to finally admit that smoking causes cancers and kills people?

[H.Starr]

I just don't think so.
There is NO proof. At all.
People can start saying, "My son was vaccinated, that must be why he's gay!"
Or, "My son was vaccinated, that must be why he's a psycho serial killer!"
I'm sure lots of serial killers' parents had them vaccinated. I bet lots of homosexuals' parents had them vaccinated. And I'm sure lots of autistic kids' parents had them vaccinated.
But there is NO proof, NO evidence, NO reason to believe that the vaccines were the cause of ANY of those things.
And since you asked, if any of my children are autistic, I will not be looking for anything I can to blame it on. I'll take it as "That's life." It happens. Some people are autistic. Some are gay. Some are mentally retarded. Its just how it is.
Its NOT because their parents chose to protect their health with vaccines.
How do you explain children who WEREN'T vaccinated and are STILL autistic?
They're no different than those that were vaccinated. Its not the cause, or a preventative.

[moonemaiden]

I agree with H.Starr. Everything I have studied in biology, genetics, virology, etc. supports the widespread use of vaccines. However, supporting the use of vaccines does not necessarily support the schedule or method they are given by. Although mercury is very rarely used in vaccines anymore, it's still important to know what the medium is (allergic reaction to eggs comes to mind). And the schedule should not be a "one size fits all" kind of thing. For example, children of mothers who breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months, and then continue to breastfeed longer, can usually safely delay all vaccinations for a year. Due to an other health reasons, I was unable to breastfeed my children. Both kids have been vaccinated according to schedule. However, I still sit down with our pediatrician before each and every vaccination and go over the specific details. Including which diseases, what medium, producing drug company, current studies, and side effects.

I'm not an expert. These are just the decisions I've come to after extensive research of vaccines, the diseases they protect against, and how the diseases "work" against our body. I do not support the yearly influenza vaccine, though. It boils down to a risk/benefit list and that one just doesn't make it for me.

[lismom2]

I agree with H.Starr. Everything I have studied in biology, genetics, virology, etc. supports the widespread use of vaccines. However, supporting the use of vaccines does not necessarily support the schedule or method they are given by. Although mercury is very rarely used in vaccines anymore, it's still important to know what the medium is (allergic reaction to eggs comes to mind). And the schedule should not be a "one size fits all" kind of thing. For example, children of mothers who breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months, and then continue to breastfeed longer, can usually safely delay all vaccinations for a year. Due to an other health reasons, I was unable to breastfeed my children. Both kids have been vaccinated according to schedule. However, I still sit down with our pediatrician before each and every vaccination and go over the specific details. Including which diseases, what medium, producing drug company, current studies, and side effects.

I'm not an expert. These are just the decisions I've come to after extensive research of vaccines, the diseases they protect against, and how the diseases "work" against our body. I do not support the yearly influenza vaccine, though. It boils down to a risk/benefit list and that one just doesn't make it for me.

I agree with almost all of this I'm not anti-vaccine, just very pro choice.

[sierra_26]

I am the proud mommy of a beautiful 10 month old boy. I also have 3 step sons. When we had our son he was born a month early and was very sick. I had decided early on I didn't want to vaccinate him and the more research I did my husband agreed with me. Unfortunately my doctor lied to us and told us our state doesn't except exemptions. Not only do you need to do your homework about the vaccines but you also have to find a doctor who will except your child as a patient if you decide not to vaccinate. Which is a challenge! For good information you should read What your doctor may not be telling you about childrens vaccines. Also a good website to contact is the holistic moms network. They can give you great info about organic and holistic remedies and vaccines. They even helped me find a doctor. I also write a blog about our journey through many difficulties and doing things naturally and NOT vaccinating. Another great book to read is Jenny McCarthy's book Louder than words.

As far as the chicken pox vaccine I will be taking my child to play with the first person I can find who has them. What is the big deal we all got chicken pox as a child and lived through it. Hey we even got a week off from school. These scientists are so quick to make a "cure" for everything what is going to happen when these viruses mutate and became something else. Which is happening......

As for the lady who made the comment about no links being made between vacs and autism. The only link between the rise in autism is the rise in vaccines. If you do your homework most kids don't get diagnosed with autism until they are in their toddler years. They are finding most of these children are born fine and develop fine until after all the shots are done something changes....hmm....I wonder what that is!

If you want to check out my blog....http://holimommy.blogspot.com

[H.Starr]

Funny that doctors won't even see your kids if they're not vaccinated.
Hmm.....I wonder what that should tell you.......

And as for kids not being diagnosed until they're toddlers...please tell me how the hell you would diagnose a newborn?! Really. I'd love to know what "symptom" a freaking newborn would have. Since they have so much personality and all. Enlighten me. Please.

[lismom2]

Funny that doctors won't even see your kids if they're not vaccinated.
Hmm.....I wonder what that should tell you.......

And as for kids not being diagnosed until they're toddlers...please tell me how the hell you would diagnose a newborn?! Really. I'd love to know what "symptom" a freaking newborn would have. Since they have so much personality and all. Enlighten me. Please.

Doctors are refusing due to insurance companies and malpractice. This is also one of the reasons for the increase in cesarean's. I you didn't do 'everything' possible, the doctor is held liable.

[eniese]

There have been increases in all manner of things that coincide with the increase in the incidence of autism. Not the least of these being that the definition of autism has been greatly expanded which increases the number of children who could be considered autistic and the awareness campaigns have increased the percentage of children who have autism getting diagnosed properly. Heck, global warming is occurring while autism increases and so is the obesity epidemic. We have as much reason to blame them for the increase in autism as anything else. Correlation is not causation.

Choose to get your kids vaccinated or not, but do it for real, scientifically based reasons. And, as you run off to infect your kids with chicken pox, google shingles first so you know what you are possibly subjecting them to as adults.

[H.Starr]

There's been an increase in illegal immigration.
There's been an increase in "out of the closet" homosexuality.
There's been an increase in unemployment.
The list goes on and on and on.

Typically when there's an "increase" in diagnosis of a particular disease its either because more people know what it is now, or the definition has broadened, etc.
Once upon a time ago no one knew what autism was. They just thought their kids were "weird." Now as more people are becoming aware of it, more kids are getting diagnosed with it.