There’s been a lot of vitriol aimed
at the “anti-vaxxers” lately, blaming non-vaccinators for recent outbreaks of
measles, whooping cough, and whatever else rears its head. Some people have
written posts calling parents who choose not to vaccinate “ignorant” and
“selfish.”
Well, I am here to defend these
parents, and I am not afraid to state right up front that I am one. It’s been
nearly 25 years since I made this decision for my babies, but I think time
gives me a substantial level of objectivity, since I’m no longer personally
insulted by the hatred, nor am I afraid that people will think I’m some sort of
bad mother—my children have all turned out to be very healthy, intelligent, and
worthy human beings who have yet to spread anything worse than a cold.
I realize that people don’t like
their long-held beliefs challenged, and this certainly applies to vaccinations.
It is far easier to simply yell louder that vaccines are essential than it is
to actually do the research. But look at all the ways the medical community has
changed its mind about tests and treatments it once considered perfectly safe. Overuse
of antiobiotics led to the rise of super bacteria that are resistant to the
available antibiotics. Another example: for decades now, they’ve been telling
women they must have mammograms. Now, science is starting to realize that this
strategy has resulted in many women being treated unnecessarily, as well as
other women feeling reassured when fast-growing cancers that would kill them in
a few months were not detected by a mammogram.
I did not make the choice not to
vaccinate my children lightly, by any means. I did not simply decry it as a
government conspiracy or a medical waste of time. I initially thought like a
lot of you, that vaccines were the way to go, so I wasn’t on board right away. A
couple of acquaintances suggested I check out the information on both sides of
the issue—a strategy that has served me well throughout parenthood.
So I researched. I read dozens of
books. I looked at questions that had been asked about vaccines that the
medical community did not have answers to. If I had found satisfactory answers
to my questions, I might have chosen to vaccinate. But I did not. The research
on long-term side effects of vaccines just did not exist. The research on
short-term effects was not very convincing, either.
I probably read more about
vaccines—both pro and con—than the average pediatrician/MD. I know that the
medical practitioner is often influenced by several factors, such as the pharma
reps who visit their offices regularly, not to mention the reluctance to buck
the system. I read books by several physicians who had bucked the system, and
they were basically shunned by the medical community, even though they had been
previously well-respected.
At this point, if you’re reading
this, I urge you to read extensively on both sides of the issue, and please
avoid rash judgments on the intelligence and parental responsibility of the
person who chooses not to vaccinate. If you want to have a respectful
discussion of the actual science (or non-science, as the case may be), I
welcome that, but unless you have read extensively on both sides of the issue,
it can’t be a true discussion.
I made the decision not to
vaccinate because the evidence in favor of it did not seem complete enough to
me. One common reason given to me in favor of vaccines was the obvious “fact”
that many diseases had been eradicated because of immunizations. Nothing proves
this, however. In most of Europe, there was never a mandated immunization
program as there was in the U.S., and they experienced the same decline in
diseases at the same time. What I learned was that the incidence of most
contagious diseases ebbs and flows. So, simply the correlation of mass
immunizations in the U.S. and the decrease in diseases does not prove
causality. I could just as easily correlate vaccinations with increases in
childhood obesity, auto immune diseases, cancers, ADHD, depression, etc. (I
believe this type of correlation is what makes some people claim that
immunizations cause autism. I don’t buy that. I know non-vaccinated children
with autism.) If vaccines truly worked the way we are told they do, then no one
would feel threatened by my unvaccinated family, because supposedly you are
immune to the disease and therefore cannot get it. In addition, if the disease
can be carried by people who aren’t immune, then it can be carried by both the
unvaccinated and the vaccinated, since obviously there are some who have been
vaccinated who are not fully immune.
In addition, I learned that there
are numerous ways to increase the strength and effectiveness of an immune
system. An MD won’t tell you about these, because big pharma doesn’t knock on
their doors once a week promoting it. (I realize my bias is showing.) Many of
these methods are hundreds of years old and easily achieved.
The first and easiest way to
promote a baby’s immune system is by breastfeeding. I will not go into much
depth here, because there is a ton of information to back this up. In fact, the
evidence supporting a myriad of breastfeeding’s benefits is overwhelming. Even
the medical community (which, incidentally, was not always so
pro-breastfeeding) now recommends breastfeeding as the best form of infant
nutrition. Among all the many benefits is the mother’s antibodies are passed to
the baby through her milk, which is the perfect way to help the baby fight
diseases specific to the environment where the mother lives.
Giving mass doses of vaccines at
the vulnerable age of infancy can put more stress on the immature immune
system. Which is why some parents take a middle road approach of delaying
vaccines until the baby is older, and then spacing out the vaccines instead of
administering them all at once. There is some reason to believe this might be a
good compromise. This way, if there is a reaction, it is clear which vaccine
was at fault. People often cite the bad side effects of the diseases in
question. I have seen first-hand equally devastating effects after vaccines.
But most of the information I read
indicated it was best to avoid all vaccines until children were much older.
Some other ways to promote the
health of the immune system are things you read about a lot these days. Herbs
and vitamins are useful. Less processed food, low sugar intake, and the like
help. Good gut bacteria (which is supported by breastfeeding).
Also low intake of antibiotics. My
children rarely received antibiotics. And they really didn’t need to—because
they had really strong immune systems that had been allowed to develop at a
natural pace through breastfeeding, healthy food, and by fighting off diseases
with a supported immune system. Interestingly, it was once considered a
no-brainer to just pump kids with antibiotics “just in case,” and we now
realize that this causes resistance to antibiotics as the formation of
super-bacteria. What will a couple of decades teach us about the long-term
problems with vaccines?
Let me address just a couple of
diseases specifically. Let’s talk whooping cough, as this is one of the
illnesses that always gets the pro-vaxxers up in arms. The fact of the matter
is that whooping cough vaccine is one of the least effective vaccines given to
kids, so the fact that lots of incidents crop up should come as no surprise,
and should not be blamed on the kids who aren’t vaccinated.
Right now, it seems measles is a
big issue in New York City and more recently in LA. According to what I’ve seen
in news reports, many of those who are getting sick have been vaccinated.
Again, if the vaccine worked, they wouldn’t be getting sick.
I am not entirely against vaccines.
When people are older and the vaccine serves a specific need, then I see some
good reasons to administer them. Foreign travel, for example. Our bodies are
not used to the viruses, bacteria, and illnesses of unfamiliar parts of the
world, so an older teen or adult being vaccinated prior to travel seems
prudent. Exposure is perhaps another reason. If you work in a hospital, which
is rampant with all kinds of nasty stuff, it might be wise to be vaccinated.
But this is when our immune systems are much more developed and able to handle
a big influx of vaccines.
For some people, the risks of
living are scary, and that includes the risk of childhood diseases. A
generation ago, before vaccinations were the norm, these same childhood
diseases were the norm, and nobody thought twice about the possibility of
getting measles, for example. In fact, you were the strange one if you hadn’t
had the disease. A couple of things I learned through my research were that
these illnesses are normal childhood illnesses that are less dangerous in young
children than they are in older children or adults. I can attest to this from
personal experience. I never had chicken pox as a child, so I got it at age 30
when my children had it. I was extremely sick, dangerously so. My children were
hardly even uncomfortable. The other thing to note is that having a disease
like measles confers lifelong immunity, a much better risk avoidance technique
than an unsure roll of the dice with vaccines. Because people frequently forget
to have boosters, there are more incidents of these illnesses in young adults,
which can have even worse side effects than having the illness as a kid.
I do not judge those who choose to vaccinate. There are reasons in favor of it, and I know that every parent makes the best choices we can at any given time. But as I said before, I have read more on both sides of the issue than probably most parents, doctors, and the general populace. I made my decision based on information and rational thought. So please refrain from calling me ignorant or selfish. I made the best choice for my children—not selfish, just what any parent would do.
