This week was doctor's visits all around for everyone, and even though I was forced to choke down a bottle of super sweet glucose for my 28 week testing, it didn't even compare to the agony my 16 month old son was subjected to during his routine visit to the pediatrician.
After being trapped in the small examining room for nearly an hour, Sebastian was at his wit's ends. He knew full well that beyond that exam room door lied a waiting room filled with books, puzzles, toys and seesaws, and yet there he was stuck in a boring room with nothing more than mom, dad and a tongue depressor to entertain him. Perhaps for 15 maybe even 30 minutes we could have held him together with patty-cake, hide and seek, and us making fools of ourselves for his entertainment. But soon all our efforts were exhausted and the worst part, his vaccinations, were still looming ahead.
It turned out to be a pretty awful way to spend the afternoon, but even in spite of the heart wrenching image of desperate boy being poked by needles and the irritable and defeated kid we brought home with us that day, we would have done it all over again if it meant protecting our son from preventable but sometimes deadly diseases.
Currently there is a debate going on about whether vaccines are worth the perceived harm they cause, and there has been a movement by many parents to forgo the needle and hope for the best for their children. This in my opinion is ludicrous, and bred from the spread of misinformation and ignorance.
Aside from having a much higher risk to catch potentially deadly diseases like polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and chicken pox, unvaccinated children also threaten the health of their surrounding communities, as no vaccine is 100% effective at preventing infection.
According to statistics by the CDC, 1% of children nationwide have been exempted from vaccinations, but with several states, like Colorado, Washington and California, making it easier for parents to exempt their children from vaccine requirements, hot spots with over 11% exemption rates are popping up all over the country.
There are many reasons sited why parents choose to go vaccine free: government mistrust, religious objections, and fear that children are truly harmed by the side effects and the immediate pain and trauma of receiving a shot. Some even claim that vaccinations may cause siezures and autism, despite the scientific evidence to the contrary. We are all very lucky that we live in a time were the threat of smallpox, polio, diphtheria, and measles epidemics are behind us, but this is only due the introduction of vaccinations and an entire generation with defenses built up against these diseases. But these viruses still exist in our world threatening us with every breath, and by not immunizing our children we are not doing what is necessary to protect our children and future generations from disease outbreak.
Caring for our children is a responsibility that every parent should take seriously, and although each parent should be able to choose for themselves how best they are going to accomplish this, it is your responsibility to inform yourself on the best way possible to do so. While it ultimately is, and should be, every parents own choice to vaccinate their children, it should not be something taken lightly. Don't assume everything you hear is correct. Do your research, and make informed decisions about your child's health.
Here are a few links about child vaccination:
The Center for Disease Control Vaccination Homepage: This is an excellent and credible site for reliable information about vaccines. Find recommendations and guidelines for vaccines, a vaccine schedule, possible side effects for each vaccination, as well as articles about the importance of vaccinating children, common myths and misconceptions about vaccines and the risks of choosing not to vaccinate.
The American Academy of Pediatricians: this is another reputable source providing great information about the risks and benefits of vaccines.
Parent Fears Keep Children from Vaccines: This a broadcast of a story done by NPR about more than 2 million children from getting vaccinated.
When Parents Say No to Child Vaccinations: This article from the New York Times interviews parents who chose became ill as a result of not being vaccinated.
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