If you're a new mom struggling with the decision of whether or not to vaccinate your baby, I can sympathize -- I agonized over the choice when my first child was born almost 10 years ago. That was when mercury = autism rumors were running high, and I was terrified of what the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine) might do to my daughter (since then, the initial study linking vaccines to autism has been called a fraud).
But the news that measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest in 15 years makes me glad I listened to my pediatrician and went ahead with the vaccinations.
I'll never forget the doctor's words and how she convinced me that immunizing my daughter was the right thing to do. We lived in New York City at the time, and my pediatrician was associated with St. Vincent's Hospital. When I told her about why I was hesitant to vaccinate, she didn't act like I was a crazy hippie, she just listened. Then she said that while nobody knew for sure whether or not vaccines triggered autism, she did know for certain that diseases like the measles, mumps, and rubella (not to mention pertussis and polio) were still out there. She knew this because she treated these illnesses in her own hospital.
They don't call it The Melting Pot for nothing -- NYC is a very international community, and a lot of parents make the mistake of assuming that because certain diseases have been all but eradicated in the U.S. that they aren't still a threat worldwide. Should my daughter ever travel, or merely come into contact with someone carrying one of these diseases, I would want her to be vaccinated, the pediatrician assured me. "I've seen polio, and it's not pretty," she said.
That did it for me, and I'm thankful. Eighty-seven percent of Americans ages 12 months to 19 years who got the measles this year were unvaccinated; there are measles outbreaks. And many of the kids who aren't vaccinated had parents claim religious or philosophical objections to why they didn't get the shot (which, I was told, is the only way your kid will be allowed to go to school without getting his or her shots). I almost objected, but I consider myself extremely lucky to have two healthy (vaccinated) children today.
Does the rise in U.S. measles cases scare you? Does this change your stance on vaccinations?
Image via Dave Haygarth/Flickr
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Comments 73
I vaccinate so no it doesn't change my mind. :)
And it wont change the mind of the non-vaxers either. Because they will say Measles is not life threatening (even though it is one of leading causes of death in young children and 164,000 died in 2008 alone.) They will say that they refuse to pump chemicals into their children that are unsafe (even though they have been proven by scientific research repeatedly that they are and that less then 1% of children who receive the vaccine have a severe reaction).
They will continue to relay on the vaccinating parents to protect their children from preventable diseases until they have disintegrated the "herd" to the point that we can no longer protect them. These disease will no longer be so rare and then at that point maybe they will change their minds.
It really comes down to which risk the parent preceives to be a greater threat: Their child definitely being exposed to the vaccine ingredients or the possibility of being exposed to and catching the disease.
Most patients in the U.S don't die from measels, This isn't going to convince me to inject my kid with toxins, no thanks. Besisdes who says Measels are highest in 15 years? where are you getting your info,? cause if it's from the government or the cdc, I'm not buying it. They can put out any data they want out to the public and call it "fact". call me a conspiracy -theorist- tin -foil -hat- wearing- nut -case if you want but I'm still not vaccinating.
I would rather have an Autistic child to love then no child at all!
apparently the bloggers on this site havent yet realized that NO data, fact or not, will change the minds of the hard headed-stubborn mothers of whatever cause (bandwagon) they are on..........
doesnt change anything for us:)