Seeing a baby hooked up to oxygen and feeding tubes is totally and completely gut-wrenching for any parent. And as I sat today and watched a news clip about a 4-month-old baby named Everlee who almost died after a bout with whooping cough, I couldn't help but feel my stomach sink a bit. Whooping cough is an "old disease" that we are suddenly hearing about again because more and more parents are refusing to vaccinate their kids. And that's just scary.
Poor little Everlee was just a few weeks shy of receiving her shot against the disease. But a child who was likely un-vaccinated at her 9-year-old sister's school happened to contract whooping cough before that, and the sister likely brought it home on her clothing because of how contagious the disease is, which is how doctors think Everlee probably caught it. And then she wound up in the intensive care unit fighting for her life.
Granted, I realize that there are extremely strong opinions and arguments for why babies shouldn't be immunized, and I'm not trying to discount those or be even remotely insensitive. However, when the health and well being of small children come into play, I just don't see how anyone could not want to protect them from a disease that really shouldn't be floating around anymore at all.
Back in November, someone in my extended family had their 9-year-old son come down with whooping cough, and the whole house wound up getting quarantined. There were several other kids at his school who got it as well -- so it was almost a mini-epidemic. I remember being scared for my son's safety in his own school and I sighed with relief at the fact that he's been vaccinated against whooping cough. Hopefully we won't have to worry about it going forward should it wind up in our town. But young babies who haven't yet had their shot are constantly at risk.
The decision of whether or not to vaccinate is a personal choice, and it's a very passionate debate that isn't going to disappear anytime soon. Unfortunately, however, neither are these kinds of diseases if people keep fighting the vaccines.
Do you think that the risks are higher with diseases like whooping cough, or with the vaccines?
Image via Zaldlmg/Flickr
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Comments 52
Speculation speculation speculation.
Try finding facts before pointing fingers.
Autism isn't the only reason people don't vaccinate. But people should know that there have always been cases of whooping cough. The vaccine never irradicated it. There's been a whooping cough outbreak at school here, and all the kids that have it have been vaccinated for it.
Exactly Jellyphish....it's all speculation. They don't know where that baby got it from....
Anti-vax is a religion. You can't argue belief with facts.
I'll gladly discount anti-vaxxers and be insensitive. If you don't vaccinate (the standard vaccines, I understand people being wary of things like Gardasil) for ANY reason other than allergies/immune deficiencies/REAL MEDICAL ISSUES, you are a moron. Period, end of story. Vaccines do not cause autism, and all the other typical things anti-vaxxers whine about are equally unfounded.
Oh, and jagamama0710 - Vaccines aren't for bacteria, try again. Not only that, but if it can latch onto an unvaxxed kid, the virus now has a host and an ability to mutate. Allowing these viruses a place to thrive (a kid) helps them mutate.
Having things injected into your children that you neither understand nor even know exactly what it is that they're supposed to prevent is a lot more moronic, IMO, than making a decision not to inject poisons and 10 diseases at once into them. Especially neurotoxins into the blood of little babies whose blood/brain barrier is not fully mature.
lol Thanks tyrelsmom. You beat me to it. Whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the respiratory system. The bacteria is called Bordetella pertussis. YOU try again. The fact that you didn't know that discounts the rest of what you said. You also have no basis for the last bit you pulled out of your ass. It can and does latch onto VACCINATED children too. I can assume that means you think vaccinated children are 100% immune to diseases. I hope you don't...that's some pretty scary complacency. (I do vax for whooping cough, btw. I think I said that in my first post.)
Try not to call people morons and then turn around and say something wrong.
craftycatVT - Even kids who just simply CANNOT receive vaccinations due to allergies or bad reactions? Do they need to be out of public schools? Kept away from your totally precious snowflakes who never spread germs and sicknesses of any kind?
The anti-vax people need to get with the program! There is no link between vax and autism, ADHD, or any other disease. Just like every other cruchy bit that comes along, most parents go anti-vax to follow a dang fad. These are the lives of your children and other people's children, not a handbag!
If your kid is allergic then discuss alternatives with your doctor. Many times, oral vax are available for those cases.