Random thoughts about Vaccinations. And my Stance.

As a parent, you pretty much don't have a choice but to have some opinion about vaccinations.
It is a sad reality that most pediatricians do not fully discuss vaccinations with parents.
They shove a consent form in your face, then shove 4 needles in your kids legs, full of at least 4, sometimes 6, 7, or 8 vaccination concoctions.
Doctors utilize many scare tactics to make you believe you are doing the right thing, protecting your child, and protecting others.
Children may lose government assistance (could they? I don't know. That was a scare tactic used against me- if I didn't get my baby her shots we *may* lose our WIC), they may not be allowed to enroll in public school (it is possible to get an exception, but from what I understand it's kind of up to the discretion of the school board or principal or superintendent to accept it-their hands are rarely as tied as the parents). They may not be allowed in daycares. They may not be given specific medical treatment (someone I know has been bullied into getting 3 vaccinations or her surgeon will cancel her very important back surgery.. who says they wouldn't do that to a child??).

Thanks to the internet, I've had the pleasure (most of the time) of chatting with a great many mothers (and some papa's) that I never would have had the chance to meet or know otherwise. And in many groups the discussion eventually comes up about vaccinations.

Like any other medical procedure there are pros and cons. There are benefits and risks. Taking Tylenol has both benefits and risks. Undergoing surgery has both benefits and risks. And getting vaccinations have both benefits and risks. It's up to us as adults to decide which is greater- the benefit or the risk.
If I take an Ibuprofen or receive a shot of Toradol, I will have an anaphylactic reaction. Therefore I have been warned against taking any kind of anti-inflammatory medication. I may be ok. I may struggle to breathe for 10-20 minutes. Or I may die. Those are the risks. The benefit of the anti-inflammatory medication is that I should feel a little bit of relief in my lower back pain. The amount of relief I feel is unknown. It could stop the pain almost completely. It could ease it from a screeching banshee to a dull roar. It could do nothing.
So I have to choose. Do I try out a different anti-inflammatory and see what happens? Do the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks?
In my specific case, no. Hell no. No way will I ever willingly or knowingly take an anti-inflammatory. True, it could only cause some mild irritation for a short period of time. Or it could kill me. Not sure I'm willing to play Russian Roulette with a pill just yet.

The exact same scenario is given to every parent when it's time to get their shots.
The benefit of the vaccination is that it SHOULD protect the child from contracting whatever virus they are vaccinating against. Assuming the immune system of the child can create the antibodies to kill the virus in the vaccination.
The risks of the vaccination are kind of a mystery. You can expect your child to have inflammation at the injection site, and possibly a fever for the next 24 hours. Assuming their immune system can create the antibodies to kill the virus in the vaccination... and the rest of the crap in the vaccination doesn't harm or kill the child.
Vaccination risks include, but are not limited to allergic reactions, swelling, severe flu/pneumonia, developing sensory processing disorders, heart failure, brain damage, and death.

So as parents we have to look at this information and decide what to pick. Yes, give your child the chicken pox vaccination and hope for the best, or let their own immune system learn how to battle it out and not worry about those risks.

It's a tough choice. And as parents we always feel guilty. There's never a perfect answer.

Here's what I don't understand about "the vaccination debate".
 
Most of the time I see a vaccination debate it goes something like this:

Vaccinations save lives. You are killing our babies, children, and future by not giving them.
VS
Vaccinations are poison. They are killing our babies, children, and future by being given.

But the thing is I have never seen a non-vaxer tell someone who vaxes that they shouldn't do it unless they are asked their thoughts and opinions. Most of the non-vaxers I know are pretty content letting other parents shoot their kids up, so long as they have done their research, it's their choice as parents. And as long as our rights to not vaccinate are not infringed on, then we're pretty mellow about the discussion. We like to say things like "I won't do it to my children." "MY children will not be vaccinated."
Whereas the other side tends to get pretty heated. They like to use the same scare tactics that the doctors do to try and convince non-vaxers how horrible they are and how they're going to destroy the world or some such nonsense. We're killing our kids. Our kids are not safe. Don't drink after our kids.
They like to say things like "It is imperative that you vaccinate your children." "YOU should vaccinate YOUR kids."

In conclusion I'd just like to pose this question.
Why do those on the vaccination side of the debate even care who is or isn't vaccinated?
If your kid is vaccinated shouldn't he be safe?
If he is protected, then why should you care whether my child is not?
If your child has received the chicken pox vaccination, then it shouldn't matter if he is in the same room, same bed, sharing a soda with my child who is currently infected.
So who cares?

Parents- just be sure you do your own research. Look into BOTH sides. Don't just research "why vaccinations are bad" because you will get a lot of misinformation. There's a lot of people who would wish that vaccinations didn't even exist and they have their own scare tactics and conspiracy theories. So be sure you research "why vaccinations are good" as well so that you have a better grasp of the whole story. There's just as much misinformation about why they are good as well, so try and read as many different sources as you can. Just make sure you don't believe everything you read on the internet, and make the best, most informed decision you can for your babies.