As a mother of five children, I have always made sure that my children received all of the immunizations they were required to have right on schedule. It came as a surprise to me when the school district my three youngest children attend recently sent out a bulletin advising all parents of a whopping cough outbreak within our school district. I was wondering how this was possible, as whooping cough is another name for Pertussis, part of the DPT series of vaccines most children receive as infants.
When my daughter recently developed a nasty cough that was persisting, I decided to make her a doctor’s appointment to be on the safe side. I was assured her cough was due to a cold that had triggered her asthma symptoms, and definitely was not whooping cough. I asked my daughter’s pediatrician how it was even possible that there was a current whooping cough outbreak, when all children receive their required immunizations. He informed me that was exactly the problem, that nowadays not all children are receiving their immunizations because more and more parents are opting to not immunize their children. He also said that if this trend continues, we’re going to see more and more of these types of illnesses.
This reminded me of a recent Facebook post a friend of mine made stating the she does not give her children those “poisonous shots.” This was news to me. Her post prompted several responses, some of which surprised me, as there were several saying that they agreed with her and do not immunize their children either. I was shocked and wondering how any of these children are able to attend public schools. The answer for one of the posters is that she home schools her children, as none of them have received their vaccines. These are parents under the impression that childhood vaccines are harmful, mainly because they have heard false rumors and information stating as much. They feel that they are doing what is best for their child(ren), when in reality, they could be doing much harm.
Over the past decade or so, there have been an increasing number of parents opting not to immunize their children, which has already resulted in new outbreaks of measles, meningitis, and whooping cough, diseases which before had been virtually eradicated. Even popular celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy are on the bandwagon to spread the word about how supposedly dangerous vaccines are, as her son has Austism which she attributes to his receiving childhood immunizations. There is no proof that there is any link between the two.
There was some legitimate concern over some injections that contained Thimerosal, as it contains mercury, however, safer Thimerosal free options have now become available. Normally, vaccines are relatively safe and the side effects mild. There are some exceptions, but they are rare. With my own five children, the worst we ever experienced was a slightly sore arm and perhaps a very low grade fever. Basically, a cranky baby for a day or two, and then all returned to normal. In my opinion, it was worth the minor discomfort to know that my child was now protected from an illness far worse than the reaction to the immunization.
I always get excited when a new vaccine is developed, because that means just one more illness my child will not have to suffer through. For example, all of my four oldest children had to suffer through chickenpox, while by the time my daughter was born, they had developed a vaccine to prevent her from contracting it. Think of all the missed school days, parents’ missed work days, and doctors appointment costs that were eliminated by making this generation chicken pox free.
Now, consider what may happen if more and more people begin to refuse to vaccinate their children. At first you think it may be no danger because those children will not be allowed into public schools and daycare. However, I recently learned that there is some paper a parent can sign to exempt them from having to immunize their children under certain circumstances, therefore, the chance of putting the entire school at risk if they were to become sick with one of these illnesses.
Noted vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit, MD, FAAP, feels that parents are believing false stories about the dangers of vaccines, and that because of this we can now expect to see a recurrence of diseases that were previously vanquished. Not only does this decision leave their own children vulnerable to contracting these diseases, but it also lowers the immunity of the entire community.
Here is a scenario I’ve thought of for this situation. Imagine an army going into physical battle with only a portion of them being armed against the enemy. Not only are those unarmed soldiers at risk, but because they have no defense against the enemy, they are also putting the rest of the army, even those armed for battle, at greater risk. Now, a scenario you can really relate to. Little three year old Johnny, who is not immunized, comes into the pediatrician’s office with whopping cough while little baby Susie is sitting there with her mother waiting for her first checkup. Little Susie is defenseless from this disease and is now exposed to Johnny’s germs. Had Johnny been immunized, most likely he would not be suffering from whooping cough and would never have been a threat to baby Susie. See what I mean? It doesn’t even have to be a doctor or school setting, imagine a trip to the grocery store with some little kid hacking away, spreading germs as he goes. Pretty scary stuff when you get right down to it!
I hate to think about all of these diseases that could have the opportunity to make a comeback if more and more people are not having their children vaccinated. Most of these diseases are highly preventable when given the proper immunizations. If you are concerned about vaccinating your child, please speak with their pediatrician and get the facts about vaccines. If you choose not to vaccinate,you may be putting your child at greater risk than you ever imagined, as well as others around him.