Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici, www.freedigitalphotos.net
You'd have to be hiding under a rock somewhere to not be aware of all of the controversy that's been going on lately surrounding vaccines. It's been all over the news that there was an insane measles outbreak in California, and it can be traced back to a visit to Disneyland. Now, California is considering legislation that would make vaccinations for school-aged children mandatory, regardless of your spiritual beliefs or personal choices.
It probably won't be long before this happens all across the country.
I'm writing this post not because I want to make sure my voice is heard about my personal beliefs in vaccinations, but because I want to hear your thoughts. Perhaps I should begin by telling you where I stand.
I'm the mom of three children. They're 15, 12 and 5 years old. They make every day better for me, and I'm so blessed to have them. When I started having kids, I never even considered choosing not to vaccinate them. Their pediatrician had a set schedule, and that's what we went by. I never questioned it at all.
That is...until I heard about the Gardasil vaccine.
On the surface, it sounded great. It would protect girls from getting HPV, which is an STI that's contracted during sex. HPV can cause cervical cancer. If you don't protect your daughter from cancer, you're a bad mom, aren't you?
I wasn't so sure. You see, it was my goal to protect my daughter from all of the things that come with having sex before you're married. I wanted to protect her from the broken heart, the shattered soul ties, the possibility of pregnancy, and the STIs. As I said, she's 15 years old now, and she's listened to me so far.
It wasn't long before I started seeing articles like this one. The article says that many girls have had the Gardasil vaccine, and they're just fine. However, in Canada, there is a growing population of girls who are not just fine. Some of them ended up in wheelchairs or needing feeding tubes. Others had different significant problems, and one girl passed away after her second dose (the article says she drowned in her bathtub).
These are some pretty significant risks. And no, my daughter might not ever have any issues with Gardasil, but...what if she did? Could I live with myself? Probably not.
That's why she didn't get that vaccine, and she never will. Period.
The second red flag I had about vaccines happened two years ago when I got the flu. I got vaccinated just like I was supposed to. However, they were all out of the "regular" vaccine that day, so they offered me a different variety that went just under the skin, and it used a live version of the virus. The "regular" vaccine uses a dead version. I figured it must be OK; after all, this was a drug store offering this to me, right? I had my flu shot, and I went home.
Two weeks later, I became ill. I mean, deathly ill. I have never been that sick in my entire life. I thought I was going to die, and it was an illness that just wouldn't let up, no matter what I did. I was stuck on the couch for at least a week, and I was begging and pleading for God to make it go away.
That was the last flu shot I got, and I haven't gotten my children vaccinated for the flu since then, either. I figure one of two things:
1. Either I got sick from the flu shot, or
2. It doesn't really work that well, so why get it?
This year, we're seeing lots of people who are coming down with the flu, and these people were vaccinated. They're getting it anyway! Of course, the powers that be state that the virus mutated this year, and that's why people are getting the flu anyway. I can't help but question how many crazy chemicals those people are putting in their body (all used to create the flu vaccine) all in the name of not getting an illness they're going to get anyway.
These two vaccines, the flu and the Gardasil, started making me think about all of the other vaccines I've had, and that my children have had. There are all kinds of studies out there about how vaccines can be linked to increased instances of SIDS and Autism. Then someone else comes along and debunks those theories, only to have their theories debunked, and...well, it's a vicious cycle.
The way I see it, vaccines and medications are all a great way for pharmacy companies to make money. Most of the drugs and vaccines that are on the market come with a host of side effects that you need additional medication to treat.
When does it end?
So now...I'm torn. My older two are off the hook for vaccines for a couple of years at least, but my younger one will have some scheduled shots coming up within the next few years. I just don't know what the right answer is for him.
What do you think?
