Should I Have My Kids Immunized?

Hi E.,

The answer I can give is to research it for yourself. For pro-vaccine info, look at the CDC website and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. For info on the negative side, look at http://www.nvic.org/ (National Vaccine Information Center),www.mothering.com (Mothering Magazine), and http://www.homefirst.com/ (a Chicagoland health service that doesn't vaccinate and has no incidents of autism).

Personally, I didn't vaccinate my kids, but I experienced vaccine injury as a baby and have been plagued w/health issues my whole life. Autism wasn't even an epidemic when my first son was born. I just felt w/me contributing 50% of the genes, there was a greater risk than in most other families and I truly believe one size doesn't fit all. I do think vaccines have done good. But they have also harmed. I don't see why recognizing the one means denying the other.

As for my kids, they are much healthier than me and healthier than the average kid. Is it vaccines or control of diet (sugar is a treat, not a right, as is fast food, etc)? It's probably both. We have been turned away by a physician. Most of the others constantly fought with me at each office visit. (They do not recognize my experience as being valid.) We now have a pediatrician who respects our decision.

I did seek help w/the way I word the exemption for the school system from a legal source. Because of that, I haven't had any trouble from the school system, but many schools, especially lower income areas, do bully the families. They receive federal funding for every fully vaccinated kid.

I hope that helps. I commend you for thinking for yourself and not just assuming that what is good for one family is good for all families.

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Hello E.,
This is a decision that should not be made with out all the information from both sides. There is a international speaker that will be at the Troy community center in Troy Michigan speaking about Vaccines and Immunity. Her name is Mary Tocco and her presentation is based on information from the American Medical Association, The World Health Organization and Nat. Health Institute as well as congressional hearings. If you would like more information please log onto www.mcpakids.org and see her tab on the right side of the page. There is also a video you can get if you are not near by. There are a few non biased books but you have to sort through a large pile to find them. I am a mother of two children both not vaccinated and very healthy. I am comfortable with my decision but feel each person should enter any decision fully informed no matter what they decide. Mary Tocco information is a great start. Best of luck to you.

N. Poirier, D.C.

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you should make an informed decision as to what you think is best for your family. There is a ton of websites. check out www.icpa4kids.com, mary tocco, 909shot, as well as DAN defeat autism now, and the many others listed on your responses.

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The first thing you have to do is EDUCATE yourself. Do not believe anything ANYONE tells you based on THEIR observations. I do not vaccinate my children, it's a long story I'd be more than happy to share with you should be intersted, just contact me. Read about what you're vaccinating against and learn about those diseases'. For example, read about tetnus and then ask yourself if there is really a suffecient risk of your child contracting that disease. Read about the immune system and how it works then ask yourself how vaccines either promote healthy immune response or how they deter the immune system from working. There are a lot of options, you can choose to remain completely unvaccinated, you can demand that they are given when the child is older, you can demand they all be given seperately ect.. YOU are in charge not the dr's and not anyone else. These are YOUR children and you'll have to care for them if there is a 'fallout' from your decision. You CANNOT be excluded from school, you just have to go to the office and ask for a waiver or go to http://www.momvaccines.org/ and get one off that site. As for doctors who won't except you cause you don't vaccinate, while they are out there they aren't necessarily that prevelant. Mine see's us and I know of another dr that doesn't vaccinate at all as far as I understand. Feel free to contact me for more information if you'd like.

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Hi,

In Michigan, the law states (MCLA § ###-###-####, entitled "exemptions"): A child is exempt from this part if a parent, guardian or person in loco parentis of a child presents a written statement to the administrator of the child's school or operator of the group program to the effect that the requirements of this part cannot be met because of religious convictions or other objections to immunizations.

As long as the law remains intact, your child may attend school in Michigan with all, some, or no vaccinations.

Go to this website for a waiver and more info:

http://www.momvaccines.org/html/vaccine_waiver.html

You do not have to sign the waiver from the state of Michigan. The above link is a legal document. I have used it for my son's school

Also, get The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. It is neither for or against vaccine, he simply states the facts about each vaccine and does provide a schedule for vaccines. It is an excellent resource.

No matter what you decide, you'll feel guilty. Your best defense is to educate yourself on the pros and cons and then make the decision. Best of luck.

B.

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E.,
I can tell you the story of my perfectly healthy nephew who had his mmr and has been brain dead and severly epileptic eversince, but really
the best advice I can give you is to tell you to educate yourself about the issue don't just do what a doctor or nurse tells you you should do. They are not thinking for themselves..they are telling you what they were trained to tell you. There is a ton of info on-line a good website is thinktwice.org Only you can decide if immunizations are right for your family.

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Yes! Talk to your doctor, I did. They are starting to see increased deaths from some diseases that have pretty much been gone b/c kids are not getting immunized. The risks from immunization are actully really small. Plus, if you don't immunize and your child gets, for example chicken pox in their 30s or 40s it can be life theatening.

Most daycares won't allow unvaccinated children. Schools require a religious or other explanation for not vaccinating.

Good luck with your decision.

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I have three children. One of them regressed into autism. I believe with all my being that the vaccines triggered an immune response that is autism. The "research" that is being presented in the media is slanted, and I recommend you do some research and educate yourself before you immunize. The docs don't give you the RISK information, and with our vaccinations, we risked our child's neurological functioning, emotions, mind; our financial situation (insurance doesn't pay much, if any, for autism and schools do very little in terms of what is actually needed); etc. Start with a book by David Kirby called "Evidence of Harm," and another by Stephanie Cave MD, called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Your Childrens Vaccinations" and make some educated decisions.

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Hi E., I know this is a contraversial subject. It is best to get all the information you can and then make an informed decision. You are your child best alli and you are the one responsible for the choice so don't be bullied by either side. Look close and choose. One of the members of MOM (they want people to have the chose to choose or not) has a DVD out that you can watch on Dr. Mercola's web sit. Here name is Mary Tocco. She give the titles aof lots of books as well as studies and doctors involved in getting the whole truth about the statistics involved. Have fun researching. It is worth it to know the details.

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It's great that you are thinking about this, so many moms don't ever question. Here are some resources that were helpful to me when I decided to discontinue vaccinating my children.

Books:
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Childrens Vaccines
Just a Little Prick by Hillary Butler
Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide by Aviva Jill Romm
The Vaccine Book. Dr. Sears

Websites:
http://www.thinktwice.com/
http://www.vaccineinfo.net/
http://www.nmaseminars.com/
http://www.vaccinetruth.org/index.htm
http://home.san.rr.com/via/
http://www.vaccines.bizland.com/
http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm

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Well, you sure got a lot of info there from mulitple people on both sides of the issue. I would encourage you to do the research, esp. looking into Mary Tocco. She is superb resource. I also wanted to agree with the mom who knew of or had an autistic child due to vaccinations. Despite what drs may say, I have worked in a variety of special ed classrooms with mainly autistic children. The only common dominator that the boys (almost always all boys, a girl or two i but mainly boys) had was that they were all vaccinated. So I would strongly urge you NOT to vaccinate your son. They say they've taken the mercury out of the vaccinations but they added a substitute that has a mercury derivative that isn't any better. So I agree, don't vaccinate but most importantly do the research and agree with your husband on what's best for your children.

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Hi E.,

I have a book I follow..called what doctors may not tell you about childhood vaccinations...I followed it with my first child and now doing it with my second..it's a great compromise...the author gives a proposed schedule of vaccinations in the back of the book in which I follow..it allows the child to get all vaccinations recommended but just spaces them out a bit..so we are going to the ped literally once a month...she gets one at a time versus 5 or so!!! that is the problem, their system can't handle it..the other issue is that there was thimerosal in the vaccines..I researched this and found a website that lists all the rec vaccines and how much thimersol is in them, so when I go to the ped for her vacc, I ask which one she is getting and make sure that it has NO thimerosal in it according to my list...I have done ALOT of research on this..if you want, let me know if you want more info...or to talk more...you can email me at ____@____.com... hope this helps!!!
J.

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I too, as many others, have struggled with this. Luckily I have a sister with two much older children that opened my eyes to this. As stated earlier I urge you to read, "What Your Doctor My Not Tell You About Childrens Vaccinations". Please understand that many things they are trying to vaccinate our children against, i.e., polio has almost been completely irradicated. When/If you talk to your doctor try to understand where he/she is getting their information from. The reason I say this is because the pediatrician we see goes to many conferences on this issue and considers himself somewhat of an expert - he is pro immunizations - but the sponsors of the conferences are drug companies, most spefically Merck. You draw your own conclusion. Not to mention that the Hep B vaccine was outlawed in France (I've also heard that they outlawed MMR as well??).
Don't get me wrong I do get my daughter vaccinated but at the scheduled reccommended through the book I referenced. And she has only been sick once for one day and has never run a fever.
When she does get a shot I make sure she is not sick or I postpone it until she's better and I check the expiration date on all the viles. My doctors office may think I'm somewhat of a pain - they never acted this way - but I could care less, this is my baby.
I hope this helps. Thanks for letting me ramble....

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Hi E.,
I STRONGLY believe that your children are at much greater risk of serious illness if they are not immunized. The serious side effects that some suffer after an immunization are very rare. Wouldn't it be awful if one of your children got ill (maybe even died) because you didn't offer a simple shot that can save a life? Also, keep in mind that as more and more people choose not to immunize, diseases that were once eradicated are coming back and causing serous illnesses in some communities(whooping cough for example).I believe that parents who choose not to immunize are putting other peoples children at risk as well.
Please talk to your child's doc. He/She can supply you with all kinds of research and help you to make an educated decision.
Thanks,
C.

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One of my good friend's son got autism from the mercury in a vaccination, and she has the test results to prove it. So seeing it happen first hand, I will not be vaccinating my children, at least not until they are older and their brains are more developed. But it all depends on how well your child will respond to the mercury and perservatives, some respond well and will be fine but there are the rare few that it affects the brain and you end up with autism. But she does tell me that there are other options for you as well. There are available single dose vials that the hospitals carry that you have to specifically ask for that hasn't been used for multiple other children, so you won't be getting the bottom of the vial, basically with all the bad stuff in it. Also there is a company that sells the vaccines without all the preservatives in it but it is expensive and may not be covered by your insurance, but it is much more safer if you are worried about them not being vaccinated. I can't remember the company so if anyone want's to know I can ask her and let you know, just send me a message. But I just do have to say that if your child does get diagnosed with autism later there is hope, my friend has done a lot of research and her son is starting to make an improvement but it is a lot of hard work and hard times. Jenny McCarthy was on Oprah awhile back and her child had autism from a vaccine, she wrote a book about it and all her struggles. That may be something you might want to read, it is not a Doctor type book but it may help in your decision. Hope that helps.

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E.,
The best non bias book I have found is Vaccinations A Thoughtful Parent's Guide by Aviva Jill Romm. It is very informative and helped me make my decision not to vaccinate. I hope you can find good information and are able to make the best choice for your family.

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There is a fantastic new book called the vaccine book by Sears out there. It gives information about each vaccine and gives reasons to choose vaccination and reasons to avoid vaccination. It is really well researched and written. Personally we have chosen to avoid vaccination. We feel it is a very personal decision and one to be researched really well. We eat only whole foods and nursed both of our children until they were 2 or older and do not use any day care. Once our children are older we will do a blood test to see if they are immune (by natural means) to things like rubella and chicken pox and then possibly vaccinate if they are not-- since rubella and chicken pox can pose problems for adults and unborn children. Or if we start travelling we will re research important vaccines.

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Best advice: RESEARCH.
Do your research so that you can make an informed decision. I recommend the book Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How To Make Safe, Sensible Decisions About the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives by Aviva Jill Romm. She presents factual information in an unbiased manner. Also check out Dr. Robert W. Sears (www.askdrsears.com and www.thevaccinebook.com)
I know many unvaccinated and healthy children. Immunity can be built up through diet and other natural ways. My concerns with vaccines include: 1)the additives (aluminum, thimersol/thimerosal, etc); 2)actual efficacy of the vaccinations; 3)method of introduction; and 4)the business behind vaccines.

aluminum and mercury (thimerosal) are some of the additives in vaccines. The controversy over mercury led to the removal of thimerosal from newly produced vaccines, but THE ORIGINAL VACCINES CONTAINING THE MERCURY WERE NOT RECALLED. Many doctor's offices still have a supply of these vaccines and they are still used. Aluminum and mercury are both shown to cause neurological harm. The biggest issue of concern here is the AMOUNT present in the vaccines. (www.fda.gov search on "aluminum toxicity") There are "safe" levels of aluminum exposure, I believe it is 4-5 mcg (micrograms) per kilogram of body weight, daily. Aluminum can build up to toxic levels in the bloodstream, bones, and brain (which can cause progressive dementia). Here are the current levels of aluminum per shot of the following vaccines, as listed on the packaging:
- DTaP (diptheria, tetanus, pertussis) = 170-625 mcg depending on manufacturer
- Hepatitis A = 250 mcg
- Hepatitis B = 250 mcg
- HIB (meningitis) = 225 mcg
- HPV = 225 mcg
- Pediatrix (DTaP-Hepatitis B-Polio comb.) = 850 mcg
- Pentacel (DTaP-HIB-Polio comb.) = 330 mcg
- Pneumococcus = 125 mcg
The FDA does not require labels on vaccines warning about the dangers of aluminum toxicity, but such labels are required for all other injectable medications.
A newborn's body contains about 300 milliliters of blood, more than 30 mcg of aluminum in the bloodstream could be toxic. A newborn who receives the Hep B injection (standard in most hospitals) receives 250 mcg of aluminum, and then another 250 mcg at one month. At 2 months, if the baby receives the standard round of shots, the dose of aluminum ranges from ###-###-#### mcg. This is then repeated at 4 and 6 months, and more exposure for two years if the standard vaccination schedule is followed.

Safety testing for vaccines has NOT been done for the combination shots. For example, the DTaP shot or MMR shot each contain three different vaccines. These have undergone standard safety testing for purity of the individual components, but have not been tested in the combined form in which they are generally administered. There may be chemical reactions that occur between these components, but no study has been done to determine this or if they are even safe. With the potential for causing harm to an otherwise healthy person, I question why these are allowed on the market. After working for a pharmaceutical company, I understand more about the business behind it and the push to maximize profits by getting the government to support mandatory vaccinations. And I also understand more about the LACK of safety inspection. If you would like to hear more about this I will gladly share my personal experience working as a chemist for Pharmacia/Pfizer.

Another factor to consider with vaccines is the method of introduction into the body's systems. When exposed to a virus, it is generally through the air (sneezes, coughs, etc). We would not naturally encounter these viruses injected into our bloodstream. The type of immunity that is developed through natural exposure is different than immunity through injection. Natural exposure confers lifelong immunity, while studies have shown that the efficacy of vaccines can wear off in several years (generally wearing off in the late teens to twenties).

So much more can be said, but I strongly urge you to research for yourself. Be solid in your knowledge so that you can feel secure in your decisions for your family.

As far as schools and such, each state has its own allowed exemptions. Usually there is a simple form to fill out if you choose not to vaccinate. Many schools will tell you that your children can not attend (I have seen this in my community), but they are mis-informed. I live in Michigan where exemptions are allowed for medical, religious, or philosophical reasons. Here is a link to the cdc site, this is the 2005-2006 requirements and allowable exemptions by state, I was not able to open a more current link, but I'm sure there is one: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/laws/downloads/izlaws...

Best wishes to your family, may you feel confident in your decisions.

In health,
jc

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I personally do not believe that vaccinations should be mandatory, but that the body should be allowed to develop naturally and heal itself without interference. A good contact for information that includes both sides of the controversy is Mary Tocco with Michigan Opposing Mandatory Vaccines (M.O.M). M.O.M is a non-profit organization that was developed to protect a parent’s right to make the choice for their and their children’s healthcare. Their website is www.momvaccine.org.
You may also contact me at Khalil Family Chiropractic Wellness and Intervention, www.khalilwellness.com. Please feel free to stop by the office as we have a plethora of information about vaccinations that you can have a copy, including Michigan’s Law on Vaccinations and the Exemption forms needed for schools. We are in partnership with M.O.M and feel free to contact them about our office. In our office, we support whatever choice our moms and dads make and help to support the children’s immune systems by removing interference in the nervous system thru chiropractic adjustments.
Chiropractors are not neck and back pain doctors, we are nervous system doctors. Our bodies are self healing and self organizing. The central nervous system (our brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (the nerves that branch out of the spinal cord and go to the cells, tissues, and organs in our bodies) control how our bodies heal and organize itself. If there is any interference in the communication of our nervous system with the body, then there will either be increased activity or decreased activity, either way the body is no longer functioning at its highest potential. Chiropractors call this interference a subluxation (sub-lux-a-tion). This interference/subluxation is caused by three major life stresses- Physical stress (trauma, repetitive motions, poor posture); Biochemical stress (preservatives in food, drugs- prescription, alcohol, smoking); and Mental or Emotional stress.
For more information about Chiropractic and vaccinations please come by or call. Our office is located in Eastpointe, MI at 22790 Kelly Rd. just north of 9 mile, and our number is ###-###-####.

B. Mason, D.C.

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