the hippie theme brings me to a way to work in an issue i’ve been avoiding for a long time. but this whole vaccination thing? i don't get it. i just don't. and i don't know what to do. and i'm tired of all the sanctimonious bullshit on both sides of the issue. and this ire i have built up inside me extends to all facets of the 'mommy wars' as they have been so lamely dubbed, but today? today the vaccination shit is really making me crazy.
see, emerson hasn't yet gotten either his seasonal flu shot or his h1n1 shot. and i don't know what the fuck to do. and don’t bother researching anything online, because both camps have shrill, off-putting commentary and diatribes.
anti-vaccinators will have you believe that vaccines:
will kill your child
will give your child autism
will actually make your kid sick all the time
will mutate his genes
are a government conspiracy to gain power, because the government wants us all to be drugged
will actually contain stuff that will sterilize us
are the government’s way to implant us with microchips
are for stupid, sheep-like people
AWESOME, RIGHT? i won’t even link you to some of this shit, that’s how mad it makes me.
on the other side, pro-vaccination advocates will have you believe that:
not vaccinating is a plague upon society
non-vaccinators are irresponsible and evil and responsible for the world’s sicknesses
non-vaccinators are just conspiracy theorists and fear mongers
so what to do? i have read horrific stories about parents of highly verbal children at around emerson’s age who became autistic, and they’re certain it was because of vaccinations. i have read just as many accounts of autistic kids whose parents believe that vaccination had nothing to do with it. so far, no link has definitively been proven. if it has, show me that scientific journal, because i want to read it.
i want emerson to be able to go to (GASP) public school. i want to travel overseas with him. and that’s why he’s had all his regular vaccinations up to this point, because fucking polio still exists in some pockets of Africa. and the last thing i want is for us to go on safari one day, and have him end up with polio or something like it, all because of my arrogance and unwillingness to admit that vaccination might, just might be a good thing.
i remember some months ago in the (now defunct) cookie magazine, that amanda peet made a pretty controversial statement about how people who don’t vaccinate their kids were parasites who relied on the rest of the world’s people who DO vaccinate. it was definitely a strong stance to take, and she received a good bit of backlash because of it. but i think she has a point. i might not have used the word PARASITES to get my point across, but hey. i get her point.
i have an acquaintance who doesn’t vaccinate, berated me for circumcising my son (as if it were ANY of her goddamn business), won’t send her kids to public school, won’t let her kids play with the neighborhood kids because they’re not good enough, won’t use birth control, ETCETERA, and is so fucking judgmental about everything. and i’m all, wait. you want everyone to be open-minded about your weird-ass lifestyle, but you can’t be bothered to be open-minded about everyone else’s choices?
and here’s the thing. i’ve been doing research on this, and it seems that everyone recommending the h1n1 vaccine (as well as others) is a doctor or medical professional. and everyone freaking out about how we’re all idiots if we do vaccinate doesn’t seem to have any medical credentials. i mean, i understand that you have a choice not to vaccinate, and you’re welcome to do whatever you choose, but don’t get all over my case if i choose differently. i’m so tired of feeling like everything i do is judged or scrutinized, when all i’m trying to do is protect my child and my family.
i'd love to know your thoughts. please know that i don't judge you either way, because (as i've said several times before) it's not my place. but if you're vaccinating or not, why? how did you come to that conclusion?
7 comments:
eric called our pediatrician last week to talk about this and they didnt even have ANY vaccinations yet (for regular flu much less H1N1) ... and we did find out the normal flu shot they ordered doesnt have the mercury perservative stuff in it (sorry there is a name for it I can never remember)
I am ok with getting collin the normal flu shot .. he has gotten one the last few years, he is also up to date on his other immunizations ... I am skeptical on the H1N1 shot though .. eric and I disagree on this, he wants C to get it ... I am not even sure its worth the argument since its looking like there isnt enough to go around anyway
eric gets one every year (mostly b/c of his job) I got one last year and my freaking arm hurt for 6 weeks after .. like hurt to lift up .. it was awful, so I opted out this year.
but seriously, I dont know what is going on ... it seems EVERYTHING is controversial now .. EVERYTHING ... no matter what someone is going to tell you your wrong
I got it from someone the other day b/c I buy organic milk ... like its their problem I choose to spend almost $6 on a gallon of milk.
also, if you lived HERE (high point/this county specifically), you would not be putting EM in public school I PROMISE ;)
sorry, but people who don't vaccinate their kids are playing russian roulette....all you have to see is a kid gets polio or any one of the diseases in the MMR shot or any other totally preventable archaic diseases...if your kid gets these diseases because of your dumb ass, that's total neglect and DCFS should take them away from you for some time.....and I think I can speak as a qualified person on the subject of autism being a child psychiatrist.....total bullshit that vaccinations cause this.....as my dad would say, "Show me your data!"
Somebody at work cornered me last week and asked me if I was getting the flu shot and the H1N1 shot and why or why not and did I know and had I heard, etc etc.
And I said to her what I'll say to you too... It sounds to me like a good topic of conversation for your doctor. I don't know what the "right" decisions are, if there are any, but I do know what my approach will be when the time comes to make those decisions. I'll ask my doctor, because she's a good doctor and I trust her and she's been a doctor for a long time.
Good luck!!
We are vaccinating. My husband works on ambulances and fire trucks and gets exposed to icky things.
I'm sort of a hippy on some things, like BPA. But vaccines? I go with what the medical professionals recommend, especially my (fabulous, pro-alternative treatment, totally fine with a delayed vaccine schedule if that's what you want) pediatrician says. We're getting the shots.
I spaced out Maggie's vaccines (which totally pisses off the people at our clinic, btw) just b/c AND IT'S TOTALLY MY OPINION that shooting a kid full of a gazillion vaccines at once doesn't seem right. She's had the flu vaccine but not H1N1. Again, clearly apersonal and not scientific opinion since I just typed gazillion! I think if Maggie went to school I would've followed the prescribed vaccination schedule. I found vaccination schedules online from when we were kids vs. what they do today, and it just seemed to me that going "old school" was the way to go for me. Still all the same vaccinations, just at a slower rate.
I have to say I'm way less freaked out about pig flu than I was when MRSA was the big scare....flesh eating virus? I mean, c'mon!!
I just heard on the news a few days ago that it's recommended that adults get vaccinations updated from when they were kids. I will also say that if I had a boy I would be even more paranoid about vaccinations, so I understand the worry. Arguments on both sides are very compelling!
And, Mandy! Organic milk is what they're giving you shit about?? We buy it b/c the shelf life is longer, so who gives a shit if it's six dollars...it'll last a month! People are assholes.
I totally agree with allison on the spacing them out .. we're doing that this year for collin's kindergarten shots ... I dont like for his to get a bunch at once, especially if he is even a little sick!!
LMAO at allison's "people are assholes" !! love it!
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