Vaccination: Is it Worth the Shot?

Keeping your kids safe—as a parent, it’s priority number one. What you’re protecting them from, however, is always up for debate.

This week, our panel of local moms and dad tackles this question: Should you vaccinate your children? Is it safe? Is it a scare tactic? Is it necessary—or will it just do more harm than good?

The county Health and Human Services Agency urged parents to vaccinate after officials recently reported five new cases at schools where other students may have been exposed.

The issue hit the media again weeks ago when the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law prohibits lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over the serious side effects suffered from childhood vaccines.

Kristine: There's so much controversy surrounding the issue of vaccines and everyone has their own opinion so I'm more than happy to throw mine into the mix. First and foremost, I wish the Center for Disease Control was more transparent about what exactly makes up a vaccine. They seem awfully sheepish when asked about their chemical composition. Where I come from, if you have to skirt an issue, there's probably a reason so this raises suspicions. Secondly, I question why there are so many vaccines. In the 1950's there were only four. There are far more than that now. I do believe in vaccinating my kids but I wonder why there are so many and worry that not enough research has been done on the implications of doing so many at such a young age. I've taken it upon myself to stretch out the time between my kids' vaccinations to give their bodies more time to grow and give them a chance to fight off any undesirable ingredients in the vaccines. This is what makes sense to me. So much has been said about the downside to vaccinations, not all of which I agree with, so some of it is probably hype. But again, when the CDC avoids firmly answering questions, this does make me wonder what there is to hide.

Suzanne: As a grandmother and retired schoolteacher I am terrified about this vaccination hysteria. The small percentage of infants and children exhibiting tears, soreness, and yes, occasionally, the actual disease they were supposed to receiving protection from . . . is far outweighed by the high percentage of parental terror and child hospitalization back “in the day” from actual diseases such as polio, diphteria and smallpox. Born in the 40s, I was forbidden to attend any public gathering such as a circus for fear of contracting polio; the faces of pock-marked elders were scary to see; and the heavy leg braces of classmates suffering from polio’s crippling effects made one want to look the other way. One unvaccinated child in a school puts the entire school and its children and families at risk for whatever bug or disease comes in with a visiting relative from a region or country which may not have universal access to childhood vaccinations. Days and weeks of instruction are lost; parent work schedules are fouled up and death or debilitation can occur, and on a large scale. Please vaccinate all our children, for the safety of all of us.

Mark: There are certain things you don’t talk about at parties: politics, religion, sex, and global warming. Whether or not a parent should vaccinate his/her child, is a lot like the topic of Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” at a party. Studies show one thing, and other studies show another. And yet, the evidence points one way and...well, it then points another. Little Johnny got all his shots. Little Susie has never had a shot and she’s as healthy as ever! 

As parents we care about this issue because we ultimately had to or will have to make a choice. Should we or shouldn’t we? My wife and I agreed we should, and our kids are well versed in shots and lollipops as a result. And our kids are healthy. Did the vaccinations really make a positive difference? I think so. I hope so. But, honestly, I don’t know. We asked our pediatrician about the risks and the connection between vaccinations for children and the onset of Autism and related diagnoses. And we listened when she told us there is no concrete proof of a correlation and that the risk of not vaccinating is real and proven. But then, so did other parents who are just as fully vested in their children’s welfare and their results were more like the melting ice caps in the arctic. And the cause just as confusing as it is overwhelming.

Every parent makes a decision for their child to vaccinate or not. And every parent does it with equal parts love and concern for their child. As long as we are making informed and educated decisions, I’m not sure there can be a wrong one. Pray, talk, research, discuss, ask, and question until you’re certain. That’s what my wife and I did, and God willing, our kids will live long enough to find out whether global warming really does exist.