The debate on whether or not to vaccinate children has become quite heated over the past several years. There are some who are on the side of vaccination, and others who are just as heatedly on the side of no vaccinations what so ever.
Deciding whether to vaccinate your child or not is quite overwhelming and is something you should discuss thoroughly with your doctor. There are pros and cons on both sides of the coin and it can be overwhelming to decipher all the information. Take your time in researching both sides and ask plenty of questions of your trusted physician. They can help you make the wise decision on what to do and see both sides. However, you do need to talk with a doctor who is willing to accept your decision either way.
Here are some of the different reasons given for both sides of the vaccination debate.
Vaccinations Can Save Children’s Lives
The vaccinations were created with the hopes of preventing devastating illnesses that were taking children early on in life. They were created with that thought process in mind and that is why they have been tweaked to have a 90% to 99% effectiveness rate in preventing those devastating diseases. That rate is equal to over 280 lives saved every hour of the day.
Protects the “Herd”
Basically, this means that when a population has been vaccinated, it helps to reduce the chances that a deadly or dangerous outbreak of a disease will take place. For example, the measles can be quite dangerous and is something that you do not want an outbreak of. If the children are vaccinated against it, it reduces the chances of that breaking out in the community.
Helps Eradicate Disease
Smallpox was completely eradicated due to the vaccinations that were given and now is no longer needed to be vaccinated against. There are other diseases that vaccinations have been able to nearly eradicate and will help to protect future generations from dealing with those diseases.
Vaccination Downsides
While there seems to be a lot of information on the good of vaccines, there is also a lot on the negative effects these can have. Here are a few of those to consider:
- Many people are under the mindset that the government should not have a say in your personal medical wellbeing. They feel it is an overstep of the government and should be prevented by you making your own personal choice.
- It is also a concern that many of these vaccinations have very harmful ingredients in them. Trace elements of a type of mercury are found in some vaccinations, for example, the flu vaccine, and are dangerous to inject. Parents believe that the harmful ingredients are not worth the risk of their child becoming infected. This type of ingredient that is included has been linked to autism. Formaldehyde is also another component of these vaccines that parents and others are not okay with.
- Adverse and serious reactions can occur. While it is not typical, vaccines can cause life-threatening or changing allergic reactions.
Ultimately, it is your decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate your child. Make sure to do your research, ask questions, and find a physician you are comfortable with discussing your choice.
