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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Topic of the day: Vaccinations
Hopefully I spelled that right 
A girl I work with has a baby just a few months old and said she is not doing any vaccinations. She says that babies don't need most of them because the diseases haven't been around for so long. (I'm not familiar with all of them that a baby needs so can't go into much detail on this)
How do you feel about this? Do you think all of them are necessary? Have you researched them or do mainly what your doctor says you should do?
Re: Topic of the day: Vaccinations
Two words: herd immunity
If people continue to believe that everyone else will just go ahead and vaccinate their kids so they shouldn't have to do it to their kids, herd immunity will disappear.
People need to realize that they shouldn't just be worrying about THEIR child, but also all the other children and adults with compromised immune systems that they are putting in grave danger by their uneducated decisions.
I'm not saying I'm against a delayed or relaxed schedule, but there is simply no reason to be this idiotic about vaccinations.
1. I would not let my child near hers. She is an idiot, diseases haven't been around because we vaccinate. Duh!
2. I am pro vaccinations for children and adults. We get them on schedule as you are supposed to per our doctors office.
On a different note:
My SIL's brother/gfriend (both cops) do not vaccinate their child. L does not go near him during joint family gtg's. And I don't see how any cop for that matter wouldn't vacc. their kids after all they are exposed to on a daily basis. Idiots!
As for the flu shot I never got it till I was pg then of course now we get it b/c of L. I basically threatened my inlaws that if they didn't get it they wouldn't be allowed to see L during the flu season. The nurse and doc. that we see both completely agreed and said if they had an issue they could talk to them. Besides the fact that they are over 60 and should be getting it anyways. They are now both vaccinated.
**sneaking into thread**
I am going to say my peace on the matter, but I can see how strongly opinionated some people are here, so I will try and keep it short and sweet.
I will not vaccinate, or if I do it will be the bare minimum and delayed.
I was vaccinated as a child, and I have sick all the time, I have 101 million health problems it seems. My lil sister was not, and she is healthy as a horse. My nephews are not, and they are just fine(6 months and 2 years). After reading all that I have on the matter, its beyond me why I would go inject some of the ingredients of the vaccines into my little bitty baby(when we have one). I am against the flu shot, and I will definitely not be doing any of the newer ones.
I will say that I don't judge parents who do, but I will not.
**sneaking back out of thread**
Good thing you don't work where I do. It is a condition of your employment that you either get the flu shot, or wear a mask during flu season. Everywhere. Even sitting at your desk.
Please, please do some research before you get set too firmly on this. I assure you, your being vaccinated and the other family members who haven't have absolutely NO correlation to the vaccinations you were given. Malarkey.
So you're not actually doing real research on the subject, you're just choosing to do this because you're assuming that the chances are the reason you're so sick, and your other family members arent, is solely because of the vax issue.
We vaccinate.
Can you imagine if you didn't vaccinate and your child came into contact with one of the many diseases that the vaccinations protect against? I couldn't imagine.
FYI- my h is allergic to the dTap vaccination (the tetnus/pertusis shot, it has sulfites in it and makes him blow up like a balloon). He is still all for vaccinating our kids. Better safe than sorry. We actually asked the dr when I got the shot earlier this year why they don't come out with just the pertusis shot (whooping cough) since he can't have this particular shot. They didn't know and were looking into it. I forgot to ask at this last appt.
Let me help you here. Because you will love your little bitty baby an insane amount, and the thought of watching him/her suffer, be permanently injured, or die from something those "ingredients" can prevent will make you sick to your stomach. Your protective instinct will trump your familial experiences and your internet research.
I hope.
If you need further convincing, try looking up the typical outcomes for bacterial meningitis (what my son nearly died from). Or polio. Or any of the other horrific things vaccines prevent. These diseases are making a comeback because of the people who refuse to vaccinate. It's mind-boggling why anyone would willingly place their children at risk.
Robyn also had a long, hard battle with one of her children contracting a preventable disease from a non-vaccinated child...because Robyn's child was TOO YOUNG to get the vaccination at the time.
(I think this is correct)
That right there is the perfect example of how unfair it is to others to NOT vaccinate.
I'm not down with the mercury in vaccines; I believe that breastfeeding can protect against a whole, whole lot; and I don't believe in shooting kids up with a 6-7 vaccines at one time (especially before they're a year old), but we still vaccinate. It's all about weighing the risks and benefits.
Jeana's right; the people who don't vaccinate are solely relying on herd immunity, which gets my panties in a bunch: "I don't have to 'poison' my kid because everyone else is 'poisoning' theirs." And, as someone else said, these diseases are not totally eradicated in some parts of the world and can, and are, being brought here.
Here are a few tidbits courtesy of www.pkids.org:
- Somewhere in the world, every 13 seconds, a child under the age of 5 dies of a vaccine-preventable disease.
- There are between 60,000 and 150,000 children and teens chronically infected with hepatitis C in the U.S.
- An estimated 1.25 million Americans are chronically infected with hepatitis B, 20 to 30 percent of whom were infected during childhood.
Parents of kids living with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) would do anything, or give anything, to turn back the clock and get their kids vaccinated.
Many of the children PKIDs works with are chronically infected with HBV. Because of this, we have first-hand knowledge of what it's like to live with this vaccine-preventable disease. The misery a parent feels when they find out it's preventable is indescribable.
HBV is not an obvious disease. You don't break out in spots or keel over the breakfast table when infected. It's generally detected when routine blood work shows something is a bit off.
Anyone can be infected and not know it, and inadvertently infect others. If a woman is HBV+ and she gives birth, she will likely infect her baby. That baby then has a 90 percent chance of becoming chronically infected. Ninety percent! The woman may be newly infected herself and the disease may not yet be detectable through routine blood work, so no one would know they need to take extra measures to protect the newborn from infection.
......
Some parents don't understand how their small children?kids under five ?can be at risk for this disease. We had a parent whose child is HBV+ share a story which might explain how easily a young child could be at risk. Her daughter, along with millions of other kids, attends a preschool. Her daughter was bitten by another child who wanted the toy the HBV+ girl was holding.
The biter's saliva can enter the HBV+ child's bloodstream, bringing with it possible infection of some sort. The blood of the HBV+ child who was bitten can enter the biter's mouth, sending the virus through the gums or broken skin in the biter's mouth, and possibly infecting the biter.
One of the many reasons kids with diseases like HIV/AIDS, HBV, or HCV (hepatitis C) aren't banned from public school is because we can't know who is and is not infected. Testing doesn't work because Little Janey might not be infected when the test is taken, but could acquire an infection a day or a year later. To be safe, you'd have to test all the kids every day!
We vaccinate on our ped's schedule. With everything DH and I are exposed to in our jobs, we don't want DS getting anything! The only thing he did not get was the flu shot and that was because he was getting over a cold (no fever for 3 days, so other shots were fine) and was having surgery the next week. Ped said to come in anytime after his surgery and she'd do it then. We'll take him after this round of antibiotics for ear infection is done.
When kids get into public school, they HAVE to have certain vaccinations. The only exception is if it's a religious or cultural "thing" that they don't get it. If they don't have it, they will be excluded until they get it. I've had 2-3 kids every year excluded for vaccine deficiencies - usually because they didn't "know" they needed a checkup or were due for vaccines.
Picture courtesy of Heidi Keene Photography
Ohhhhh lordy......
I am going to simply say ditto to Jeana and Julie x1000. It makes me more than angry to hear people give the herd immunity excuse. People simply think of themselves and their children/child and not everyone else who could potentially be harmed by their decisions.
We live in a global community....people come and go from country to country...these illnesses need to CONTINUE to be vaccinated against. Now, it isn't even the international revolving door that is keeping these illnesses alive in the US, it's the fact that we travel, that we come in contact with illnesses abroad and bring it back, that we chose to not vaccinate, thus lessening the immunities built up toward eradicating these awful illnesses.
Now, on the above comment. I am not trying to be a total b!tch here but, I would personally trade any and all of the ailments I have had in my life (and I have had plenty...and don't associate them to my vaccinations) to not ever see one of my children deal with one of these totally preventable illnesses. The benefits are just SO significant on so many of the available vaccinations in comparison to the downsides.
I choose to tell our family members who are against vaccinations (because we have those people in our family) that they can bypass seeing my children. I refuse to go through round two of a kid with whooping cough or something potentially worse like Julie's situation, no effing way.
We have done all of the vaccines that our doctor recommends on schedule. She didn't do flu shots with us this year but has previously. She's a very thoughtful woman and is not one who is quick to prescribe an antibiotic, take the just-in-case route if it's not super serious, etc. She's proactive when she needs to be and also trusts the body and its abilities other times. She doesn't do a lot of tests just to cover her butt. She's a smart woman who cares for her patients as people and not just her 11:15. I think she's one of a kind which is why my family goes to her.
We did do some research before our first child was born. We googled pictures of kids with the preventable diseases and the thought of my baby having that because of me was too much. We vaccinated.
Google a soundbite of a child with whooping cough.
I did this one and I still get freaking goosebumps when I think about it. And if someone is seriously OKAY contributing to allowing this to happen to innocent kids who can't be vaccinated...well, that would just leave me speechless.
We vaccinate. There was never a question on whether or not we would. We have delayed some, so that our kids don't have to get a bunch in one day, but we would never skip any.
DH has a cousin that we see around 2-3x a year, and they do not vaccinate their 3 children. They also do tons of traveling outside of the country (often with kids) for mission work, so they are exposed to quite a bit. I don't understand, and it completely baffles me that people would choose to put their children's lives in jeopardy.
I totally understand people who want to be natural and have a little medical interventions as possible. I had a kid with no drugs. I did my research. I get that. I totally get that. Vaccines are something I don't get. I understand there are some questionable ingredients in vaccines but there are some truly extraordinary ingredients that will prevent my children from pain. I'll do anything to keep my kid happy, healthy, and carefree.
Happily Married Since 11.29.02
Brayden Kenneth born 3.27.06
Blaire Kay born 7.10.10
I let them I inject my darlings with mercury poisons. The benefits out weigh the risks. Don't be upset when your b aby has pertussis or crippling polio, or measles. Sounds like a great gamble.
If you don't vaccinate, I'm going to think you are ridiculous.
Work at a children's hospital or peds ward.. anyone who doesn't vax will change their mind real quick. It's heartbreaking. ESPECIALLY having a child DIE from a totally preventable illness.
We did not reasearch. It was a no brainer. These diseases are not gone. They still exist in other countries.
I just don't understand where people get it in their minds that this is a good idea. I personally think it's a form of child abuse.
Pediatric vaccines have been available preservative free (thimerisol is a mercury derivative) since 2000 so the mercury debate is a non-issue.
What makes me sad is that most people who choose to not vaccinate are quoting post-vaccine era disease statistics. This occurred just last week on a link that was posted on a natural parenting board. I don't trust that most of those parents understand herd immunity either.
For anyone that is lurking and too intimidated to post here is pre vs post vaccine disease rates (http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4037.pdf) including morbidity which is not death but please feel free to Google the complicatons of the disesases listed...its terrifying...but no one understands because we don't see them often enough due to vaccines.
I am not in any way opposed to delayed/alternate vaccination schedules, schedules were developed to capture the greatest number of patients at the most convenient opportunities and therefore can be altered safely if parents are responsible.
onthelanai - I see you are going through a bunch of fertility treatments in your signature there... Why do you trust modern medicine in regards to your fertility treatment but not dr's stance regarding getting children vaccinated?
Couldn't it be argued you are pumping your body full of medications, hormones, etc in order to achieve pregnancy? Why wouldn't you protect this child you are trying to so hard to conceive?
This is the "research" I take seriously -- people who have actually seen it.
I can see people being naiive and thinking, "oh measles, is a thing of the past." While incredibly ignorant, I can see that going through peoples heads. But shitt, pertussis?? Anyone watch the news at all last year..?
I cannot even watch the commericial. It is on par with the ASPCA commericals for causing emotional trauma in my day.
That said, we vaccinate.
Exactly, Rugby!!! I cannot watch any of the above commercials...That being said, I would have welcomed those opposed to vaccinations to my house in the fall of 2009 when that pertussis commercial was our reality....for THREE MONTHS.
Smiles - I love that you have the balls to ask hard-hitting questions like this. Have you considered working for MSNBC?