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| |  Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
Any of you who know me know I am not a big fan of Fox News or any news that gives me only one side of a story or argument. I also vaccinate my kids and believe most are designed to keep my own children healthy as well as those in my community. That being said, I am recommending you watch a video on Fox News about the risk of vaccinating your child against H1N1 and other vaccines in general. This Dr. has the same general viewpoint as I do and I found it refreshing.
Should you vaccinate against H1N1?
I am the mom of a recovering cancer patient and an Asperger’s child, so believe me I do not take this subject lightly. I do think though that the hysteria over H1N1 has taken over common sense and that we are too quick to inject without knowing the possible side effects and end results. When I was a child we got vaccines AND we got the Chicken Pox. We were vaccinated against things that could most likely kill us or cause permanent damage. When the flu vaccine started out it was directed at the elderly and the immunocompromised patients that most likely could not fight off the flu if they were to contract it. Somewhere along the way we started seeing it as a mandatory safeguard to winter illnesses. Then the “Swine Flu” hit and people in this country and around the world lost their ever lovin’ minds! The hysteria was and is fueled by a media frenzy and no one seems to want to stand up and say, wait! What are the facts TRULY?!
I am not saying I have the facts, but I have hunches and beliefs. I do not believe the rise in Autism or my son’s personal journey were started by vaccinations. I believe we have better diagnosis and a NAME for the disorder. I can name off the top of my head half a dozen kids I knew that would today be diagnosed with some form of Autism had they just had the tools and knowledge then. Do I think their may be a small amount of kids who have had horrendous reactions to these inoculations? Absolutely. That is why my PERSONAL choice is to vaccinate against those illnesses that I believe my kids are at risk for and skip those that I find wasteful or plain dangerous. Whooping cough, polio, diphtheria, for instance … imperative. H1N1 or the seasonal flu? Yes, when my daughter was immunocompromised and under treatment for her leukemia. God willing, those days are behind us and this will have been the last year we need to be concerned about that. My daughter actually contracted the H1N1 virus and now I do not need to make the decision about that vaccine, though I will admit, I probably wouldn’t have given it to her. For those who wish to know, she had the flu for 3 days and we watched her diligently as we would any of our kids. She is fine now and yes I am thankful for that.
Remember the days when we all got sick during the school year? We would stay home on the couch (some of the time unattended as our parents went about their business), watching TV game shows and taking our temperatures with mercury filled thermometers?! Nothing ginger ale, crackers, soup and a good game of Password couldn’t fix. What a deprived world our kids live in today.
Please understand these are my opinions and I know it is a hot point for many of us. I am not telling you what YOU should do, rather what my choices have been and to point out that you have choices.
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| | No. 1 | 
Nov 23, 2009, 04:37 PM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
I agree with you about the H1N1 vaccine....it's crazy, I feel that about every vaccine though. I personally feel just the opposite about vaccines. I believe injecting toxins in your body is dangerous....it just doesn't make sense to inject things that cause cancer, JMO. I skip out on certain ones for my kids. I do think this has been blown way out of proportion! It's amazing what the media can do. :/
| | No. 2 |
Dec 06, 2009, 12:48 AM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
I agree with you as well about the H1N1 vaccine- I think there's been a lot of phony hype that has induced mass paranoia. But look who'll be benefitting: the same massive pharmaceutical companies that sponsor the news organizations spreading the fear.
I don't have kids, so I just make vaccination decisions for myself- and I personally base my decisions on the principle that if my body is capable of fighting it off without serious risk of personal harm, I'll support my immune system the best I can with a healthy diet and let my leukocytes do their job and leave the vaccinations for those who don't have a fully-functioning immune response. I never have received a flu vaccine, and don't plan to any time soon. Sometimes I get sick with the flu, sometimes not. It sucks getting sick, but at least I know my own personal defence system is being strengthened through the process.
As for diseases like Hep B that I can't fight off on my own, I have no problem getting immunized. My employer said they'd provide the Hep B vaccine, but I have yet to get it from them, or receive notice as to where I can go to be sure they'll reimburse me. But my employer is super sketchy, so go figure.
| | No. 3 |
Dec 06, 2009, 05:36 AM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I? Originally Posted by sbelz79  I'll support my immune system the best I can with a healthy diet and let my leukocytes do their job and leave the vaccinations for those who don't have a fully-functioning immune response. I never have received a flu vaccine, and don't plan to any time soon. Sometimes I get sick with the flu, sometimes not. It sucks getting sick, but at least I know my own personal defence system is being strengthened through the process..
I'm was the same way for years. I never got sick often due to a healthy lifestyle. Then in my 40s I got the flu two years in a row for the first time in my life. I was able to fight it off without being too miserable and only missed a couple of days of work.
What convinced me personally to get vaccinated was despite the fact that I'm extremely healthy, not everyone else is. So while I'm sick and contageous with the virus, I'm not sure whom with unhealthy immune systems I'm going to make sick. So I now give my immune system a boost with the vaccinations. It's a personal decision I know.
| | No. 4 |
Dec 06, 2009, 07:07 AM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I? Originally Posted by Tweety What convinced me personally to get vaccinated was despite the fact that I'm extremely healthy, not everyone else is. So while I'm sick and contageous with the virus, I'm not sure whom with unhealthy immune systems I'm going to make sick. So I now give my immune system a boost with the vaccinations. It's a personal decision I know.
That's definitely not a bad reason to get vaccinated- like you said, it's a personal decision. I considered doing so for the same reason- I work in an assisted living facility as a medication aide. However I decided that I can do just as well by using good hand-washing practices and not coming to work when I feel ill. Besides, the coworkers of mine who did sign up for flu vaccinations have yet to recieve them at all.
Unfortunately, my work doesn't make it easy for sick employees to stay home- their paid sick day policy is a joke and it's often difficult to get anyone to cover your shift. Other jobs I've had where I've worked with medically fragile clients allowed full-time employees to accrue sick days that could be use starting the first day of an illness without a doctor's note (why should I go to the doctor when I just have the flu? especially when I don't have any insurance), and had managers that would cover shifts. There isn't a single person working in a management position willing to work the floor- including our RN, so finding coverage can be tough. And they don't let you start using sick days until the third day of a an illness, and even then you need a doctor's note (being a student working on my pre-requisites, I haven't worked full-time for a long enough stretch at any job in the last few years to qualify for insurance, so seeing a doctor would cost more than one day's pay for me). For caregivers and med-aides making near minimum wage, these conditions provide an enormous economic incentive for sick employees to come in and work, which endangers our residents, many of whom are in their 80's and 90's. I better just stop now though- I could go on and on about how badly senior care companies screw over their residents and employees in order to squeeze as much profit out of their facilities as possible.
| | No. 5 |
Dec 06, 2009, 11:04 AM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
It can be a frustrating experience. I work in a hospital and we'd be in trouble if we didn't follow CDC guidelines. If we have flu like symptoms we have stay out for seven days....minimum, whether you have sick time built up or not. I also agree, that if I have flu like symptoms that's not a reason to go to the doctor, but if we are out more than three days we have to have a doctors note. Another reason for me to get the shot, because getting the flu would be expensive.
| | No. 7 |
Dec 06, 2009, 03:50 PM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
i really lost sleep over getting this vaccine or not when i was pregnant because i worked up until i was 33 weeks...i was terrified of contracting the H1N1 while pregnant... but i went out on bedrest and i ended up not getting the vaccine during pregnancy.
i did however receive the vaccine postpartum, upon recommendation of my son's pediatrician after a lengthy discussion... since i am breastfeeding, the hopes are that some of the antibodies will be passed to him. there was 25 mcg of thimerosal in the shot and the pediatrician said such a minute amount if any would be passed through the breast milk that the benefit would outweigh the risk.
i may, however, continue to wear a mask when i return to work (that's the rule--no flu shot, mask until march) because i don't want any chance of contracting the flu with a newborn at home... every time i've been vaccinated, i've gotten the seasonal flu anyways.
| | No. 9 |
Dec 27, 2009, 06:55 PM
Re: Watching Fox AND not vaccinating?! Who am I?
As a student I am required to either (a) get the H1N1 vaccination or (b) wear a mask. I have been told by three different MDs in clinicals that they didn't get the H1N1 vaccination and did not recommend it but I don't really have a choice.
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