Ditto Beach Patrol, here. In addition, I simply have lost faith that the FDA is actually looking out for our best interests, given how riddled with lobbyists they are, and how the studies that conveniently prove all this stuff is safe are funded by the corporations standing to make the most money. The harder they push everybody to get all these wonderful shots, the more you have to look at who's making the profit off it.

I got the HPV vaccine when I was in college. I've slept around (one at a time, but still, you know) and made less than brilliant decisions. My outlook on this specific vaccine is "why not, it takes 5 minutes and could help prevent cancer maybe."

I choose to leave most other things untreated, though - I rarely take medicine of any kind of anything other than UTIs or motion sickness.

As a reminder, posts with facts about vaccination in general are fine. Posts which contain personal attacks or show disrespect toward other opinions, even if you strongly disagree with those opinions, violate 3FC's "Agree to Disagree" policy.

^This^

Also there is not a doubt in my mind that my son's autism is not from his vaccine's. Not to mention I have another child, that followed the full vaccination schedule in the same manor and is neurotypical. I've known parents who's child had some subtle sign of autism, but the parents over looked the earlier signs, then around the time that it becomes more evident, they start looking for something to blame, when in reality the signs were there all along. But its human nature to want a reason, to want to say "yes it was this that caused it". Honestly, the easiest way to debunk the vaccine thing is find a family that with held vaccines for their children and still had a child develope autism...

Please refer to signature for typos and spelling errors...

Although this would never happen, I think in cases like yours, should you become ill and it is resonable for a healthcare provider to conclude that your lack of "buying into" what is accepted evidence based medicine lead to that, then you should not be able to utilize the health care system for it, at all. I know that sounds harsh, but I don't think a person should be able to disreguard what is being taught, then come looking for help when it blows up in their face. But like I said, that will never happen and we will always be here to help patients that wouldn't listen to why we teach what we do, and now are sick because of it. I also think health insurance companies should not have to pay for health care for people that are sick because they knowingly ignored preventative medicine as well. Ah but that's a topic for a whole seperate thread.

smoking does not "cause" lung cancer - it increases the risk of getting it otherwise 100% of smokers would get lung cancer.

vaccination does not "prevent" anything - it "may" decrease the odds of catching it and it "may" reduce the severity if you do catch it. those aren't my words, that is the official wording.

"may"

as in, "maybe" "possibly" "theoretically"

that doesn't sound like "prevention" to me.

Perhaps ... Vaccinations are much like dieting? Clearly, the majority benefit from eat less/move more. But there are outliers, for whom a calorie is not a calorie, because of their genetic underpinnings, underlying conditions, or something else. I recently read a paper where the author suggested that BEFORE vaccinations are given, it would be worthwhile for someone with a history of autoimmune sensitivities, family history of bad reactions, or such, to consider a reduced schedule, partial schedule, or testing prior. I have no disagreement that a mass majority have no harm from vaccinations; my issue comes from those who have complicating conditions being FORCED into them.

I've never heard of someone being forced to immunize if they are allergic or have a compromised immune system. From my understanding, those are the people that depend on herd immunity and for whom it is intended.

I feel blessed for having the choice (as I feel CHOICE is still a human right), as someone else has said, we are privileged enough to say that we don't want a vaccine whereas in other places, desperate mothers will wait hours when the traveling clinic takes years to attend their village.

What a first world problem we have.

I can understand why some people wouldn't want to have the HPV vaccination; it's really kind of pointless because it doesn't totally prevent you from getting HPV, and if you've already had sex, especially with someone that has had sex with other people besides you, then it's pretty much rendered useless.

However, other vaccines, yeah definitely. I think if your child has potential to have a bad reaction to the vaccine, then of course you would use caution, but I'd personally rather have a needle jabbed in my arm then get, say, tuberculosis or some other really serious, life-threatening disease. As for the link between vaccines and Autism, I've always heard that a lot of children are born with it and don't start showing signs until they're 2-3 years old, which is when they'd be in the process of getting vaccines, anyway. I don't see why something couldn't cause a child to develop Autism after birth, but I don't think vaccines cause Autism. I have three young relatives that are Autistic, and all three of them were born with it; just the signs didn't show up until later. I think because a lot of people want a reason for their or their child's disorder, they're willing to put blame on anything and everything that could make something go wrong with their child, but the reality is there's no way to know.

It's kinda like HPV, though. I didn't know I had it until I went to the doctor and they called and told me my abnormal pap showed signs of HPV and brought me in for a colposcopy. Yeah, my first reaction was to place blame on anything and everything that I've ever come into contact with -- but you can't really do that cause there's no real way to know.

I think the important thing to do is keep healthy and make responsible decisions and do whatever you think is right for you and your family, but if someone comes up with something that's unexplainable, instead of spending time trying to figure out what caused it, spend your time making life livable for you and your family by having healthy behaviors and lifestyles. Some things are unpreventable and we can't really do anything about them, so we just have to deal and make the best of whatever life throws at us.

And that's it for my two cents, and I hope no one gets offended or anything by what I said -- no offense was meant.

If I had daughters they would be immunized

Exercise "may" prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. No guarantees. Should we all just say "screw it" to exercise?

i agree with you sumire!