The Vaccine Controversy
To date, our children are getting more vaccines than previous generations. While vaccines have helped keep away many illnesses including measles and diphtheria, are we over vaccinating our children? Our babies are only a few hours old when they get their first vaccination. Then, at almost every check-up they have up until age 2, they get vaccinated. Some people feel that there are too many problems associated with vaccines.
There is always a chance of allergic reaction to any vaccine although the incidences of that happening are rare. Some vaccines contain thimerasol in them. Thimerasol is a component of mercury. High amounts of mercury in the body have been linked to many health concerns. This has prompted doctors to recommend pregnant women limit their intake of high mercury containing foods like canned tuna.
There is plenty of research being done about the relationship between mercury preservatives in vaccines and children getting autism. Whether you agree or not with vaccines potentially being harmful, you have to admit, there are more and more kids with autism than ever before. There hasn’t been enough research on autism and possible causes. However, many people feel that environmental factors are to blame, including mercury contamination.
You can opt to not have your child get certain vaccines however, if you plan on putting your child in public or private schools, they will need to be up to date. Schools will not allow children to attend unless they are current on all of their vaccines. So if you are concerned about vaccines, there really isn’t much you can do in the long run. There are some vaccines that don’t contain mercury. But, you have to check with your doctor to see which one his or her office is using. Many parents make sure their kids get flu shots every year. The flu shot is one of the vaccines that contain mercury. So if you’re concerned about this vaccine, you can always decline it.
It’s up to you whether or not you want your child vaccinated. Certainly there are risks, but on the other hand they have prevented many communicable diseases that used to be very common. There are many people in the United States that have come from other countries where they do not vaccinate against the same illnesses as we do. So there are a few cases of people having illnesses like the measles. When my son was ready to be vaccinated my doctor told me there were a few cases of those types of illnesses in my town. I decided to not take any chances of him getting them so I opted to vaccinate. The best thing you can do is research both sides of the issue and voice your concerns to your pediatrician.
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