Immunization Roulette

The feature article of this week's Time magazine is titled "How Safe Are Vaccines?" Of course it caught my eye because over the past two years I've asked myself that same question numerous times. If you have a few minutes it's well worth the time to read. It discusses the growing trend of parents opting out of childhood vaccines obviously because of the implied link to autism trends and because of the amount of mercury vaccines have had in the past. Of course, some parents have religious reasons for not vaccinating, but most who choose not to vaccinate do so because they feel they are acting in the best interest of their child. Believe me, when your child is screaming "NO DAT BLANKIE AINT WIGHT" for 20 minutes the thought of autism and immunizations goes scratching through your head. Newsweek printed an article this month about autism. It followed one boy who began banging his head at two-years-old, was flooded with prescriptions, developed a tick and is often suicidal. It scared the bejesus out me. The article touches on the link to vaccines. I would never ever want to subject my child to such an awful disease. When I have to hold my children down and watch nurses shoot their legs with cow pus, made in some lab somewhere by someone, all unbeknownst to me, I think about it. I understand why some parents choose not to inoculate. I would be very hesitant to ever suggest that a parent should not make decisions for their child based on their own values and ideas. I think parents have the right to raise their children the best they know how with as little interference as possible. We don't know what causes autism. And that's why I've chosen to vaccinate my kids, on time, every time. We do know how to prevent polio, measles, smallpox, and meningitis. Those are tangible and scary diseases. Preventable disease. I'm not willing to take the "herd mentality" and trust that other parents will vaccinate their kids so mine won't get these sick. I think of the broader picture, like airplanes, refugees, border crossings, the health care crisis, and realize that I must have my kids vaccinated. My grandmother still tells me often about her experiences with measles and how terrible it was. Polio is only two generations removed and raises it's vicious head from time to time. As the Time article mentions, perhaps I'm doing it out of an obligation to society, but really I'm protecting my children in the best way I know how. I realize perhaps it's a gamble, but one that must be played. 20080604_vaccines.pdf Note: Colorado is among the highest states with unimmunized children. Any guesses as to why?