Monday, January 10, 2011

A Shot of Crazy

Linda and I are looking into vaccines for Violet. We’ve spent some time on most nights trying to educate ourselves on the dangers and the benefits of each shot – and it is baffling at times. You know how statistics can be used to prove any point? It works that way with scientific studies (even rigged ones) and vaccines. But this isn’t a post about what we’ve learned or what we’re going to do with Violet’s vaccines. This is a post about how whenever there’s a really important issue – like vaccination safety vs. public health – it seems like the crazies get the spotlight. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but I find it disturbing that most info on vaccines consists of people screaming, “WAAAUUUGHH!!!!! Vaccines are the antichrist!!!” or, “WAAAUUUGHH!!!! Parents who don’t vaccinate their kids are hippie antichrists!!!” I’m paraphrasing….a little. It takes some work to find voices of reason – voices that respect you enough to give you the facts – the real risks and the real benefits - and let you make your own decision. Too often in this world, “crazy” is so easy to find and “sane” is so well-hidden – I hope Linda and I can give Violet the tools to find the latter, and the strength to let us know when we’re drifting towards the former.
  
51 days old

2 comments:

  1. Many vaccinations are mandated in order for children to enter school. I've been blessed with 2 healthy girls who were lucky enough to receive all vaccinations without much incident.

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  2. Yep, it's true - New York State has a pretty long list of mandated vaccines, required even to register for day care, and no personal belief exemption is allowed, as it is in many other states. NYS does allow for religious exemptions.

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