The Big Vaccine Debate – To vaccinate or not?

I was hesitant at first to write a post regarding vaccines because there’s already so much controversy out there.  However, I feel that in sharing my thoughts and information it may open other peoples minds to do their own research regarding vaccines so they can make an educated, informed decision regarding their child(rens) health.  As a parent, especially a new parent, it’s such a HUGE decision!!  For me it was one of my first big decisions regarding my son’s health.  Knowing that my decisions will affect his health and well being for the rest of his (and my) life is a MAJOR decision!  Which brings me to my first point – whatever your decision may be, you must be at peace with it and the possible repercussions it may bring.  There’s no guarantee in life and life’s a gamble but it’s the educated choices that we make in life that make all the difference in the future.

Dr. Sears has written a well organized cover-all book regarding vaccines on the current recommended CDC vaccine schedule, called “The Vaccine Book : Making the Right Decision for Your Child.”    He offers a “fair, scientific and straightforward discussion of the shots you are giving your child,” weighing the pros and cons of vaccination(s) in order to make an educated decision regarding your child’s health.  The book covers all the diseases the vaccines protect again from common to severe, how the vaccines are made and the ingredients, possible side effects, which vaccines to avoid getting at the same time, and at what age is safest and most important to get each vaccine.  What I love about the book is that Dr. Sears never pushes in one direction or the other, he simply goes into specific details about each vaccines’ details to educate people so they can make their own personal, educated decisions.  He has two suggested alternative vaccine schedules that parents can choose to follow if they dislike the CDC’s regular vaccine schedule.  The selective schedule contains the most crucial vaccines for the specific ages when most needed and skipping or delaying the less critical ones til their older.  The alternative schedule contains all the vaccines listed on the CDC’s schedule but are spread out so that there’s only one aluminum vaccine given at a time.  This is to minimize the exposure so their system can process the aluminum without reaching toxic levels.

In The Vaccine Book, Dr. Sears sums it up best regarding aluminum in vaccines, “There is good evidence that large amounts of aluminum are harmful to humans.  There is no solid evidence that the amount of aluminum in vaccines is harmful to infants and children.  No one has actually studied vaccine amounts of aluminum in healthy human infants to make sure it is safe.” (p. 204)  He has an entire chapter which discusses the ingredients in vaccines.  He’s got some great points and the statistics he mentions are very eye opening and downright scary!  For instance, a healthy baby who is 12 pounds at two months old can safely get at least 30 micrograms of aluminum in one day.  The Hepatitis B shot contains 250 micrograms of aluminum!  That’s a lot of aluminum for a 12 pound infant with a new immune system!

One of the ways I try and help combat the effects of vaccines within my sons body is with vitamin C.  “Vitamin C has been documented to augment the antibody response of the immune system.”  (http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v08n07.shtml)  On the day of his shots I drink lots of OJ and take a vitamin C supplement the morning of a doctors appointment and make sure that I nurse D before we go to his appointment to ensure he has a good amount of vitamin C in his system before his shot(s).  (We do the alternate schedule.)  Then I nurse him again right after his shots so he receives more vitamin C and comfort as well after receiving his shot(s).  I was told to do this when he was about three months old by another Mom and have done it ever since.  However, I just found this article cited above which states you should boost their vitamin C intake more than a week before their shots (as well as afterwards), so I will be doing this from now on!  When there’s lots of vitamin C in their system at the time vaccines are administered, the vitamin C helps prevent kidney damage that otherwise occurs with mercury.  Vitamin C has been found to be highly effective in neutralizing the toxic nature of mercury in all its forms.  Hopefully one day this will be recommended by all doctors before a shot is administered to help combat any kind of side effects.

Here is the link to a quick summary of the various available brands of vaccines.  To learn more about each vaccine, which brand is lowest in Aluminum, why or why not to get each vaccine etc. pick up The Vaccine Book.  It’s a must have for every parent!

I don’t consider myself to know everything about vaccines and their effects because I read this book and truthfully I haven’t done much research beyond this book due to the mass amounts of mis-interpreted information out there on the Internet.  However, I feel like I’ve learned enough to make a proper, informed decision regarding vaccines for my son and feel comfortable with the choices I’ve made thus far in the matter.  Every parent has their own reasons for choosing what they did regarding vaccines and should never have to explain themselves to anyone anyways.  I respect their choices and opinions and also love learning from others about what they’ve learned, experienced and know.  Giving or not giving vaccines to your child(ren) is a personal/family choice and each person is allowed to do so because of the amazing country we live in.  At the end of the day the only thing that matters most is healthy, happy children that are ready to take on the world and create world peace at the same time.  😉

Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences regarding vaccines below, I would love to hear them!