<p>My family doesn't believe in vaccinations, and I probably had only one or two in my entire life.</p>
<p>I grew up in a foreign country and will be coming to the States for college this fall. Is it possible to skip all these vaccinations? I think they're required by the state and the school, and I have less than a year to get all these shots.</p>
<p>Which vaccinations have you already gotten and which vaccinations do you still need to receive?</p>
<p>It depends on the vaccinations…</p>
<p>But most likely you’re going to need to get your shots.</p>
<p>Skipping vaccinations would be a horribly irresponsible thing to do, especially when going to a different country. Viruses and such vary significantly around the world. Either you could be carrying something that could infect someone here, or you could get infected by something here that you do not have an immunity to. Generally speaking, vaccinations are going to be a requirement.</p>
<p>The beautiful thing about things like vaccinations is that they don’t require belief. They just require understanding of how and why they work.</p>
<p>Pick some of the colleges you’re planning on applying to and look at what vaccines they require. I doubt there’s much variability between them and you could always just catch up on vaccinations (although depending on what country you’re in you may have already gotten some of the diseases themselves anyway). For example, I went to Brown and here is what they require
[New</a> Students to Brown Health Services](<a href=“Health Services | Brown University”>Health Services | Brown University) All of those vaccinations could easily be done within a year (in fact that’s how they are usually done when you’re an infant: <a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf</a>) and given that you could finish Hep B at Brown, you would need only 2 doctor’s visits prior to attending Brown to do everything else.</p>
<p>Like I said before, make sure to see how much variability there is among schools since Brown is citing Rhode Island state requirements and different US states might have different requirements.</p>
<p>Even assuming you could get an exemption (for acceptable reasons), which would be better for you: skip the vaccinations and get what is potentially a life threatening disease with life long debilitating side effects, or research the present vaccines (and potential side effects) through CREDIBLE sources and understand the science behind vaccines?</p>
<p>Belief v. Science. You make the reasoned choice. </p>
<p>I suggest, perhaps, as a starting point going to Coursera.com, find the course on Vaccines taught out of U. Penns Medical School, watch the lectures and use critical reasoning to reach your decision.</p>
<p>My kids just received - on an emergency basis - the meningitis B vaccine which was approved to combat the outbreak at Princeton. </p>
<p>The diseases - which are prevented by modern vaccines - may be rare (or not) and are life altering - and preventable.</p>
<p>Are you a US citizen or are you relying on a student visa? If you’re relying on a visa, I know that you’re required to get a plethora of vaccinations. I do not know whether or not you are allowed to opt-out for religious reasons.</p>
<p>Also read up on “herd immunity” and have a good grasp on why someone’s refusal to get vaccinated because of some “belief” - religious or otherwise - can put so many innocent people at risk. There are a lot of folks who can’t get vaccinated because of medical reasons, and every unvaccinated person weakens that herd immunity that helps protect those who cannot be vaccinated.</p>
<p>Just my .02, but I think that someone’s “belief” should end where it endangers someone else.</p>
<p>Agree^ please get your vaccinations… this doesn’t only affect you but everyone else around you.</p>
<p>Aren’t there vaccines you need just to enter the United States itself?</p>
<p>^ Nope. </p>
<p>[Health</a> Information for Travelers to United States - Traveler view | Travelers’ Health | CDC](<a href=“http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/united-states]Health”>United States - Traveler view | Travelers' Health | CDC)</p>
<p>I found my baby book, and it looks like I took the important ones after all. I’m just missing a couple of booster shots since my parents changed their minds about vaccination.</p>
<p>We’ve decided that I should take the remaining shots, just to be safe, since I’ll be living so far away. </p>
<p>Thank you for the advice.</p>