Somehow I missed that part of the post by @TranquilMind. Talk about twisting @romanigypsyeyes words!
Romanigypsyeyes has stated numerous times that she can’t take vaccines because of her auto immune disease. She is the last person who needs to be lectured about legitimate reasons for declining vaccines.
What’s really cold is letting other people die because you prefer to believe in false theories about vaccines. This is what happens when you degrade herd immunity–you increase the risk of death to people who can’t get vaccinated for legitimate reasons, and to those for whom the vaccination was ineffective. To do this is not only cold, it is (as I’ve said many times before) profoundly unpatriotic.
I will admit that I did not have mine vaccinated against HPV (yet). When the vaccine first came out, there were indeed some concerns and I had a pretty good feeling that my 12-year-old wasn’t going to be sexually active for while (and I was right) and then came the studies that said another dose would be needed. D20 will be vaccinated this year as a 16-year-old because she’s getting to an age where there is definitely a potential risk - a risk that is now higher than a possible side effect.
It is one thing to be skeptical of a new vaccine that may require some additional studies before we truly see the side effects (Gardisil) and one that has been around for almost half a century that has been extensively studied (MMR) and proven beyond a doubt that it is safe.
I think that is the only vaccine she is missing. The schedules change so much from year to year. I guess we’ll find out for sure at her next yearly check-up.
The HPV vaccine recommendation may have had added controversy because it came with an implicit assumption that many teenagers are more sexually active than they tell their parents, or that their parents want to admit. The hepatitis B vaccine recommendation may also face some resistance for similar reasons.
The think about the HPV vaccine is that it’s only effective before kids start having sex so it’s recommended for when kids are younger. Unlike offering kids birth control it’s possible to say “This is just something to get out of the way while we’re here so you don’t have to worry about it when you’re an adult and ready to have sex.”
“The think about the HPV vaccine is that it’s only effective before kids start having sex”
This is an inaccurate statement. The vaccine is effective even if you’ve had sex but you haven’t been exposed to the virus yet. Not everyone who has had sex has been exposed to HPV. And even if you got the vaccine, it doesn’t mean you won’t get HPV. It only protects against about 70% of cancers. But one might also consider the purpose of giving a vaccine to a 12-year-old that may have severe side effects if that child isn’t having sex and will need a second dose if the vaccine is administered before the age of 15. Why not just wait until the child is older if they aren’t sexually active?
Gardasil doesn’t have severe side effects though.
Sure, your 12 year old might not be sexually active but A- you don’t want to wait until AFTER they are and B- you have no idea when that will be.
I was sexually assaulted as a pre-teen. Luckily, I didn’t get HPV from it but it reminded me that you can be exposed in non-consensual ways. My children will get the hpv vaccine as soon as their doctor allows.
Anyone could be contagious at any time and never know it. There are millions of adults who have not had all of the vaccines currently on the ever-changing schedule. Any of them can be anywhere, anytime, carrying something they picked up, but perhaps are immune to themselves. There are thousands at any given time who have had live vaccines and should not be around anyone, particularly anyone who is immune-compromised.
How are you going to control this? Should they wear armbands? Should the government forcibly vaccinate/revaccinate every single person of every age (even if they are completely healthy), damn the torpedoes? Because that looks like what some are advocating.
Romani:" I’m sorry (but not really), I just literally do not have the mental or physical energy to fight anti-vaxxers. I’ll let UCB and others cite cases of anti vax kids dying.
I’ve learned that I can cite facts, studies, and point to dead bodies and anti vaxxers will continue to deny. I’ve already said on here I don’t have the energy and I really meant it. "
Well, your assumption would be dead wrong. I’m not an “anti-vaxxer”, whatever that is.
I’m merely a person who believes in the freedom of bodily integrity and that people should make wise choices about medical treatments, given the risks and benefits in conjunction with their doctors, and I believe that most do.
I trust parents to do so to the best of their ability and with medical input.
You do you.
I think we all know what an “anti-vaxxer” is.
“Nrdsb4: Many families make the decision to not vaccinate in direct conflict with their doctors. Let’s not pretend that everyone who refuses to vaccinate is in some kind of happy partnership with their physicians. Allergies or other contraindications are one thing. There is a whole movement of anti-vaxxers who are not using any kind of logic other than bunk science claims, and that is quite another thing altogether.”
This “whole movement” is statistically negligible. 95+ % of all children have been vaccinated, according to the CDC. Many of those unvaccinated would likely be in home school situations, I would imagine. So if you are talking about in school, it is nearly all.
Out in the world though, these kids are going to run into people of every age and of varying levels of current vaccine compliance, particularly because the number of required vaccines has grown exponentially. I had about 3 in childhood, if I recall correctly. Today, if a kid is given every single one recommended (including flu shots), the number of doses is 69, last I looked. I think most people are getting most of them but perhaps not all. But all older generations didn’t get nearly what is advised today.
So unless you keep your kids in a bubble and they never interact with grandparents or other older relatives or anyone whose status is unknown to you, you simply aren’t going to be able to completely control your environment. And there are risks. Some have been pulled off the market over the years. Rotarix and Rotashield come to mind; there may be others.
So do what you think is wise for you in conjunction with your doctor and trust others to do the same in their own families.
Easier than keeping all kids in a bubble is keeping all anti-vaxxers on an island. Only being slightly sarcastic…
Yes, we could all be contagious at any time and not know it. Yes, THIS is the reason for vaccines!
@tranquilMind- I agree that people SHOULD" make wise choices about medical treatments, given the risks and benefits in conjunction with their doctors," but I DO NOT believe that all do so. I am all for letting each family make medical choices for their family members, as long as those choices don’t affect other people who have no control over those choices. The anti-vaxxers (and I’m pretty sure everyone here does know what that is) have made choices that affect everyone they come into contact with. Our entire family is current on all recommended vaccinations. However, our youngest son has been on immunosuppressant drugs since he was 11, and is much more likely to become ill as a result of being exposed to a preventable illness because someone chose to not vaccinate. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to us that our son might be exposed to a preventable illness because another person has irresponsibly chosen to ignore all currently accepted recommendations for vaccinations.
“Romani: Gardasil doesn’t have severe side effects though.”
Check out the VAERS reports on Gardasil.
Nrdsb4:
Well, I can only presume, from the anti part, that this is a person who vociferously advocates against taking vaccinations. I think those are people are rare.
Far more common, from what I have seen, is the selective parent who do many, even most, but not all. Many, many - even some on here - have declined Gardasil, for example. Does that make them “anti-vaxxers”? I don’t think so.
I find the parallels between this topic and abortion to be very interesting.
I’ve had to be put on preventative antibiotics twice in the last year after being exposed to whooping cough. Whooping cough can kill someone like me.
Your decision whether to vaccinate or not doesn’t only affect you and/or your child. It affects people you’ll never meet and don’t care about.
@takeitallin I’m sorry your son has to be on immunosuppressors. It’s hard to be the one on them, but I think it hurts my mom more to watch her baby (me) go through all of this. I may be 26 and married, but I know I’ll always be my mom’s baby and she worries constantly. Moreso now that we’ve had measles outbreaks around me and numerous outbreaks around her since we both live in high anti-vax areas.
I don’t trust others to properly vaccinate their children. That’s why I want vaccinations to be required for school attendance, camps, etc.
I do trust others to do what they think is best for themselves and others. Until proven otherwise, of course, which is why we have criminal laws.
Agreed, Hunt.
Michigan finally strengthened its vaccination policies for public schools a few years ago and non-vaxx rates plunged. Now they want to roll back to those policies 
Here’s one mother’s story about losing her 3 month old daughter due to our abysmal vaccination rates, and what she’s done to help other parents get accessible information: http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/10/16/vaccine-childhood-immunization/768146001/
I cannot imagine the heartbreak of losing a child. I especially can’t imagine losing a child to something completely preventable.
There are about 4 million 12 year olds in the US. 60%, or 2.4 million, get the HPV vaccine. VAERS reports about 1,700 reports over a recent 12-month period. Most of them appear to be known minor effects listed in CDC information sheets about the HPV vaccine. A few reports say “no adverse reaction” (but why report in that case?).