My article today for Homeschool Benefits is about the supposed correlation between Mississippi’s strict mandatory vaccination policy and the rise in homeschooling in that state. It seems that some officials in that state want to make vaccinations mandatory for all children not just those attending public schools.
Well, this brings up an issue I have addressed before. I support vaccinations. My dad was a polio survivor and that greatly influences my thoughts on this issue. I know that many people have objections vaccinations due to the use of aborted fetal tissue in their development. The possible link between autism and vaccinations concern others. I am not sure that there really is enough information to cite a link between autism and properly administered vaccinations. There is a well-documented case where the government has conceded that vaccinations may have contributed to autism. In that case, the child was given an excessive number of vaccinations in one day (around 20) to catch up on missed vaccinations. Well, who had the bright idea of giving that many in one day? I have seen no studies that account for the change in the standards for autism from a very narrow definition to a broad spectrum. To me it seems that the standards may have more to do with the increase in autism.
With all of that said I do not support requiring all children even those not attending public school to be required to take vaccinations with few exemptions. Parents should have the right to make that choice. Requiring parents to read material about the risks of opting out of vaccinations or take some sort of training before getting an exemption might be a better solution. So what do you think?
The Dee Zone 
The issue that is coming up now though is that if home schooled children aren’t required to be vaccinated, then more parents are opting to home school…thus effecting “herd immunity”.
I am a strong supporter of vaccines. Just because we don’t see the diseases on a regular basis doesn’t mean that they aren’t around (polio can still be found in Africa and other countries that do not regularly vaccinate children).
I am also a strong supporter of parents having the right to choose…with that said though, with the number of people choosing not to vaccinate their kids it is making it dangerous even for those who are vaccinated.
Vaccines don’t work on all people and there is no way to know for sure who they will protect. There are some people who do get vaccinated but still end up with measles and so on. My kids have been vaccinated, but I can’t be sure that they are going to be 100% protected. It is especially important to me bc my BIL and his wife go to Africa and South America often for their research…
IF there were enough people that were still vaccinated, I wouldn’t have an issue with some people not vaccinated their kids…but as it stands the “herd immunity” (when most of the people being protected end up protecting those that aren’t…for those of you who may not know what that means) is waning since more and more people are choosing not to vaccinate their kids…I have to wonder if this is needed.
You never know if the person you are standing next to was on a plane with someone from Africa or other country that doesn’t routinely vaccinate and then end up with your kids in their pediatrician’s office. There was a case of measles not long ago where someone brought back measles from overseas, they didn’t get infected but they infected a child. The parents took the child the ped’s office and there ended up infecting other children that were and were not vaccinated…some of which were small babies too young to get the vaccine…and a few of them died.
To be honest, I am scared to take my kids to the dr for that very reason!
But again…on the flip side I am resistant to making parents’ medical decisions for them. Where does parental rights end and public safety begin?
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I think the issue is in whether the government should “force” vaccinations on us, or give us the ample evidence for vaccinating our children. I think a lot more parents would choose vaccinations if the government was more open about their testing and side effect information. Instead of just “you have to do this”. Coercion never gets people enthusiastic.
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Sandy,
I am pro-vaccination. I by want minimal governmental intrusion in my life.
Delbouss: I agree. Actually, I have a hard time understanding why someone would resist vaccinations based on the risk of not being vaccinated.
Be sure to go take the poll on my other blog.
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Excellent topic, Dee! 🙂
I am torn on this. On the one hand, I think parents should have control over their children’s health decisions. On the other hand, there is a legitimate societal interest in ensuring that deadly and highly communicable diseases don’t start running rampant in the population again.
Elf got all his vaccinations, but had a very bad reaction to the pertussis vaccine, so he only got that one once. Even though he is now grown, I still worry that he may be exposed to that highly contagious disease. And if he is, chances are he will be exposed by someone whose parents chose not to vaccinate. Their parents may have the right to place their child at risk, but they certainly don’t have the right to kill mine.
So I guess upon reflection, I do believe all children should be vaccinated. Yes, there is a risk. There is always a risk when you inject a foreign substance into the body. However, the benefits, both individually and to society as a whole, clearly outweigh the risk. While homeschooled children are not in public school, they are still out in public whenever they leave their home, and therefore still pose a risk to the general population if they are not vaccinated. Vaccines only work if we are all vaccinated to the extent possible. Otherwise, it is opening up the floodgates for the return of deadly diseases such as measles and polio.
I am, nevertheless, very opposed to making the new vaccine for cervical cancer mandatory. It is impossible to contract the human papilloma virus without sexual contact with a carrier, and many women (if not most) carry the virus with no ill effects, so the vast majority of women would be vaccinated unnecessarily.
That particular vaccine, which doesn’t protect against anything threatening society as a whole, was still new on the market when suddenly there was a rush to make it mandatory. That makes me very nervous, because the truth is that no one knows all the risks and side effects of any new drug, until a drug has been on the market for quite some time.
I don’t think pharmaceutical companies should use their influence to force our teenage girls into being human guinea pigs, just so they can get rich.
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ENM: Checkout my column on HSB & my other blog for more on the topic.
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We choose to delay vaccinations and spread them out over a longer period of time so they don’t get more than a shot or two at once. I understand the thinking of parents who don’t vax and the ones who do. But I don’t think states should make it mandatory. It should be up to the parent to choose what is right for their own family.
*and as per your comment on laundry detergent over at Shannons, try Seventh Generation. (you can find it at health food stores and Walgreens for sure) And you can also use vinegar as a rinse. Even washing our cloth diapers in this doesn’t leave my little guy with rashes like everything else does.
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Hi Dee,
I would tend to agree with elfninosmom about the HPV vaccine. It’s a personally preventable disease. I don’t like flu vaccines. They only partially effective, plus they change every year. Its really just a best guess as to if they chose the flu strain that will be a problem that year. I had a flu shot 3 years ago in my shoulder. It still hurts and I got the flu that year anyway. I can understand the communicable diseases such as polio, pox, etc that vaccines have a long proven effect in preventing outbreaks, especially in dense populations such as cities. But this flu and HPV should be up to parents after informed consent either way.
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Donielle: Spread them out longer sounds like a good idea.
I’ve been considering using 7th generation.
AKhomeschoolfun: I haven’t decided about the HPV. Personally, I stopped getting flu shots. I found that I got very sick from the shots.
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http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB229QSY6EFUE
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