MOMS TALK: Should You Vaccinate Your Kids?

If you have middle- or high-school-aged children and you don’t live under a rock, you know that this year, you are required to show proof of a whooping cough vaccine booster shot.

Another vaccine added to an already lengthy list. It seems like the list of required vaccines keeps getting longer, probably because it is. When I was a kid, we got maybe 10-12 shots, which protected against seven different diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps and rubella.

Now, the vaccine schedule contains anywhere from 29 to 36 shots before age 6 and protects against seven more diseases: HIB (haemophilus influenza type B), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, caricella (chicken pox), pneumococcal disease, influenza and rotavirus.

The great thing is that the medical community is coming up with new vaccines all the time and improving the ones we have. But when does it become too much of a good thing? We are constantly bombarding the vulnerable bodies of infants with live or killed viruses or parts of bacteria in combination with small amounts of toxic chemicals such as aluminum and formaldehyde.

The traditional vaccine schedule calls for administering up to five shots at a time, with some of the shots containing three different vaccines. That seems overwhelming for a tiny body that is still developing an immune system.

But is there any real danger? In his excellent book, The Vaccine Book, Dr. Robert Sears gives a non-biased, medically based review of all of the chemicals present in vaccines today. Here are some of the issues that he addresses.

There has been a lot of controversy over the safety of mercury (in the form of thimerosal) in vaccines of the past, but this dangerous toxin is no longer used in vaccines, with the exception of some flu vaccines. The only potentially dangerous chemical used in any significant amount is aluminum.

Injectable aluminum can be toxic if it accumulates in the brain. The body does a good job of flushing it out as long as it is not overwhelmed. There don’t seem to be any scientific studies examining the ability of healthy infants to process aluminum, so this could be a potential problem.

All vaccines are not created equal. The ingredients vary from one manufacturer to another, so it is important to be educated about what vaccine is being used on your child.

All diseases are not created equal, either. Some diseases, such as polio or meningitis (caused by the HIB bacterium), can have extremely severe consequences, including death. Other diseases, such as chicken pox, are less serious, and the vaccine is used to lessen the frequency in the population.

Vaccines are not 100 percent effective.

There are still some very serious side effects that can result from vaccination. The incidence of these is extremely rare, but the danger still exists.

So, what do you do? In California, as in most states, we are actually given a choice. The “requirement” to get vaccinated can be overruled by a religious or personal objection.

I believe that the best way to decide is to arm yourself with knowledge. But there is a lot of misinformation out there. It seems like people either want to convince you that all vaccines are good and the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control have the best interests of your child as their top priority.

On the other hand, there are those who believe without a doubt that vaccines cause autism, ADHD, allergies, asthma and everything else, and should be entirely avoided.

To me, both of these are equally unbelievable.