2003-11-07 - 12:21 p.m. - Cycle day:

I'm very glad it's Friday, because I've had about enough of this week. The combination of higher than usual work stress plus a fussier than usual baby made this a particular tough one. On top of that, I've been trying to find time to do research on vaccination issues before her two-month check-up next week. What a massive parenting dilemma that is - vaccinate and risk the adverse effects of vaccine reactions (from a 24-hour fever to lifelong autoimmune and neurological disorders), or don't vaccinate and run the risks of contracting a serious illness. Of the shots she's up for right now, the only one I feel is really of much potential benefit is the pertussis vaccine, because I know that children in my area have gotten whooping cough. But there's no monovalent pertussis vaccine, and it's the pertussis component of the DPT shot that's most likely to cause a reaction. Gah!

Frankly, I don't feel M's at risk of getting any of the illnesses she'd be vaccinated against. And I'm not convinced that vaccinating her this young would keep her safe from those illnesses, anyway. From what I can determine, the chance of a serious adverse reaction is significantly higher than the risk of these diseases (the FDA released data showing over 14,000 reported reactions to vaccines, and they estimate that their data only reflect 10% of cases, whereas WHO's data on reported diptheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio cases shows a combined total under 9,000). And most of these diseases would be difficult to deal with, but are very rarely life-threatening. But there's no cure for autism or ADHD or auto-immune disorders like irritable bowel disease (which I have). So from that view, vaccinating seems like a pretty pointless exercise.

But then there's the school issue. Our state now requires chicken pox and hepatitis B vaccinations for children entering kindergarten. What the crap? The state health department website actually referred to chicken pox as a "flesh-eating virus." Get a grip, people. It's not a party or anything, but it's just freakin' chicken pox. They don't even know yet how long the vaccine protects you for - I'd rather she get it naturally and know that she's almost guaranteed against getting it as an adult, when it could be much more serious. I'm a fan of disease eradication, but I'm really not sure this is the best way to go about it.

So ... yeah. I'm conflicted. The Husband hasn't done as much research, and he tends to lean toward the "if everyone does it, it must be okay" school of medicine, so I'm feeling even more pressure to make the best decision. I don't want my baby to be sick. I just don't know the best way to prevent that.

previous - next