I'm Coming Out too...Will You?
I read this article, blog, whatever you want to call it the other day and when I was finished I practically stood up and shouted, "Finally!" To summarize, JJ Watt gives her opinion on being pro-vaccine for her children. She backs it up with facts on how immunizations are really only effective with herd immunity, and that the theory that shots, specifically the MMR, cause autism has been disproven time and time again.
JJ Watt uses this article to "come out" as pro-vaccine, and encourages the rest of us to do the same. The anti-vaccinators are the ones you hear all the time. Now it's our turn to take a stand. So that is what I am doing today. I vaccinate my kids, and I'm proud of it.
I try to stay out of the mommy wars as much as possible. It doesn't affect my life if you co-sleep, formula feed, or clothe diaper. Your choices on how you raise your child, doesn't affect my child in any way. Except when it comes to vaccines. Because you choosing not to immunize your child, puts mine at risk.
Whooping cough is on the rise, as a direct link to people choosing not to vaccinate. And while most cases of whooping cough are treatable, people can and do die from it. Young babies the most at risk. In my mind, that is not okay. It is 2013 in AMERICA. It is not okay for diseases that are preventable to be making a come back.
And why? Sadly, a lot of people {though not all I know} started to shy away from vaccines after Jenny McCarthy came out saying she is anti-vaccine because that is how her son became autistic. First off, they have since disproven that theory over and over again. Second, people are actually basing medical decisions on Jenny McCarthy?!? JENNY MCCARTHY?!?! From MTV?!?! I just can't wrap my mind around that.
Let's get back to the autism debate for a second. Yes, the theory that shots cause autism have been disproven and discredited. But when Emmy was a baby, they had not been yet. I still chose to vaccinate my daughter. Do you want to know why? Because at the end of the day I would chose a child with autism over a child that dies from a preventable disease. End of story.
I know people who don't want to vaccinate because they think three and four shots at a time is too much for infants. I agree with that! My doctor does not give the girls more than two shots at a time. Instead of going to the doctor every other month when they were babies. We went every month. So at a year they were both on schedule with everyone else. As long as kids are vaccinated on a schedule worked out by you and your doctor, there is no problem with it.
I know that there are a lot of other reason why people choose not vaccinate your children. But when you're done with your research, think about my girls.
The ones I'm trying so hard to protect. There are SO MANY things that can happen to my children, that I have no control over. But preventing measles? Preventing whooping cough? That I can do...but only with your help. In order to make sure polio, that the US hasn't had a case of since the 1970's doesn't come back, we ALL need to vaccinate.
I'm coming out as pro-vaccine. Will you?
JJ Watt uses this article to "come out" as pro-vaccine, and encourages the rest of us to do the same. The anti-vaccinators are the ones you hear all the time. Now it's our turn to take a stand. So that is what I am doing today. I vaccinate my kids, and I'm proud of it.
I try to stay out of the mommy wars as much as possible. It doesn't affect my life if you co-sleep, formula feed, or clothe diaper. Your choices on how you raise your child, doesn't affect my child in any way. Except when it comes to vaccines. Because you choosing not to immunize your child, puts mine at risk.
Whooping cough is on the rise, as a direct link to people choosing not to vaccinate. And while most cases of whooping cough are treatable, people can and do die from it. Young babies the most at risk. In my mind, that is not okay. It is 2013 in AMERICA. It is not okay for diseases that are preventable to be making a come back.
And why? Sadly, a lot of people {though not all I know} started to shy away from vaccines after Jenny McCarthy came out saying she is anti-vaccine because that is how her son became autistic. First off, they have since disproven that theory over and over again. Second, people are actually basing medical decisions on Jenny McCarthy?!? JENNY MCCARTHY?!?! From MTV?!?! I just can't wrap my mind around that.
Let's get back to the autism debate for a second. Yes, the theory that shots cause autism have been disproven and discredited. But when Emmy was a baby, they had not been yet. I still chose to vaccinate my daughter. Do you want to know why? Because at the end of the day I would chose a child with autism over a child that dies from a preventable disease. End of story.
I know people who don't want to vaccinate because they think three and four shots at a time is too much for infants. I agree with that! My doctor does not give the girls more than two shots at a time. Instead of going to the doctor every other month when they were babies. We went every month. So at a year they were both on schedule with everyone else. As long as kids are vaccinated on a schedule worked out by you and your doctor, there is no problem with it.
I know that there are a lot of other reason why people choose not vaccinate your children. But when you're done with your research, think about my girls.
The ones I'm trying so hard to protect. There are SO MANY things that can happen to my children, that I have no control over. But preventing measles? Preventing whooping cough? That I can do...but only with your help. In order to make sure polio, that the US hasn't had a case of since the 1970's doesn't come back, we ALL need to vaccinate.
I'm coming out as pro-vaccine. Will you?
Excellent!!! I vaccinated my children back in the eighties and would not hesitate to do it now. Agree completely - why risk a fatal disease when you don't have to. And who IS this Jenny person? One would hope that mothers would get their information from educated professionals!
ReplyDeleteOh I love this. I am enough of an asshole to say that if you don't vaccinate your kids, you are complete moron, end of story. All you're really doing is leaving your own child susceptible to easily avoidable but deadly diseases and encouraging vaccine resistant strains to be born. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this, I'm also pro-vaccine!
ReplyDeleteMorning! I just wanted to let you know I'm a big fan of your blog! I also just nominated you for a blog award, it's called the Liebster Award. Here's the shout out on my blog: http://morningcoffeeconfessions.blogspot.ca/2013/09/i-was-nominated-twice-for-liebster-award.html
You don't have to participate if you don't want to, I just wanted to use the opportunity to feature some fellow bloggers and made some new bloggy friends!
Jen
I wouldn't say I'm "pro-vaccine", I'm more "pro lesser of two evils". lol I don't like everything that is in a vaccine or how they are made (thanks to my friend who just graduated med school I now know what is in them and how they are made....ick). That being said, I don't like the diseases they prevent even more. So, we do vaccinate our girls, with the exception of two...the chicken pox and flu vaccines. Miah was hospitalized after getting the flu vaccine as a baby and she got the shingles in May due to the chicken pox vaccine (both instances were confirmed by her doctor).
ReplyDeleteI'm pro-vaccinate too....although I'm pretty crunchy granola about most aspects of parenting (organic food as much as possible, chemical free cleaning, etc) I believe vaccinating NOW will allow me to put less medicinal chemicals in E's body later as we won't be left having to fight off a disease that could have been preventable.
ReplyDeleteI don't judge parents that don't vaccinate at all....I just think vaccinating is what works best for us.
Great post!
I've been encouraged by that article too. I found myself nodding my head..."Yeah, WHY don't pro-vacc speak up more?"
ReplyDeleteI totally agree it's 2013, whooping cough should NOT be prevalent! And do NOT get me started on the Jenny McCarthy aspect...she's such an idiot. I always tell our pediatrician we are NOT on the Jenny McCarthy train.
I'm about to have another baby...and you can bet that if the TDap or DTap hasn't been given, you will not be around my new baby. I don't care WHO you are. Why am I going to risk my child's health so you don't feel uncomfortable? (my MIL isn't in agreement)
Love your post!
fantastic. you know i love this. and this comes from a parent who delays vaccines too. no more than 2 shots per visit and we abide by the state mandated vaccines for schooling.
ReplyDeleteI saw this article this weekend, and I agree, in general. I think vaccinations are great, but I ended up putting Noah on an alternate schedule around 9 months because he would get lethargic or spike a fever after the clusters. Since then, he's only reacted to the chicken pox vaccine...by contracting the chicken pox. Now at 2, he's up to date with all of his shots.
ReplyDeleteWhen baby #2 comes this winter, we'll be starting him out on the delayed schedule right away.
I was a horrifying thought after we took the girls to Disneyland and Addie got sick, she was way behind because of the illnesses in my house that had been going on for months. It wasn't until she was sick that I thought about all the ass hats not vaxing because it's the cool thing to do...kids like mine NEED the herd. Thankfully she was fine and w were able to catch her up but still. Vaccinate your damn kids people!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. Even though we don't have kids yet Ryan and I know we will vaccinate. We also plan on spacing them a bit like you mentioned. My mom vaccinated me and I had an allergic reaction to one of the shots. It sucked but I survived. They told my mom i'd be fatally allergic to eggs, I'm not, but she continued to vaccinate me regardless. So yes. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteAnother pro-vaccine family here! We have friends, one of which is a pediatric neurologist and when she told us what she has seen from kids who have not been vaccinated (brain damage, death, etc) from diseases that should have been 100% eradicated, that pretty much sealed the deal for us.
ReplyDeleteOh, and my dad had polio when he was a kid. He still suffers with issues from it (weakness in his spine, muscular atrophy, etc). The vaccine had just come out when he got sick and he missed ONE in the series and caught it. He spent 2 months in the hospital and he watched some kids pass away and others spend months in an iron lung.
After knowing what my dad went through, I just can't imagine NOT vaccinating. It just blows me away!!!
I got vaccinated when I was a kid and if and when I have a child I'll be getting them the vaccines too!
ReplyDelete