I haven’t posted much on the childhood vaccination issue, ever, because of the controversy surrounding it.
But oh what the hell. Life’s too short not to take sides, especially as an asthma parent and especially when it comes to the swine flu vaccine in the middle of a pandemic.
I’ll let the following links represent my pro-vaccine stance since I don’t write this blog for a living, even though I’d like to, and therefore lack the time to put together the sort of well-researched, highly documented article this subject deserves.
Briefly, I debated closing the comments on this one but ended up keeping them open – free speech and all that.
However. If you are new to this site, be forewarned:
I watch comments closely, and I’m overly fond of my laptop’s delete key. Whatever you think about childhood vaccinations in general and the H1N1 vaccine in particular, be civil.
And also: comments that criticize parents for vaccinating their children will be deleted. In case there’s any gray area about the subject of Asthma Mom, my readers and I are dealing with respiratory problems you may never have encountered or even considered.
Finally: this site will not contribute to the spread of misinformation. Questionable, non science-based links will be deleted.
Carrying on:
Wired’s Amy Wallace on parenting, perceived risk, and the anti-vaccination movement.
Excerpt:
Today, because the looming risk of childhood death is out of sight, it is also largely out of mind, leading a growing number of Americans to worry about what is in fact a much lesser risk: the ill effects of vaccines. If your newborn gets pertussis, for example, there is a 1 percent chance that the baby will die of pulmonary hypertension or other complications. The risk of dying from the pertussis vaccine, by contrast, is practically nonexistent — in fact, no study has linked DTaP (the three-in-one immunization that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) to death in children. Nobody in the pro-vaccine camp asserts that vaccines are risk-free, but the risks are minute in comparison to the alternative. (An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All, Amy Wallace for Wired.com, link above)
Scientific American reports on vaccine research and herd immunity in ponies.
Excerpt:
The researchers also found that even if pandemic vaccines are not a perfect match for circulating virus strains, vaccinating a large portion of the population can create enough immunity to slow the spread and even prevent a larger outbreak. (Sick-clop: Ponies with the flu show how virus out-mutates vaccines, Katherine Harmon for ScientificAmerican.com, link above)
Joseph Albietz, MD, a pediatrician here in Denver, debunks H1N1 vaccine misinformation.
Excerpt:
This season has already been an unpleasant one in my pediatric ICU. During what is traditionally the slowest part of the year, we are running at near our capacity of 26 beds. The fraction of our patients who are in the ICU with 2009 H1N1 has steadily increased since the school year began, from roughly 5-10% of our census being flu positive over the summer (which is odd in itself), to now between 30-50%. The need for prolonged mechanical ventilation is common in these patients, we have needed to place three children on a heart-lung bypass machine (ECMO), and tragically we have had deaths. (9 Reasons to Completely Ignore Joseph Mercola, Joseph Albietz for ScienceBasedMedicine.org, link above)
Finally, here’s an example of vaccination rates and herd immunity from real life:
Brooklyn Mumps outbreak linked to lower vaccination rates in Britain.
—
Note: Some sources found through Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy.
Hi Amy. I know you’ve gotten negative and positive comments on your pro-vaccination stance. I have largely stayed out of it. But I strongly support vaccination and wanted to preempt ignorance in the comments – as well as I can anyway.
First – an FDA link about Thimerisal. It’s not a reason not to vaccinate. The research linking this mercury compound to ill effects was disproved and even many of it’s most famous and vehement supporters have changed their stance and try to distance themselves from it.
Second – A large amount of people who are anti-vaccination are being scared into their stance by groups who use fear and partial information and rely on people NOT DOING THEIR RESEARCH — see tactics often employed by Fox News.
Good post Amy. Sorry to be on a soap box.
Thank you again Amy for being a voice of reason in a sea of misinformation! This is a subject near and dear to me. Monday was World Pneumonia Day http://worldpneumoniaday.org/ — a reminder of the grief of parents around the world who lack of access to vaccines such as HiB, Measles, Pertussis, etc. for their children.
Good timing, Amy. I won the flu vaccine lottery and scored an H1N1 shot vaccine appointment for my son, tomorrow. Am I worried about a new vaccine? A bit. But I am more terrified about complications from the virus, and not being a doctor or researcher I have to put my faith in those who are. Thanks for the reassurance that others have had the same conversations with themselves, with the same conclusion.
I can tell that anything I might say against vaccination wouldn’t go over well, given the stance that you take. It is certainly your right as a parent to do so. If I might just ask for you to have an open mind and at least consider all of the research that has been done to show correlations between ongoing and perpetual illnesses in kids and adults due to vaccines. Immunity and vaccination are two entirely different things…natural immunty is what God gave us and I fear that with each flu vaccine you get every year, the asthma will grow worse. It’s a tough call when you are trying to do what is best, but you owe it to your families to look at every aspect of the jab, not just the one that the pharmaceutical companies are paying the pediatricians to shell out. I’m sure you will erase this, but my heart is breaking for the masses…
GeorgeandWheezie–No need to apologize. I appreciate your support.
Allison–Fantastic point about World Pneumonia Day & unavailability of vaccines in some regions around the world–thank you! I wonder what parents in those places would think about the anti-vaccination stance?
Lesley–So happy for you and your son, and I’m glad the links helped.
Lisa–I have a more open mind than most and have read more about vaccines, from all sides, than anyone I know personally. You’re making an awful lot of assumptions here.
For example, it’s interesting that you equate my pro-vaccination stance with ignorance. Just because I don’t link to any antivax sites here doesn’t mean I haven’t read them. It means I don’t want to send them any more Internet traffic than they already get–which would therefore help spread misinformation and which I already discussed above.
Also, the links in my post are from three separate journalists and one doctor, so I’m not sure how you decided that the only “aspect of the jab” I’ve researched is “just the one that the pharmaceutical companies are paying the pediatricians to shell out.” In fact, you can read all about Amy Wallace’s journalism background here if you like:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/who-is-this-amy-wallace-anyway/
The unsupported claims that vaccines cause or worsen asthma are just too absurd to address.
Dr. Mercola makes me crazy.
I think you already know my stance: I’m pro-vax because I want my kids to be healthy, and I believe that it’s because there are so many parents who are pro-vax that those who are against it can avoid the shots. So far, the herd immunity is mostly holding, but as more and more parents decide not to vaccinate, there will be more breakouts of preventable diseases.
I read on a flu forum recently that an anti-vax mom wasn’t worried about the flu because her little one had already been in the hospital with pneumonia from whooping cough. “Hospital means medicine,” she said. But had she jabbed a minute amount of medicine in his arm in the first place, he wouldn’t have needed the megadoses of drugs he probably got in the hospital. That’s truly alarming.
I don’t judge any particular person on their choice, I just think the movement in general is based on pseudoscience.
Amy, I am sorry if my implication came across as though you personally hadn’t looked at all angles of the vaccine issue. I was moreso making a general statement for those who blindly accept it as a right of passage for children without ever questioning the safety and efficacy, both of which should be of great concern to all parents. It becomes a blurred line sometimes when you feel so strongly about something, and it seems as though we are on polar sides of this issue, having both done extensive research and ending up with differing conclusions. It’s as though once we make up our minds that something makes sense to us, it just makes us want to defend it even more. That’s the way we humans are.
I am finsished posting because I don’t want to be controversial…or do I?? That’s why I need to be done! Just a note, you are doing a great job of supporting parents who are struggling with all the day in and day out issues regarding asthma. I initially came across the site because I did a search of H1N1 and cough. Keep being a tough mom!
The main concern my wife and I have regarding vaccines is the mercury used as a preservative and the risk of complications down the road not so much for adults but for kids.
However, that said, the H1N1 is now available in an individually packages syringe that does not have the mercury. So there really is no excuse for anyone not getting the vaccine. As far as me, I’ve had every other vaccine so what’s one more. Besides, I feel safer now when I have a patient hacking and blowing the breathing treatment mist in my face.
I do, however, believe the H1N1 flu is overhyped. I see patients where I work being diagnosed with H1N1 even after they test negative for it. So I can imagine this goes on at other hospitals too.
Yet, if you have asthma, the benefits of getting this vaccine far outweigh the possible risks and you should definitely get it.
Thanks for the civility, all, and Lisa, I appreciate your comment and sentiment. Whatever our differences, I hope you and yours have a healthy, happy winter–this year and every year.
I agree with Lisa on one thing Amy. You are doing a great job providing information and supporting parents like me. Thanks for all you do. I obtain a tremendous amount of comfort from your site.
Louise, what an awesome thing to say. Thank you so much!
I am so pro-vaccine and I think everyone should get it.
However, that stance is a *little* bit selfish..haha I’m severely allergic to eggs, thus, I am depending on the kindness of strangers here.
Kindness and Vitamin D.