ALL CHILDREN SHOULD BE VACCINATED! It is ridiculous to make your children susceptible to deadly diseases because you don't want them to get a shot!!!!

If you don't want to vaccinate your children, KEEP THEM AT HOME! They will become sick and infect other innocent people.

I have a child who has been vaccinated (Thank God), but because a parent refused to have her child vaccinated, and yes sited religious reasons--the children were attending a CATHOLIC school, my child contracted both the measles and mumps.
Had my son not been vaccinated he could have died!

You are an ignorant imbabcile. How very pathetic that the world is made up of individuals as uneducated about their own health as you!

Parents should be able to weigh the risks of any drug before it's given to their child. While most believe there's few side-effects to current childhood vaccinations, future studies may show a specific vaccination increases risk for developmental problems (for example). It scares me that the government would continue requiring this vaccination while future studies are conducted.

There are many risks in life, but you have to weigh the risks with the benefits. If you don't vaccinate your kids, you are not only putting them at risk, but also all of our kids. The benefit of vaccinating outweighs the risk.

I do vacinate my children and agree that it is best for children, but I don't believe the government should force anyone to do it. I think things are fine the way they are, if you want to send your child to public school then they have to be vacinated end of story.

You should have the right to not vaccinate your children. However, if you choose not to, you should have to pay all medical expenses if your child catches certain diseases.

First, hey anonymous use spell check before insulting people and potentially hurting someones feelings, I hope that person doesn't read your post. I'm pretty sure this is intended to be an open discussion (meanie free).

Anyway to get back on topic, I vaccinated all mine, but with the last one I took a very careful approach, by then I had become more educated and decided to slowly one at a time introduce the vaccinations. My reasoning was that if I introduced them slowly then I would know if there was a major change in his health what the culprit was. Thankfully he came through with no issues, just as the others did that stayed on the strict schedule. However, I am so glad I had the freedom to make this decision for my child and I would fight anyone who tried to take away my right to decide whether or not to vaccinate.

All of you who think you SHOULD vaccinate should prove your reasoning. Prove it not with advertisements or articles or opinions but prove it with Scientific Data.

If you send your kid to public school they may or may not be sharing classrooms with those who are vaccinated AND those who are not. You CAN go to public school without vaccinations in the United States - End of Story!!!

How many vaccines did YOU get as a child? How many will YOUR children get before the age of 6???

When is the last time someone you knew died of Tetanus? Why didn't they keep their wound clean? Didn't they know that it's all that's needed - just keep your wounds clean and you won't get lockjaw. It's that simple! Or if you are a parent who just ignores your child when he or she gets a boo-boo then maybe you and your child both need to go get a tetanus shot cause guess what? Yours has most likely worn off - just like your kids shots will!!! When is the last time YOU thought to get YOUR booster for Tetanus? The disease is literally EVERYWHERE - how have you managed to avoid it all these years???

How many of you pro-vaxers out there would drink the toxins in the vaccines? If we take the disease out of the vaccine and leave only the toxins - would you drink it?

But you'll shoot it into your child's veins??? Will you shoot it into yours?

Really?

Maybe you should read about what vaccines have done to some of our adult soldiers. Do you know that the adults in the military get the same dosage your baby gets?

When is the last time any of you witnessed your baby having sex or shooting-up dope? Did you know that it's how a person gets Hepatitis B? Did you know that your hospital could inject you with blood that's been tainted with this disease? Let's hope your hospital is more responsible than that, but if not - that's another way that your baby could get this disease.

At what age do they give this vaccine?

And it wears off in how many years???

How many of you have children who got both the chicken pox vaccine AND the chicken pox?

Did you know that the presence of an antibody is not proof of immunity?

skygoddess2000 - what if your child gets the disease he's vaccinated for? Educate yourself!

What if your child reacts to a shot - you gonna give him a booster of the same concoction 6 months later and hope he doesn't have a violent seizure this time? Please educate yourself!

Visit the vaccine debate board to discuss this topic!

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppvaccinedb

Vaccines almost killed my son. I had no idea how they were made, what was in them, and I certainly didn't realize I only got 9 doses of vaccines when I was young compared to the 45+ doses today's children are getting. After what happened to my son, I refused to vaccinate my youngest. He is 5 years old now, and out of my 5 children, he has been the healthiest by far, and has yet to take any type of medication.

How many people can say that about their 1-5 yr old children?

I don't think it's just a coincidence. One thing I did learn,

INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU VACCINATE!!

http://www.spaces.com/members/vaccination

First, vaccinations are NOT a requirement for public school entry. Please educate yourself. You can find your state law here: www.nvic.org -
Second, for those that question why those that don't vaccinate don't, I'd invite you to come visit the vaccination debate blog. From there, you will see reasons why, as well as documentation to back up the proof.
Third, for those that think vaccination equals immunity:
a) understand the difference between artifical and natural immunity;
b) understand that vaccinations are not 100% effective
c) understand that vaccination does not equal immunity.

Those that don't vaccinate have educated themselves on vaccines (and the toxins in them (including virus's (live or killed)) that go directly in the bloodstream, bypassing the immune system, to understand that vaccines and natural immunity are NOT one in the same. They also understand that both carry risk of contracting a disease, the difference is treating that disease without assaulting the body.

I am not here to request those that vaccinate to NOT - I'm only giving the other side that those (most on the Boards) that don't have thoroughly researched and read their history, and have determined that either:
1) Neurological disorders is not worth the risk of measles, mumps, rubella, flu, HPV, Pertussis, Chickenpox, (and all others)
2) God's system far outpasses man
3) The only true immunity is natural immunity.

Prior to placing judgment (pro vaccine side) take a look at the other side. It takes more than parroting what you're told, it takes more than reciting what you've read - you need to go deeper.

If at the end, your decision is still to vaccinate, that's your choice (understand your child (depending on the vaccine)) can now become a carrier, but also understand, that those that chose not to vaccinate (most) didn't do so out of ignorance - they just chose a different path.

All kids should e vaccinated. End of story. I don't know why anyone would choose not to. The benefits FAR outweigh the risks of a simple little shot.
I do feel they should be given one by one instead of a bunch at once, but most doctors will do it that way if you ask, or tell them.
I feel strongly that Vaccs should be mandatory to attend public school, and if you do not Vacc your kids, please keep them at home.
Thank goodness I live in a state where kids have to be vacced to attend school....

I think that the six year old who just passed away from the FLU should be a prime example on getting your children vaccinated. What if you get another child sick and they suffer severe concequences? I am not a fan of the flu shot,but if it were MY CHILDS safety I would think twice.

I feel that vaccination is a sore topic. This particular comment section is filled with petty bashing and it is sad.
I personally believe that parents should have a choice when it comes to vaccinating their children. Yes, while I was ignorant and uneducated about vaccines, my children received them. As I grew to be wary of certain things and to read more as to what ingredients go into vaccines, I realise that there are vaccines that go against my moral values in their production. I also realise that if large doses of a chemical is fatal or harmful to someone, why give them smaller doses as a younger and immature immune system? And how someone else mentioned their child got the measles/mumps because someone else didn't vaccinate...Think about it. Children have to be exposed to these to be infected, right? If he, being vaccinated, caught it, who is to say that someone who had been vaccinated did not pass it along to this child who was not vaccinated?
Make an informed decision, research vaccines. Do a search and find out the mix of chemicals, the tissue (yes, tissue as in bodily product) the additives in them (ALL OF THEM) and make your own decision. But, make it an informed one based on research, not today's medical "advances."

Dana,
Get out of the house sometime and do something besides rant all night.

You have the right to choose. This is America.

smallpox is not around because the smallpox vaccine was mandatory

First off, people keep commenting that those of us that don't vaccinate choose not to, simply to avoid having our child have to go through getting a shot! That's ridiculous! I'm 100% sure that's not why ANY of us choose not to do it...secondly, if your vacs work so well, why worry about our children who are not vac'd?

Honestly, look @ the list of ingredients...would you let your child eat them off a plate?

I think people are thinking about this in a very limited way. Overall, in our society, people suffer a lot less because they are protected from very serious, very harmful diseases that used to kill and cripple children. Part of the reason our society has healthy children that regularly live to adulthood is that these childhood diseases (as well as other health threats) are no longer a problem because of available protections. In terms of serving children medicine off a plate, well, that is just silly--the drugs are not administered that way. A basic understanding of science would tell you that your body processes inputs differently by injection than it does from eating a substance. It is very sad that people fight so much about something that is clearly helpful and meanwhile, so many children are suffering from long term health problems due to neglect of their health (exercise, proper nutrition, healthy weight).

America is free, I believe that Americans have it in them to make proper decisions themselves, and retain a right to do so.

I am a practicing pharmacist. I did a thorough research about vaccinations before using them on my children and I decided not to vaccinate them.I know kids who have had the flu vax and get sick every now and then..my kids have so far got not more than three-four incidences of sniffles in the past 3 years with just one or two incidences where their colds developed into coughs. Is that just luck or should it ring bells?