June 20, 2007
Why I'm not opposed to all vaccines
My wife and I decided not to follow the normal vaccination schedule with our daughter. We had been warned off by various individuals, most notably Dr Sherry J Tenpenny, a pediatrician who discovered that vaccines were being given unjustified preferential treatment they did not deserve. Basically, in the U.S. children are subjected to dozens of vaccinations between birth and age 5 to prevent illnesses that are not only often uncommon, but mostly innocuous and easily treatable.
For instance, in a typical year, the U.S. will record approximately 3 cases of diptheria. If there were 100,000 cases, it would be reasonable to expect 3 fatalities. The diptheria vaccine (which contains mercury) will be given to typical children 5 times before they turn 5 years old. As another example, the disease polio hasn't been seen in the western hemisphere since 1996. And yet, a typical child will receive a vaccine to prevent this 4 times before they turn 5 years old. While the science is still unclear, I believe that the danger of mental illness and injury from many of these vaccines is likely higher than the risk of injury from the disease for which it was designed to protect.
Furthermore, the amount of antibodies necessary to ward off illness and provide protection are extremely low. The sheer number of shots that children receive are far in excess of what they need, even if the risk of the disease is high.
However, Debbie and I decided that there were two particular vaccines where the risk of illness outweighed the risk of vaccine-related injury.
Honor received the HIB vaccine to protect against type-H influenza, and the DTaP vaccine to protect against whooping cough (we would have preferred to give her a vaccine without the diptheria component, though the tetanus protection we didn't mind).
So why the sudden desire to blog about it? Well, I've had a nasty cough since Sunday, and based on past experience, I'm fairly certain it's whooping cough / croup / pertussis. I've had it once before, back when I was 8 years old. It made a distinct rattling in my lungs which I could feel when I exhaled (assuming I could do so without bursting into a fit of coughing). This was how the doctor, using his stethoscope on my back, was able to diagnose me at the time.
I remember it clearer than most things from that age for the simple reason of how vindicated I felt. My mom couldn't believe that anyone would have a cough that loud unless they were doing it on purpose. She accused me of faking it! So when I finally got her to take me to a doctor and he confirmed what my cough was, I had the rare opportunity to tell my mom "I told you so."
Anyway, while it's mainly an annoyance for adults, pertussis can easily become a serious illness for a child as young as Honor. And yet right now, despite my hearty expectorations of phlegm and spittle, she's healthy as a goat. And that's why I'm not opposed to all vaccines - only most.
