In the April issue of Northern Connection magazine, I stated the conversation about the tough decision facing young parents in the medical vs. rumor debate and asked what you think about the touch decision itself.
One of the most intriguing facts I found in my research was that parents need to do their research and weigh the odds: "The measles vaccine, for instance, can cause a temporary reduction in platelets (which control bleeding after an injury) in 1 in 30,000 children, but 1 in 2,000 will die if they get measles itself. The DTaP vaccine can cause seizures or a temporary "shocklike" state in 1 in 14,000 people, and acute encephalitis (brain swelling) in 11 in 1 million. But the diseases it prevents -- diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis -- are fatal in 1 in 20 cases, 1 in 10 cases, and 1 in 1,500 cases, respectively."
Here's the rest of the article: http://www.parents.com/health/vaccines/controversy/vaccines-the-reality-behind-the-debate/
Also, here's the link to the CDC site on vaccines: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/
In Starting the Conversation, I mentioned that my theory about the debate is that young parents haven't witnessed the diseases, the effects and the death tolls, but what's your theory? Do you have any advice?
Please leave comments below and let's Continue the Conversation:
Honestly, there's no real conversation to continue here. The parents.com article comes down quite clearly on the "vaccinations are good, please keep your children safe" side. There have been exactly zero medical studies showing any kind of link between vaccines and any kind of autism, so there's not much to debate any more. The earth is not flat, going outside in the rain does not make you sick, and vaccines do not cause autism. Please, let's stop even encouraging "discussion" on this topic!
ReplyDeleteDear Dread Pirates Robert, Thank you so much for your post and I agree - vaccinations should be a no-brainer but some parents are complaining that they don't know about any potential side-effects at all (as with the typical list they give on television commercials for every type of drug advertised). I think the best we can do is create awareness and help parents be as informed as possible.
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