Vaccines - Necessary or Dangerous?

Getting your child's shots can be a stressful event for both of you. Dahlia is a great baby, so I had never heard her scream like she screamed when she got her shots. We were both in tears. I've been thinking about vaccines lately, we have to go get her next round on Friday. When Dahlia was first born, her vaccinations were a point of contention between her father and me. He believed she shouldn't get them because, "Who knows what the government is injecting us with." I believe that all of them should be received except flu shots and maybe the HPV vaccine. I think vaccines are truly a case of jumping off a bridge just because your friends are doing it. According to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 85% of the world's children are vaccinated. That's just the children. But that also means that 15% are not vaccinated. So, let's say little Johnny down the street isn't vaccinated and neither is your little Susie. One day, Johnny and Susie hold hands. Unbeknownst to anyone, Johnny is carrying measles, but hasn't shown any symptoms, yet. Next thing you know, both little Johnny and little Susie are deathly ill.
It's all well and good for parents to think they don't need to vaccinate their children, but dollars to doughnuts, if you had the idea not to vaccinate, so did someone else. Like my mom says, it only takes two to tango. Another common reason parents cite for avoiding vaccinations is all the controversy concerning autism. Let me be one to say: VACCINATIONS DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM. There are tons of studies that show, not only do vaccinations NOT cause autism, but they can prevent the spread of infectious disease.

Although, I personally believe that some vaccines are unnecessary. For instance, the yearly flu vaccine. Do you ever wonder why it's a yearly vaccine? It's because the influenza virus has constantly shifting antigens, meaning it's essentially a different virus every year. So, while you're running to get vaccinated for what you think is this year's flu, the actual influenza virus has already changed, making your vaccine worthless.

There are also a few vaccinations that America has stopped giving out, like smallpox and polio. I don't believe this is a good thing. If you read the news, you might know that smallpox is actually making a comeback and polio still hasn't been eradicated in other countries. Maybe we should think about bringing these vaccines back.

What are your thoughts and opinions? Please leave them in the comments below, and don't hesitate to share this with your friends and family!