Wednesday, December 11, 2013

What every parent should know before choosing to vaccinate

1.) Understand the diseases that for which we have vaccines for. 

It is better to research each individual disease, than to take someone's word for it. The best most reliable source of information would be an official source, like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 
The CDC's Pink Book is an up do date record of infectious diseases and can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/index.html#chapters

In the CDC's own words:
"The Pink Book provides physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and others with the most comprehensive information on vaccine-preventable diseases.

Typical chapters include a description of the disease, pathogenesis, clinical features, laboratory diagnosis, medical management, epidemiology, risk factors, trends in the United States, vaccine details, vaccination schedule and use, contraindications and precautions to vaccination, adverse reactions following vaccination, vaccine storage and handling, and reference or publications.
The appendices are a wealth of reference materials including: minimum age and interval table, current and discontinued vaccines, ingredients tables, vaccine administration guide, etc.

2.) Know and understand what adverse events are associated and reported after vaccinations. 

Parents who choose to vaccinate should know what to do in the case of an adverse event, severe reaction, and the like. Physicians are required to report adverse events to VAERS (The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System), however the CDC and FDA "the keepers" of the VAERS database estimate that only 10% to 15% of adverse reactions are ever reported at all.
Parents may, and (even after reporting the reaction to your child's doctor), file a report with VAERS. When accessing the VAERS database, if there were 5,485 reports associated with the MMR vaccine, the CDC and FDA suggest that you can multiply that number by 10-15 for a more accurate count. 5,485 x 10 is 54,485. 

An exerpt from the VAERS database:
"Underreporting" is one of the main limitations of passive surveillance systems, including VAERS. The term, underreporting refers to the fact that VAERS receives reports for only a small fraction of actual adverse events. The degree of underreporting varies widely. As an example, a great many of the millions of vaccinations administered each year by injection cause soreness, but relatively few of these episodes lead to a VAERS report. Physicians and patients understand that minor side effects of vaccinations often include this kind of discomfort, as well as low fevers. On the other hand, more serious and unexpected medical events are probably more likely to be reported than minor ones, especially when they occur soon after vaccination, even if they may be coincidental and related to other causes. "
Many parents who do vaccinate have never been told about VAERS at all. Know that it exists.

3) Understand the vaccination laws where you live

Many parents are led to believe that immunizations are mandatory for school admission. All states have exemptions. And all states but two allow exemptions for philosophical or religious reasons. Mississippi and West Virgina are currently the only two which only allow a medical exemption.  

4) Read the package inserts for each and every vaccine you are considering for you or your children.  


Often doctors will hand out information sheets to you in advance of the next appointment. Do not mistake the one sided, often inflammatory accounts of the infectious diseases for the package inserts written by the vaccine manufacturers and included with the actual vaccines. Package inserts will give you information like studies and outcomes, contraindications, and adverse reactions associated with the vaccine. All admitted and written by the manufacturer. 

5) Know the ingredients in each vaccine. 

Vaccine ingredients are often not studied at all, let alone studied for long term effects, or how they work (or do not) in conjunction with one another. Research this topic in depth. Twenty-three vaccines on the market currently contain aborted fetal tissue, which contains human DNA. 

It is important that every parent has a thorough understanding of the diseases that they are trying to prevent. Vaccines do not necessarily make anyone immune, and the manufacturers will tell you on the package inserts that the vaccine is not 100% effective, if even 80% effective. All the "immunity" you may have received from vaccines eventually wears off making the need for booster shots.  



credit to source : http://www.examiner.com/article/what-every-parent-should-know-before-choosing-to-vaccinate

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