Deciding whether to Give your Child Vaccinations

(453 Words)
An unfortunate and disastrous trend has been for some parents to delay or altogether avoid the recommended vaccines for children. They look at false, anecdotal stories touted by celebrities instead of solid research. To safeguard your baby, follow all of the recommended vaccination schedules.
There are many dangerous diseases that could severely injure or even be fatal to a baby. These diseases may have been all but eradicated by the vaccinations in America, but without the vaccinations they can reappear, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These include measles and varicella.
Parents might not be accustomed to the disastrous consequences of these diseases because they might not have been around them. These diseases are usually far more deadly than any imagined or real consequence of the vaccine. The child is also far more likely to get the disease if not vaccinated than have a serious side effect if they are vaccinated.
Some parents mistakenly think that these diseases have been completely eradicated and are not something they need to worry about. This is not at all true. Some of these are actually reappearing because of parents who do not give the vaccines.
Some parents feel that the baby is likely to get the disease from the vaccine. This is extremely rare and impossible in many cases. Also, parents do not understand how effective the vaccines are. According to the CDC, most of the vaccines provide 85-95% protection. Some, like the measles vaccine, produce 98% protection. They tend to work very well.
The side effects of vaccines are extremely rare and in many cases imaginary. There has been a lot of talk about vaccines causing all sorts of conditions, such as autism, but the research support is dismal at best. People look for a cause to unexplained events, and unfortunately vaccines have been chosen. That is not to say that there has never been an adverse effect, but serious ones are extremely rare. Your child is in far more danger if you skip the vaccine.
Statistics prove this. The CDC reports that measles causes 2 deaths in 1000, yet the vaccine causes a severe allergic reaction or encephalitis in only 1 of 1,000,000. If you look at Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis versus the DTap Vaccine, the actual diseases cause the following deaths: diphtheria: 1 in 20, tetanus: 2 in 10, pertussis: 1 in 1500. The DTaP vaccine has no proven deaths and acute encephalopathy in 0-10.5 in 1,000,000. From these statistics, it is clear you are placing your baby more in danger by not getting the vaccine.
It is very important to get your child the recommended vaccines. It can protect your baby and even save his or her life.