Thread: Unvaccinated kids put all of us at risk

Unvaccinated kids put all of us at risk

9 hours ago • Arizona Daily Star

Arizona kids are supposed to be immunized against several contagious diseases in order to attend school.

But many of them are not, and the state does nothing to enforce the law requiring vaccinations.

As a result, one-third of the state’s kindergartners last year were in classes with immunization rates so low the kids were at risk for outbreaks of infectious diseases such as measles, mumps or pertussis.

An outbreak could be catastrophic to babies too young to be immunized, to people whose compromised immune systems make them susceptible to diseases they are vaccinated against, and to those whose inoculations simply didn’t work.

Unvaccinated kids put all of us at risk : Welcome to StarNet - Tucson, Arizona

So what? When I was in school only smallpox vaccination was required. No one doubted its need or its efficacy. Later, when the Salk vaccine became available for prevention of polio we all lined up again. No one doubted its need or efficacy. Today they are trying to vaccinate against everything, and apparently without adequate evaluation of the safety or the efficacy of the shots. Before I hit first grade I already had had chicken pox, measles, mumps (twice) and whooping cough. (I have never forgiven my older brother for this. I had to make up diseases in order to get out of school because I couldn't seem to catch any legitimate ones. I had been naturally immunized) Remarkably, neither I nor any of my classmates, also not vaccinated (except for small pox and polio) died or ever became seriously ill.

If a disease is dangerous enough I can see the value in attempting to immunize against it. On the other hand, attempting to immunize against everything because a small minority might have serious complications damn well ought to be weighed against the potential damage the immunizations themselves can cause (infections, allergic reactions, contracting the full blown disease, etc.) The negative side of immunizations must also calculate the cumulative effect of multiple vaccines administered to young, undeveloped children over a short period of time. I have seen adults in the military have adverse reactions to multiple shots after walking what we called the shot gauntlet, so it is almost certain some children will likewise have negative reactions, and being children without fully developed immune systems, may suffer far worse effects than an adult would. We are also hearing more and more about the danger of over-prescribing of antibiotics which pathogens may develop resistance to and thereby create super bugs that the current stable of antibiotics would be ineffective in treating. Similarly, I am concerned that by overusing immunization programs we can inadvertently suppress the body's natural ability to fight disease. I believe we need to be treated as individuals. Some parents may well believe their child needs every shot under the sun, and they may be right. After all, they know their family medical history, and they should have a good idea about how their child reacts to medications and how susceptible they may be to infections and illnesses. The parents and their doctor should determine what is best for their child, not the state.

So, I ask to what extent are these multiple vaccinations necessary, and to what extent are they being forced on to the public by state and federal legislators because pharmaceutical companies are pouring big bucks into their campaign pockets? Who among you truly believe a vaccination using Gardisol is necessary for young boys?