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Vaccinations, are they necessary?

  1. #17
    Nula is offline Registered User
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    Barbawong,

    That was really well replied - I have often thought the same.


  2. #18
    ontheroad is offline Registered User
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    This thread made me really mad, so I feel I have to butt in and give my two cents worth.
    By not vaccinating your children, you are not only putting them at great risk, but also others. Because of the recent anti-immunization misinformation campain, illnesses that were eradicated are making a comeback in some industrialized countries! There hasn't been mercury in vaccines for years, and it has been proven time and time again that there is no link whatsoever between vaccines and autism.
    Please read the World Health Organization pages on common misconceptions regarding vaccines before you make your decision.

    http://www.who.int/immunization_safe...onceptions/en/


  3. #19
    drcookie is offline Registered User
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    I feel that I need to make some kind of comment here. I have read most of the medical journals about vaccinations and I am also one of the people for whom they haven't always worked. However as a doctor who has worked in paediatric departments I would like to say that there is no question about the benfits of vaccination as far as I am concerned.

    Chicken-pox was one of the subjects brought up- someone had a vaccine and it failed. Well a vaccine works on the principle that you introduce something to the body in a safer format and it forms the antibodies so that if it comes across the disease you are several steps ahead on making a response. You may not make that response though and that applies to the vaccine or the disease. I had confirmed chicken-pox as a child but discovered I wasn't immune at medical school. Likewise I had the rubella vaccine aged 10 and did not form an immune response to it. In drugs you always try and balance safety and effectiveness, and that means there will always be those people for whom it doesn't work. That is the case no matter what we do in life.

    As other people mentioned a great number of diseases we don't even worry about now- who considers diphtheria a risk, yet it was a great killer in the past, and everytime people panic about vaccinations the herd coverage drops and more people become sick. There have been recent measles epidemics in the UK and it is notable that they are always in the areas where the parents are better educated.

    Hope that helps. I am not prepared to go into each vaccine but this is some background and my opinion.


  4. #20
    joannek is offline Registered User
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    thanks, dr cookie, this is the kind of response that i was hoping to generate from starting this thread. as i said previously, i am no medical dr & all i know about vaccines are from books & publications (pro & against). which might not even be true!!

    so that measle epidemic in UK that you mentioned, are those vaccinated?

    ontheroad, it's nice how you feel so strongly about the subject & share your views & thank you for the link. let me check it out & come back. =)


  5. #21
    drcookie is offline Registered User
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    Hi Joannek

    The measeles epidemics (probably more correct to say outbreaks) have been very local in the groups who weren't immunised. As far as I recall no immunised children were affected, however there were some young babies affected as of course MMR is for toddlers. I can not recall exactly as these were a year or so ago they made the press, but the areas with low uptake were as I said the well educated parents areas, and this was where the outbreaks were.

    Likewise the only whooping cough I have seen was in those babies younger than vaccination age- I think they contracted it at 6 weeks if I recall correctly. Again unusual but they are of course at greater risk.

    The whooping cough vaccine is certainly not 100% effective (this is one of the early vaccines in terms of age of receiving it with diphtheria and polio) however it definitely reduces disease severity considerably.

    Hope that answers a few more questions


  6. #22
    bekyboo44 is offline Registered User
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    This is an interesting article on what happens when children aren't immunized and how it puts all children at risk,

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070330/..._exemptions_dc


  7. #23
    geiboyi is offline Registered User
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    Sorry - didn't read whole thread, just wanted to comment on the Hep B being a STD comment. In HK about 10% of the population carry Hep B. If your child is in an accident, however minor, where there is blood around then they run the chance of getting it. Do them a favour - get the jabs.


  8. #24
    joannek is offline Registered User
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    for everyone info, my daughter has all the recommended vaccinations plus more (chickenpox, pneuco-whatever, etc). her next recommended jabs are at 4yo. i just needed more info in case i will get pregnant again.

    and thanks everyone for your input.


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