[NurseyBaby'05]

BOSTON - Sabrina Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the vaccinations required to enter preschool.She is among a small but growing number of parents around the country who are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie because of the way the vaccination laws are written in their states.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/...ccine_skeptics

[cardiacRN2006]

Whoa! Any reason for the Malibu car advertisement in your post (or is it just me???)

[NurseyBaby'05]

One person's quote stated that she feels the risk of the vaccine is far worse than the risk of the actual disease. Does she know what these diseases actually do? In most cases, they may not be bad, but the worst case scenario has to happen to someone's kid. What if her's draws the short straw of the outbreak?

I don't know. I hope this doesn't start a flame fest, but I am interested in hearing peoples' thoughts on this.

[NurseyBaby'05]

Originally Posted by cardiacRN2006

Whoa! Any reason for the Malibu car advertisement in your post (or is it just me???)

Just some sloppy editing on my part. That's all.

[cardiacRN2006]

I thought maybe my premium membership had expired!

[Cursed Irishman]

I'm actually pretty ok with parents using this excuse. At some point darwinism must occur.

[Elvish]

I have seen one too many children with pertussis, the flu, Hep A, mumps, and HiB meningitis, and one too many adults with chicken pox to refuse the vaccines for my child.

Arwen

[elkpark]

Yes, the only reason those (misguided, IMHO) parents are able to feel that "the vaccine is riskier than the disease" is because the vaccines have worked so well over the years and most people no longer have any real concept of how dangerous these diseases really are.

[multicollinearity]

This is exactly what my parents did with me when I was a child. They refused to have me vaccinated by falsely citing religious reasons.

[NurseyBaby'05]

Originally Posted by elkpark

Yes, the only reason those (misguided, IMHO) parents are able to feel that "the vaccine is riskier than the disease" is because the vaccines have worked so well over the years and most people no longer have any real concept of how dangerous these diseases really are.

That's pretty much what my micro professor had to say on the subject as well. He spent years working for the county health department before teaching and saw a lot.