Originally Posted by jonsey
I am a nursing student at the University of Nevada, Reno and I am doing research on immunizations for a paper I have to write for class. My question to all of you professional nurses who deal with immunizations and infectious diseases every day is: How safe really are immunizations? In the research I have done so far, vaccinations have preceeded crib death in infants, and there is a link to autism and SIDS resulting from vaccinations. (Koren, 2002) I want to know how often some of the more severe adverse effects occur, and what they include. If any of you have seen adverse effects or if you have an opinion about immunizations and their safety, I would love to hear about it. Thanks!
Vaccines, like all medications, have potential side effects, some of which are serious. Contact your local health department or physician's office and request copies of vaccine information sheets, which contain educational information intended to help parents make informed choices regarding consenting or not consenting to vaccines for their children. Parents must weigh the risks and benefits of vaccines, just as they do for every other aspect of their child's medical care. Do the potential risks of the vaccine outweigh the potential of serious illness if they choose not to vaccinate and their child contracts whooping cough, measles, etc. These diseases have become (thankfully) so rare in our developed society that people forget that they can be fatal.
Please read research carefully and critically. It is possible to show a "link" between virtually any 2 events. "Links" are not proof of cause and effect.
"...vaccines have preceeded crib death in infants..." So has bathing, breastfeeding, bottle feeding, voiding, stooling, crying, cooing, playing patty-cake, etc.
I make this point to help you understand that just because one event follows another does not prove causation. As Dr. Dean Edell likes to point out on his radio program, most people who die in auto accidents have eaten French fries in the previous week. Does that mean that French fries cause auto deaths? Of course not, but we seem to believe equally weak links between vaccines and crib death, autism, you name it.
Please read your research carefully and critically. Interview medical, public health, and statistics experts and form your opinions based on sound science.
Good luck!
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Immunizations
