We were discussing the Disneryland measles outbreak at work, and I was appalled to find some of my co-workers refuse to vaccinate their kids. They (grudgingly) receive the vaccines they need to remain employed, but doubt their safety/necessity for their kids.
I must say, I am absolutley stunned. How can one be a nurse and deny science?
As a nurse, you should darn well know what the scientific method entails and what phrases such as "evidence based" and "peer reviewed" mean.
I have to say, I have lost most of my respect for the nurses and mistrust their judgement; after all, if they deny science, on what premise are they basing their practices?
There are quite a few great satire sites now - I'm not sure if The Onion started but satire has been used forever to make points. It is a great tool in my opinion.
This morning I read an editorial in my (Swedish) morning paper. It's about the measles outbreak that started in Disneyland and is titled "Föräldrar med immunitet mot fakta" which translates roughly into "parents immune to facts" and the last sentence of the article is (again my translation) " Scientific research can wipe out epidemics but it cannot conquer/sway those who are immune to facts".
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Devil's advocate...why should the anti-bad parent keep their kid home? Why does the right of the other child trump the rights of the anti-vaxer's child? Maybe the child with the compromised immune system should be kept home. When do we decide who has more rights?
I can say as a parent to children with special needs I've always assumed my children's rights are not priority in society. If I need something different...I expect it as long as it doesn't cause issues to somebody else. If our needs/wants cause issues for another...we step back.
Yeah...don't you just hate those whiney kids with cancer?
Sorry I'm not replying to everyone. I learned a long time ago that being the dissenter in a group such as this makes it impossible to keep up, even if I didn't have a million other things to do. So again, I am not here to debate the effectiveness or safety of vaccines. I've made my decision and I'm comfortable with it. I will, however, reply to this. And I'm sure you'll all hate me... which I'm also ok with.
If this happened it would be tragic and my heart would certainly be broken for the parents of that baby. I can't say for certain how I would react, but I highly doubt it would change my position. Unfortunately death is part of life. It is tragic when it happens so early, but I didn't design life... it wasn't my idea. MY responsibility in life is to my children first. YES, everyone else is second to MY children, because they are mine. Is that selfish? I don't think so. I think that's pretty natural for a mother to feel. Maybe it's not the PC thing to say, but it's the truth and it's instinctual. I don't care what statistics you all come up with (I really don't have time to check their accuracy and if they're from the CDC forget it... I trust nothing from them), for MY breastfed-into-toddlerhood/preschool-years children who do not attend daycare and will be homeschooled, the risk of contracting and suffering injury from these diseases is very low. Am I willing to risk the health and safety of my children for the "greater good?" Absolutely not. Does that make me a horrible, selfish person? I don't think so, but you are all entitled to your own opinions and I certainly won't be offended by them. Obviously I care about other people and their children and I want to help them. I will do everything WITHIN REASON to ensure their safety and wellness. I do not believe that sacrificing my own health and that of my family is reasonable.
Some have asked about my vaccine status. I am vaccinated to the max. I've had damn near every vaccine known to man. I was in the military for 6.5 years and they shot me up with everything you could imagine. During my time in the military I began to develop allergies. It started with my lips. Anything but vaseline (and now an organic chapstick I've discovered) would make them break out in hives and swell up for days. Shortly after my last HPV vaccine, I broke out in hives on my entire body (for no apparent reason). It was severe and miserable and required several days of prednisone to clear up. I am now allergic to EVERYTHING I've tried on my skin besides coconut and olive oil. I spent almost a year covered in hives - my body, my face, my hands... miserable. I was pregnant and there was nothing they could do for me. I've also suffered bouts of extreme, completely debilitating joint pain. I can't say with certainty that these things resulted from vaccines, though I am certainly inclined to believe that they did, since we know vaccines can and do cause autoimmune problems. This did NOT influence my decision to not vaccinate my children. I did not make the connection between my problems and vaccines until about a year and a half ago when the joint pain started.
I'm sorry to hear of your health problems, but what made you single out vaccines as the reason for them? Your unvaccinated children will be living in a time, probably after we're gone, in which they are facing the same diseases we spent 1/2 a century nearly wiping out. The herd immunity will be gone. Not a selfish choice, but a misguided one.
Specializes in pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.
Can you imagine how your society would be like if everyone felt the way you do?
I very much doubt that you'd want to live in that world any more than I do.
When no one has any obligations to anyone else, it doesn't only encompass the things that you are comfortable doing without. You don't get to pick and choose.
Other people might have completely different ideas of what liberties they'll take.
I'm certain that some of their actions would impact your life negatively, and that's putting it mildly.
A society where no one feels obligated to show anyone any consideration, is the collapse of civilization.
Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN
11,305 Posts
There are quite a few great satire sites now - I'm not sure if The Onion started but satire has been used forever to make points. It is a great tool in my opinion.
Someone already posted about GomerBlog - Earth's Finest Medical Satire News Site and I've mentioned Refutations to Anti-Vaccine Meme's on FB.
It helps to crack a smile and laugh out loud . . . .