“It’s a balance between individual rights and our obligations to each other in society,” the Democratic speaker said.
Bullshit! This is one case where freeloaders are dangerous and unacceptable. There is some risk – however slight – for infants receiving vaccines and it’s a risk all parents take to protect their children and the wider community.
No matter how precious your little bundle of joy may be to you it is not so precious to me or society at large that it is reasonable for you to rely on everyone else assuming that risk and having their children vaccinated to protect your children and yourself as you age and your immune system declines.
If you want to be part of society and to enjoy the benefits afforded by society then you must contribute to the herd immunity that keeps vulnerable members safe from preventable communicable diseases. There is no room for “conscientious objectors” or whatever noble term health freeloaders try to hide behind.
Personal freedom is one of the cornerstones of Western democracy, monumental stupidity is not. Failure to assume your responsibilities to society is an antisocial act. Objectors still have a choice – vaccinate and be part of society or don’t and get out. There are places where vaccination is not encouraged – Northern Kenya and Somalia spring to mind.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — For Jennifer Stella, it’s a question of informed consent. Her son had a seizure after getting childhood vaccinations and her daughter suffered a “head-to-toe” eczema outbreak; she says parents should research the risks and benefits of immunizations and decide which ones are appropriate.
For Jill Olson, a mother of two, it’s a matter of trusting the experts. “There’s not really any way that as an individual I can do more scientific study and research than the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Centers for Disease Control.”
For Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith, the state motto sums it up: “freedom and unity” — individual choice versus the public health benefit of having a high percentage of kids vaccinated.
“It’s a balance between individual rights and our obligations to each other in society,” the Democratic speaker said.
For much of the legislative session, Vermont has been embroiled in a debate over whether to end the “philosophical exemption” — essentially a right of refusal for parents who want to enroll their children in school or child care without immunizations. The list of shots called for by the state Health Department and the CDC is roughly 20 by the time a child enters kindergarten.
The CDC and state health officials say Vermont is among the states with the highest exemption rates for childhood vaccinations. Some say it’s no coincidence that Vermont recently has seen an outbreak of one of the diseases the vaccines target: pertussis, or whooping cough.
In 2010-11, the latest school year for which data is available, an Associated Press analysis of state health department data showed Alaska with nearly 9 percent of kindergarten children exempted. Colorado’s rate was 7 percent and Vermont and Washington state each had 6 percent.
As the 2012 legislative session winds down, lawmakers are at loggerheads: The Senate voted 26-4 in early March to eliminate the philosophical exemption; the House voted 93-36 earlier this month to keep it.
If no agreement is reached, the legislation will die and Vermont will remain among the 20 states that allow some form of philosophical exemption from required childhood immunizations. All but a handful of states offer religious exemptions, and all allow medical exemptions for kids.
Many of Vermont’s more vocal vaccine skeptics are active in alternative health and natural food movements and are critical of what they see as a profit-driven pharmaceutical industry. Stella, a homeopathic health practitioner, works at a clinic that also offers massage and herbal medicine.
Critics of the philosophical exemption say Vermont’s immunization rates have been dropping, a slide that must be halted to preserve what public health officials call “herd immunity.” That’s when most of the population is immunized against a specific disease to keep outbreaks from occurring.
Christine Finley, immunization program manager at the state Health Department, said the percentage of Vermont kindergarteners with all their required immunizations dropped from 93 percent in 2005 to 83 percent in 2010.
That old canard about profits is always trotted out when there are no better arguments. The fact is the science behind immunization is excellent and to not inoculate is simply selfish and irresponsible.
I’d agree with the post…but.
As a scientist I was asked once by a lady debating whether she should have her kids receive MMR vaccine. She’d heard that MMR may be produced using aborted fetuses and wondered if this was a conspiracy theory or if it was true.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell it is indeed true. I hunted up and read the original patents and the evergreening patents (where the adjuvant, preservative etc was improved). The same cell line apparently is still used.
So, given the large number of people particularly in the US who might have ethical trouble with the use of that particular vaccine, why exactly does the company who makes it not change the method?
So in my view there is also a degree of (medical industry) self inflicted injury to this question.
Mrs. Stella is absolutely correct. Provisions incorporating philosophical and religious exemptions (in addition to medical) for childhood vaccinations are fundamental to parents’ rights. Such rights, and the responsibility to make decisions in the best interest of one’s child, are not to be co-opted from parents by public health officials, government agencies, and/or the pharmaceutical industry.
Every parent should thoroughly review potential risks and complications that can arise from vaccination. A great starting point is the National Vaccine Information Center’s “If You Vaccinate, Ask 8!” brochure: http://www.nvic.org/CMSTemplates/NVIC/pdf/NVIC-ASK-8-Questions.pdf
Nonsense. You choice is a simple one. Either protect your child and society and assume the small risk that involves or get out of said society. Oh, and take the antisocial antivaxxer front groups with you as you go.