Thursday, July 10, 2008

Measles Outbreak?

It's with a bit of fear and trembling that I write this post. I have avoided taking on anything regarding vaccinations here, because I believe it to be a deeply personal choice. As the parents of our children, God will hold my husband and I accountable for the choices we make, and no one else. Therefore I reserve all judgments about the decisions other parents make, especially in this area. If you are interested, I am happy to give you the reasons for the choice we personally make, but I will not debate about it.

That said, have you heard about the Measles Outbreak yet? (Insert sarcasm here)

Several things come to mind:

1. 120 something people in 10 states? Do we have any concept of the tiny percentage of the population that actually is? And they're going so far as to call it an epidemic?! Even if it is the most cases in 10 years. Good grief.

2. Hard to find good sources to reference on the internet, but if you read books about these things it's easy to see that these kinds of diseases have natural highs and lows of infection. If my memory serves me correctly, every 10 years there is a high point as the virus mutates, and then it declines again. This happened long before vaccines!

3. Measles is not life-threatening in healthy children, no matter what they try to say about it. They say the same things about Chicken Pox and even the flu. Feed your children nutritious food, limit their sugar and white flour and chemical additive intake, make sure they get enough sunshine and exercise, and give them things to help their immune system when they do get sick. They'll be fine. Of course there are no guarantees in life (even WITH vaccines), that just means we still need God.

4. Notice they say MOST of the infected were not vaccinated. What are the actual numbers there? And if vaccination is so important and life-saving, why do some people get sick anyway? Perhaps it is better standards of living and cleanliness that caused the decline, and not vaccination at all?

5. The wording of the report makes me mad too. 250,000 children die of this disease every year, but they split that up from "in poor countries." The deaths don't happen here! We have good healthcare and good nutrition and watchfulness by educated parents.

6. The Reuters report names the countries where the people were infected overseas. They are mostly western Europe, not poor countries. These people didn't go to undeveloped countries and come back with measles. It's just the year for measles to be high. No matter where it started, there would probably be infections.

7. Is anybody ever going to address WHY hundreds and thousands of parents are refusing vaccinations? If they would take the nasty chemicals and preservatives out of the vaccines, that would help. Maybe funding safety studies by companies unrelated to the vaccine manufacturers? Rather than making the parents out to be idiots who are dead-set on reintroducing dead diseases, maybe addressing their concerns would be a better idea?

8. I'm not even going to start with the risks of the MMR...

So, I'm sure you can tell where I stand on vaccinations based on this. :) We have to make the best choice we know how to make, and trust God, no matter what our choice is!

5 comments:

  1. Great info! We personally made the choice to delay all immunization until our children are 2yrs. (after the highest percentage of immune and nervous system development is done), and then we split up the vaccines and did only those we felt were the most beneficial. We came to the same conclusion - that measles and chicken pox aren't that big of a deal in a healthy kid. It's definitely an area where you need to educate yourself, pray a lot, and make the decision that you feel at peace with.

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  2. On the nose. Thanks.

    Have I told you that I have not had to take my children to the doctor since before we moved to Arizona (and even then, it was only because Ben jammed the toothbrush into his sinuses!!!). Eating healthy, gaining perspective, using common sense, and filter/double checking news sources is the key. ;)

    Good job.

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  3. 2 great posts in a row.
    I linked them on my blogs:)

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  4. Hi Sara. I don't think we've met, but we have several mutual friends so I came across your blog. I like your thoughts, and though I don't yet have kids, I'm already considering conventional vs. alternative medicine. With so many different views out there, it can be frustrating, so it's good to see a mom share her feelings. :)

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  5. Thanks! Well said. Hadn't heard about the "outbreak", but not in the slightest bit concerned, for all the reasons you've mentioned. We also don't do vaccines, and I like what you said about us being accountable to the Lord and no one else about our decisions. I also like what you said that you'd share your information as to why you made your choice, but you wouldn't debate. I'll have to use that next time someone asks me.

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