My Perspective on Vaccines

I'm not an "anti-vaxxer," but I think there is a large amount of information that stands up to scrutiny suggesting caution and skepticism are not unwarranted, to put it mildly. Skepticism regarding pro-vaccine propaganda is also warranted, from what I've found, especially regarding the purported role vaccines have played in eradicating certain diseases 1236. It's also confusing that we use the word "immune" to mean something closer to "resistant" in this context, when in other contexts that word often means something closer to "exempt."

But I support your right to choose to have (or not have) yourself and your children vaccinated, and I won't reduce you to a label because of your choice. But I would recommend choosing carefully. Even if a vaccine doesn't prevent you from contracting an illness, it may help reduce the severity of the symptoms. On the other hand, there are plenty of cases of "vaccine injuries" that are worth learning from 45.

I'm not an immunologist and I don't typically offer medical advice, but I advocate informing yourself and for the right to decide for yourself how to keep yourself healthy. I understand the arguments regarding "herd immunity" but I think there's plenty of room for disagreement there 126. If it comes down to risking greater susceptibility to measles or the flu vs. losing my right to refuse a particular vaccine, I would choose the former. Those who argue that this is unfair to the rest of the "herd" should carefully consider how they define "fairness."

I have been vaccinated in the past, but currently I prefer to keep my immune system strong using more natural means 78. There may be a time when I believe a particular vaccine is necessary or preferable for me. But even then, I would want to be informed by unaffiliated research about its safety. If you take this right to choose how I manage my health away from me, and try to silence voices expressing causes for concern by painting everything in black and white, and fail to provide reliable research demonstrating safety, of course I'm going to be even more concerned. If there's really a deadly measles crisis, and a single vaccine for measles has a better track record in terms of safety than the combined MMR vaccine, but you stop providing single vaccines because you've invested so much money into your MMR program, I'm going to feel pretty justified in not trusting you at all 9.

Give us back our single measles vaccine if it's really that serious of a problem. Be more transparent about risks and more willing to discuss vaccine-related injuries. Hold vaccine manufacturers accountable for defects in their products, instead of providing them immunity (as in exemption) and making taxpayers cover the costs. Don't just label everyone who questions you an "anti-vaxxer" and ignore everything they have to say.

Vaccines may have been a great breakthrough for Western medicine, but if we don't take responsibility and inform ourselves, we'll end up either blindly trusting or blindly rejecting, and neither is wise. We all know greed and corruption is rampant in the pharmaceutical industry (and it's spread to the CDC and FDA 610), and that there are plenty of valid alternatives to drugs in many cases, but we also recognize that many people are currently dependent on these products, and that they have probably saved a lot of lives. Can't we apply the same open-minded skepticism to vaccines?

So my bottom line is, don't blindly trust anyone, and don't blindly distrust anyone; don't be blind, and don't let anyone blind you. Choose for yourself (on a case-by-case basis), and support others' right to choose for themselves.

[1] https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/the-impact-of-vaccines-on-mortality-decline-since-1900-according-to-published-science/
[2] http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/history-and-science-show-vaccines-do-not-prevent-disease/
[3] http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/everything-you-learned-about-cause-polio-wrong
[4] https://www.vaccineinjuryhelpcenter.com/symptoms-of-vaccine-injury/
[5] https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/4-billion-and-growing-u-s-payouts-for-vaccine-injuries-and-deaths-keep-climbing/
[6] https://ahrp.org/vaccines-an-appraisal-by-a-practicing-medical-doctor/
[7] https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
[8] https://www.healthextremist.com/how-to-strengthen-your-immune-system/
[9] https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/30/mmr-and-single-measles-mumps-and-rubella-vaccines-real-facts
[10] https://www.ecowatch.com/cdc-corruption-robert-kennedy-jr-2096438139.html