I don't thinks he has the right to make the decision for anyone, including her kids. Children shouldn't be the victims of whatever self-abuse their parents want to do to themselves.

This is a literally matter of life-and-death, and to oppose vaccination is nothing short of monstrous. I think we should find her information and report her to CPS.

That's ridiculous. Vaccines are not completely risk free, and every parents should have the right to decide if they want their child to be vaccinated or not, and WHEN they want to vaccinate them (if that means delaying it slightly). I do not believe in mandatory vaccination (although I do think there could be an argument for making measles vaccine mandatory for children attending public schools, because they would be putting other children at risk too).

But I do believe in educating parents and helping them to see beyond the myths and scare tactics which are being produced on the internet by anti-vax groups.

I also do not believe that every child really needs every vaccination on the American vaccination schedule (which is more extensive than the UK one).

And the CPS wouldn't be interested in this. Yes, she may be indirectly harming her child, but she is doing it in an attempt to protect them (however misguided that may be). She has the right to weigh up the risks for herself. CPS have bigger problems to be dealing with, like parents who are intentionally harming their children.

That vaccines have a failure rate is more of an argument FOR vaccination rather than against it.

No, I don't think that parents should have the "right" to decide not to vaccinate their children -- that's like saying you have the right to cause a 20-car pileup on the highway. By not vaccinating, you are putting potentially hundreds of people at risk.

Delaying I have less of a problem with, although it's still not that great of an idea. I'm reminded of a thread where parents were debating on whether to let their kids catch chicken pox naturally or get the vaccine -- there were a good number who said they wanted their kids to get it naturally, but since vaccination for chicken pox is common, their kids got so old without getting it that they had to vaccinate anyway.

that's like saying you have the right to cause a 20-car pileup on the highway.

I'm just saying, that is the flat out worst analogy I have ever heard in my entire life.

So you think that potentially endangering the lives of other people is a-OK. Good to know.

lol Nice strawman.

CPS will not do anything. I know her personally and have for close to 20 years now. She is an excellent mother - she just has a different opinion on the matter. One that her research - feels very valid to her.

She's basing her opinions off of lies and idiocy. That you would defend that in light of evidence to the contrary makes you just as much a monster as she is.

She's basing her opinions off of lies and idiocy. That you would defend that in light of evidence to the contrary makes you just as much a monster as she is.

Damn it! You found me out. Yes I am a monster. A big purple blob of a monster with a total of 13 eyes. 12 small eyes surrounding one large one in the center of my forehead.
I have a long spiked tail and breath ice out through my nose if I sneeze. So look out!

Since it takes one to know one - what kind of a monster are you? Apparently one with a tiny brain.

Can I conclude, based on your responses here, that you:

1. do not understand that mercury compounds vary in toxicity (dimethylmercury or hydrogen cyanide are very deadly while thimerosal and Prussian blue are fairly safe),
2. do not know that thimerosal has been phased almost entirely out of all forms of vaccines, and that the removal of thimerosal had no effect on autism rates,
3. are basing your beliefs on articles based on or on the Wakefield study, which has long since been discredited and was actively falsified from start to finish
4. do not understand that the time period in which vaccinations were mass produced also saw the child mortality rate in countries that vaccinated dropped to close to zero,

and

5. have been denying essential medical care to your children?

Thank you for posting that information about the compounds in vaccines. I'd be interested to see the responses of the anti-vax parents to that information.

I didn't assume that her decision was based ENTIRELY on one bit of information, but for one story of one extremely rare side effect to even 'solidify' your decision is illogical. To use this ONE story in any way to support your decision doesn't make sense. This was a one in a million condition, which is far lower than the risk of death from measles for example. It is also lower than the chance of dying from flu. So using this story in anyway to support your decision is illogical. I respect that it is YOUR decision to make, but to use this story as any part of the basis for it doesn't make sense.

Everything you've studied? What does that mean exactly? If you have evidence that shows vaccines to be more dangerous than measles or meningitis, then I'd be genuinely interested to read it.

I agree... I'm sorry, but MOST kids are FINE when they get vaccines. Kids spread germs, it happens, and without those vaccines we'd have all sorts of illnesses going around, and SO many kids that would be VERY, VERY ill, or even die from these very preventable diseases. The risks associated with vaccines are not as big as the risks of getting these diseases.

lol Wow...

Yeah, good on you for deny essential medical care to your children! Mother of the year!

The essential-ness of the vaccines is debatable. There are many of us who have actually researched them and decided they are not as essential as the medical and pharmaceutical companies want everyone to believe. Just because YOU don't like that opinion doesn't mean it's a wrong one, and it doesn't mean we aren't giving our children necessary medical care.

THIS!

I can see some vaccines being pretty trivial. I came to campus, and their big thing was "OH MY GOD GET A MENINGITIS VACCINE! MENINGITIS BREEDS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES!!!"

The last case of meningitis on campus was in 1991. Needless to say, that was a vaccine that I didn't get.

However, in the case of measles for example, I think vaccination is a bit more essential, but even then it still might not work. My boyfriend just got measles, and he's 23! It's been three weeks, and he still hasn't recovered! He's absolutely miserable. I think the chances of preventing far outweigh the medical costs of treatment. I however, just got a MMR last year, and needless to say, when he started getting measles, all I got was stuffy sinuses for two weeks. :-/

I don't understand how it shocks people. This is the first time I've heard of something like THIS actually happening. Personally I think more people die from the flu shot then have something like this happen, I mean, really.

Oh, definitely. Seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide per year. What happened to this girl is extremely rare.

Still, I am curious as to why she had the vaccination, because even if the risk of the vaccination is small, her personal risk (as a young, presumably fit, person) of dying from flu was probably very very low. So I'm not sure the vaccination was justified for her personally. Either way, it's very sad that this has happened to her.

There have been a lot of news coverage about the H1N1 flu killing young, healthy individuals.
So there is more fear that as a fit, healthy, young person that you'll die of the flu. Which could have been why she got it in the first place.

That is true of H1N1. But I thought it was the seasonal flu vaccine she got (and seasonal flu is very unlikely to cause serious harm to a fit young person)... not H1N1 vaccine.

ah, I didn't watch the video. I thought she got the h1n1 flu vaccination.
I'm not sure why she got the flu vaccination then.
They are offering the vaccination at drug stores here at the moment, and work places, so there isn't much consultation with a physician as maybe there should be. -shrugs-

What you've said, about the death rates, is completely and utterly true.