I'm supposed to be going through my Small Pox case study right now, in preparing for my International Health exam.. but I thought, this is as good a time as any to just go through a few of my thoughts regarding Vaccines.
I know many people don't think that vaccines are not for their child, and I guess I can respect that, but just make sure you do read and research into it.
This goes over general info that parents should know about vaccines, though it is quite vague and doesn't go into the topic too much.
I think there are two things that bother parents most:
1) the whole deal with autism being connected to the MMR Vaccine
We were discussing this in class and my prof was saying how tired she is of this topic... because that myth was debunked ages ago.. Apparently there were many things regarding the legitimacy of the research and the authors that wrote it. In fact, all of the authors that were part of that research took their word back and agreed that it was a mistake except one. It was later found out that the one author that didn't was getting paid to write the article by a pharmaceutical company. Also, when repeated again, the research failed to provide the same results and many researchers pointed out that the reason they got those results in the first place was that they got their results at the same time as when the signs of autism are apparent (which is when a child is around 13 - 15 months). Anyway, the whole argument of the article was about thermisole anyway (a mercury based compound) and they have already taken that out of the vaccines they give now.
Which brings us to 2) The worry that Thermisole will affect the brain.. Thermisole is not mercury, it's mercury based and they didn't find anything that proved that it was harmful.. but because of the fear, and the dupe research paper on autism, they have taken it out of the vaccines all together like many years ago.
3) Many parents argue that vaccines may cause side affects that we don't know about yet, like some of the stuff on the swine flu vaccine that came out
I think you can't compare the Measles, Polio, Mumps etc. vaccines to the flu and swine flu vaccines.. why? because every year, there is a new flu vaccine made because of the different strains of flu, and the swine flu vaccine was also newly made. The amount of research done on the big vaccines given to kids (ie. polio, measles, pertusis, tetunus, diptheria and TB) does not even compare to the research done on the flu vaccines. Also, if your kids have the flu, they'll get over it within a couple of days, it's not a big deal.. if your kids have polio, they'll be disabled for life or even paralyzed! na authobillah.. may Allah swt protect our little ones. ameen. So, go ahead, don't give them the flu vaccine and rely on natural immunity, but taking a chance on the other sever diseases is not the smartest in my opinion.
I think people fail to realize how serious these diseases are, and they also fail to see that they are communicable, which means they can spread in the community like wild fire and their effects are not just a sneeze, cough or fever, it's paralysis, extreme extreme rashes and scars all over the body and intense sickness you can't even imagine.. why can't we imagine it? because alhamdulillah because of those same vaccines, we live in a society that is almost free of these diseases.
Don't get me wrong, my own marmee is against vaccines.. and yes, though I have tremendous respect for her and her opinions, I do disagree with this one.
*EDIT* ...I put pictures up, but they were kinda gruesome, so i took them off.. i think you should google some of these diseases that our kids are vaccinated for and see the severity of them..
on another note, my MIL actually told me that her first son (he passed away) had Polio - he contracted it because at the time she did not know about vaccinations. Well, after he passed away, the doctor told her that if he had been alive, he would have been disabled for life. Needless to say, all her sons and the kids in their family are now vaccinated.
I don't know, i guess in the end it's up to the parents to decide.. like i came across a document on some site called 'natural news' which said that vaccines may cause a number of other side affects and doctors just want you to get vaccinated because they want to charge you extra for the side effects.. honestly, to me this sounds like the many conspiracy theories that are already out there (my notes tell me that the global cost of one of these vaccinations to the governments was 2.3 billion dollars.. so it doesn't make sense that vaccines that are so expensive would be a means to get our $$).
... And, you know, I would believe these documents too if I wasn't studying some of these diseases, reading articles about the epidemics they've caused and watching documentaries about how vaccines have helped countries like Africa and India from viruses like Small Pox (in which 1/3 of the cases die, if they live, they have severe lesions for the rest of their life and most end up blind) etc. etc.
So there, that's my $0.01 on the issue. It's all for you to decide and discuss this issue with your family doctor.. don't just accept claims from both sides, especially not from websites that sell t-shirts on the side or have google ads on them :p
its not right to say "its not the smartest" in your opinion, thats just harsh. Parents who have researched and choose not to vaccinate their kids should be given some respect. And these days more and more parents are prefering not to vaccinate their kids.
ReplyDeleteI understand your concerns, I fear some of the things too, but in the end my trust in Allaah makes me going. I've heard other stories too where a kid got polio shot and went crazy.
Just cuz you vaccinate your kids, it doesn't mean its right choice for everyone. Like for an example, if you want to take sinus medication for your flu, and I want to go herbal? there is nothing wrong, both work by the end of the day I guess, but i feel herbal is more safer, and you don't depend on drugs rest of your life.
In the end its all opinions, wallahualam who is right and wrong, and I sincerely hope nobody catches these dangerous diseases iA.
And Allah knows best.
Thanks for writing your thoughts Rabiya.
ReplyDeleteI understand my statement about the 'smartest' didn't sound too nice and i apologize if you thought it was harsh.
...and I get your thoughts about vaccines, but I don't think our trust in Allah will hinder if we vaccinate our kids. You're speaking about a case of someone going crazy after taking the polio shot, what about so many others who are totally fine?.. and would not trust in Allah swt also come when you are giving something to your kids as well as when you are not?
Also, I dont' think your example of a virus that causes sneezing, coughing and fever can be compared to a virus that can cause paralysis. Sometimes you have to look at the degree of severity to find the proper medication for it. And at least when you have a flu other people know to stay away from you, which lessons them from getting it, some of these diseases don't show signs until two weeks or so giving it plenty of time for others to catch it and get sick as well.
At the end of the day, it is your decision after all, because they are your kids. and Allah swt knows best what is the best thing.
When I said "trust in Allah keeps me going" I meant I hope that Allah doesn't put me in that situation, and I sincerely hope for the best. I just don't see the point of giving vax to *my* kids when the disease barely exist, things would be diff if something breaksout. Hopefully not, but maybe at that time my views would be different, and Allah knows best.
ReplyDeleteWe will talk about this in person, its better to understand each other I guess inshaAllah.
No offense intended :)
Salaam.
I was against vaccinations until H was 2 months old and it was time for her first vaccination. Then I started reading a bunch of stuff from both sides because I had to make up my mind. After giving it a lot of thought, N and I went ahead and got H vaccinated, alhamdulillah.
ReplyDeleteOne of my concerns was the fact that because Canada accepts large numbers of immigrants every year, one can never be sure of what diseases might be spread. Also, I intend to travel to many countries in the future insha'Allah so I don't want to have the risks of any of these serious diseases.
Rabiya, I was totally not offended :) and insha'Allah we can discuss it in person in more detail if you prefer.
ReplyDeleteNobz, good point.. although we don't see signs of any of these diseases around us, they still exist in many third world countries, very common in places like India, Pakistan, Somalia and Bangladesh. I remember when we were discussing I think Measles and the video we were watching from Global Health stated that they've tried many times to eradicate these diseases from those countries through vaccinations, but it's mostly the Muslim religious population that refuses to vaccinate, because some many of them believe it causes people to have less kids or something... so bottom line, all the diseases we get vaccinated for still exist, the only one that doesn't is smallpox due to intense vaccine campaigns (ie. literally door-to-door in rural areas in places like Pakistan and India), and alhamdulillah we don't get vaccinated for smallpox any more.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting topic... a touchy one to say the least!
ReplyDeleteVaccines are a very personal choice and while it is easy to advocate for either side (the side we believe in) we have to remember that there are always *two* sides to every story. With that being said, both sides provide some very valid arguments.
At the end of the day it all boils down to- what your personal beliefs are... and obviously this is a lifestyle choice, this choice is a reflection of the morals you live by. At the end of the day- its not about the Doctor or the information, its about what is right for your family and your child.
I understand your intention with this post and do commend you for advocating what you think is right. Its your blog and you can say what you want too =)
However, its not fair to indirectly call out the other parents- like Sister Rabiya, who might not agree with you. It felt a little bit like a warning to all the parents who do not vaccinate their children, combined with a bit of fear- but you have to remember not every family makes their decisions based on fear.
Some hippie loving people- live without vaccines, grow their own food and give birth at home- and they are fine Alhumdulillah. Of course, they are not the majority, but if you ask me they are a brave and couragious bunch and we have to commend them for thinking outside the box.
Without giving away what we have decided for Zakariya, I would enocurage both sides to stop making the other feel as if one side is BETTER. Every family needs to do what works for them.
Also, consider other options. There are options outside of OHIP coverage to take single dose vaccines. You can also opt for a delayed schedule, so you can pick the vaccines you think are most important and skip all the extra and newer ones, this is a good option as it gives your childs immunity some time to develop before you start vaccinating.
May Allah make it easy for every family to decide what is right for them and may he give us the ability to accept the choices of others and others the ability to accept our choices (Ameen)
Thank you for your thoughts Hira and ameen to your dua.
ReplyDeleteThe intention of the post wasn't to scare parents into vaccinating.. it was more of a vent because i've come across many, many muslim parents who are very much who are strongly against vaccines and make others uncomfortable about their choice to do it, and I just wanted to present the other side. I hope you weren't offended by it :)
... also i think i did mention somehwere in the post about choosing to vaccinate your kids with some and not the others.