The Great Vaccine Divide

“As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.” - Tracee Ellis Ross

Whether to vaccinate or not to vaccinate has become THE most heated debate amongst parents today. Families have been torn apart over their differing views, people have been shamed into silence, and anger on both sides abounds.

It’s no wonder that the topic is so contentious. When we open the door to parenthood we learn to love more passionately than we ever have before, we discover a responsibility which can crush us some days and ultimately we’re all scared of getting it wrong. Those are some pretty substantial emotions to deal with, and many of us are unprepared for them by the time our little ones enter into this world.

There may be opposing views on this matter, but ultimately the thing that drives us to these views stems from the exact same place; we want our children to be healthy and happy.

On both sides of the vaccination divide there are insecure parents desperate to do THE right thing. And we are made to believe that that there are only two choices here. You either vaccinate, or you don’t. You’re either for or against. Pro or anti.

As with everything in this beautifully complex life there are far more colours separating black and white if only we choose to open our eyes to them.

On the one hand there are those who believe that vaccination is the biggest miracle granted to modern man and that unless every single person on the planet is injected against diseases like measles, tuberculosis, tetanus and chickenpox we are all doomed! There are also parents who have lost their children to what they believe are vaccine preventable diseases or who have immunocompromised children and fear that unvaccinated children carry diseases that could kill theirs.

On the other side of the great divide are families who believe that their children have been adversely affected by vaccination and in many cases have lost their children forever, whether through behavioural changes on the autism spectrum or even death.

How can we possibly reconcile these two groups? It seems entirely impossible. On the one hand you have people fearing impending doom for humanity at large or for their own vulnerable children and on the other you have families ripped apart by guilt for having vaccinated their children and learn a suffering that most of us can only hope to never experience.

In the middle of the extreme life or death believers there are also people who don’t vaccinate on religious or moral grounds due to the fact that some vaccines have been developed using human aborted foetal tissue or because they include bovine or other animal serum. Some just don’t believe their children should be subjected to having plant, animal or human DNA injected into them without knowing how that may affect them. There are people who don’t believe their children should unnecessarily receive neurotoxins (which destroy nerve tissue) like aluminium salt, ethylmercury, and formaldehyde, to name but a few. People worry about the carcinogenic ingredients, the detergents and corrosive acids. There are parents who worry about the shedding of injected live viruses and believe that they can mutate and become more dangerous.

Then there are people who delay vaccination due to the fact that babies only start to develop their immune system on their own at about 2-3 months and that immune system is not fully developed until 4-5 years of age.

None of these parents is wrong.

They all want what is best for their children. How can we be so judgmental of one another when we have so much common ground between us?

The only way forward, in my opinion, is through respectful and unprejudiced dialogue. We need to come together.

The science is so murky that you can bring up “peer reviewed studies” to back either side of the debate. You may believe that ALL doctors believe in vaccination but that is simply not true. There are hundreds of thousands of doctors all over the world who do not believe in the “miracle” of vaccination and who do not agree with the various government schedules. And they are not all “quacks”. What a laughable accusation.

No two government schedules are the same. For instance, in the US you will not receive the oral polio drops because of its ability to mutate to a form that can cause paralysis (called vaccine induced polio), yet in many countries in Africa and around the world babies receive these drops within a few days of life. Does that seem right to you? Don’t you think we should question this?

It is not up to me, or anyone else, to tell you what is right for your children. When we crossed over the threshold into parenthood we took on this immense responsibility that we can not, and should not shirk away from by throwing up our hands and allowing our (often corrupt) governments or healthcare providers to choose for us. We need to research and look for the answers ourselves and come to the decision that is right for us and our families.

We are living in a world where toxins are everywhere; in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the cosmetics we use and the medicines we swallow or inject. Not all children are born with the same abilities to metabolise toxins and no one should be judged or forced into a situation that their tiny bodies may or may not be able to handle. Especially regarding a subject where there is so much uncertainty.

At the same time, if parents truly believe that they would like to vaccinate their children, that should be their right and they too should follow what they believe is good for their families.

However we should all be as informed as possible BEFORE making the choice.

It is perhaps not very well known that children who have been recently vaccinated should not be around immunocompromised people because live viruses do shed and can cause serious harm or even death to those with a weak immune system.

People talk about the whole “herd immunity” thing to try to convince others that we are all responsible for the general health of the human race. However, it seems most people don’t understand what herd immunity truly is, which is why it’s so important to look into it. Some people say it’s a myth. Others say it is necessary to keep us all alive.

Herd immunity isn't a myth. Vaccine induced herd immunity is a myth. If we caught the wild viruses and became immune for life, herd immunity would certainly help to stop the spread of disease, sure. But vaccine induced herd immunity can never work because the vaccines don't prevent you from getting the disease. They just don’t. Naturally acquired immunity means that you got the disease and not only built up your immune system to fight against other illnesses, but also are usually immune from getting the disease again later in life. Mothers can pass on naturally acquired immunity to their children through breast milk, thus keeping the herd babies safe until they are old enough to possibly get the disease and deal with it, with a better developed immune system. Vaccines can not and do not do that, because they do not prevent everyone from getting the disease.

Also, there is a lot of confusion about unvaccinated children spreading disease. It is completely ridiculous to think that a healthy child that is not carrying a disease can spread a disease they do not have.

These arguments should stop being used in the vaccine dispute because they are simply absurd!

If you’re a new parent, do the research. Don’t listen to one argument for or against vaccination, listen to both. Ask your friends who have healthy happy babies what they choose to do. Read up everything you can get your hands on and don’t make a decision before putting in some real time and effort into this.

My biggest irk is when parents say they’ve been for the 6 months vax and have NO IDEA what they are! With this topic being as heated as it is, how can you not even ask your healthcare provider what is being injected into your child?

You are not an ostrich. You have opposable digits on your hand that can be put to good use even on a smart phone. Use them!

There is so much to learn. Put in the effort! For example, ingested toxins are very differently secreted from our bodies than injected toxins. Learn the difference.

But throughout your journey of discovery try not to blame parents who may come up with a different perspective to yours. Remember that we are all doing what we believe is best for our children.

If you want to get angry, aim that anger at the governments and corporations who are not telling us the truth because they have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. This is not only true for vaccines, but for many many other “medicines” which have been sold on to the public over the years only to be taken off the market when it turns out to be dangerous or lead to far worse illnesses. Be passionate, get angry, do it! But don’t wish other people’s children harm!

That’s completely inhuman! Or should be.

We do need to find answers for why there is a growing autism and cancer epidemic. Let’s ask the right questions and aim those questions at the right people and stop, STOP!! willing each other ill because we disagree on how to keep our beautiful babies safe.

Let us build a bridge over the divide and find the solutions for our children together. Let us ask our governments and healthcare agencies for transparency on this issue. Let’s stop bickering amongst each other and demand answers from those who have them. And finally, let us support one another on this journey and concentrate on what we have in common instead of our differences.

As parents, we all want what is best for our children and their future. Let us create that future together.

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Editors note: anyone commenting on this post with anger, hatred or wishing ill on others will be flagged.