To Vaccinate or not to Vaccinate - no that isn't the question

Vaccination has become a very hot (as in don't touch it hot) topic in the world lately. This article is NOT a contribution of the ongoing debate, but an observation of it.

As I watch the so-called 'Pro-Vaxxers' and 'Anti-Vaxxers' in their well -entrenched, stubbornly held positions, I wonder if any of them truly realise how they've been manipulated into an us-or-them mentality.

The arguments on both sides start to become familiar and repetitive after a while.

The Pro’s argue that:
• The use of Vaccines helps to protect against the spread of disease, and they save lives. You are putting your child at risk if you choose not to immunize your children…
• Vaccines work.
• All vaccines are safe.
• Vaccines are fully tested before being released.
• Herd immunity is important.
• Un-vaccinated people are a danger to my vaccinated children.

The Con’s argue that:
• If vaccines are so effective, why does an un-vaccinated child threaten you?
• The additives in the injections are toxic
• Vaccines do not go through the same rigorous testing as other drugs
• Many children (& adults) have been badly damaged for life by vaccination injections
• Vaccines & their additives damage the immune system.
• Vaccines cause Autism.

There are more – but these are some of the main common themes. What nobody seems to be noticing is that both the Pro & the Con arguments actually have a lot in common. It seems crazy to me that no-one seems to have noticed this – and it just keeps going on and on.

()

What do they have in common?

Firstly – everyone who has a passionate, stubbornly held belief or opinion about this subject - actually wants the same outcome: for their children to be safe & healthy, for everyone to be safe and healthy.

Secondly – what I’ve noticed about both sides of this argument is that there is a very real weakness in both sides because they lump ‘vaccines’ (and their additives) into one big group as if every vaccine (with its additives) is somehow the same.

Lastly – there is (more often than not) a complete lack of real education on both sides. Most people spouting these ‘facts’ have never actually taken the time to read the studies, to look at the science or to even listen to anything that might disagree with the opinion they hold so strongly. Both sides are generally spouting what they’ve heard or been brainwashed into believing without any REAL knowledge. This is a generalisation and of course there are many exceptions.

Here are my views on the subject.

Firstly, people should not be so angry at each other over this – specially as we have the same desired outcome in mind. The insults I see on social media, simply because the other person disagrees, are just mind-boggling and vicious.

Secondly – vaccinations are all different, they have to be. So how is it at all logical to lump them all together?

Third – the additives are something else again – yet they too are being lumped in with ‘Vaccines’. It just isn’t logical.

The real questions are much more complex than the ‘Pro v Anti’ arguments that keep popping up all over the place. This ‘us/them’ mentality is actually more disturbing than the argument itself. It causes us all to put our focus away from where it should be (in my opinion) and that is:
• To have each vaccine judged on its own merits
• To have the additives properly studied to make sure that any used with vaccines are as safe as possible
• To improve the studies and tests that are used to verify the safety and effectiveness.
• To create an environment where that is transparent so that parents and health professionals can easily see the information about each vaccine, how it ![550_101740291.jpg]was tested and who by.
• To create an environment of healthy discussion – not anger and insults.

So that’s my take on it… I’m not sure if I’ve articulated as well as I’d like, but hopefully it will get a few people thinking.