Tuesday 24 June 2014

Unfair Pressure on Parents that Choose not to Vaccinate

Given that the history of vaccines is debatable at best, it is not unreasonable for parents to opt out of having their children vaccinated.  This is a personal choice and one that shouldn't be questioned.
How then is it that those parents that have decided not to vaccinate are made to feel like bad parents?  The question of whether a child has been vaccinated or not is an invasion of privacy - your medical details, of which treatment and prevention are part of that, are private, so schools, nurseries,clubs etc have no right asking.
How, as adults, would we like to questioned by employers as to whether we have had our smear test or mammogram, both are held up as preventative procedures and quite rightly private matters.

May be we women too will find ourselves forced into taking these tests or we might not get a job, just as some places start excluding children for not being vaccinated.  Forced to subject the breasts to unnecessary radiation to conform...what kind of world would that be....well the kind of world that tries social pressure on parents to vaccinate their children...we are there already,and we need to stop it.

Choices on health and the non judgemental attitude towards parents is where we ought to be.  It is not a given that a vaccine will protect you.

Whether a child has had a vaccine or not is not indicative of not contracting the illness or that the vaccine was successful.  In fact to know if the vaccine was successful, a follow up test would be needed to see if the antibodies were there and even then, how long is that the case in artificial immunity....so the question of vaccinated or not is redundant.

It is a question that is used to pressure parents to conform...well if your child is vaccinated, you must be so sure that they are protected, so nothing to fear from the un-vaccinated then.  In fact the un-vaccinated should perhaps steer clear of the vaccinated as they now have the potential for the illness as we see outbreaks of the illness in the vaccinated.

So if a child ends up in the GP surgery or A & E and whether the ill health is related to an illness associated with a vaccine or not, it matters not a jot if the child has had the vaccine or not, the child needs help and that it the bottom line.  

What if a child has been vaccinated and they still contract measles etc, what would the then doctor or nurse have to say about that??  If the child presents with an illness that is nothing to do with vaccines, then the question is even more irrelevant, but it seems to get asked.

May be if you are the parent of an un-vaccinated child and you ever have to present your child to a doctor or A&E and are asked if your child has been vaccinated....turn the tables and ask them straight away 'why? do you think this is vaccine damage or reaction?'   

Make a different assumption to their questions..one of whether the illness in children is vaccine related!

Given most children are vaccinated, it seems odd that the focus is on those that are not and finding out if vaccines have been had.....

If you are the parent of an un-vaccinated child, then Arnica UK is there to help support you in your choice,but perhaps you need to think ahead of what you might say if asked.  It is in the face of medics that parents feel the most pressure and that is no way to be making any decision on health. To feel bullied into it or pressured into it,is coercion and that is wrong. 



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