by Jennifer Powers

Created on: June 19, 2009   Last Updated: June 20, 2009

Ever since Jenny McCarthy went on the news and blamed her child's autism on vaccinations, many parents have decided not to immunize. It is pointed out that many diseases children are vaccinated for have been dormant for years so the need for the immunization is "unwarranted." That could not be further from the truth! Many diseases are a thing of the past because of immunizations. Parents should be required to vaccinate their children to protect them from disease.

Not only can old diseases, such as Smallpox reappear, but new diseases have also emerged. H1N1 Flu (also known as Swine Flu took the country by surprise. But why should any new disease be a surprise? America is visited by people of all nations whose countries might not require vaccinations or they might be more susceptible to contracting a disease and bringing it over to an unsuspecting people. Such was the case with the Swine Flu and while it might well be under control, who is to stop it from happening again? Legislation can stop it by making it mandatory to administer children vaccinations.

What causes problems with parents overriding doctors is they are leaving their children susceptible to powerful and sometimes fatal diseases. The repercussions of not vaccinating your child far outweigh the risks involved with shots. Instead of trusting their doctors, parents make up their own immunization schedule for their child and others outright refuse shots for the fear of autism. Many doctors refuse to see the infants anymore because they can not do their jobs properly due to the parents' unwarranted concerns. The only "link" that was proven with autism is MMR, and that is also a very rare occurrence.

Yet parents start messing with the immunization schedule because they are uneducated and buy in that all vaccinations should be voluntary! Such is the case of a mother of ten-month-old triplets who decided not to have her babies vaccinated at all. She contracted a very rare form of cancer and it has put the entire family at risk. Since she has a weak immune system, just coming into contact with someone with any sickness can mutate itself in her body and become something much worse. A regular cold can turn into Pneumonia and could be fatal, not to mention any sickness means she can not undergo chemotherapy.

To add the fact that her triplets were never immunized poses unnecessary risks to them. They could potentially become ill from their mother and there is nothing stopping the disease from turning into RSV

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>