This post is part of the blogger program by the CDC and The Motherhood, who compensated me for my time. Opinions and experiences shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.
Though the news flares up every once and a while with stories about whether or not we should vaccinate our children, it is inherently safe and I did vaccinate all three of mine. I believe in it and am thrilled to be able to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week! To make sure we all get to celebrate, I am co-hosting an awesome Twitter party April 30, 2014 at 1p ET/12p CT/10a PT!
Check out the details below and RSVP NOW!
#CDCvax Twitter Party Details
What: While it can be easy to think of vaccine-preventable diseases – such as measles or whooping cough – as issues of the past, most of these diseases still persist around the world. Just last year, in 2013, 189 people in the U.S. reported having measles, the largest reported outbreak in the U.S. since 1996.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and to celebrate the achievements of immunization programs in promoting healthy communities throughout the United States.
The Motherhood is joining The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in sharing how immunizations early in life can help protect children from 14 serious diseases before they turn two years old. We’ll be providing the CDC’s recommended immunization schedules, along with interesting facts and helpful tips.
Join us to learn more and share tips of your own for managing your family’s vaccinations and overall health!
When: Wednesday, April 30 at 1pm ET
Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #CDCvax hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/cdcvax
Hashtag: #CDCvax
Your fellow co-hosts:
Amy, This Mama’s Life – @ThisMamas
Annie, Stowed Stuff – @anniestow
Deborah, The Truth About Motherhood – @TruthfulMommy
Donna, Blog by Donna – @DonnaChaffins
Jennifer, My Boys and Their Toys – @Lovesmytwoboys
Kathy, A Mom’s Impression – @amomsimpression
Lori, A Day in Motherhood – @lomargie
Melissa, Sippy Cup Mom – @SippyCupMom
Sarah, Must Have Mom – @musthavemom
Cody got 13 vaccines in 1 day 17 months old 105 temp off and on 5 days oh give him tylenol he will be fine He had convulsions and was not fine Seth 11 yrs old got a combo H1N1 and Meningococcal could NOT even lift himself out of the tub or bed for 2 days 104 temp called the ER they said if he is no better in a few days bring him in Child is now 14 told the doc last month to go to hell when they tried to give him a DTap and a second chicken pox booster NOW HURRY RUN RIGHT OUT AND GET THOSE VACCINES FOLKS SO YOUR SONS CAN BE JUST LIKE MINE
Oh my god. That’s terrible. I read about risks and I had my son with a midwife. No shots. I indeed had chickenpox, measles and mumps when I was a kid kind of skinny in a third world country I am still alive and I never heard of anyone dying because of these childhood infections, all of my cousins and siblings got them too and we are alright. So I am now a very healthy person, I say no to flu shots, I don’t get sick. I SAY just Eat right, and research everything before allowing others to scare you. These infections have their purpose, and like roaches humans become immune to things when we are exposed,or.how come we.multiplied so much even before vaccines? we cannot live in a bubble scared of all things like the flu. I knew kids living in very dirty places in Mexico where I grew up and they were tough healthwise.
The country is waking up to the horrible dangers of these poisonous toxic chemical monstrosities we call vaccines. That is why they are pushing them so hard now and doing vaccine weeks and cdc parties. Wake now!! Learn the truth! Save your children from a lifetime of dependency on doctors and drugs. These vaccines have tons of side effects, cause chronic diseases that stay with you for a lifetime. Almost 30 vaccines by years one, in a baby who;s immune system is still developing, what the hell are you thinking. Run, dont walk, Run from anyone who tries to put these poisons in anyone you know.
Do your own research before giving 48 vaccines to infants. No studies on this number of vaccines has ever been done. There is no requirement or accountability. Don’t follow blindly just to be a ” good Mom “…..
I did mine too and all three of my girls got them – though spaces out and not all at once. I was nervous but after talking to many moms, my decision was right for is
My son received his MMR vaccine at 10 months,that night the lower half of his body swelled double in size and he screamed a high pitched scream the entire night,only later did I learn it was because his brain had swelled. He now suffers from traumatic brain injury. Anyone who cares to read the ingredient list in vaccines (it’s not handed out at the Dr.’s visit) should think long and hard before you risk your kids life and health. The side effects are also listed on the CDC web site. No one really knows if your child will be the one that will be effected either short term or for a lifetime or both. The human immune system evolved over millions of years,poking numerous heavy metals,foreign dna,preservatives and viruses into kids is not immunity,its slow death and disability.
@LoriPace:disqus if vaccines are “inherently safe” then why did the U.S Supreme Court declare vaccines to be “unavoidably unsafe” in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC (the same case that exempted physicians and pharmaceutical companies from vaccine liability)?
All I said is I did research before and deemed then better for my kids than the alternative. Everyone has to make their own decisions
Don’t celebrate something that is maiming children and causing massive epidemics of neurological and physical problems simply because your kids are fine. Just to earn a few bucks.
MPerry – that is unfair. I believe in vaccinations and vaccinated all of my children with no adverse reactions. My opinions are never for sale.
Just curious Lori, can you name any one vaccination shot ingredients and the CDC’s possible adverse reactions to that vaccination? Also the vaccine manufacturers’ package insert warnings of that vaccine? I mean, you say you did your research, just what research was it that you did? I hope you don’t mind me asking. Thanks.
Just curious Christina, can you describe in detail the molecular differences (such as structure and bond strengths) between ethylmercury and methylmercury, and the prevalence of each in the environment? I mean, you people keep claiming that you’re “educating yourselves,” but consistently display your ignorance in matters of basic chemistry, statistics, etc.
If you dismiss any notion of a civilized society’s duty to provide the greatest good to the greatest number, you aren’t just looking out for your own — you are acting exactly as an immoral egoist would.
basic statistics and chemistry? okay smart guy, let’s see where this gets us; Statistically speaking, the CDC reports a “one in a million” chance of fatality in most vaccines, including MMR and TDaP (which are the two most commonly discussed) Now let’s take the All-time High Record of deaths: about 200 (189 or so, but lets round up for a decent margin of error) and then there are 313 Million people in the U.S. So “statistically speaking,” at it’s highest risk, you have a 200:313,000,000, or 1:1.5 million chance of even getting infected, let alone dying of measles (which is 1:1,000) therefore you have a “one in one and a half BILLION” (1:1,500,000,000) chance of dying from measles (in America)
Now chemically speaking; what is the most safest choice for your body?
A: Elemental Mercury
B: Methylmercury
C: Ethylmercury
or
D: NO Mercury?
As you say, it’s only basic chemistry and statistics… ;)
Thanks common sense! I just could not reply to Jason Q Hoffa’s ignorant rant
, ugh!
The minute someone stoops to using condescension they have already lost the argument.
And by the way, the CDC has been trying to claim for years that there is a big difference in the safety profiles and half-lives of ethyl- and methylmercury. But this is a myth, and recent research is making it very obvious that thimerosal is a concern.
Researchers doing the provaccine studies are simply too tunnel-visioned (I have other words to describe them as well), they find that the blood levels of ethylmercury are low shortly after vaccination…so it’s safe! Right? Wrong! Ethymercury likes fatty tissues like the brain, and stays in tissues for a long time.
You also called vaccines “inherently safe.” Inherently = “existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.” I would not classify live viruses, aluminum salts, formaldehyde, etc., as safe, so safety cannot be inherent in vaccines. If it were, why bother test them at all? And safe unsafe. In fact, I think they’re opposites.
My daughter suffered with brain inflammation (diagnosed encephalopathy manifested by autistic features/behaviors) immediately following her vaccinations at 14 months old! Vaccines are not safe for all children! Educate b/f you vaccinate! NVIC.ORG(National Vaccine Info. Center), EBCALA.ORG (Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy).
The number of children diagnosed with some mental disorder has been on a rise along with rising vaccinanation rates. “Correlation does not cause causation” really??? Do mothers of vaccine injured children matter? Are they liars when they say they saw with their own eyes their child go from very alert and healthy to a cripple right after vaccinations?
This idea that vaccines safe lives need to STOP. Everyone affiliated with big pharma who knows the side effects and withholding information from the public is CRIMINAL. Justice will come for you!
Everything I wanted to know came from the companies themselves and the package inserts themselves. If double blind placebo is e gold study, were in trouble.
You received funding from the CDC to host this “party?” But did you even really research their website about what you are encouraging others to inject into their precious children? The package inserts are on the site, with their ingredients listed. You can also go elsewhere on the site & see the “safe” levels for those same ingredients & how the levels in those injections are above those levels. Yet, they’re “safe” somehow? That’s not even actually doing research, that kind of information slaps you in the face. Disappointing.
Regardless of compensation, I strongly believe in vaccinating children, hence why I did all three of mine. If I did not believe in it, I would not have agreed to be a co-host on the party. If you know me, you know that is not who I am. If you are entitled to be against it, I am entitled to be for it. Supporting what I believe in is not ‘selling out for a $’ – it is promoting what I have done for my own children and what I think is a topic that should be honestly discussed on BOTH sides!
LoriPace I agree with you that there should be discussion. I am absolutely in every way against vaccination of children. I believe that the conversation above is just that, a discussion of the topic. It seems that many people are against vaccination for numerous reasons that they are aptly stating, but you are simply whining that you are being “attacked” for your position. Yet, all you say is, this is your opinion and therefore you should not be told you are wrong by others who believe differently. Where are your reasons? You say you spaced out the injections of your own children? Why? Were you worried about safety? At what point do you think too much is too much and why? Is your decision to space out the injections advocated by the CDC? Or was it Mother’s intuition? or research into possible side effects? Or was it just because you didn’t get to the doctor on schedule?
Those of us who are so passionate about not vaccinating are so usually because of serious harm to ourselves and or our children because of the shots. We are passionate about preventing such harm to others. Your passion leads you in an opposing direction, which at this point in time is heading toward taking the right away from parents to choose. We are at odds. However, passionately defending my right to not vaccinate and my opinion that the entire vaccination INDUSTRY is not in the best interest of children, but is in fact injuring children for the purpose of monetary gain, is not personally attacking you.
More propaganda for more money at the expense of children’s health. Lived it and regret it!
I cannot for the life of me see how someone can promote this reckless, untested vaccine schedule on innocent, growing babies? Have you seen the CDC’s recommendations and asked yourself any question at all about why they would give a baby, not even a day old, a Hepatitis B vaccine or vaccinate a pregnant woman with a flu vaccine? Good grief, you can’t possibly get measles, mumps and rubella all at the same time in real life, why would anyone think that injecting 3 live viruses at one time could be a SAFE thing to do??? This is simply disgusting.
I don’t think that mine were given them all at the same time. I believe I purposely spaced them out. I realize that this is a touchy subject and we are ALL entitled to thoughts and opinions. There is a very good conversation going on about this on Twitter. Please don’t attack me for doing what I saw was right for my family and sharing my experience.
You cannot separate the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine because they are no longer available as single dose vaccines… I guess you really didn’t think about this too much?
I know that, I am saying that some are saying their kids got upwards of 40 vaccines at once and I did not do that… please don’t attack me. I am speaking from my experience only. You are certainly entitled to your and I respect them very much.
But you are missing the point. You are promoting what the CDC is doing/recommending. It’s not one size fits all and it’s certainly not even proven safe. So my question is how can you still do this? You obviously have a large audience and so with that comes a little power. Why not discuss this in a better way. I mean have you seen the comments on twitter? It’s absolutely ridiculous! I am trying to help you see the light, is all. Maybe you could be the voice for alternative schedules, cause let me tell you, if you went into a doctor’s office today and told them you wanted it that way? Well, you would not only be fired from the practice, you might even get bullied into vaccinating all at once, anyway. First time mom and dads are at their most vulnerable when faced with these decisions and tend to cave, even when their gut tells them differently. Good for you to see that a little body cannot possibly handle all that garbage, but that is NOT what these people are promoting.
I will leave you alone now, as I should get a wholesome dinner cooked for my boys.
I don’t agree with LoriPace’s decision, but I will fight for her right to express it here. She has been civil, so why are you and everyone else being uncivil?
OMG are you serious, let’s damage an immune system that is just beginning to build. This is sick!!!!
WOW – so wait a minute. So because I am among the vast majority who willingly vaccinates I am sick? Because I made a decision that has given no harm to my kids but protects them should they be exposed, I am uneducated? Because I DID have LONG discussion about vaccinations with doctors, friends and other moms and still decided to vaccinate, I am somehow wrong? Attacking me does not change the fact that I did, in fact, vaccinate my kids and believe in them. Just as I believe in breastfeeding, healthy eating and the pubic school system. Yes, there are stories everywhere about people’s experiences but at no time have I attacked anyone for them. Please show the same respect.
Long discussion(s) about vaccinations “with doctors, friends and other moms” is not equivalent to your own independent research. You based your decision on vaccinations on opinions, not research. Maybe you assumed the doctors and moms you spoke to did do actual research and advised you accordingly, but that’s a pretty big assumption to make
regarding the health and welfare of your children. No one is
attacking you for doing so, just pointing out that you vaccinated your three children without doing research for yourself. Basically, you did so because your doctors told you the shots are safe and your friends told you that their kids are ok and they all got the shots. Is that about right? Because that is EXACTLY what I did too. Unlike your children, however, my daughter suffered vaccine induced encephalopathy and we have spent the rest of our entire lives
healing her from it. Know what would’ve been easier? Doing the research before I vaccinated her. Unless you have
read the independent, peer reviewed research on BOTH SIDES of the subject of vaccinations; scoured over package inserts written by the pharmaceutical companies themselves; questioned the doctors, not as to their “opinions” but as to what actual research studies they base those opinions on and then ask them to point you to them directly so that you yourself can read and digest the outcomes of same; unless you’ve spoken to moms and friends who DO have children
adversely affected by their vaccinations, then I respectfully submit that you haven’t even begun to research the subject of vaccinations. If you had even begun to do so, just cautiously
dipped your toe in to that pool of information, one of the first things you would have discovered is that there is not a SINGLE study ANYWHERE on the safety and efficacy of the current CDC recommended vaccination schedule. And that, I bet, would make you say “hmmmm, maybe there is more I need to know about this subject before I go around
throwing Twitter parties promoting it.”
LoriPace I don’t agree with your decision but I will fight for your right to express it. However…
In a perfect world, parents should just need to do what most are doing now, which is to consult with their pediatricians and learn what they need to know about vaccines…their risks and benefits. Parents really are trying to be responsible and informed.
BUT…the crux of the problem is that the information that parents receive, from their pediatricians, from the CDC, and especially from vacccine “experts” (read that zealots) like Dr. Paul Offit and the multitude of so-called Skeptics on the web, is wholly inadequate. The risks of the vaccines are completely underestimated…our agencies and their representatives totally deny that vaccines have anything to do with the exponentially increasing epidemics plaguing our children in recent years. To a provaccine advocate, the only reactions are redness, swelling, maybe a slight fever, and maybe anaphylactic shock in 1-in-a-million. The truth is, there are many other risks.
These folks also overestimate the benefits of vaccines, pretending that they provide near-perfect immunity that is long-lasting…neither is true. And often when the vaccines do work, that is not even a Good Thing. Chickenpox vaccine has caused an epidemic of shingles (CDC paper showed this…even if its author was fired after deciding to publish the results). And we are now finding that the vaccines themselves are a major factor in the recent epidemics, especially measles and pertussis.
Would suggest you do more research, but don’t take *anyone’s* word for it, especially not mine. (I have no medical background…I’m a computer IT guy…this stuff is not rocket science).
Best of luck to you.
I used to think vaccines were safe. I was blind. #CDCvax
http://thinkingmomsrevolution.com/blind/
In a perfect world, parents should just need to do what most are
doing now, which is to consult with their pediatricians and learn what
they need to know about vaccines…their risks and benefits. Parents
really are trying to be responsible and informed.
BUT…the crux of the problem is that the information that parents receive, from their pediatricians, from the CDC, and especially from vacccine “experts”
(read that zealots) like Dr. Paul Offit and the multitude of so-called
Skeptics on the web, is wholly inadequate. The risks of the vaccines are
completely underestimated…our agencies and their representatives
totally deny that vaccines have anything to do with the exponentially
increasing epidemics plaguing our children in recent years. To a
provaccine advocate, the only reactions are redness, swelling, maybe a
slight fever, and maybe anaphylactic shock in 1-in-a-million. The truth
is, there are many other risks.
These folks also overestimate the benefits of vaccines, pretending that they provide near-perfect immunity that is long-lasting…neither is true. And often when the vaccines do work, that is not even a Good Thing. Chickenpox vaccine has caused an epidemic of shingles (CDC paper showed this…even if its author was fired after deciding to publish the results). And we are now finding that the vaccines themselves are a major factor in the recent epidemics,
especially measles and pertussis.
Looks like you have been put on the nutty anti-vaxxer ‘hit list’. I’m sorry. They like to throw around the word “science” and “research” a lot – but all they research are blog sites, and their only science comes from the discredited Wakefield. They are the biggest conspiracy theorists I know. No need to respond to their crazy rantings – it just encourages them. Those of us who really understand medical science (not ‘blog science’) and reasoning, fully support vaccination and the wonderful things they have done to prolong and enrich our lives.
Everyone deserves a forum – I’m happy to provide it as long as it is a fair argument :) we all have to be open to learning in a healthy and fair way!
Thank you, Lori! We just want there to be an open, fair, and honest discussion about vaccines. Too often the liberal media (for once, the conservative media is usually more fair and balanced) and the public health officials present only one side of the story. At best, they portray us as ignorant (innumerate and scientifically illiterate are terms they like to use); at worst, they depict us as immoral monsters worse than Dr. Mengele. We just want our story to be heard, and we do not want our rights trampled on any more than anyone else does.
Are you blocking me now? I’ve tried to post a response to Jenny McKook’s trollish comment twice now, and it has disappeared both times. My comment was in no way uncivil, unlike hers. This is what I said:
Calling people who advocate for informed consent “nutty anti-vaxers” and what they say “crazy rantings” will not win you any debates (it’s an ad hominem attack). Doctors and public health officials have a hard enough time convincing them as it is. See “Effective Messages in Vaccine Promotion” (http://bit.ly/1ktA6Nu). It is a straw man that vaccine skeptics cite science only from blogs. Look at my (@marathonjonn) tweets for #CDCvax and you will see that I cited many peer-reviewed scientific articles, including the 2012 and 2013 Institute of Medicine reports on vaccines. About the only people who still refer to the Wakefield study are people like you. And there are plenty of MDs, PhDs, DOs, DCs, and RNs who question the safety and efficacy of vaccines, do research on them, and publish their findings.
I have not. I have a filter that may be blocking them but I have not gone in and blocked anyone at all.
Must be your filter then. I even took a screen shot after I posted the comment the 2nd time.
Yes…. My son’s life has been so “Enriched” since his MMR Vaccination and now a lifetime with a disability! It’s been proven to the Federal Government that they are NOT SAFE! that they do cause disabilities and destroy children’s lives, We don’t throw around the word “SCIENCE” we throw personal experiences, many many night’s in tear’s and watch our children regress slowly from the happy healthy little ones they once were! I’m NOT a conspiracy theorist, I AM A MOTHER! who see’s what’s happening with an entire generation of children and will spread the word DAILY to stop it! #SAYNOTOVACCINES
Whether to vaccinate or not is a personal/parental decision, hopefully an informed one. I’m skeptical of the safety and efficacy of vaccines, but I would never say to someone else they shouldn’t vaccinate. It’s no better than the people who say we must vaccinate. By all means, share your story-but other people have to decide what’s best for them and their children.