General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If you don't vaccinate your children. [View all]Ms. Toad
(34,000 posts)is that medicine will become more and more individualized as we move forward.
We already know that vaccines are not universally safe or effective - but we don't have good predictive tools for the small group who should not have vaccines until after the harm is done. Ultimately we will, and there will be an individualized assessment of the vaccine regime for individuals who are likely to be at risk for vaccine harm. But until we have good predictive tools, parents of children whose general characteristics make it likely they are at risk are not being irresponsible (idiotic, negligent, lunatics)when they evaluate the science and what limited evidence is currently available and choose to reject all, or some,vaccines.
Children with one or more autoimmune diseases (or with a strong family history of autoimmune vaccines) fall into this category. The currently accepted disease etiology for most autoimmune disorders is genetic predisposition + environmental trigger. Adjuvants are added to vaccines for the express purpose of strengthening the immune response to increase the body's ability to create immunity. Unfortunately, when a body already has an overactive immune system that doesn't recognize the boundaries between self and other, artificially kicking the immune system into high gear is not necessarily a good thing. That is a concern I have had for years and, more recently, it is being documented in the medical literature.
But my larger point is that this is one situation I am aware of, in which parents have responsibly evaluated scientific theory, and available research, and have reached a medically supportable conclusion that for their child the standard vaccination regime carries more risk than benefit. My child has had most of her vaccines - but has skipped those for diseases that carry minimal risk - or were intended to protect children in situations she was never in.
I won't presume to judge that our family's situation is the only exception to the rule that children should be vaccinated - because I don't know all of the reasons that vaccination might not be appropriate. What I do know is that name calling and insisting that there is only one right way is not helpful.