I think I have previously mentioned my philosophy on vaccinations, which is: get them. Get every one you are offered.
I know, I know. Reactions, over-loaded immune systems, possible (unproven) autism link, etc. Have you ever seen a man drag himself across the street on his hands, which have flipflops on them, because he was paralyzed by polio? Have you ever seen the mass graves after an entire town has been decimated by cholera? Get the vaccines.
I know, I know. HPV and Hepatitis B are transmitted sexually, so if you are just good, you can avoid them. Me: RAGE, FURY, CANNOT SPEAK STRAIGHT. It's not about being good or bad, people, it's about the most effective way of staying healthy. GET THE #$%@ VACCINES. No one can predict everything that will ever happen to them. No one.
I get furious when people say that they aren't going to vaccinate their kids, or get vaccines to travel. I am all about alternative medicine (love my doctor, love, for suggesting that I get acupuncture for the tension headaches I get at work), and I hate taking unnecessary medication, but unless you or your child are medically fragile or immuno-compromised, get the vaccines. In fact, that's the entire point. If the healthy people don't get the vaccines, the diseases will be running around able to infect people who can't get them because of their health or immune system problems. You owe it to the rest of us to get the vaccines. Putting a little bit of a disease into your body so it can learn to fight off the real thing when it comes is an entirely different thing than over-medicating. Bodies were made to fight off diseases. Healthy bodies are bored with the lack of things to fight off in our too-clean culture.*
I was inspired to write about this by something I happened to read in which someone objected to giving their pre-teen daughter the Gardasil vaccine because it would encourage her to have sex. Are you kidding me? Seriously? Are you mad? You would rather have your child potentially die of cervical cancer than get a vaccine? Do you think that's going to be what determines whether she has sex or not? Is she going to be thinking about that while kissing some boy someday and trying to decide what should happen next? If the risks of pregnancy and HIV and gonorrhea and herpes and chlamydia plus all the guilt that this type of parent is sure to have put on their child are not enough to keep her from having sex, I seriously doubt that the risk of HPV is going to do it.** Plus, did you know that they have found HPV under the fingernails of pre-teen boys who have never been sexually active? That you don't actually have to have intercourse to get it? That stuff is going AROUND.
People. Get a grip. Get the vaccine. Get every vaccine they offer you.
* I also think a little salmonella is good for you, as long as you are in general good health. Go right on eating the peanut butter and spinach.
**I was seriously tempted to say, right there, "What if she doesn't have sex before she gets married but she marries a guy who did, and who gives her HPV?" and also, "What if she is raped?" but I didn't, because it infuriates me that we still, in 2009, have a double standard for men and women. It infuriates me that they don't even give this vaccine to boys. It infuriates me that in order to come up with reasons why people should give their daughters a vaccine that will help keep them healthy, I have to even consider resorting to a story line that allows them to think of their daughter as "pure" until some man takes ownership of her.
PS. I should also add that when the Gardasil vaccine came out, I was just about to turn 27 (they give the vaccine to women up to age 26) and I lept at the opportunity to get vaccinated. I paid $360 out of pocket while broke in law school to get that vaccine, because I had to get it then or never. I figured it was an investment in a healthy future. You know why? Because life defies predictions. And because I get every vaccine I possibly can.
I know, I know. Reactions, over-loaded immune systems, possible (unproven) autism link, etc. Have you ever seen a man drag himself across the street on his hands, which have flipflops on them, because he was paralyzed by polio? Have you ever seen the mass graves after an entire town has been decimated by cholera? Get the vaccines.
I know, I know. HPV and Hepatitis B are transmitted sexually, so if you are just good, you can avoid them. Me: RAGE, FURY, CANNOT SPEAK STRAIGHT. It's not about being good or bad, people, it's about the most effective way of staying healthy. GET THE #$%@ VACCINES. No one can predict everything that will ever happen to them. No one.
I get furious when people say that they aren't going to vaccinate their kids, or get vaccines to travel. I am all about alternative medicine (love my doctor, love, for suggesting that I get acupuncture for the tension headaches I get at work), and I hate taking unnecessary medication, but unless you or your child are medically fragile or immuno-compromised, get the vaccines. In fact, that's the entire point. If the healthy people don't get the vaccines, the diseases will be running around able to infect people who can't get them because of their health or immune system problems. You owe it to the rest of us to get the vaccines. Putting a little bit of a disease into your body so it can learn to fight off the real thing when it comes is an entirely different thing than over-medicating. Bodies were made to fight off diseases. Healthy bodies are bored with the lack of things to fight off in our too-clean culture.*
I was inspired to write about this by something I happened to read in which someone objected to giving their pre-teen daughter the Gardasil vaccine because it would encourage her to have sex. Are you kidding me? Seriously? Are you mad? You would rather have your child potentially die of cervical cancer than get a vaccine? Do you think that's going to be what determines whether she has sex or not? Is she going to be thinking about that while kissing some boy someday and trying to decide what should happen next? If the risks of pregnancy and HIV and gonorrhea and herpes and chlamydia plus all the guilt that this type of parent is sure to have put on their child are not enough to keep her from having sex, I seriously doubt that the risk of HPV is going to do it.** Plus, did you know that they have found HPV under the fingernails of pre-teen boys who have never been sexually active? That you don't actually have to have intercourse to get it? That stuff is going AROUND.
People. Get a grip. Get the vaccine. Get every vaccine they offer you.
* I also think a little salmonella is good for you, as long as you are in general good health. Go right on eating the peanut butter and spinach.
**I was seriously tempted to say, right there, "What if she doesn't have sex before she gets married but she marries a guy who did, and who gives her HPV?" and also, "What if she is raped?" but I didn't, because it infuriates me that we still, in 2009, have a double standard for men and women. It infuriates me that they don't even give this vaccine to boys. It infuriates me that in order to come up with reasons why people should give their daughters a vaccine that will help keep them healthy, I have to even consider resorting to a story line that allows them to think of their daughter as "pure" until some man takes ownership of her.
PS. I should also add that when the Gardasil vaccine came out, I was just about to turn 27 (they give the vaccine to women up to age 26) and I lept at the opportunity to get vaccinated. I paid $360 out of pocket while broke in law school to get that vaccine, because I had to get it then or never. I figured it was an investment in a healthy future. You know why? Because life defies predictions. And because I get every vaccine I possibly can.
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