2011-02-01, 02:05 PM
Eosian Wrote:The question of when an exemption is or is not appropriate is questionable though. In the case of health insurance people should to some extent be able to opt out voluntarily. In the case of immunizations they should not. The first is a conscious choice to assume responsibility for yourself. The second is choosing to be a risk to others as a source of potential contagion.
Well, I had a major issue with the chicken pox vaccine. I honestly STILL think it's the dumbest mandatory immunization they ever came out with. I opted not to have my younger 2 vaccinated. Then when my son started school, they hounded me about it. That vaccine isn't even a guarantee that you will never get the chicken pox. My oldest 2 had the chicken pox when they were very young and got through it and over it quickly. Now, it's also much less of a risk to have it at a young age than when you're older. I had a girlfriend in high school that never got the chicken pox until she was 17. She was deathly ill to the point of having to be hospitalized. I remember her mother speaking to the doctor saying that she always tried desperately to keep her daughter away from anyone who had the chicken pox when she was young so she wouldn't get them. The doctor told her that was the wrong thing to do because it's much worse when you get it at an older age.
Also, I have questionable issues about vaccines and the rise in autism. That's another topic all together but I have so chosen not to vaccinate my children until they are at least 5 years of age when I believe their bodies are much more capable of handling them, as opposed to them being fragile newborns/infants. That is my own belief though and I don't expect anyone else to believe as I do. Though I should be able to make that choice as a parent to do what "I" feel is best for them, not what the federal government deems is best for them.