For me there is no debate about vaccinations. Every child who is lucky enough to have access to all the vaccinations available should get the needles and be protected from a whole host of debilitating and deadly diseases.
Yesterday I brought my one-year-old to the pediatrician for her check-up, and there she received not one, not two, but three needles. I shuddered when the doctor told me that this tiny, 18-pound baby, was about to be hit three times with a sharp needle, which would dispense a heavy dose of drugs into her body. I held her tight as she cried when each needle was administered. But I did not hesitate to help hold out her arm as the nurse gave each successive needle.
The baby was cranky yesterday, had no appetite and didn’t have the best night sleep. I expected that. And she is probably going to be moody all day today too. Two of the shots often come with a low-grade fever and/or crankiness for 24 hours, and one shot has side effects, such as fever and crankiness that may appear up to 7-10 days from now.
But I know I did the right thing in giving her this set of vaccinations as well as the shots she received at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months. The baby, at only 12 months old, is already protected from many horrible diseases, including meningococcus bacteria, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, polio and many more.
Every parent wants to give his or child every advantage in life, and giving a child all the vaccinations available is one way to do that. I am not a medical expert, as all I have is an undergraduate degree in Biology, but I have common sense. There should be no vaccination debate. The claim that vaccines have caused a rise in autism and ADHD are unfounded.
My advice to new parents is to vaccinate your kids. I will say it again – there is no vaccination debate. A few days of a cranky baby is better than the fear or even the possibility that your child could contract or pass on the diseases of which we are trying to rid the world.