How to avoid vaccinating my baby until school

Success10

Sat, Mar 30 2024, 3:14 pm

amother Oxfordblue wrote:

Just as an FYI, I didn't read entire thread but want to share the following. I'm quite pro vaax, but recently I was exposed to chicken pox while pregnant in 3rd trimester. Quickly called my OB To find out what I should do and what risks r involved. She told me to call my childhood pediatrician and check if I was vaccinated or if I had chicken pox. So I asked what's the difference, she said if I had chicken pox then I'm covered regardless. And If I got the vaccine , chances r I'm not immune.
This really opened my eyes. All my kids got the chicken pox vaccine and I'm quite disappointed now. I wish I could have given them the real immunity.

Specifically with chicken pox, my own experience with my kids was that even the vaccinated kids got the chicken pox when it was going around, but a vey mild case with no itching. Still, a vaccine that doesn't completely prevent but does reduce the severity is worth something. Chicken pox can be quite dangerous if you get it at an older age.

And also, it's rare, but you can get chicken pox twice. So even getting it does not offer guaranteed immunity.

amother

Nasturtium

Sat, Mar 30 2024, 6:56 pm

I've heard from some doctors that when the chicken pox vaccine first became available, they didn't recommend it, because immunity from actually having chickenpox seems more reliable.

However, over the years, more people have been having the vaccine, and the chances of exposure, and acquiring that immunity are decreasing. If someone has no immunity either from exposure or vaccination, and then catches chicken pox as an adult, it is far more severe and with a greater risk of complications. (When we all had chicken pox as children, my father, who had never had it, spent weeks hiding in a corner of the house and not coming near us.) So these same doctors now do recommend the vaccine, which is imperfect, but significantly reduces the potentisl risks.

amother

Diamond

Sat, Mar 30 2024, 9:57 pm

amother Aster wrote:

Agree with you. There is no one answer that fits everyone. But there is a general answer that works for the majority. If one falls outside of that majority, they need to find an answer that works for their situation.

And you hit the nail on the head - the issue is not about selecting an individual path. Its all about the faulty advice that self-professed experts try to push onto others. They adopt a strong belief and they make that out to be the truth for everyone else. And the method they use to rationalize it for themselves is to get others to jump on the bandwagon. The more numbers they have, the more comfortable they are with their decision.

People like you are the ones doing it the right way. You recognize that you can't follow the majority approach, and you recognize that your approach may not be the right one for others. You correctly withhold advising people, because you don't know their unique situation, nor do you have enough knowledge to advise them about it. I admire you for your mature, and intelligent way of handling this.

That is not what I said.

Who is this majority you're talking about? The majority of families I know are dealing with issues that are exacerbated by vaccines. Humility means I think that they need to make their own decisions. Not that I think that it's safe not to do research, to blindly trust doctors, or anything else.

My child was injured by a competent, popular, kind, Frum doctor. So are many others. What you don't know can hurt you.

You clearly don't have enough information to advise others, too. Even if you would believe that advising others is the right way to do things in life.

And maybe I'm covering up for myself too. Maybe it's not humility, but fear or people-pleasing that's stopping me from sharing what I know. Maybe it's fear of judgment. I have a nephew who just got his shots and is showing negative effects that will have long-term implications. I didn't say anything. I like to think it's because I believe that it's not my place. But maybe I just don't want to deal with the consequences? Maybe I really am responsible to share what I know.

Today's medicine has not created a healthier generation than the one that I grew up in, or the one my parents grew up in. That's a fact. Our children are sicker than ever before. That's also a fact. Think about it. Do some research. Really look into things with a critical eye. I'm curious what you'll find.

amother

Lemonlime

Sun, Mar 31 2024, 12:43 am

amother Aster wrote:

Curious why you think I don't have a wider perspective or have very limited info in this field. Is it perhaps because my view disagrees with yours and anyone who thinks differently must be naive or uneducated?

FTR, I probably have more knowledge in the field than most posters here. I don't have issues with people having different perspectives on the topic. Personally, I find that people who are unabashedly sure of themselves, and think that everyone else is lacking, are those who have limited info themselves. People who actually have extensive knowledge recognize that there are many unknowns in most medical science. We elect to move ahead with the information we have now, that's the best we can do.

There is a famous quote 'the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. And that creates a certain humbleness in you. People who are arrogant with their knowledge, is usually because their knowledge is limited.

Yes, the dunning Kruger effect Smile