Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Vaccines - a necessary evil?

I sat on the fence for a while on this. Most people I trust do vaccinate their babies - very few don't. Do I go with the flow? The nurse said to me - there are 2 facts about living in South Africa and that is 1: You may be a victim of crime and 2: You vaccinate your children.
We live in Africa, and polio and TB are very real. In the states, there is no requirement for TB vacs. Actually I know of two cases of polio and TB, and one of these was in my family. Polio is a horrible disease, and I would hate for David to contract any disease that I could have vaccinated against.
Now when I take him out - especially to public places I'm very pleased he's safe from some of the nasties floating around.
I have not read widely about v's, but I am scared/interested/want to know more about the link (if any) btn v's and cancer and other diseases.
Just when I decide I'll do all the v's for childhood illnesses, I read a pamphlet on it and guess who sponsors the pamphlet - yes, you guessed, the pharmaceutical company. Makes you wonder?

1 comment:

  1. Hmmm, wondered how you felt about it. You know me - i love doctors and medicines and didn't even blink an eye.

    Funny thing - i bought rescue remedy for K and when I got home I saw it's homeopathic so took it back and had to sheepishly tell the pharmacist "I don't believe in homeopathic remedies. I want the real stuff" :)

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