Immunisation

There are known side-effects to all vaccinations. That's a stated fact and that's, you know, normally in the literature that should accompany any vaccination. So I think what we decided was that knowing the bowel problems our son had, had we felt that, that was really a contraindication for him having certainly the triple jab. But also after further research we decided that even the single measles jab would be too dangerous, based on his condition. And that was why we decided not to vaccinate any further at all. On the basis that we do believe that there are some children who should not have any vaccinations at all. For many it, it is fine, it is safe. We have a lot of friends who've come to me for advice on vaccination and I have said they have to make that choice themselves based on how well they feel their child is and whether, you know, they are able to, to take those vaccinations. So I'm certainly not dead set against vaccinations. I just think that parents should have all the information, know that there are actually side-effects that can come from any vaccination, and obviously to make sure that if they are vaccinating their child that the child is in the best health state to, to take that vaccination. 

The reason we decided to go for individual is one, isn't so much from the reports so much on television about how that doctor was supposedly discredited for his decisions or for the points he'd made and all the rest of it was down to the fact, this is, might sound really silly, basically the simple question, when Tony Blair was asked, 'What's yours?' he didn't answer. That's really stupid probably but really simple at the same time. If there is nothing wrong, what is wrong with his answering it? So based on, with some other information that we read up and also speaking to friends who were doctors, or friends of friends that had doctors as friends, we've just thought, 'No. We're going to go for the individual' when we had to come to it.
 

I'm confused. My main concern is I don't know what to think. I've done quite a lot of reading about it over the last three years since my son was born. Before my son was born I wasn't really that involved. I have a relative who is, who's a GP who is very pro the vaccination as, as a social responsibility. She feels it's my responsibility to have my son vaccinated although she doesn't pressurise me and I have a sister who is at the opposite end. She has MS and she's very into finding out about her own condition. And when I had my son she was very interested in finding out about vaccinations and especially the MMR. She made me think about what's been happening recently.  

Half, well not half of me, a little bit of me thinks, 'Well if he does get something mildly then that's, that's better than a vaccination.' I had mumps and measles when I was a kid. The MMR wasn't around, wasn't around when I was, when I was young. I don't really understand now why it seems to be more, more frightening, a frightening illness than it used to be. I don't know whether its more potent, whether there are stronger strains of measles coming in to the country from other countries. I'm not sure of the facts but it certainly seems when I was a child that everyone I know had measles and most of us were fine although my cousin went deaf in one ear as a result of his measles. But most of us were fine with it but because of the worries are being raised about it, you know you think well maybe my son will be the one child that gets measles and then ends up badly brain damaged and it's not a risk I'm going to take. 

But I, he has a vitamin tablet and that's all. And I did read somewhere that vitamin A is meant to be quite a good way of fighting certain illnesses. I think in 'What Doctors Don't Tell You' they gave a list of alternative preventatives and one of that, one of those was a vitamin, a high vitamin A dose. He eats a healthy diet and he has a vitamin tablet every morning so that's all I do [laugh].

Mother: If the research is properly read, it becomes very apparent that these various researchers, including the very much maligned gastroenterologist, who is in everybody's mind, he doesn't say, that's it affects every child. He's actually talking about a subset. He's talking about a small group. But if we could get past all this contention to the point where they can say, 'Right, well, let's identify these children so they are no longer at risk, take them out of the loop'. Look at a different way of addressing these problems. But until they get past that and treat parents with respect, as individuals who've got minds and thought process and the ability to reason. And until they start listening to researchers and accept that the, they're not actually trying to cause a blanket scare' they're not trying to, then we know, we're not going to get past this. 

And as long as this situation stays in place, our youngest baby, our baby will not be vaccinated, at all, and we will regard all medicines with extreme circumspection. We're actually having another baby and that baby won't be vaccinated and the same will hold true. And we're looking at every other way we can to protect our two youngest children because we've, this is not a decision we've taken lightly. And I would want to make that absolutely plain to anybody whose looking on this on website. It's not an easy decision and neither you nor I, would say it's an easy'

Father: No, well due to the MMR, we, we took seven years to find out what we believe is the truth and that's based on what we're doing now, and that's no vaccinations whatsoever.

And some of the other ingredients seem to be an unlikely, candidates to be in such, in something that you're going to put into your body. Also I just personally feel that such a small child has a very weak and perhaps undeveloped immune system, and I just feel that it's very difficult to bombard it with so many diseases if you like all in one time. And certainly with the MMR when they're all live vaccines I just find it, you know, I just personally feel that it's a lot for a small body to actually fight and to cope with.
 

So for us we decided that with the bowel as it was it was certainly too dangerous to have the MMR at that time and, we have not had single vaccines either. Subsequent things that have happened which, with certain reactions to foodstuffs, colourants etcetera have actually just reaffirmed that decision for us. We have absolutely no doubt in our minds that if he had, had the single measles vaccine that we would have seen complications from it. I have no doubt in my mind at all that would have been the case.

We're fine about it. We don't have, we feel like there's some concern taken out in the sense that we don't have to worry about any side-effects. But then again we don't know. We've just based our decision on the fact, 'Well, it's gone on for this many years and, single, and that's just the way we prefer to stay with it'. She wasn't distressed. I think we, if, we would have been, if she, after the first immunisation if she'd been really distressed then we might be thinking, 'Oh, my God, maybe we should have gone for the 3-in-1, then she doesn't have to go through this again'. But she hasn't been concerned at all about what's going on. So, no, we've been comfortable with it. She, we were told after the first immunisation also actually that she might have a reaction to it. That was a surprise. And they said, you know, 'Within seven days, you know, if she's okay, within, you know, after seven days, she'll be fine'. But again you always kind of wonder as a parent, 'Well, they say seven days but, hey, my daughter's, obviously each case is different, she could be ten days'. So, you know, for a couple of, you know, for almost two weeks you're looking at her thinking, 'Is she okay? Has she got a temperature? Is she, you know, is she swelling or anything like that'.