Swine Flu: H1N1 Vaccine Pitting Mom Against Mom
This is my response to seeing so many bloggers and commenters turning the “choice” to vaccinate for H1N1, into a free for all hate fest against moms who are “choosing” not to vaccinate.
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question many moms are facing when it comes to Swine Flu and the H1N1 vaccine (including me). As far as I’m concerned, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the H1N1 vaccine. There is plenty of information available for parents to educate themselves on both the H1N1 virus as well as the vaccine, and I believe every mother has the right to make the decision she believes is best for her children. But not everyone thinks so, there are many moms on the internet freely venting their disdain for anyone who doesn’t vaccinate their child for H1N1.
The thing that bothers me the most about the H1N1 vaccine controversy, is how it is being lumped into the vaccine/autism debate. It seems that if you question whether or not to get your child the H1N1 vaccine, you are automatically lumped into the “against” vaccination group…And then you are fair game for the “pro” vaccination group to judge you as a bad mother. This is the part I have a problem with. It has turned into a “bully” mentality, and it’s pitting mother against mother…And that’s just wrong.
Although there are some parents that choose to not vaccinate their children with any of the childhood vaccinations. There is an even larger group of parents who have vaccinated their children for measles, mumps, rubella, polio and others – but who choose to not vaccinate their children for things like flu, chicken pox and hpv. These are parents who love their children and are doing what they believe is best for their children…That makes them good parents, and to accuse them of being bad parents is wrong (and says more about you than them).
For parents who have never vaccinated their children for the seasonal flu, telling them that the H1N1 vaccine is safe because it is made exactly like the seasonal flu vaccine isn’t a huge consolation. Then there are even more parents that won’t even have a chance to get their child vaccinated because of a lack of availability. And by the time there is availability, there is a very good chance that they will have already been exposed to H1N1 and have developed immunity naturally. In fact, my doctor told me that it is expected for anyone who gets the flu vaccine (H1N1 or seasonal) to develop mild flu symptoms, the people who do not develop symptoms after the vaccine have most likely already been exposed and have immunity. Anyway, she does still recommend the vaccine. And when I told her about my concerns with the nasal version of the vaccine (it being a live virus), she told me the nasal vaccine isn’t even as effective as the injectable, so she would recommend the injectable vaccine.
My daughter has an appointment to get the pneumonia vaccine later today. The pneumonia vaccine has been around for a long time and lasts for ten years. Since most of the deaths associated with seasonal flu and H1N1 are ultimately due to the onset of pneumonia, I figured this is an important one for her to get. Preliminary research by the CDC suggests that at least a third of swine flu deaths could have been prevented with the pneumonia vaccine. I am also leaning towards getting her the H1N1 vaccine (as long as I can get her the injection and not the mist). If it wasn’t for the fact that she is going to be flying in November and December, I probably would have skipped the H1N1 vaccine, but I am a little worried about the “petri-dish” effect of the airplane.
So, what I want to emphasize is this…
There is no need to be judgmental of other mothers just because they choose to “mother” different from you. If you want to vaccinate your child for H1N1, then do so…If the vaccine works, then you have nothing to fear from someone who chose not to get their child vaccinated. And most of all, don’t allow your fears to turn you into a blogging or commenting bully against moms who chose not to vaccinate.
Also See:
Will You Be Getting The Swine Flu Vaccine?
Swine Flu: What’s A Good Mother To Do?
Comments
Comment from sandy
Time: November 2, 2009, 5:59 pm
Emily, the tone of your comments and choice of words are unhelpful. If you have been wrongly criticized by others, that too is a problem. But please don’t take your frustration out on other parents who are struggling with making informed choices about their children’s health and care. You may not be able to see it, but there are many of us out here who are making informed, non-conspiratorial decisions.
Comment from Expat Mum
Time: November 2, 2009, 10:23 pm
The above “debate” is just the problem. There was nothing disrespectful in Emily’s post. The tone was impassioned but not insulting. The trouble here is there is no room for disagreement and when someone gives you the facts they have read, it becomes “bullying”. Enily made no negative comments whatsoever about people who disagree with her, in fact, at the beginning of her comment she made it clear that she believes parents have the right to vaccinate their children or not. To say her’s was a consiratorial decision was almost laughable and made me wonder if Sandy knew the meaning of the word. And that’s from someone who’s still trying to decide. Sandy’s comment to me, is far more “unhelpful” as it cheapens the debate and introduces non-factual, distracting elements.
Comment from Sandy
Time: November 3, 2009, 9:33 am
Here’s the point: I haven’t decided either. I read everything I can find and discredit any comment that sound of conspiracy (Expat, you misinterpreted the comment.) In this debate, the “side” most often getting slammed are those questioning the vaccine. When Emily began her comment with “There is a right answer about vaccination based on correct information.” It created the “sides” in black and white. If it really is each parents right, then why toss in the “social responsibility” bombshell. What I see out there are parents, agonizing about the decision. I empathize with that. There are many who question the vaccine who have gone ahead and vaccinated their children, we need to support them in their decision rather than blame, and remember to do likewise for those who make a different decision. It is possible for thinking people to have the same set of facts and come to different conclusions, especially when the specific situation is new, there are various factors or compounds used, statistics are malleable, and the virus is mutating constantly. Sometimes the best available science is proven wrong. That’s how we get to better science. I am not sure where we will end up here, but even the quoted scientists leave room for that possibility. What we need in this conversation are cooler, more empathetic hearts and heads all around.
Comment from Dawn
Time: November 3, 2009, 1:31 pm
Hi!
First, I wanted to give you an article I wrote on the recently approved U.S. H1N1 Vaccines.
MedImmune’s Nasal Spray leaves you contagious for at least 3 weeks. See page 19 of their package insert. The medical community is responsible for these outbreaks because this is the very first vaccine that became available.
Second, read “Fear of the Invisible” by Janine Roberts. You will then understand why the entire world is facing an utterly devasting crisis. It is just a matter of time before the majority of the population is infected. These vaccine contaminants are sexually transmitted and genetic. After reading the book you will also understand why cancer now affects 1 in every 200 children. 25% will die despite treatment. This book explains in great detail all of the secret government meetings that have taken place over the years regarding the safety of vaccines. Did you know that for 10 years our government officials KNEW that vaccines were causing breast cancer and that HPV was a vaccine contaminant? These are just 2 alarming facts out of many.
Neurotoxins do not cause Autism. They simply add fuel to the fire by allowing vaccine contaminants to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Did you also know that if you receive any vaccine and subsequently come down with the symptoms/disease (which is listed as a possible side effect) 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine – according to the medical community you are considered UNVACCINATED?! Also, say your child is 4 years old and comes down with pertussis after receiving 4 doses of DTaP since the age of 2 months. According to the medical community, your child would be also considered UNVACCINATED because the series was not yet completed (last dose at the age of 5 is recommended). I have to laugh when I read reports of outbreaks of unvaccinated children. It is all lies. Vaccines have NEVER been proven to work – in fact, there is plenty of evidence that they cause most diseases – to include chronic fatigue syndrome (retrovirus vaccine contaminant).
If you ever care to read about my family’s vaccine-induced nightmare, go to Sept 2008 at http://vaccinesexposed.blogspot.com
Thanks,
Dawn Crim
Comment from Emily
Time: November 3, 2009, 11:27 pm
Sandy, I’m not “taking out my frustrations” on anyone. I’m just appreciating an irony and making a point. There’s no particular “tone” I’m using either…just being factual or clearly stating an opinion. I can’t see what there is in my “choice of words” that bothers you, but I’m not you, so that’s something from your perspective. I write and speak in exactly the same way, and most people I know wouldn’t exactly describe me as overly emotionally expressive. Far from it, actually.
And there is a right answer based on correct information. The point of that statement is that if you have correct information, you’ll make a correctly informed decision. Vaccination is not for everyone, and not everyone should or can be vaccinated. But that decision should not be made based on misinformation. There is nothing in my post that blames anyone. I’m simply pointing out that the divide among parents, especially mothers, regarding vaccination is not a chasm that began opening with the advent of H1N1. It began a much longer time ago, and some of us have been hollering across it for many years. You saw fit to come at what I wrote from a certain perspective which appears to have colored your perceptions of my comments.
Once again, I do not see how even becoming angry at someone else over the vaccine controversy equates to bullying or “slamming.” Once again, I don’t see any disadvantaged populations here. If an adult has an opinion or a stance, it should be defensible, and they should be able to defend it. There’s no problem in that, and no bullying, either.
Cheers,
Emily
Comment from Sandy
Time: November 4, 2009, 12:47 am
Emily-thanks for your last post. I appreciated you comments. Stay healthy.
Comment from KWombles
Time: November 4, 2009, 3:53 pm
“If the vaccine works, then you have nothing to fear from someone who chose not to get their child vaccinated.” Catherine, you’re a nurse, so you really ought to be aware that immunizations are not 100% effective. The more people immunized, the less possibility a virus has of infecting someone within a group. It’s called herd immunity.
And it’s not bullying to put out factual information in a matter-of-fact way. One of your roles as a nurse involves patient education. You have an obligation to provide factual information to your patients.
As to being judgmental, is that not what you are engaged in here? And it should be noted, judging other people’s decision making processes is not bullying. Not even close.
As to your contention that loving your children makes you a good parent, apparently regardless of the decisions you make for their care, no. Not true. I’m sure the parent of the child with type 1 diabetes who let her child die rather than get her medical care loved her child. It did not make her a good parent. Loving isn’t enough. Making responsible decisions based on accurate information using reason and logic are part of being a good parent. Not all of it, but a huge part of the medical decisions we are required to make for our children’s care.
If it appears that the discussion of H1N1 vaccination has been overtaken by the autism/vaccination manufactuversy, that can be laid squarely at the door of organizations like Age of Autism, who has taken the lead with misinformation. Mercola, Gordon, and various homeopathic experts at Huffington Post further woo up the waters and make it difficult for the average consumer to get to accurate information on the internet.
The H1N1 vaccine is the same vaccine as the regular flu shot; the virus strain varies. That actually means that it has been studied in some detail, as the only variation is the strain. That’s something you really should understand.
There are people who should not get vaccinated. These people are at risk, and a good citizen, a good parent, a good friend, a good neighbor who can get safely vaccinated should want to protect not only themselves, but the people around them from a preventable illness that has killed over 120 children since April. Seriously. And it’s not bullying to say so. It’s facts about the illness, facts about vaccination, and a call to be responsible.
Comment from Emily
Time: November 2, 2009, 3:15 pm
There is a right answer about vaccination based on correct information. The problem is the surfeit of bad information, leading to poorly informed choices. Yes, parents have the right to vaccinate their children or to choose not to do so. I do not, however, see how voicing facts that counter erroneous assumptions rises to the level of bullying. As a parent who has weathered a few years of the autism-vaccine wars, I can assure you that much of the bashing about “bad parenting,” specifically “bad mothering,” comes at me from people who make any number of wrong assumptions about me and have no compunction about accusing me and anyone else like me who vaccinates their children of being guilty of child abuse. This “mom vs. mom” battle has been going on for several years and has only become more generalized with the H1N1 misinformation campaigns.
All that said, I view vaccination as more than a parenting decision. It is also a social responsibility decision. Having this conversation with people, voicing my opinion, and reinforcing what I say with facts does not rise to the level of bullying. I don’t see a disadvantaged population being browbeaten here.
Cheers,
Emily