I'm the first to admit that I haven't done much reading on this so no doubt I have missed lots of reasons, but the one reason that has stuck as a non-vaxxing reason is the fact that these diseases are not prevalent (now) which some would argue is because the majority has been vaccinated.
So, I'm subscribing because I'm interested to learn more.
And because I currently have a dilemma re the swine flu vaccine so the whole vaccination thing is particularly interesting to me at this point.
It would be based on a case by case basis as to where we would be going. Very likely I would vaccinate DS more than he is already because in some areas good health care and nutrition/safe water is also hard to get. I know if he gets sick in Borneo it is a lot harder to get good health care than here for example.
Rory, I think I understand your OP in terms of assumed risk, and I can only answer it from the opposite perspective. I would normally err on the side of non-vaxing where "new" vaccines are concerned - I like to see large long term studies regarding safety before I start putting things in my body - BUT last year having suddenly found myself in a population of increased risk (cancer patient with primary cancer of the immune system) I couldn't trample into the drs surgery fast enough for a dose of the swine flu vax.
I think it's a similar mechanism to when people decide to get extra vaccinations before travelling o/seas to areas of known disease prevalence.
I'm a partial/delayed vaxing mother and no, I wouldn't change. If a disease has a good chance of killing DS and the vaccine doesn't, he's vaccinated no matter what the chance of him catching it is. If it's nasty but no long-term damage (eg chicken pox in childhood, which has just caused us a lot of agony, or flu) and is very unlikely to kill (that is, kill him at this present time), he isn't vaccinated, instead relying on his immune system.
I do delay vaccinations until the very end of the time he can have them in. Or even longer. Just to give him a chance to develop his immune system a bit more before I introduce a nasty to it.
Vaccines aren't perfect and contain some nasty stuff. But nothing is nastier than him dying from something I could have prevented, IMO. And the chances of catching nasty things in the UK is on the rise. If there were no risk, I may well think differently. But low risk... still too much of a risk for me.
Im with Peg, our girls are partly vaxxed. DH and I have issues with the scedule of the vaxs, the variety of vaxs, and that the system in our opinion has a 'one size fits all' approach.
Our plan at the moment is to wait, we dont see a need to bombard their immune systems with drugs. We want to wait until it is needed or just more appropiate. And that been said they may never get them. We may just leave that up to them to decide.
(We say this partly because my mum got me totally immunised through my childhood, I even had the rubella in my teens, and today I have no immunity to any of the diseases I was vaxxed for. I found this out when pregnant with DD1, the general consensus from the doctors was that I had to give up teaching until after she was born because immunity was so low against chickenpox etc)
SO would we vax in another country where the disease was rampant, yes. But I think we would only vax against the diseases that we were likely to come into contact with, and we would also take extreme caution in order to minimise any risks.
For us, too, it would depend on the vaccination and the disease. In areas where polio is prevalent, for example, then yes, we would probably vaccinate for it. Same for areas where typhoid, etc. are prevalent. I wouldn't vaccinate for measles, mumps, or rubella regardless, same for varicella, and diptheria. Pertussis I personally would vaccinate against, although DW disagrees. Same for tetanus.
It's not really relying on herd immunity in most cases - polio I think being the exception.
I can't help but wonder if you would have access to the information that we have if you were to grow up in such a country, and as such your choices would be swayed without full information.
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