Kingdom of Knuffel

I get my daughter vaccinated. My parents had my sisters and I vaccinated as well.
I know there are things out there about over vaccinating and side effects. But i feel like until there is more evidence I will continue to do what i am doing to best protect my children.
Big pharma is bad i know, and there are a lot of problems with the whole thing, but to me right now, its about weighing the benefits over the possible cons.

On a side note, i do have a slightly different view with my pets vaccinations. I raise Persian cats, and i always get kittens vaccinated, and my adults get their 1 year vaccine, but after that I just don't feel the need to vaccinate my animals every year. My cats don't go outside. I think it's a waste of money to vaccinate every year, so i don't


Also i don't get the flu shot, because i think it's stupid, my daughter doesn't get it either.

I'm very much pro vaccine. My mother worked in virus laboratories in both the private sector and public. In labs that studied things like ebola no less. So I am very VERY aware of the nature of viruses as well as vaccines.

The thing with the flu vaccine is that people have a bit too high of an expectation. They basically are vaccinating you for what they think will be the popular strand in your area. So you have, for the most part, only limited your odds to about 50%. Then there are other viruses that mimic the flu that hit the area as well.
I will sometimes get it and sometimes not. Just really depends on my mood and how severe the flu seems to be in my area.

For other vaccines yes, get them! Measles, mumps, etc.
A lot of people tend to think we are past the big epidemic viruses but we are not. For example, Bubonic plague is still running about. For the record, it has three major strands, one of which has a 90% kill rate. There have been recent infections in the US from California to New Mexico with this guy. Not to mention it's currently ravaging a part of Africa right now. https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html

I think vaccines are incredibly important. My uncle has had 2 transplants & due to this essentially doesn't have an immune system (gross oversimplification, but I think y'all understand) due to having to take immunosuppressants so that his immune system doesn't destroy his new pancreas and kidney (which, you know, are pretty important for him to survive) so herd immunity is all he has protecting him from diseases (even ones he was vaccinated against as a child, as thanks to the immunosuppressants those immunities are gone). Herd immunity is important to protect those who can't be vaccinated (which, obviously if you have a legitimate reason to not get vaccinated then please don't get vaccinated we don't need people dying because of vaccines).

A related note, I strongly encourage parents to let their small children play in dirt/get dirty. Not being clean while young helps immunity a whole heck of a lot.

The flu shot is, like tavisharts said, essentially unreliable. It helps if you have a weaker immune system for sure, or are at risk for one reason or another (for instance, my dad was a type I diabetic, so his doctor recommended he get it every year).

Also - not going to debate the validity of the claims of vaccines causing autism. However, the fact that some parents would potentially rather have a dead child then a mentally disabled one seriously concerns me. If that's the only reason they're not going for the vaccinations, then... Well...

Everyone should be vaccinated unless they have a family history of strongly negative reactions, or they have had a strong negative reaction, or if they are immuno-compromised. I'm vaccinated, and my children are vaccinated. My whole family has been vaccinated. Not a single person has had any negative reactions. Our immunity is actually higher than most people in general. I was immune to the flu until the age of 30! Herd immunity only works well if most people have it.

Everyone should get vaccinated. Not only for theirs, their children's and their family's sake but for the community as well. Here in Australia children aren't allowed to go to Childcare if they do not provide proof of vaccination. And the 'side effects' that claim vaccines cause autism are completely unfounded. It's just that cases that used to be classified as 'insanity' are getting diagnosed as 'autism' instead so there was a climb in autism rates since vaccines where introduced but that has nothing to do with the vaccine itself.

Speaking as an Autistic person, I'm glad my parents vaccinated me. I get my flu shot every year because it's called being a responsible human being, and because I get that it's based on guesses, but i'd rather boost my odds of not getting it even by a minimal amount. It beats definitely getting sick.

There is also the fact that the "doctor" who posted the "facts" linking Autism and vaccines was proven to be a fraud and stripped of his title.