Are you guys for or against childhood vaccines?
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I'm for because I didn't get my whooping cough booster shot when I was 20 and got whooping cough last year.
Trust me when I say whooping cough is NOT something asthmatics should ever get. Misery.
Oh, and because it's just the smart thing to do. Don't be idiots, people.0 -
Transferred a 1 month old baby to the NICU from my emergency department with pertussis ... have no idea if they lived or died. It was horrendous.
I am definitely pro-vaccine.0 -
Transferred a 1 month old baby to the NICU from my emergency department with pertussis ... have no idea if they lived or died. It was horrendous.
I am definitely pro-vaccine.
My daughter was a preemie (27weeks) and I cannot tell you how many children I saw come into the NiCU from not getting vaccinated and unfortunately not all made it out. So I'm definitely FOR!0 -
The only thing regarding vaccines that I don't necessarily believe in would be the HPV/ Gardasil vaccine, but only because it's a relatively new vaccine and I don't believe that there's enough research done about it yet to rationalize getting it. Perhaps on that one I could or should do more research, and perhaps by the time I have a girl child (if I do) and she's old enough to get that particular vaccine there will be a lot more information available, but that would probably (hopefully) be at least 15 years from now.
Wrong wrong wrong. The HPV vaccine was already under development over 15 years ago. In order to be approved by the FDA, vaccines have to go through numerous levels of research. First, animal trials are done extensively. Then, trials are conducted with a small number of subjects. Phase 2 consists of clinical trials with a few hundred subjects, followed by Phase 3 with thousands of subjects. If the vaccine fails to show any efficacy or has harmful effects at any of those stages, it will not be approved. Because the vaccine (and it's competitor, Cervarix) were both approved by the FDA, we KNOW that they work and are safe.
Not always. A lot of clinical trials aren't long enough to really parse out long term effects. They do the best they can to investigate side effects, but there is only so much that can be done in the time frame - it's just not always feasible to follow a drug for years on end before moving onto the next phase, and thus a number of side effects are found in post-marketing. For example, Zofran (an anti-nausea drug) was later found to have the potential to cause long-QT syndrome (a heart rhythm disorder). A lot of antidepressants are taken for much longer than was ever tested and again, post-marketing side effects are discovered.
My point is, we don't KNOW they are safe - we have reasonable certainty, but not everything is always known at the time they come out. I've been on drugs in the NDA phase, and I am definitely for vaccines and pro-medication in the right circumstances, I can just completely understand the trepidation with a brand new medication on the market.
What we do know, all too well, is that cervical cancer can be fatal and even where not fatal can leave a woman infertile or unable to carry a child to term. Pap smears have definitely cut the numbers of deaths and HPV screening and removal procedures have helped, but those carry complications for fertility and life in the future as well, and are highly dependent on close monitoring and early detection.
This year around12,360 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed and around 4,020 women will die from cervical cancer.0 -
My daughters have been/are being vaccinated. So I guess I'm pro-vaccine. A good friend of mine (we've been close since we were about 8) has not had her children vaccinated due to their myriad allergies and health issues. She did her research and fully understood what she was doing when she chose to opt-out. That, I can respect. The whole "vaccines cause autism" BS... not so much.0
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I don't know, I got my kids all their vaccines, but I am a little scared of them. They wanted to give my son 4 vaccines in one day when he was so tiny, so asked they split them up, so it was only 2 at a time. And we came back in a month. I always felt scared, but they turned out ok. I hear all the rumors that it causes Autism. I recently read that it was the flu shot that had something in it that was dangerous for pregnant women and babies.0
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Against. Why? Because they are bullcrap! They almost never do anything.
And this is why me, (and my 23 year old brother) are terrified of the Doctor because EVERY SINGLE TIME WE GO, they give us a shot for no reason whatsoever. I don't care if I sound or act childish, I'm terrified of thin sharp needles that stick into my skin for no reason. It's stupid. They either love seeing me cry in pain, or give me a shot for what they say will help, but will really make me sick.
How old are you?
How can the doctor be giving you shots without your consent?
Vaccines are one of the greatest factors in improved health outcomes in history.
Diseases which were once commonplace such as polio, small pox, measles, mumps, Diptheria, tetanus are almost unseen now. Some like smallpox have been eradicated from the world and polio has been eradicated from most of the world.
Hardly 'almost never doing anything'0 -
When I had my kids I did HOURS and HOURS of research on vaccines. I am definitely pro for some of them (not all) but I also ordered them spaced out. I said no way to chicken pox vax, and HELL no on the Gardisil vax for my daughter. The US has the highest number of autoimmune diseases in the WORLD. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. We also do the most vaccinations, which many believe lead to auto-immune diseases. AND, when the CDC reported that "they can not conclusively claim that vaccines cause autism" was the same thing as saying that can't conclusively claim they DON'T. For me it's not just the autism issue (which I have three friends with autistic kids who ALL claim it happened after a vaccine), it's all of the other illnesses as well. I will tell you that my kids (12 & 8) rarely get sick, are very healthy, have no allergies and thankfully, no autoimmune diseases or intestinal issues (which we all know is the HEART of the immune system). There is no conclusive evidence for either side of the argument (as far as autoimmune / autism goes) so, I take the perspective that my health is my responsibility and I will decide for myself based on my own research.
My daughter got the chicken pox prior to me having to make the decision on the vaccine. I also said no to Gardisil, girls have extreme reactions and the prevention is so small.
I do school vaccinations as part of my job - literally hundreds of girls (and boys).
Have never seen or heard of extreme reactions in any of the students.0 -
For years we've used vaccines to help reduce some childhood killers, but out spoken celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, have swayed some into thinking that they are responsible for autism. Now pertussis (whooping cough) is back on the rise and has claimed a couple of lives. The correlation with the deaths..................no vaccination for either child.
Are there valid reasons to avoid them? Depends on one's POV or belief. Some catholics don't believe in vaccines because of use of aborted fetal cell lines in making them. Others don't believe that a foreign virus should be introduced into the body.
What we DO KNOW, is that vaccines have prevented millions of childhood outbreaks that used to kill children before they were administered. And I'll take protecting a child from death over personal views of individuals who are against them.
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I am in favor of vaccines, though not at the rate and frequency currently practiced, especially given the lack of evidence that more than doubling the vaccine protocol since I was a child has produced improvement.
A note on the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. In addition to getting one in your third trimester of pregnancy (each one), everyone who hasn't had the vaccine since 2005 should get one, as it was reformulated.
Anyone who hasn't had whooping cough vaccine since 2005 would be due for a booster anyway.
Whooping cough vaccine ( and whooping cough immunity from natural disease) only lasts 7 - 10 years.0 -
For years we've used vaccines to help reduce some childhood killers, but out spoken celebrities like Jenny McCarthy, have swayed some into thinking that they are responsible for autism. Now pertussis (whooping cough) is back on the rise and has claimed a couple of lives. The correlation with the deaths..................no vaccination for either child.
Are there valid reasons to avoid them? Depends on one's POV or belief. Some catholics don't believe in vaccines because of use of aborted fetal cell lines in making them. Others don't believe that a foreign virus should be introduced into the body.
What we DO KNOW, is that vaccines have prevented millions of childhood outbreaks that used to kill children before they were administered. And I'll take protecting a child from death over personal views of individuals who are against them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I am in favor of vaccines, though not at the rate and frequency currently practiced, especially given the lack of evidence that more than doubling the vaccine protocol since I was a child has produced improvement.
A note on the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. In addition to getting one in your third trimester of pregnancy (each one), everyone who hasn't had the vaccine since 2005 should get one, as it was reformulated.
Anyone who hasn't had whooping cough vaccine since 2005 would be due for a booster anyway.
Whooping cough vaccine ( and whooping cough immunity from natural disease) only lasts 7 - 10 years.
Maybe I wasn't clear. The reforumulated vaccine was created because people who were vaccinated with the previous vaccine and still well within the generic 7-10 window were getting whooping cough (most were within 5 years of thier last vax). So if you got one in 2004 and I got mine in 2006, in 2007, only one of us was properly immunized and could expect the the promised protection.My daughter got the chicken pox prior to me having to make the decision on the vaccine. I also said no to Gardisil, girls have extreme reactions and the prevention is so small.
Pray tell, how?0 -
I'm pretty sure I've had every vaccine available. I got all three of the Gardasil shots as a teen [from which I never had any issues, btw], & every time I go in to see a gynecologist they are absolutely THRILLED that I actually did it. Clearly a lot of people are against it, which I can tell from an aunt of mine who wouldn't get it for her daughter, and from others in this thread. I have to say, I'm with the people who question your reasoning for that - because if there were common, 'extreme' aftereffects of it, it would NOT be on the market.
Not to mention, it's a vaccine that almost eliminates the chance of dying from one type of cancer.
One type of cancer from one potential type of virus. HPV has what, like 40 strains? I think the vaccine prevents one of those, if I remember correctly.
Yes there are 40 or so strains - Gardisil protects against only a few of them.
But they are the few that are responsible for almost all cervical cancers, the fact that Gardisil does not protect you against strains which do not develop into cancers is really irrelevant.0 -
I really doubt the doctor gives you shots just for the *kitten* of it.
"LOL SHE'S IN AGAIN, LET'S GIVE HER ANOTHER SHOT
For vaccines. I'd rather get a shot to prevent polio and have a little nausea or be light-headed afterwards (which are the two most common reactions to regular clinical shots) than to slowly lose control of my faculties, become a heavy burden to my family and eventually die a slow death in a cold, colorless hospital. I'd rather get shots for hepatitis A than be in agonizing, crippling pain and severe discomfort for weeks on end.
"no vaxinations dey r bad 4 u n do nuthin"
Pass them on to the person next to you who wants to live, please.0 -
Including the ridiculous Hepatitus B vaccine for newborns that has caused over 1500 deaths. Given to newborns without the parent's consent.
How can you say you are FOR vaccines? ANY vaccine? Really?
Well, I can say I am FOR vaccines.
Could you please show a credible link to these 1500 deaths ?
Would be very interested to read it.
Also where are Hep b vaccines being given without parent consent?0 -
The only thing regarding vaccines that I don't necessarily believe in would be the HPV/ Gardasil vaccine, but only because it's a relatively new vaccine and I don't believe that there's enough research done about it yet to rationalize getting it. Perhaps on that one I could or should do more research, and perhaps by the time I have a girl child (if I do) and she's old enough to get that particular vaccine there will be a lot more information available, but that would probably (hopefully) be at least 15 years from now.
Wrong wrong wrong. The HPV vaccine was already under development over 15 years ago. In order to be approved by the FDA, vaccines have to go through numerous levels of research. First, animal trials are done extensively. Then, trials are conducted with a small number of subjects. Phase 2 consists of clinical trials with a few hundred subjects, followed by Phase 3 with thousands of subjects. If the vaccine fails to show any efficacy or has harmful effects at any of those stages, it will not be approved. Because the vaccine (and it's competitor, Cervarix) were both approved by the FDA, we KNOW that they work and are safe.
15 years is relatively new in terms of medicine.0 -
Calling all...
Internet experts, people who knew a girl who got a vaccine once and..., people who parents are Doctors and know EVERYTHING about medicine, People who have the BEST Doctor in the world, Conspiracy theorist, Bro-science experts, Soccer moms, people who read, watched or heard a story on it... and anyone else who wants to ping pong this topic.. LETS GET IT ON!!! (Mills Lane Voice)
I'm for vaccines! Had them when I was a kid and I'm still alive and "look mom no polio!"
The vaccination schedule now is MUCH more intense than it was when you were an infant and young child. Even some pediatricians question the number of vaccines, the earliness of starting them and short intervals in-between injections. Infants rarely have much of a response to vaccines--the fullest immune reaction doesn't start until 15 months of age (the reason for having to repeat them). Why start them so soon then?
Well the most obvious reason for starting them so soon is to get as much protection into the child as soon as possible.
Whooping cough, for example, is much more of a risk to younger babies so waiting until 15 months to start immunising them would be rather pointless.0 -
I work in public health and am very VERY much pro-vaccine.
I also encourage people to get their flu shot, for several reasons. I know I'm probably banging my head against a brick wall here, but I have to try.
-Influenza is the only infectious disease (yes not even HIV/AIDS) that is in the top 10 causes of death in the USA.
-In 2010 over 50,000 people died due to Influenza or Pneumonia. That's not a couple of people.
-Even if you are young and healthy, flu can still kill you or cause lasting complications. H1N1 is a great example. H1N1 is more deadly in younger and healthier people BECAUSE they are healthier. It induces a cytokine storm response which can lead to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) that even today 1/3 of people who have ARDS will die.
-I have a friend (I can even link to her story if you want it) that got H1N1. She went septic and by the time she was out of the hospital she had: lost both legs below the knees, partial amputations of all of her digits, a large thoracotomy scar, and numerous surgeries.
The problem is a lot of people will say they have the 'flu' when in reality, they probably don't, they just have a nasty cold.
Unless you are immunocompromised or extremely ill with chronic conditions THE FLU SHOT CANNOT GIVE YOU THE FLU. The vaccines contain inactivated (non-infectious) viruses or in some cases don't contain the virus (microbial DNA). The mild fever you MAY get shortly after the vaccine is a side effect.
But! I ALWAYS get the Flu when I get the Flu shot! One, make sure you ACTUALLY have the flu, you can get an antiretroviral for it (tamiflu). Second, the efficacy of the shot varies from year to year (usually it's in the 60% to 70% range) because vaccine manufacturers have to guess (by looking at the Southern Hemisphere) what viruses are going to be circulating and they don't always guess correctly. So if you do get the flu (and they will type your flu b/c it's reportable to the state and Feds) you most likely were 1) exposed to the virus before you were vaccinated and 2) you contracted a strain that wasn't in the vaccine.
I'm not very good at checking back on threads so if you have a question feel free to send me a message.
The flu shot that you get from Bayer or Baxter Pharmaceutical could be laced with avian flu (60% kill rate) or HIV. Both of which has happened recently. Read about it in my post above.
ETA: Also, cytokine storm is likely caused by a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D down-regulates an over-active immune response.
p.s. Tamiflu is a very bad drug BUT it made certain people a LOT richer. Most knowledgeable docs won't even give it to anyone.
Cytokine storm and vitamin D deficiency? While vitamin D does effect the immune system, it is highly unlikely to the point of preventing a cytokine storm (PS: one study =/= likely). Keep in mind the Spanish Flu pandemic started in the United States in August and September and reached its height in October.
Ah--but the peak of mortality was late in the following winter. Interestingly, the death toll in South Africa (the fifth largest outbreak in the world) peaked in October--the end of their winter, when vitamin D levels would have been at their lowest.
Regardless of when the peak of mortality was, there is stil no evidence that vitamin D prevents cytokine storms. You can find flu mortality at the end of winter while I can find some at the end of summer and it STILL won't prove anything. Correlation=/=causation. For example, MS is correlated with low vitamin D levels. This is a very well studied area of MS research and no matter how much people research, increasing vitamin D levels does not help MS patients with their disease. (Since MS is an autoimmune disease, we definitely talking about regulation of the immune system). IF you'll link me to a study (NOT a popular news source or a blog, a published study that has strong evidence, I will be more than happy to look at it.)
Until then, there is absolutely no evidence that vitamin D levels will mediate cytokine storms. Which makes sense because while Vitamin D certainly does help regulate the immune system it's doesn't control it and only influences certain cells and cytokines, not all of them. When a cytokine storm occurs over 150 different mechanisms are going haywire. Also, since there is some evidence, not tons, that vitamin D can act as a very mild blood thinner, that would mean it would HELP a cytokine storm because anticoagulants are released during a cytokine storm. Blood thinner+anticoagulants? Hemorrhage! And the Spanish Flu DID have hemorrhagic symptoms.
tl:dr: Not enough evidence. We can both support our arguments through correlation but there is no science to back it up.0 -
As the parent of a child who has severe allergic reactions to vaccine components in the past, I am FOR childhood vaccinations. You vaccinating your child protects not only them, but also children like my own who are unable to be vaccinated. Herd immunity only works when the the herd is immune and able to protect those who aren't.
So-called "herd immunity" is false assurance. You can see from the example of the pertussis vaccine that all is not as it purports to be. Your best route is to try to improve your child's immunity (and there are many ways to do this). The second line of defense is to protect him/her from being around others who are ill (and there will always be some even if the vast majority would have their children vaccinated) and using good hygiene practices.
I agree that being healthy and strong, along with good hygiene, is the best defense from illness.0 -
I don't like the lack of clarity regarding their effectiveness and safety.
What clarity is lacking is made up for in heavy doses of FEAR and INTIMIDATION.
It's not how I like to make decisions and choices.
:drinker:0 -
For all of you who say you have your children vaccinated against most things, but not chicken pox, please reconsider, especially for girls! Like rubella/German measles, if a pregnant woman gets chicken pox it can cause birth defects. I was too old to get the chicken pox vaccine as a kid, but never caught it, so my gyno had me get vaccinated as an adult.
that is why chicken pox parties exist for kids in elementary school.
Great idea. Be sure they exchange email addys so they can schedule Let's-Celebrate-Our-Shingles parties when they're older.:drinker:
I personally have NEVER met a person that has had shingles. Just saying it is not very common. I was involved with chicken pox party as a kid so was my sister, wife, sister in law and parents/uncle/aunts. So i will let you know if any ever get shingles.
I was not vaccinated against chickenpox because "back then" the vaccine was not available. I did get it as a child and I DID get shingles as an older adult. OMG, it is not fun, it is terrible painful, debilitating and very contagious.
Shingles is very common in older adults and it could be very damaging .Furthermore, having had chicken pox and the shingles, DOES NOT mean that you cannot get it again (shingles), so I got the shingles vaccine and so did my husband. I am not going thru that misery again.
I have a friend who got the shingles vaccine and still got shingles. She was very angry with her physician who assured her that she would not get the shingles again after taking the vaccine.0 -
I personally don't believe in vaccines. I have all my childhood ones because my mother, despite being a devout Catholic and herself not having been vaccinated and our family being against my bother and I getting vaccinated for religious reasons, decided to get us vaccinated. Good call on her part, because while I was fine as a child, my brother was extremely sickly, and could've died without being vaccinated.
I don't have children, but if I did I would get them all the necessary shots/vaccines when they're little. If they're a sickly child, then maybe they'd get "extras" like the flu shot. There's no way that I wouldn't let my child have a vaccine and put them at risk just because I don't believe in vaccines. To me, that's bad parenting, and honestly I'd feel like the worst person in the world if my child got sick and died from something that I could've easily prevented. However, I wouldn't allow them to get something like the HPV vaccine unless by the time I have children (if I do) there's more information and more studies done about it. Personally, I think it's too new of a vaccine and I don't trust it, it hasn't been around long enough to know all the possible long-term side effects. When the child is 18 they can get whatever shots they want regardless of my opinion on them.
I have a friend of mine who is Mormon, has 8 kids, all that jazz. They don't believe in vaccinations because they're "evil" and they "destroy your immune system" and "cause disease" such as autism. That's their opinion, and that's cool, they can do whatever they like. But they wonder why are their kids always so sick, and they got upset when the whooping cough outbreak here happened and all 8 kids (aged from 2-18) got so sick to the point where one almost died. They believe that eating healthy will prevent all illness, and while I agree that a healthy diet can, and sometimes will, prevent illness, they wouldn't have been in that situation with their kids if they'd gotten vaccinated.
So just purely out of curiosity, after saying all that, how is it that you say you don't believe in vaccines? You just said that they do in fact work, and can potentially prevent fatal illness, so what is it you don't believe in about them?
I was wondering that too!
Also, where in the Bible does it say "Thou shalt not vaccinate"? What specifically is the religious objection? [Not trying to be combative, I've just never heard of that outside of faith healing believers.]
As for the Bible, as far as I know (I'm not particularly devout) it doesn't say crap all. Not sure about Mormons, but my very very Catholic family thinks that vaccinations "go against God" because it's introducing something foreign to your body. (So you can best believe that they take issue with me having tattoos and piercings.) I can't say that all Catholics believe that though. My mother finds that notion hilarious, but her sister sh-ts a brick about it.
I laugh at religious people who think that way and this is coming from a very strong christian. Medicine has been used forever and it is just more advanced now. FYI food and water are foreign to your body as well and they introduce nutrients and all. Its people thinking inside a box with people inside a box and trying to add meaning to trivial stuff.
I think it's kind of rude to laugh at other people for their religious beliefs. Some people interpret the Greek word pharmakeia to mean witchcraft, so to them, it's sinful.0 -
I can't anything on facebook about my stance FOR vaccines without my page erupting in horrible arguments between my family and friends...there's outright name calling :noway:0
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For.
I've been a nurse for 25+ years and have seen the crippling effects of polio and other diseases that could have been prevented by vaccination.
Perhaps the greatest success story in public health is the reduction of infectious diseases resulting from the use of vaccines. Routine immunization has eradicated smallpox from the globe and led to the near elimination of wild polio virus. Vaccines have reduced some preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low, and now few people experience the devastating effects of measles, pertussis, and other illnesses. Prior to approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), vaccines are tested extensively by scientists to ensure they are effective and safe. Vaccines are the best defense we have against infectious diseases; however, no vaccine is 100% safe or effective. Differences in the way individual immune systems react to a vaccine account for rare occasions when people are not protected following immunization or when they experience side effects.
Has the reduction occurred due to vaccination or has it occurred due to improved sanitation, better access to nourishing food and less crowding in dwellings than in the past, when people had much larger families? It might interest you to know that pertussis outbreaks are more likely to affect the vaccinated than the un-vaccinated. Since it is not effective at establishing immunity in infants, why is it given to them?
Improvements in sanitation etc have helped but are by no means all the story.
In Australia a marked reduction in certain diseases like HIB have occurred in a very short period of time, like within couple of years, once the vaccine was put on the free schedule and therefore given to much greater percentage of children. In that short period of time, there was no corresponding change in sanitation, living conditions, family sizes, which would explain the difference.
Your comment about pertussis more likely to affect vaccinated children than unvaccinated is extremely misleading.
Given that whooping cough vaccine does not provide 100% coverage and 90% of children are vaccinated then this will obviously be so. Simple statistics.
It's like saying people who have the free flu vaccine are more likely to die in the next 12 months than those who do not.
True fact.
But given that the free vaccine is only available to those aged over 65 and / or with chronic illness, then this is not actually indicative of anything.
However disease when it occurs in vaccinated people is almost always MUCH less severe than when occurring in unvaccinated people.0 -
The answer really lies in whether you want your children to attend public schools.
No federal vaccination laws exist, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Depending on the state, children must be vaccinated against some or all of the following diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio.
Many have sued the school system, none of those children are currently in public schools. I personally would never allow my child to associate with someone who has not been immunized.....not taking any chances with that.
It depends on the state. Nearly every state has a religious exemption.0 -
For all of you who say you have your children vaccinated against most things, but not chicken pox, please reconsider, especially for girls! Like rubella/German measles, if a pregnant woman gets chicken pox it can cause birth defects. I was too old to get the chicken pox vaccine as a kid, but never caught it, so my gyno had me get vaccinated as an adult.
that is why chicken pox parties exist for kids in elementary school.
Great idea. Be sure they exchange email addys so they can schedule Let's-Celebrate-Our-Shingles parties when they're older.:drinker:
I personally have NEVER met a person that has had shingles. Just saying it is not very common. I was involved with chicken pox party as a kid so was my sister, wife, sister in law and parents/uncle/aunts. So i will let you know if any ever get shingles.
It's extremely painful I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy
Meh. My husband's monster-in-law got shingles. We didn't feel a bit sorry for her mean *kitten*.0 -
The only thing regarding vaccines that I don't necessarily believe in would be the HPV/ Gardasil vaccine, but only because it's a relatively new vaccine and I don't believe that there's enough research done about it yet to rationalize getting it. Perhaps on that one I could or should do more research, and perhaps by the time I have a girl child (if I do) and she's old enough to get that particular vaccine there will be a lot more information available, but that would probably (hopefully) be at least 15 years from now.
Wrong wrong wrong. The HPV vaccine was already under development over 15 years ago. In order to be approved by the FDA, vaccines have to go through numerous levels of research. First, animal trials are done extensively. Then, trials are conducted with a small number of subjects. Phase 2 consists of clinical trials with a few hundred subjects, followed by Phase 3 with thousands of subjects. If the vaccine fails to show any efficacy or has harmful effects at any of those stages, it will not be approved. Because the vaccine (and it's competitor, Cervarix) were both approved by the FDA, we KNOW that they work and are safe.
Not always. A lot of clinical trials aren't long enough to really parse out long term effects. They do the best they can to investigate side effects, but there is only so much that can be done in the time frame - it's just not always feasible to follow a drug for years on end before moving onto the next phase, and thus a number of side effects are found in post-marketing. For example, Zofran (an anti-nausea drug) was later found to have the potential to cause long-QT syndrome (a heart rhythm disorder). A lot of antidepressants are taken for much longer than was ever tested and again, post-marketing side effects are discovered.
My point is, we don't KNOW they are safe - we have reasonable certainty, but not everything is always known at the time they come out. I've been on drugs in the NDA phase, and I am definitely for vaccines and pro-medication in the right circumstances, I can just completely understand the trepidation with a brand new medication on the market.
What we do know, all too well, is that cervical cancer can be fatal and even where not fatal can leave a woman infertile or unable to carry a child to term. Pap smears have definitely cut the numbers of deaths and HPV screening and removal procedures have helped, but those carry complications for fertility and life in the future as well, and are highly dependent on close monitoring and early detection.
This year around12,360 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed and around 4,020 women will die from cervical cancer.
The best prevention for cancer is regular screenings. An immunization is a false sense of security in this instance, I think.
ETA: And the best prevention of STDs is CONDOMS! When I was a kid, everybody was pushing condoms. Now it's like condoms don't even exist anymore. smh0 -
For all of you who say you have your children vaccinated against most things, but not chicken pox, please reconsider, especially for girls! Like rubella/German measles, if a pregnant woman gets chicken pox it can cause birth defects. I was too old to get the chicken pox vaccine as a kid, but never caught it, so my gyno had me get vaccinated as an adult.
that is why chicken pox parties exist for kids in elementary school.
Great idea. Be sure they exchange email addys so they can schedule Let's-Celebrate-Our-Shingles parties when they're older.:drinker:
I personally have NEVER met a person that has had shingles. Just saying it is not very common. I was involved with chicken pox party as a kid so was my sister, wife, sister in law and parents/uncle/aunts. So i will let you know if any ever get shingles.
I was not vaccinated against chickenpox because "back then" the vaccine was not available. I did get it as a child and I DID get shingles as an older adult. OMG, it is not fun, it is terrible painful, debilitating and very contagious.
Shingles is very common in older adults and it could be very damaging .Furthermore, having had chicken pox and the shingles, DOES NOT mean that you cannot get it again (shingles), so I got the shingles vaccine and so did my husband. I am not going thru that misery again.
I have a friend who got the shingles vaccine and still got shingles. She was very angry with her physician who assured her that she would not get the shingles again after taking the vaccine.
My understanding about shingles vaccine ( which has only just become available in Australia) is that it is less helpful in preventing shingles if you have already had shingles.
Most helpful in preventing or at least markedly reducing severity, in those who have not yet had shingles because virus has not yet re activated.
Shingles is relatively common in older adults and is very painful.
I have met many people who have had it.0 -
The best prevention for cancer is regular screenings. An immunization is a false sense of security in this instance, I think.
ETA: And the best prevention of STDs is CONDOMS! When I was a kid, everybody was pushing condoms, not it's like condoms don't even exit anymore. smh
Actually, no. The best prevention for cervical cancer is to get the HPV vaccine to help prevent contracting the HPV strains it does cover, and then regular pap smears including the advanced HPV screening (not more than every 6 months for most women or, at minimum, annually) and if positive to do further testing and then retest every 3-6 months until clear.
We can eliminate abnormal cells by removing them, sometimes in pretty painful ways, if we catch them in the pre cancerous stages. That's still not as good as preventing the contraction of a virus, since the virus will remain in the body and reappear and since most procedures for removing the cells cause permanent scarring, damage, and fertility and childbearing problems.
Even if an infected woman does not have her HPV result in precancerous cells, she is still passing HPV on to other men, who then pass it along to others.
And, condoms do not and cannot prevent the transmission of HPV, which technically does not specifically require a sexual act for transmission.0 -
I feel God would not have given us such smart people to create these vaccines if he didnt want us to have them... Just saying! I am in for them! I have a toddler who has gone in for the whole shebang his whole life, not because I like to torture him by sticking him with needles, but because I would rather do that that have to watch him die from something I could have done something about. That is what having kids is about... Doing what is best for them, which in my mind is getting them vaccinated.
P.S. In Minnesota, you dont have to have your kids vaccinated to attend Public School, you just have to sign off that you didn'thave them vaccinated. My boss is one of those people who does not believe in taking his kid to the doctor or doing vaccines, he would rather bring him to the chiropractor.0 -
The best prevention for cancer is regular screenings. An immunization is a false sense of security in this instance, I think.
ETA: And the best prevention of STDs is CONDOMS! When I was a kid, everybody was pushing condoms, not it's like condoms don't even exit anymore. smh
Actually, no. The best prevention for cervical cancer is to get the HPV vaccine to help prevent contracting the HPV strains it does cover, and then regular pap smears including the advanced HPV screening (not more than every 6 months for most women or, at minimum, annually) and if positive to do further testing and then retest every 3-6 months until clear.
We can eliminate abnormal cells by removing them, sometimes in pretty painful ways, if we catch them in the pre cancerous stages. That's still not as good as preventing the contraction of a virus, since the virus will remain in the body and reappear and since most procedures for removing the cells cause permanent scarring, damage, and fertility and childbearing problems.
Even if an infected woman does not have her HPV result in precancerous cells, she is still passing HPV on to other men, who then pass it along to others.
And, condoms do not and cannot prevent the transmission of HPV, which technically does not specifically require a sexual act for transmission.
Condoms protect against unwanted pregnancies and STDs. There is NO SHOT or MED that will provide the same protection as condoms. PERIOD.0 -
I don't know when it become okay to avoid using condoms, but I find it appalling.
http://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/latex.htm0
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