You’re Not Allowed to Ask Questions
I have been on a very interesting journey these last few years. It is a journey of questions, and I have been met with many skeptical and even hostile reactions.
It is my journey to learn more about informed consent within medicine, specifically when it comes to vaccine administration for my kids.
Wow, you just say the word “vaccine” and people either clam up or explode. It is a very hot-tempered topic. And it makes me sad that we cant seem to have civil conversations about things we may disagree about (I mean, look at politics now-a-days).
But my goal and my focus is on embracing the questions and doing my own research to find the answers. I learned during Covid that the CDC, the FDA, the WHO, and any other government organization often do not tell the whole story, and their policies are blanket statements that never consider the individual’s circumstances. So instead of blindly trusting these government agencies to direct the healthcare of my children, I want to take that responsibility into my own hands (I am their mother, after all). I want to question and read and discuss so that I can make informed decisions. That is my quest.
So here are just a few questions I have felt prompted to ask lately:
Since I felt disgusted by the way the government handled Covid and insisted on shoving the vaccine down everyone’s throats (Do you remember when many people lost their jobs because they didn’t want to comply?!), are there other instances where the government/CDC have acted similarly in the past?
If I don’t trust the Covid vaccine is necessary for every single person (namely, for me and my family at this time), why should I blindly trust that all the other vaccines on the CDC schedule are necessary for my developing children?
For example, the HepB vaccine is for the purpose of protecting against a disease that comes through sexual promiscuity and dirty needles. Why does my hours-old baby need that if those things are not in our sphere of experiences?
What are the side effects (because there ARE side effects)?
If you wonder if there are side effects, just watch one of those medicine commercials during a sports game; they paint a beautiful picture of what the medicine can do for your life, and then they quickly and quietly spew off a myriad of side effects that may plague you. It is fine if you decide to take that medicine. Go for it if you feel that that is the right choice for you. But make that decision knowing all the possible side effects of that drug.
How have vaccines impacted the diseases? Truly, let’s look at the history of the decline of the disease and see what the true impact was compared to other factors (such as improved sanitation, better access to clean food and water, improved nutrition, improved working conditions, etc).
Why is there such a push from the government and CDC to get all these vaccines? What is their true motivation?
What are the studies that show the safety and effectiveness of any particular vaccine? (if I’m jabbing my kids, I want to be sure it is going to work. Just look at the disaster the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine is).
Why are people so triggered by this topic?
This is what I think: ignorance often manifests itself as anger. People get loud and angry and insist that “You seriously want Polio to come back and plague our kids” because they don’t know what else to say/do. They personally have never looked up the history of the diseases or the side effects of the vaccines, and they feel like they have never experienced an injury from a vaccine. Roll it all together and you get someone who is defending an opinion they have not actually put in the time and effort to come up with themselves. It is what they have been taught all their lives from a source that should be trustworthy (their doctors), and they don’t want to get knocked off their comfortable pedestal to start considering another point of view. Again, how sad that we can’t have civil and open conversations about things that are so important.
Someone I recently talked to said that they were so mad because it felt like I was trying to shove my ideas down everyone’s throats. I found this surprising. I like to talk about this topic because it is what I am currently studying and find interesting and relevant to my life. When I was a school teacher and you’d ask me about my life, I would invariably tell you a funny story about an 8th grader in my class or share why I loved teaching the macabre of Edgar Allan Poe. It was a central part of my life so I shared about it. Now, my job is to raise three beautiful daughters, and my life is inundated with trips to the park, reading lessons on the couch, baby proofing my house, and silly stories about crazy things my toddlers do. My children’s health and doctor well-visits are another huge part of my life. Doesn’t it make sense that I would have it on my mind a lot? So I’m not trying to forcefully change anybody’s opinions on vaccines; I’m just simply asking questions and then sharing the fascinating information I learn along the way.
So if someone else has questions too, here are a few resources I have found that have been very enlightening.
justtheinserts.com (helps you learn how to find the inserts for various vaccines and medications and identify all the possible side effects so that you can have true informed consent)
The Vaccine Friendly Plan by (the first book I bought. Helped ease me into studying each vaccine individually instead of seeing them as a 1-or-none option)
Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and Forgotten History by Suzanne Humphries and Roman Bystrianyk
Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies
(These are just resources that I personally have used so far. If you need more resources, check out https://www.naturalmindedmomma.com/childhood-shots )
