Strollerderby

Sigh.  You claim that the law requires all children between 6 months and 5 years to be vaccinated is contradicted by the source which says if they attend daycare or preschool.   Clearly that is not all children and parents still have choices.  They can have a parent stay home OR they can have a nanny in the home.

And yes, children in daycare and preschool SHOULD be vaccinated.

I was one of those parents in Trenton on Thursday, and I'd like to clarify the reason we were there.  It was in SUPPORT of a bill that is on the table in the NJ legislature that would allow for a philosophical exemption to mandatory vaccination.  The same group of parents certainly does oppose Gov. Corzine's recent legislation to add a number of new vaccines to the mandatory list, inlcuding the flu vaccine, but that deal is done, and reversing it would be difficult right now.  So, yes, we are seeking the choice, as parents, to do what we know is right for our children.

I am also a parent who vaccinates, but only partially.  I am not against the idea of vaccination, but I am against the quantity of vaccines our children are receiving, the dangers associated with various toxins in the vaccines, and the lack of research that has been allowed to pass as medical science (vaccines are not subject to double-blind studies or long-term studies prior to FDA approval).  Particularly, the lack of research is a serious concern since NJ is both the state with the highest number of mandatory vaccines and the highest number of autism cases.  Not coincidentally, we are also the pharmaceutical capital of the country, if not the world.  

The flu vaccine is one that I avoid like the plague.  The chance of catching the flu is not as great as you describe (I myself have never had it in my 35 years, and I attended NYC schools and rode the subways regularly).  I'd be more concerned about tubureculosis, frankly (to which I have been exposed).  Complications from the flew, while they reach into the thousands, are statistically rare, and almost entirely concentrated among the elderly, newborn infants (for the whom the vaccine is ineffective and not given) and others with compromised immune systems.  Children and adults with healthy immune systems have almost nothing to worry about, even if they do get the flu.

The flu vaccine is fairly regularly ineffective, as the drug companies frequently produce vaccines against the wrong strains of the virus.  An educated guess is the best they have to determine what strain will be dominant in the coming season.  I don't see why it is so imperrative to guard against a guess that will likely do no harm anyway.

Finally, the flu shot is the last remaining vaccine to contain a full dose of mercury, a known toxin that is linked to Alzheimers and a variety of sensory disorders.  While there are flu shots manufactured without mercury, or with trace amounts, these are a tiny minority and are not available for all who would get the shot, not even all children.

I see no reason to risk a person's life or health with this very risky shot to protect against a virus that is in most cases benign.  And so, yes, we should all have choices about how we approach our own health and the health of our children.  It is bizarre and frankly un-American to restrict those choices.

"Are parents who don't get the shot playing with fire? Personally, yes, I think so."

Playing with fire? Come on. Yes, some people can end up in the hospital because of the flu, but that's rare. And if the law stated that I had to give my children a vaccination that they really don't need, I'd be going to court. In general, I'm pro-vacc, but it's getting to the point where we're vaccinating children against illnesses that aren't all that terrible.

On top of that: The women in my family don't get the flu. We don't know why, but my grandmother, my mother, my sister, and I have never in all our years had the flu--even when our spouses had it, we never caught it. So I'm not going to mess with nature and get vaccinated for an illness I probably will never get, and by that token, I'm not doing it to my daughters, either.

What I find really interesting is how Americans are so focused on the fact that they are the land of the FREE, but there is hardly ever any hesitation to take these freedoms away. Mandatory flu shots? Thats just another step down the road to having no choices at all.

The flu is not that bad especially compared to other contagions that have vaccinations so to have your choices limited or completely revoked is very disturbing to me.

Parents should be educated on their options and allowed to choose what they think is best. Not have their decisions made for them by the government. Hello 1984.

The Flu vaccine is far more dangerous than the illness itself (unless you are immunocompromised, and just because a 6 mos olds' immune system is not fully developed does not mean they are compromised!). Do some hardcore research. Let the body fight off what it needs to naturally. And if parents who chose to vaccinate are so confident in their vaccines then it should not bother or scare them that other parents don't vaccinate.

And yes, We DO live in AMERICA and we SHOULD have the right to CHOOSE!!!

I too was at the rally fighting for the choice as a parent to decide what goes into my child.

I choose not to put what I believe are toxic chemicals into my child.

Death from the flu is rare, death from the flu vaccine also rare....why chose equal outcomes and toxins?

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE HERE >?? They are my kids.. I gave birth to them .. I woke up many hours durning the night . I fed them and bathe them .. Does the state of NJ do that ?? They are my kids !!! NOT THE STATE !!!! ITS MY CHOICE !! IF I WANTED TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY THAT RAN MY LIFE AND MY KIDS I'D MOVE TO RUSSIA !!!