National Immunization Awareness Month is brought to the public’s awareness by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) in an effort to educate people about the importance of immunizations, whether for infants or seniors, and what immunizations are given in what order.

Vaccines are given for illnesses that are preventable. The ones most people know about are for the childhood illnesses, like measles, or accidental illnesses, like tetanus, but there are many more vaccines available. Not all North Americans need all vaccines, but some may need special ones, as with yellow fever, if they travel to countries that have those types of diseases.

There has been a lot of controversy about vaccines in young children and their now-disproven link to autism. No-one is downplaying the seriousness of autism but it isn’t associated with vaccines and even the doctor who first claimed this has come out to say that he was wrong. Vaccines save lives. They’re not perfect, but they’re a good bet better than the damage that can and is done by so-called benign diseases that today’s generation of parents have never seen, for the most part.

Here are some good links for vaccination information:

• A Parent’s Guide to Kids’ Vaccines
• The Importance of Childhood Immunizations
• Why immunize?
• Risks of Not Vaccinating
• Why do pre-teens and adolescents need immunizations?
• Additives in vaccines
• 10 things you need to know about immunizations
• Immunity types
• Immunization life-cycle
• ABCs of childhood immunizations
• Which vaccines do pre-teens/adolescents need?

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

National Immunization Awareness Month

White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception

Despite the obvious negative light in which this book paints mandatory vaccines, Honenberger is not explicitly anti-vaccine. She’s pro-education for parents.

In a prepared interview that accompanied the book, she said,

Vaccines save lives and keep babies healthy so they can grow to their full potential. But there are risks in everything and babies can’t make decisions to protect themselves. Parents need to educate themselves about the risks. Because the government and the manufacturers knew the risks, they made dertain promises. In White Lies, the mother of an injured baby has to fight to get the government to honor those promises.

My point in White Lies is that if the government and the manufacturers ask you to assume those risks for the greater good, and if your child suffers as a result of the known risk, then you ought to be able to rely on their promises to help you.

In light of the current autism epidemic in the US and the growing link between autism and childhood vaccines, Honenberger believes that parent education about vaccines is more critical now than ever before. Honenberger advises parents to keep medical records and and carefully track any changes they see in their children following standard vaccines. “Ask questions before the vaccine, not after,” she says.

Beautifully and compellingly written, White Lies tells the story of what happens when a parent’s worst nightmare becomes her reality. Pick it up today at your local library, or order it from Amazon.com. And always, always make well-researched, educated health decisions for yourself and your family.

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

Book Review–White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception