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Original poster

Genuine question for anti-vaxxers

584 replies

Raisinmeup · 12/10/2025 12:25

I see a lot online about anti-vaxxers and I’m trying to understand where they’re coming from, so this is a genuine question, not rage bait.

My understanding is that some parents choose not to vaccinate their children because they believe vaccines cause harmful side effects, or they just don’t trust the government and big pharma in general.

But what’s the alternative? If everyone stopped vaccinating, wouldn’t we start seeing diseases like polio coming back? That would mean more infant deaths and lifelong disabilities. It just doesn’t seem like a rational trade off?

From what I’ve seen, there seems to be a belief that immune systems can deal with these illnesses naturally, but I wonder if part of that belief comes from the fact that parents of today haven’t actually seen what a world without vaccines looks like. We’ve grown up in a time where infant death from preventable diseases is almost unheard of, so maybe it’s easy to forget how serious these infections really are.

And lastly, if you haven’t vaccinated your child and they then catch one of these illnesses, do you not end up turning to the same big pharma for the medicine or treatment anyway?

OP posts:
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Gilgogirl · 25/10/2025 01:28

Exactly but it’s certain communities like the Amish and the Hasidic Jewish communities but they do a bris with the rabbi sucking the blood off of a male penis. Like, really. That’s hiv became a big thing in New York for awhile. Baby penis btw

Gilgogirl · 25/10/2025 01:25

Well, she’s relying on other children be vaxed but not her precious bundle. Gross

SwingTheMonkey · 24/10/2025 22:38

AlinaRawlings · 24/10/2025 21:33

With measles- not of measles. One child- that you do not know. You’re clutching at straws.

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Why does it make any difference whether this poster knew the child or not? And what makes you say they died ‘with measles, not of it’?

What about the USA experiencing their highest number of measles cases in 30 years and the deaths resulting? All a direct result of idiots refusing to vaccinate against a disease that spreads rapidly and can be fatal.

DenizenOfAisleOfShame · 24/10/2025 21:54

Oh dear. The vaccine deniers and freeloaders have started up again.

It’s not nearly as bad on MN as it was some years ago. But it’s still depressing to see people pumping out nonsense against vaccines.

I’m fascinated by the minds of anti-vaxxers. Since they know vaccines work and are as safe as any medicine can ever be, why do they promote their harmful ideology?

Freeloading, sure. But there must be something deeper and even worse.

AlinaRawlings · 24/10/2025 21:41

SurroundedByEejits · 14/10/2025 14:03

This. The OP asked for a reasonable discussion and as usual, what followed was a host of people throwing insults at anyone who is not resolutely pro-vax in all ways.

Personally, I'm wary of vaccines and how they may affect me as I have several allergies and react very badly to flu vaccines in particular. I was also ill after my BCG as a teenager. When my children were tiny, I was worried that they could have severe responses to the vaccines I have issues with, too, given the genetic link to allergies and sensitivities, and waited until they were older and stronger to have them. I still feel that the MMR should be available as individual shots, to reduce the risk of adverse reactions (they do happen!) and to more easily distinguish which, if any, are causing them, especially if one of the parents or close family has a history of allergies/ sensitivities.

I was ill for over a year after my Covid jab, unable to work for 7 months. My husband and 3 other members of his family went into multiple organ failure after they received one of the Covid vaccines; 2 of them, including my husband, have died from the damage. He was increasingly ill and disabled for 3 years, and utterly miserable with little quality of life, until he died last year. It was awful.

Vaccines are not always the miracle they are made out to be. They can and do have adverse effects for some people, and having a considered approach to them should not be demonised in the way that it is.

And now I wait for the shade. Just weigh that against the loss of my husband as a direct result of a vaccination before you throw it, though.

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One of the most sensible responses on here 👏🏼…and I’m sorry for your loss x

DenizenOfAisleOfShame · 24/10/2025 21:38

AlinaRawlings · 24/10/2025 21:37

Vaccines don’t stop the spread 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Eh?

AlinaRawlings · 24/10/2025 21:37

Gettingbysomehow · 12/10/2025 16:26

Becsuse I don't want to risk getting covid or flu clearly! Why is that so hard to understand?

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Vaccines don’t stop the spread 🤦🏼‍♀️

AlinaRawlings · 24/10/2025 21:33

FunMustard · 12/10/2025 16:19

My children is at very minimal risk from complications from measles.

Please tell me how you know this.

They seem healthier and more resilient than their vaccinated peers, and that's the data I go on.

Please tell me how you know this.

How odd that you seem to know many people who claim their child has a vaccine injury, as many as those who are healthier than their vaccinated counterparts - which is in direct opposition to my experience. Almost like our circles of about 30-odd isn't really a representative sample, and that we all have our own biases that lead us to giving more weight to what we agree with.

And frankly the fact that you don't know of anyone that's died from measles is so lovely for you. A child died in Liverpool this year from measles - unvaccinated, by the way. It's easy to sit from your comfortable ivory tower and say that you are confident your child won't be affected - before the vaccine, 2.6 million deaths worldwide were recorded from measles. It's not a coincidence that we only see one or two a year. But that's likely to go up.

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With measles- not of measles. One child- that you do not know. You’re clutching at straws.

Laura95167 · 23/10/2025 20:29

Completely pro vaxxer.

But I can understand why if youre in America where medicine is a business and theres insurance premiums, billing that changes and appears arbitrary and it all being about money... that people might struggle to trust drs and pharmaceutical companies. The profit first mentality may make someone skeptical.

Additionally with all the "fake news" I can understand the need to do your own research and that increases the risks of antivaxx mentality.

Beachtastic · 23/10/2025 18:46

luckymumandnowluckygranny · 23/10/2025 15:27

What culture is 75% unvaccinated? Just curious...

Hippies 😂

IndoorVoice · 23/10/2025 16:02

nosmokinggun · 18/10/2025 08:38

I was vaccinated….

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I’m sorry that happened to you. I think mumps immunity can wane after 10 plus years of vaccination which is another reason that it’s important younger people continue to be vaccinated to maintain herd immunity for all - particularly as it’s often transmitted where young people congregate like universities.

luckymumandnowluckygranny · 23/10/2025 15:27

What culture is 75% unvaccinated? Just curious...

NavyTurtle · 21/10/2025 12:35

Measles
Deaths: 1 to 2 per 1,000 people

Risk factors: The risk of death is higher in infants, adults, and those with weakened immune systems.

Complications: A major cause of death is severe complications such as encephalitis (brain swelling), which occurs in about 1 in 1,000 cases.

Mumps
Deaths: 1.6 to 3.8 per 10,000 people

Risk factors: Most deaths are caused by encephalitis, which can be a complication of mumps.

Complications: Other complications include viral meningitis, and in males, swollen testicles.

Rubella (German Measles)
Deaths:
While rare, deaths from rubella are most significant in the context of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which can occur if a woman is infected during pregnancy.

Risk factors:
It can cause miscarriage or severe birth defects, with up to 33% of infants with CRS dying before their first birthday.

Complications:
Complications include painful joint swelling and thrombocytopenia (a bleeding disorder).

Prevention
Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella, and it has saved millions of lives.

The MMR vaccine protects against all three diseases and is recommended for children.

WHY WOULD YOU TAKE A CHANCE WITH YOUR CHILDS HEALTH?????? Children are dying in America of measles at the moment - why would you not do this??? A dog is not allowed in a kennel without vaccinations but you are quite prepared to play Russian Roulette with your children. Not sure why people are pussy footing around anti vaxers, I think they are very very dangerous people.

Before you continue to Google Search

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEB_enIE959IE959&cs=0&sca_esv=fbaa7d3b9c35fdd6&sxsrf=AE3TifMRAXY-Jb8Ir_sWVDd-sHN4so9Xhw%3A1761046217584&q=MMR+vaccine&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie5s-xmLWQAxX0ygIHHfj2OzYQxccNegQITxAB&mstk=AUtExfA8HZQ81bnLMrRvzaGhqfrno9Tkdj5KrFh6jxT3JBk446-8GMVBl8WLfossnW_PhnhOFwamAVCM5qaywhoVEyejPMwf4EimlMqIrwX6m8ODiQyeRSoAwo5C5_pODs7qLfqKgCr7rZbBWvkw7R3fc1gy6PKVuobIpt4rYUam4b0mB9E&csui=3

NavyTurtle · 21/10/2025 12:28

Thepeopleversuswork · 12/10/2025 13:31

@isitmyturn is right also that people have forgotten what childhood infectious diseases are like. We are 2-3 generations away from a time when people routinely died of measles and people are complacent.

Children are dying of measles in USA as the anti brigade are out in force.

FunMustard · 19/10/2025 21:21

There's just been a new preventive HIV/AIDS medicine released. I wonder how many generations it'll take before those at risk refuse to take it because they'd rather the side effects.

(I know it's not quite the same, but already the absolute horror that AIDS struck in the 80s and 90s is already fading.)

gamerchick · 19/10/2025 14:47

Stopping calling them side effects would be a help.

Haven't they also made a vaccine that makes cancer visible to the immune system? It might happen yet.

MarvellousMonsters · 19/10/2025 12:21

Raisinmeup · 12/10/2025 14:05

I understand that some people raise the small number of cases where vaccines cause side effects as their rationale for avoiding them, but that just brings me back to the same question. People are afraid of being part of the small group who might experience an adverse reaction, yet they’re willing to take on the much bigger risk of catching the actual disease instead? Diseases that caused widespread fatalities in infants? I suspect we haven’t seen the full impact of this yet because these illnesses are still largely kept at bay by vaccination.

To me, it’s a bit like imagining a world where a vaccine was created to prevent all cancers. Over the course of a generation or two, cancer becomes so rare that people forget how devastating it used to be. Then, as time passes, some start refusing the vaccine because a small number of people experience side effects, without realising the enormous suffering it once prevented.

“To me, it’s a bit like imagining a world where a vaccine was created to prevent all cancers. Over the course of a generation or two, cancer becomes so rare that people forget how devastating it used to be. Then, as time passes, some start refusing the vaccine because a small number of people experience side effects, without realising the enormous suffering it once prevented.”

this is exactly it.

SwingTheMonkey · 18/10/2025 16:29

ThatCalmFinch · 16/10/2025 23:45

Kind of but not strictly true - no-one has died from german measles or mumps in many years in the UK, nor in the last big mumps outbreak did anyone have 'physical and cognitive disabilities and deformities just from the damage from the virus' likewise for scarlet fever and I believe that any children made seriously unwell by measles in the last few years also had serious underlying illnesses.

The other aspect is hygiene, maybe improvements in that area has helped or maybe the viruses have changed and become less devasting over time.

But if you were poor in the 1920's then you had very little chance of seeing a Doctor until it was too late was my point.

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The other aspect is hygiene, maybe improvements in that area has helped or maybe the viruses have changed and become less devasting over time.

Don’t bank on it. In just the Texas measles outbreak of January this year, nearly 800 people caught measles, mostly unvaccinated. 99 of those were hospitalised and 2 children with no underlying illnesses died. And that’s just one of 44 measles outbreaks in the USA this year. It definitely is a devastating disease. As is mumps, particularly for the potential fertility of the person suffering with it.
A pp hit the nail on the head when they said that people have become complacent because they haven’t seen first hand what some of these diseases can do. I hope they’re prepared to find out with declining vaccination rates…

gamerchick · 18/10/2025 12:08

nosmokinggun · 18/10/2025 08:38

I was vaccinated….

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This is part of the problem. We were vaccinated. Do we still have immunity? I remember getting mumps as a kid (tbf you don't forget mumps) but I don't think I've been vaccinated against measles.

What happens when things spread as the antivaxxers want and you find adults who's immunity has waned catching these diseases?

Is there even a option to get these vaccines as an adult or getting immunity checked.

EmotionalDamages · 18/10/2025 11:51

That sounds horrendous @nosmokinggun, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I had a similar experience while in hospital with Covid. Flowers

nosmokinggun · 18/10/2025 08:38

Jade3450 · 18/10/2025 08:07

Why weren’t you or they vaccinated? I thought the majority of people were.

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I was vaccinated….

Jade3450 · 18/10/2025 08:07

nosmokinggun · 17/10/2025 21:20

I had mumps in 2014 when I was 30 weeks pregnant.
it was horrendous, and I ended up spending the best part of a week in hospital on a drip as I got so dehydrated. Highlight of my stay was when my IV drip ran out during the night and none of the nurses on shift would come in to my room as they weren’t vaccinated and didn’t want to risk catching it, so would leave me listening to the beep of the machine all night…after making me get out of bed to turn off the call button.

Why weren’t you or they vaccinated? I thought the majority of people were.

nosmokinggun · 17/10/2025 21:20

I had mumps in 2014 when I was 30 weeks pregnant.
it was horrendous, and I ended up spending the best part of a week in hospital on a drip as I got so dehydrated. Highlight of my stay was when my IV drip ran out during the night and none of the nurses on shift would come in to my room as they weren’t vaccinated and didn’t want to risk catching it, so would leave me listening to the beep of the machine all night…after making me get out of bed to turn off the call button.

DenizenOfAisleOfShame · 17/10/2025 15:05

What fabulously sensible and fact-filled posts, thecatfromneptune. Thank you.

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