For thinking i shouldn't be getting constantly pestered by the local nurse and GP team to get my daughter immunises when i've repeatedly told them my answer is no?

[Lowla]

My daughter is 4. She got all her jabs as a baby, but i stopped at the MMR one. Since we missed the appointment, i've been getting loads of letters to invite us to the clinic for the MMR jab and now her school booster jab for some other virus. (Hib or something like that).

I've phoned the GP and asked them not to send any more letters out as i've chosen not to get her immunised any further for my own personal reasons, and worries over her last reactions to the jabs. And now i've got some nurse calling me asking to do a home visit next week to 'check on me and dd'. I asked 'is this about the jabs?' and she said, rather reluctantly, 'yes'.

AIBU for feeling like they should respect my decision?

Sorry for the bad grammar. Writing this in a rush as i have to run and get dd from school.

Mydogsleeps- no one thinks you are selfish. It is those who refuse to immunise their healthy children who are selfish as they put your dd at risk.

oh. I see.

I think that unless their is a confirmed medical reason not to vaccinate, not vaccinating is pretty selfish as it puts others apart from your dc at risk, and you are relying on others to vaccinate to protect your dc.

I think it is right and proper that the NHS chase you as potentially your decision could cost them a lot more money than the cost of the vaccination.

YABU Just keep saying no if you want, your decision is not good for the community, so the community should pressure you to change it. It's selfish to take from the community (ie healthcare) and not give the same responsibilities (ie immunisation to protect those people who cannot be immunised either through age or other health reasons). Given that it's not appropriate for the community to force you, hassling you is perfectly reasonable.

Yes. How unreasonable of your GP practice to actually care about your children's health.

Shocking.

And, actually, it is possible to eradicate infectious disease. Smallpox has gone, so has something called Rinderpest (a livestock disease related to measles).

You should be able to decide no, of course.

You should also then home educate so as not to pose as much of a risk to those of us who do the sensible thing and vaccinate. Its common in other countries to require children to be vaccinated before starting school.

Take your choice, take the consequences.

This is what whois said

"You're being a selfish idiot to not get your child immunised, it's for the greater good"

I don't see a qualification there so as my child is not immunised, then I'm a selfish idiot is how I read that sentense.

I do think there are a few people who jump on the bandwagon without understanding the real risks. A FB"friend" of mine has all the ridiculous links about how vaccines are linked to everything under the sun and yet when you read the articles they are studies based on tiny samples with no credibility and she doesn't live in lovely safe UK where kids don't die from nasty illnesses either.

YANBU to expect them to respect your decision but YABU to take a decision such as this without thoroughly investigating the risks of measles, mumps and rubella vs the risks of the jabs.

Yabu unless your child cannot have for medical reasons.

I seem to recall that once your DC starts at school they will be pestered again so be warned...

The NHS should make getting children immunized separately easier then.

They do not offer this because it affects back pockets not health so YANBU OP.

Have you written to them and asked for the letter to be left on her record?

If you don't even know what Hib is, then you're not making an informed decision.
It causes meningitis, in case you wanted to know.

Mydogsleepsonthebed This is true, but if you hang around and argue for 10 pages or so, then someone will say "hang on, Mydog has a genuine medical reason" and then everyone else will say "that's ok then, she is not a selfish idiot, but every one else who doesn't vaccinate is" and this goes on and on until the thread eventually is killed (by measles, probably)

They shouldn't be hassling you to get her immunised but at the same time bear in mind that unless you have put it in writing to the GP and Child Health you may still get invitations for imms. In many areas it's not the GP that co-ordinate imms records and send the letters, it's central Child Health. A verbal message to the GP alone wouldn't be enough to stop central Child Health records calling her.

I'm not entirely sure who is coming to your house to discuss things with you - is this the Health Visitor? Practice nurses (who usually do child imms) don't do home visits.

Mydogsleeps- ignore it. There is a whole branch of medicine that looks at diseases in populations. They specifically look at the percentage of a community that needs to be vaccinated in order to protect those who cannot be vaccinated.

No one in a million years would suggest that you are being selfish. You are following medical advice.

Please, please believe me. And Im sure whois did not mean it that way.

If your child can not have jabs for a medical issue Yanbu
If your child can have jabs and you just don't want them too - Yabu

If children with low immune systems get these ill'ness it can be life threatening and if your child passes it on to them, you will be cause that family a huge amount of heart ache.

I don't think the reasons for the OP not wanting to vaccinate are really relevant, she has made that choice and beyond asking her ONCE and discussing the options/problems with not vaccinating that ONCE they should respect her wishes.

mydog you seem to be desperate to take offence. The very reason that vaccination is for the "greater good" is so that those who are vulnerable because they cannot be vacinated are afforded a small degree of protection.

Surely you understand more than most that the safest scenario for your child would be one where every person they came into contact with had been vaccinated

MrSunshine if your children are vaccinated and you're convinced it works, what's the worry about unvaccinated children. Afraid you might catch something? Impossible, surely?

What Sirzy said

My immunosupressed child can't be vaccinated actually, smart arse, and could be severely damaged by your child giving them a preventable illness.
Or perhaps my child should stay home so you can indulge your silly whims re vaccinations ?

Oh and from 3 yrs 4 mths they are offered their 2nd MMR and the preschool booster which is diphtheria/tetanus/polio/pertussis (whooping cough).

I'm sorry I'm not trying to take offence but the statement was just one that I didn't want to let go unchallenged. Obviously I've wandered into a debate that has been done a gazillion times before but I didnt' realise that.

The op isn't actually making an informed decision though hence I guess the health professionals wanting to inform her. Can't see how this is unreasonable.