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AIBU?

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Original poster

Why would someone say this about vaccines? Is it odd?

586 replies

PuzzlingPanda · 09/03/2016 19:59

Was in a health food shop today and mentioned an ongoing issue I'm having with one of my do.

The man mentioned he thought the biggest thing going wrong with our children was all the vaccines they receive. He said they full of nasties, designed to make people ill.

It could be put down to a man having a pointless rant but why would he say this? Is there any sort of truth in it?

Not the first time I've heard negative things about vaccines.

Now I'm worried about it.

OP posts:
RhodaBorrocks · 10/03/2016 01:57

Anti vaxxers make my blood boil! I was seriously ill 30 years ago because I caught rubella and it developed into meningitis. I was ill for months and have been left with all sorts of lifelong disabilities from the brain damage, including partial deafness. Oh yeah, getting hearing aids as a youngster was so much fucking fun, as is 30 years of suffering from migraines and constant full body pain.

BTW, my parents weren't antivax nutjobs - the MMR wasn't licenced in the UK until 1989. I got it straight away and even remember it happening.

There's no way I'm letting my DC go through any of what I did. Vaccines for life! Literally!

Absofrigginlootly · 10/03/2016 02:19

Not rtft as got distracted by the link to sugars thread about her beautiful little Daisy and I'm now crying.

But anti vaxxers boil my piss like nothing else. Such stupid fucking idiots who spout a load of scare mongering shite.

It's the ones who say "I've read all the evidence and come to the conclusion not to vaccinate"

Well you CANT have possibly read all the fucking evidence because you wouldn't have come to that conclusion would you?!!!??! Angry

Absofrigginlootly · 10/03/2016 02:20

Sorry for swearing Blush I just find anti vaxxers so selfish and maddening

Atenco · 10/03/2016 02:38

So nobody wants to have a discussion about it?

What a pile of vitriol! None of you are ever going to learn about the argument against vaccines because you just start giving off as soon as you hear anyone mention anything negative about vaccines. This all reads like the result of brainwashing rather than reasoned arguments.

abbsismyhero · 10/03/2016 02:46

antivaxers always say you're being brainwashed and accuse people of hysteria god forbid we have done our own research

CatchingBabies · 10/03/2016 03:06

Vaccines of course carry risks of adverse effects but the risk is worth the benefit as the disease it vaccinates against is worse.

I am medically trained (not a doctor but work with lots of them) and I've never met a doctor yet that doesn't vaccinate their own children against everything.

I pay for my children to have the flu vaccine each year as they are not otherwise entitled and my DD has had the chicken pox vaccine privately.

This is the norm amongst all medical staff I know.

NinjaLeprechaun · 10/03/2016 03:09

"None of you are ever going to learn about the argument against vaccines"
I have never heard an argument against vaccines that holds up against logic evidence. Ever. So no I don't argue about it anymore, I start with the assumption that anti-vaxxers are genuinely stupid.

StitchesInTime · 10/03/2016 06:19

None of you are ever going to learn about the argument against vaccines

I have never heard any sensible argument against vaccines. There are risks to vaccinations, as there are for anything at all, but for the vast majority of people, the benefits outweigh the risks. (People who can't be vaccinated because of existing medical problems being the exception there).

tilder · 10/03/2016 06:43

I have heard the anti vaxx argument lots og times. No I do not want to debate it. Anymore than I would want to debate 'is the world flat or round'.

bananafish81 · 10/03/2016 06:57

Thing about science is that opinions aren't set in stone

They change based on evidence

If compelling evidence comes along that indicates vaccinations do more harm than they do good then opinions will change

That's how science works

Until then, as the evidence indicates that vaccinations have massive benefits at both a societal and individual level, vaccinations are recommended to save lives.

Obv the entire medical profession has been brainwashed. Disgusting Drs wanting to save lives

NHS and NICE with all their cost benefit analysis about why vaccinations save lives. All brainwashed I tell you. Trying to stop kids from dying. Disgusting life saving practices!!

KatharinaRosalie · 10/03/2016 07:06

I've heard anti-vax arguments plenty of times. I have an open mind and am willing to reconsider my opinions when presented with new evidence.
But whenever anti-vaxers try to back their opinions up with any kid of evidence, this is either presented as saying something it really didn't say, just fake, or a youtube video/internet meme.

tanaj · 10/03/2016 07:09

I believe all the anti vax hysteria started after the publication of some fraudulent research linking the MMR vaccine to autism in the '90s. This has since been debunked but the controversy lingers unfortunately.

Bunbaker · 10/03/2016 07:10

"This all reads like the result of brainwashing rather than reasoned arguments."

For a healthy person with no allergies there is no reasoned argument not to vaccinate. Perhaps you are the one being brainwashed, or are you medically qualified to make such decisions? None of my doctor friends are anti vaccination. I wonder why.

PurpleDaisies · 10/03/2016 07:51

None of you are ever going to learn about the argument against vaccines because you just start giving off as soon as you hear anyone mention anything negative about vaccines.

I have extensively read the anti vaccination arguments as part of a masters. By in large are absolute rubbish. There are a tiny tiny number of children who will react badly to vaccines. The risk of this happening is much much lower than the risk of harm due to the disease.

I have heard arguments that the universe was created in six days too. Based on my scientific knowledge I reject them. Throat doesn't mean I've been brainwashed. It's the same with the anti vaccination argument.

tilder · 10/03/2016 08:00

Exactly purple.

MoonriseKingdom · 10/03/2016 08:01

roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/timeline/1960s/november-1962

For those of us too young to remember measles being widespread this is Roald Dahl on the death of his eldest daughter.

GreatFuckability · 10/03/2016 08:09

I understand the argument that vaccines are less harmful than the diseases they prevent. But that means very little to someone who has seen their child become very ill as a result of a vaccine. It makes that tiny theoretical risk that most people disregard very un-tiny and un-theoretical. It makes giving more vaccines to that child impossible and the idea of giving them to future children utterly terrifying. And when you are then openly laughed at by a doctor when expressing those concerns instead of being reassured and having your questions answered, it makes you even more worried.
I just wish, however tedious it might be, that open and honest discussion would happen. In no other medical field would a parent/patient be told 'because its best, and you are a stupid, selfish idiot if you don't blindly comply' as a reason to do something.

CigarsofthePharoahs · 10/03/2016 08:10

[https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S43/10/03O18/index.xml?section=topstories]
Here's a story from Princeton University. It knocks on the head the idea that contracting measles is somehow "better" than having the vaccination.
I wish I'd paid for the chicken pox vaccine, then my sons wouldn't have scars on their faces.

Bunbaker · 10/03/2016 08:17

GreatF that is why herd immunity is so important - to protect children like yours who can't, for good reasons, have vaccinations.

GreatFuckability · 10/03/2016 08:22

But there is no reason, medically, my younger children can't have them, I'm told. The oldest's reaction is to do with her, and there is no reason the others should react the same. That doesn't make it any less terrifying though. I struggle with it, a lot.

Sparklingbrook · 10/03/2016 08:24

So nobody wants to have a discussion about it?

There's a whole Vaccinations topic on here if that's what you are after.

PurpleDaisies · 10/03/2016 08:27

It's a real shame your doctor wasn't more sympathetic greatfuckability. It's absolutely understandable that you're apprehensive about getting your younger child vaccinated. It there another go on the practice who you think would be better to talk to? I hope you can get the information you need about the risks and benefits of vaccination in a kind and understanding way. Flowers

MoonriseKingdom · 10/03/2016 08:31

GreatF I think most people here would be entirely sympathetic to your fears. If a close relative was killed in a plane crash you might feel you could not get on a plane, even if logically the risk is low.

teacherlikesapples · 10/03/2016 08:31

Considering the average vaccine takes 10-15 years of research before it even gets to market & is one of the most regulated & monitored aspects of the health programme, I would say it is a pretty safe decision.

Like anything you put in your body, there will always be a slight risk, but thankfully 99.9% of people have no issue, and instead enjoy years of protection from deadly diseases.

Compared to the unregulated supplement & 'alternative health' (which incidentally is also a multi billion dollar industry- so consider their motivation for trying to get you scared & emptying your pockets)