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Poll: Americans see both need, potential dangers of vaccines
Submitted by SHNS on Wed, 08/27/2008 - 15:38.
Most Americans believe vaccinating our children is best for all, but a majority also say parents should be allowed to refuse the shots.
Although two-thirds of the nation's adults have heard concerns that vaccines might produce dangerous side effects, nearly three-quarters say the benefits outweigh the risks, according to a survey of 811 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.
They overwhelmingly report that it's a "very serious concern" that nearly a quarter of the nation's youth are not fully immunized against polio, mumps and measles.
The poll found that 66 percent had heard that "some parents and researchers say vaccines have side effects that may lead to autism, asthma, diabetes, attention deficit disorder and other medical problems." About 33 percent had not heard of these concerns, and 1 percent was uncertain.
Seventy-one percent of the adults said "the benefits of immunizations outweigh the risks," while 19 percent "have questions about the risks of immunization," and 10 percent were uncertain or gave other responses such as "it depends upon the kind of immunization."
People with college degrees and post-graduate educations were especially likely to endorse vaccinations, while adults with only a high school education were more likely to be uncertain.
Fifty-six percent said parents should "be allowed to exempt their children for philosophical reasons," while 33 percent said parents should not have this latitude, and 11 percent were undecided.
Sixty-six percent said it was "a very serious concern" that "about 77 percent of children have received all recommended shots by the time they are three years old." It was not a serious concern to 26 percent, and 8 percent were uncertain.
Fifty-six percent wanted their children to receive all recommended vaccinations, no questions asked, while 38 percent wanted to ask more questions first, and 6 percent were undecided.
The survey was conducted by telephone Sept. 24 to Oct. 10, 2007 among 811 adult residents of the United States who were selected at random. The survey was conducted by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University under a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation.
The survey has a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.
(Thomas Hargrove is Scripps Howard News Service's polling director. E-mail him at hargrovet(at)shns.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
vaccines
I thought it was so imperative that children be protected against diseases whenever possible that they would not be allowed to enter school until they proved they had the necessary "shots" and/or oral vaccines. I want my grandchildren protected just as much as my children were when it was a requirement! It's scary to think that some people don't care enough to have it done.
Who is protesting mandatory vaccination?
The parents who had children injured or killed from vaccines or the parents themselves were injured - that's who are protesting mandatory vaccination! What right do you have to ask me to sacrifice my life or the life of my child for the sake of yours? Who says vaccines are safe and effective? Follow the money trail! Vaccines are far from safe - and definitely NOT effective in preventing death from disease. These numbers remain unchanged with the introduction of each vaccine.
How do you know??
"It's scary to think that some people don't care enough to have it done."
How do you know I don't care? I'm tired of being attacked for educating myself and making a choice for my child. Do not assume by reading mainstream articles that I chose not to vax on a whim. I spent years researching and have come to this decision. It's because I care so much for the welfare of my child that I choose not to put poisons in his body, but protect him by strengthening his immune system. Is that irresponsible?
Just who exactly was surveyed?
I actually find this survey a little unbelieveable....after all the American Academy of Pediatrics is warning doctors to be on the "lookout" for middle-upper class college educated moms. According to the AAP, these are the moms refusing the vaccines.
Choosing to Vaccinate or not
In order to make a sound decision, I have read just about every book that is on the market about the subject.
I also subscribe to the following sites:
www.insidevaccines.com/wordpress
http://unherdof.wordpress.com/
http://www.beyondconformity.co.nz/
and AgeOfAutism
Don't just merely follow your doctors advice. Most doctors only get information from the pharmaceutical companies who are the vaccine producers and certainly want to sell their wares.
Find out for yourself why some parents choose not to vaccinate their beloved children. Find out what the diseases that the vaccines cover are really like. Are they truly deadly in our modern society or are the numbers taken from underdeveloped countries where kids are starving and have to drink dirty water to survive?
Compare how many vaccines you got as a child, how many your mother and grandmother got, and then see what all they inject into your child. That certainly can't be health giving. And what has happened since all those vaccines were brought out?
Our children suffer from all sort of "modern diseases" like asthma, allergies, MS, cancer...those are life long afflictions. What have we traded in?
Measles, mumps, rubella and several other childhood diseases which in the end may have served to build a strong immune system in previous generations.
Why is it that our grandparents live to such a ripe old age? Not because they lack vaccines, but because they had the opportunity to build health.
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