I think I told you once about the friend of mine who didn't vaccinate her child. I'd always supported her, and looked up to her as this kind of brave hippie mama for bucking the status quo. Then, while I was pregnant with Beth, I was notified by her that her pediatrician and some county official strongly suspected her kiddo (whom I loved dearly) had rubella, after we'd all been playing together for a few days. I was told to be on standby basically, that I could have contracted it, and that Beth could end up deformed or miscarried. That changed the whole debate for me.
Thankfully, her kid turned out fine, but it took me a long time to overcome a private resentment I had toward her, that she had put me and my unborn child in that position. I don't think I could have forgiven her had I contracted the disease and Beth suffered complications. I don't know how she could have forgiven herself if her child had gotten sick and suffered permanent damage.
I think Katje is very right; that you choose the risks you're willing to be accountable for. And I think you're right when you say that people today no longer have the social memory of what these diseases can do, and certainly right now we have a lot of distrust around the government and whatever they recommend to us. I am happy to vaccinate my kids for their childhood diseases, but I find myself balking every time I sit down to schedule flu shots for all of us.
I thought the article was right on when it said that throughout history, it's rationality that's the anomaly. It bothers me deeply that this guy is getting death threats from people for basically being a scientist, but that's another issue altogether.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-10-27 01:21 am (UTC)Thankfully, her kid turned out fine, but it took me a long time to overcome a private resentment I had toward her, that she had put me and my unborn child in that position. I don't think I could have forgiven her had I contracted the disease and Beth suffered complications. I don't know how she could have forgiven herself if her child had gotten sick and suffered permanent damage.
I think Katje is very right; that you choose the risks you're willing to be accountable for. And I think you're right when you say that people today no longer have the social memory of what these diseases can do, and certainly right now we have a lot of distrust around the government and whatever they recommend to us. I am happy to vaccinate my kids for their childhood diseases, but I find myself balking every time I sit down to schedule flu shots for all of us.
I thought the article was right on when it said that throughout history, it's rationality that's the anomaly. It bothers me deeply that this guy is getting death threats from people for basically being a scientist, but that's another issue altogether.