First, a disclaimer: I am categorizing today’s post under “Humor” because it really doesn’t fit anywhere else. I’m not sure if it’s funny – in fact, it’s probably more scary than funny. Anyway, on with the story…
My girlfriend told me about an interesting discussion she had today with her co-worker that really puts a new spin on the value of vaccination.
The co-worker (who by the way, works with my girlfriend in a large metropolitan hospital) has just had a baby. Because of all the negative publicity about the potential adverse reactions to vaccines, she has been very conflicted about having her child vaccinated. She finally decided to go forward with the vaccinations, but not because of the usual browbeating by her pediatrician.
She has decided that the risks of vaccination are lower than the risks of her child being hospitalized if he were to get sick with one of the diseases that vaccinations supposedly protect against. Now let me clarify this… she’s not really concerned about the dangers of the diseases that the vaccinations protect against. Because of her experiences from working in a hospital, she’s worried about the risks of the medical treatment her child would be subjected to if he were to get sick with a disease that requires hospitalization! In other words, she believes that having her child vaccinated is safer than possibly exposing him to the risk of medical treatment in the hospital!
Sadly, I’m actually somewhat inclined to agree with this line of thinking. While there is mounting evidence that mercury and other toxins contained in vaccines are probably linked to autism and SIDS, there is no doubt in my mind that it is usually even more dangerous to be subjected to medical care in most hospitals these days.
Regular readers of my blog know that my father was nearly killed by medical errors on several different occasions during a recent hospitalization for a broken hip. Several patients of mine have had similar hospital horror stories. Even several people I know who work in hospitals as nurses and other allied health professionals routinely tell me about fatal and near-fatal mistakes, rampant infections, and patient neglect that occur in their hospitals. It’s really quite shocking.
So, while I’m not convinced that the typical vaccination schedule used in the United States is safe, it does have a better safety record than hospital treatment. Vaccination as a means of defense against medical care? Hmmm. Maybe my girlfriend’s coworker is on to something. It’s actually the best argument I’ve heard for mandatory vaccination!