To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?

Hi Anne,

We’re skipping a lot of vaccinations. We’ll only get the polio, tetanus, etc. vaccines. The rest of their stuff can be injected into someone else.

Hi Anne,

My daughter will get all her vaccinations. Nowadays, vaccines are well-tested and fully approved. When the Mexican flu broke out, I did think about it for a long time, because the long-term consequences weren't clear...

I have to be honest and say that I would never forgive myself if my child got sick and I could have protected her against it... But everyone has the right to their own opinion!

May I ask why you're hesitating?

It probably isn't completely without reason.. But everyone has their own choice. Good luck with making your decision!

I really think it's child abuse if you don't let your child get vaccinated. Why do you have kids if you want them to get sick?
It's really not a conspiracy, these vaccinations. Just do it because it's good for your baby.

Ilse

Maybe if I stick my head in the sand too I'll understand what you mean, but what you're saying is really nonsense.

I could just list DES, Tamiflu, or paralysis after vaccination with the cervical cancer vaccine, the mumps vaccine that doesn't work, and go on like that. If the vaccination program was really so good, other countries would adopt our program, but they prefer to do it differently.

According to doctors, your baby isn't even allowed to take a paracetamol tablet under 6 months old, but you can get pumped full of diseases in foreign compounds and heavy metals? Isn't there really an alarm bell ringing?

I do let my children get vaccinated, but not the way the RIVM wants. I just wait a few months until they're a bit older, and I'll do the MMR shot later, when they can't become autistic from it anymore.

Can you explain that? Getting autistic from a shot?

And anyone can get paralyzed from any shot; it's not the vaccine's fault but the person giving the injection, because an injection is given into the muscle...

I have to admit, I couldn't help but laugh because I don't think you even know what you're talking about! Tamiflu is actually a medication... DES is due to mothers being exposed to a hormone during pregnancy! Children are not vaccinated for this! Autism is a very specific condition that is congenital, not something you get from an injection! If you're going to share an opinion, at least tell the truth!

The agreement is that all these things are pushed forward by the government or RIVM as the solution and deemed safe, but in reality, they were major mistakes.

According to some, you do become autistic from a vaccination if you're unlucky. Of course, it's denied in all tones because it's all about a lot of $$$

It's quite peculiar, by the way, that you think there's one 'the truth'. Vaccination, I think, should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. Currently, I see no reason at all, really 0.0, to vaccinate a boy who doesn't go on vacation to the tropes before puberty for mumps and hepatitis, except that it's cheaper.

Aren't you contradicting yourself now? Do you think you're doing it right, then I'll do it with mine...

I think she's actually not speaking out against it.

We do get our kids vaccinated, but we stick to our own schedule, so they’re protected against almost everything. We space out the vaccinations with longer breaks between them and don’t give them all at once (one shot at a time), and we also don’t start until 3 months of age. We’ve also chosen not to give the BMR shot at 18 months. We do give the DTaP-Hib vaccine, but without HepB because I don’t see the need to vaccinate our kids against it. If they choose later in life to go to a country where HepB is prevalent, they can make that choice themselves and only need to be vaccinated once instead of four times.

We chose this approach because it doesn’t feel right to pump a two-month-old baby with seven diseases at once (which child in nature gets seven diseases at once??).

I agree with the above comments that the RIVM doesn’t leave much room for an adjusted vaccination schedule since the entire vaccination schedule is a free choice, but you still have to follow the RIVM guidelines. This way, parents don’t have to think for themselves, even though it’s about their children’s health. Being vaccinated is certainly no guarantee that children won’t get sick; they still have the same chance of getting the diseases, and because everyone is vaccinated, the diseases mutate to make children sick anyway.

Whether or not to vaccinate is neither form of child abuse, but it’s good for parents to look at this critically and do what feels right.

Just because the RIVM says something doesn’t mean it’s good...

The RIVM has even admitted that they vaccinated too quickly during the Mexican flu, and that some children developed sleep disorders (behavioral disorders, sleep apnea) from the vaccine, and that the whooping cough vaccine in the DTaP vaccine is outdated and no longer works...

Unfortunately, what's 'best for our children' often revolves around what's best for the government's wallet.

I will definitely vaccinate my child.
I work in the pharmaceutical industry myself. I know how certain medications are made, I know how certain vaccines are made. I know what goes into them and I know what the possible side effects/harmfulness of the ingredients are. But what I find even more important, I know how strict product release is. A simple, little test where the results are borderline already means that the entire batch made cannot be released without extensive research.
Also, I want to point out to you all that all these diseases, for which the RIVM has set up the vaccination program, hardly occur anymore since the vaccinations.
That vaccines don't work is nonsense. Through vaccinations, the body builds up antibodies, which has been proven repeatedly. What can happen is that a virus mutates. For that reason, there is a new flu shot every year, because this virus is known to change quickly. And with the flu shot, you are protected against the flu that has been prevalent in recent years. The one from the current year is not yet known. So you can still get the flu, but you often get less sick.
I think that's quite valuable.

Hi Wientje, I'm not saying the vaccines don't work, but there's still a chance your child could get sick. Many parents think a vaccine is a 100% guarantee against getting sick.

I’m also in favor of vaccination, but I feel I need to respond anyway.

The decline in the number of diseases had already started before the introduction of vaccines and is very likely largely due to improved hygiene and better nutrition, which have strengthened our immune systems.

Hi Iza,

Since a lot of people don't quite know how this works, I've posted this here too. I think everyone should make their own choice, but I do think a lot of people have a completely wrong image of the pharmaceutical industry. And it is entirely possible that a vaccine doesn't work at all against the current variant of the disease.

I just wanted to give a little lesson to show that the pharmaceutical industry isn't really just about lobbying for money and sales. In fact, millions are spent on destroying medication because, for example, a simple test— which has absolutely no influence on efficacy, but only on shelf life— comes back abnormal. I get the feeling that a lot of people don't really stop to think about this.

Personally, I feel that enough research has been done by the RIVM to determine the most optimal way to vaccinate. But I can understand that people want to deviate from that. It's a shame to hear that there isn't really enough room for that. So I'd advise anyone who wants to deviate from the vaccination program to discuss it with their GP. They will likely administer the vaccines at a different time of your choosing.

I do want to recommend the Hepatitis B vaccine though. You can get it through, for example, blood contact. As a baby, I contracted a Hepatitis B variant in the hospital due to poorly sterilized surgical equipment. This was in the 80s, and people were also infected with HIV back then. This obviously shouldn't ever happen, but unfortunately, it did happen in the past. On top of that, Hepatitis does occur in the Netherlands, usually transmitted through sexual contact, but it does indeed still occur in the Netherlands.

Hi Olivia-Anna,

I totally get your feeling of not wanting any chemical junk in your body. I feel the same way myself. Maybe because I work in the pharmaceutical industry. It feels like they're quick to reach for pills and stuff. In the Netherlands, it's not too bad (compared to other countries), but in some other countries, you get antibiotics for a suspected bladder infection without it even being tested. And for a simple cold, they use antihistamines in America and Asia. Which might work, but using something at the slightest sign of illness means you don't build up a natural resistance, and diseases can mutate more easily.

But anyway, if you have a slight headache, you can take a pill, but you can also just take it easy, which is often what your body wants.

I might sound defensive or attacking, but that's not what I mean. I'm passionate about these topics! I think everyone should make their own choices about this. And as I wrote earlier, there should be room for that. Maybe it's useful to let your GP know if you want to deviate. They can then give it at the times you prefer, or be extra alert for certain symptoms. I think many GPs just assume everyone follows the vaccination program faithfully. This can mean that if a child gets one of these diseases, it doesn't really occur to the GP.

Oh haha Wientje
I wasn't talking about you at all regarding those attacks!!
I've read everything on this topic, so there are some unpleasant words above, which I find a shame..

And as for being passionate about what you love doing, I completely understand that!!
I had a similar problem yesterday.
(It was about art; my girlfriend's husband has 3 paintings by Herman Brood, while everyone knows I absolutely hate them!!)
Still, they asked me where they could hang them best, since I'm an artist myself.
I burst out laughing when I saw them, couldn't help it..
"Put them in the nursery," I said...
I really didn't mean to offend anyone.. But I had to keep my mouth shut after that...

Everyone has their opinion on this topic too. I don't even vaccinate my animals and get terrible reactions for it (up to animal abuse accusations..)
I also think we're becoming too spoiled!
People sneeze -pills
Coughing? -pills
Headache...flu...
The more pills a person takes, the more they seem to get and complain about..

I've now been in the hospital twice (for the first time) with a urinary tract infection (really bad, high fever and extremely painful; kidney crisis) and I cried because I had to take so many antibiotics!! I was really frustrated and scared it would harm the baby..
It doesn't seem to be going away.. I just stopped taking the antibiotics 2 days ago and already have stabbing pain in my kidney again. I try to hide it from my husband and bite my lip..
Fortunately, they're testing my urine every month now..

I also often self-medicate: homemade tea, ointments, shampoo, cough syrup and such..

I think my cats have both been to the vet three times. Once to make sure they can't get pregnant or get someone pregnant, and the other two times for vaccinations. The oldest is 9... I think I've given them half a deworming treatment once, and two times in their lives drops against fleas, ticks, and whatever else. So, as you can understand, I'm also pretty bad at this. I know people who do it diligently, but my cats are healthier, have better fur, and whatever else. But mine get good food and not too much food.... They're also outside a lot. That helps!

But for my little one, I want to play it safe...

Is Bread ugly? I don't think it's really beautiful either, but it does have something. This weekend I was in Germany at an exhibition of Bridget Riley.... I find nothing special about it. Ti's, in my opinion, are nice wallpaper.

What a bummer about your bladder/kidneys. I have a congenital kidney defect. Vesicourethral reflux on both sides. Urine could flow back from the bladder to the kidneys because the valves didn't work. Now they usually do. My urine is also monitored extra, and I have to get blood drawn a few extra times. Also, my 20-week ultrasound is at the hospital, then they can look extra at the baby's kidneys and my kidneys too. Extra checks. Are they going to do that with you too?