A case for vaccination

So I realized something important yesterday. Vaccines are like airplanes.

I have to be careful here because many of my favorite people have not vaccinated their kids. Why? Because they love their children very much and don't want to do anything to hurt them. There are many theories about the 'badness' of vaccines. Most of them are unfounded 0r disproved (like the autism theory); however, there are also very rare but very real instances of serious complications from vaccines.

I have a friend who is petrified of flying. He climbs, skis, mountain bikes, and kayaks, but you get him on a plane and it takes 3 shots of vodka before he is sloshed enough to sit still. It doesn't take his PhD to know his flight over the Atlantic is much safer than his every-day activities, but he cannot stand the feeling of being out of control should something happen.

The truth is, the risk of developing serious Chicken Pox is much greater than the risk of developing a serious side-effect from the vaccine; riding in a car is much more dangerous than boarding a plane, but few people have phobias of car rides. Just like riding in a car, illness feels familiar. We all know people who have gotten chicken pox, and most of them did fine. Besides, we have medicines, so we can control the outcome, right?

Well . . . kind of. Just like we can try to regain control of a spinning car.

When Isaac was born I did a lot of research on vaccines. I was terrified about knowingly giving him something that had even a small chance of HURTING him. And in truth I felt empowered by the idea of saying 'screw you, I've researched this' to my pediatrician. But in the end I decided to vaccinate because the evidence overwhelmingly showed its importance. Besides, I felt like I was doing something for the greater good. After all, the reason small pox virus is now extinct is because of a simple vaccine. Measles and polio could go the same way . . . if people would just universally vaccinate.