Vaccine vacillation

So there are all these ideas out there floating around about vaccines. Some wonder if the testing process has gone far enough. Other's wonder why there are preservatives in the vaccines that contain mercury. Other's still say it is some sort of mass mind control chemical plot. That's enough to make any skeptic stand back and ask "what if I just skipped this?" After all, who likes needles anyway?

Well, the facts speak loudly in favour of vaccines. Take bacterial meningitis: not too long ago, many children got minor ear infections with Haemophilus influenzae type b that proceeded into full blown meningitis. Some died; other's developed life long complications. Yet now, with the addition of a vaccine against H flu - we rarely see this disease.

We have a vaccine for the seasonal flu and even for H1N1. There's the new vaccine for HPV (human papilloma virus) - the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer. There is even now some minor progress on a vaccine for HIV. We have a vaccine for the seasonal flu and even for H1N1. There's the new vaccine for HPV (human papilloma virus) - the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer.

There is very little evidence that the claims of mind control are true (although paranoid conspiracy theories can be a lot of fun to discuss). If this were true, I think most parents would demand to be let in on the secret to control their kids!

The study that tried to associate vaccinations and autism has long since been refuted and even debunked by its author.

I guess it all comes down to risks and benefits. There is considerable risk in not vaccinating and very large benefits in getting many of the available vaccines. Maybe you dont need a vaccine against a rare tropical disease if you dont plan to go to the tropics but would you rather have a needle in the shoulder or hepatitis B and maybe a liver transplant (Hepatitis B vaccines have been used successfully for years)?