Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : October 5, 2017 3:34 PM IST
Recently the news of a mother from Washington being sent to jail for not vaccinating her son took the entire world by surprise, this is probably one of the unique cases as nothing like this was heard before. Whether you want to vaccinate or not, is a personal choice. Here the mother in question cited religious reasons for not vaccinating her child. However, closer home, in India there are many parents who are sceptical of vaccinating their kids. While the Indian Medical Association and also the WHO makes it clear that vaccinations are essential for kids and parents should at least give their child the mandatory vaccination if not the optional ones, many parents go with their own belief that vaccinations are bad. The most common fears that parents of little children harbour are:
Deaths related to vaccinations: This is very common in India. Vaccination deaths till even two years back were reported from big metros and rural areas alike. This is one fear that prevents parents from vaccinating their children. However, it is not clear if we can blame vaccines totally for these deaths. But if deaths are reported after taking a vaccination shot it is definitely going to instil fear among parents.
Efficacy of vaccinations: While vaccinations do promise to save the kid from various types of diseases and infections, it is also seen that a vaccinated kid can fall sick and become weaker after taking the doses. A child might not suffer from that particular condition for which he might be vaccinated but can fall sick in general. This makes many parents wary as they feel the vaccinations do less to protect the child from diseases. Also, they believe that some amount of toxin that goes into making a vaccine can be harmful to the baby.
Concerns about building immunity: Most parents believe that by vaccinating the child they do not allow the immune system to develop its own immune responses. This has been the most common argument for parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. In reality, you cannot give your child 100 percent protection after vaccination but it still offers some amount of protection to your child.
Whether you choose to vaccinate your child or not are a personal choice, but before you take a decision about vaccination talk to your paediatrician and alternative healthcare expert to take an informed decision.
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