Are Vaccinations for Kids healthy?

The practice of injecting children with weakened pathogens to immunize them from disease is called vaccination. Is it really healthy for the children?

There is an ongoing debate about vaccinations for children. There are the hard core supporters who feel that it is a must for each child. Then there are the har core opposers who say there is no need to inject a child with pathogens of diseases that he may never get. And then there is the thrid group of confused parents, not sure if they should get vaccinations done for their children or not. Now lets take a look at the pros and cons.

What is the process

The American Paediatric Association has brought out an immunization schedule for children. This gives the names of the vaccines to be given to the child, the age at which it is to be injected and the diseases from which that particular vaccine protects the child. The concept is that the human body needs to develop antibodies to the pathogens which cause a disease. This set of antibodies help the person's immune system fight and defeat the disease.

The opposition

Childhood vaccinations involve injecting the weakened pathogens into the kids at a very young age. This means that the baby is healthy, but is being given disease causing elements to deal with. The child will suffer from fever and may even develop mild symptoms of the disease for a few days before recovering from the vaccine. This is what most of the opposition say is incorrect. Why make a well child sick for some potential disease that he may never get?

The risk

There is also some research which proves that the kids who get immunized are at higher risk for certain other diseases such as autism. The fact is not yet established that vaccines cause autism, but there is a greater tendency showing in the research and parents are worried about this. Why take a risk and protect the child from a disease which he may never get only to end up giving him another disease.

The conclusion

And this is my opinion, as a parent I have given my son all his mandatory shots. Why I did that is beacuse there is a greater risk in India of children getting these diseases. Also I  have avoided giving him flu shots because I don't think I should totally stiffle his immune system. It too needs to stay active with the minor illnesses of childhood so that it gets stronger as my child grows. So the choice is up to the parents.

In the end remember it is your child and your choice. Listen to every one else but make up your own mind.