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Childhood Vaccine Information

Why People Choose Not to Use Vaccines

Aren't vaccines required for children to go to school and attend day care? - In Michigan, the law states (MCLA 333.9215, entitled "exemptions"): "(2) A child is exempt from this part if a parent, guardian or person in loco parentis of a child presents a written statement to the administrator of the child's school or operator of the group program to the effect that the requirements of this part cannot be met because of religious convictions or OTHER OBJECTIONS TO IMMUNIZATIONS." As long as the law remains intact, your child may attend school in Michigan with all, some, or no vaccinations.

Why do people choose not to use vaccines? - There are a lot of reasons. The most important reason to remember is that people deserve the right to make their own health care decisions! People decide not to use vaccines because they do believe they have the right and responsibility for their own (and their child's) health care; for religious reasons; no long term research has been done on the bad effects of vaccines; doctors aren't being honest with them and disrespect their opinions/input as a patient, won't report adverse vaccine events, or downplay the risks of vaccines; want to use alternatives to traditional medicine; don't believe vaccines work; vaccines are too risky; or personal experience with an adverse vaccine reaction.

Isn't it really dangerous if a person, especially a child, gets any o these communicable disease, like whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and polio? - Most of the time, no. Like any acute illness, they can cause a good deal of discomfort. With proper care, the person makes a full recovery. It is interesting to note that the death rate due to these disease began their decline before vaccines were introduced.

Haven't vaccines been responsible for reducing the number of cases of communicable diseases, like whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, and polio? - There is no doubt that vaccines have helped to reduce the incidence of reported cases of these disease in recent years. Better education, improved sanitation and better nutrition have played important roles.

On an average basis for almost the last 100 years diseases like whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, polio, and hepatitis have been reported in less than 1% of the population in Michigan (average annual public school enrollment & population were 1,551,343 and 6,063,186 respectively)

Average Annual Totals for the time period from 1990 through 1995

Disease Reported Cases School Enrollment (%) Population (%)

  • Diphtheria 1,724 0.11 0.03
  • Small Pox 869 0.06 0.01
  • Whooping Cough 3,769 0.24 0.06
  • Measles 13,351 0.99 0.25
  • Polio 372 0.02 0.01


Aren't vaccines safe to use? -
It appears that vaccinations do work to prevent full blown symptoms of the disease for which they are made to protect against. However, there is a growing concern as to the possible long term effects of vaccine use. For vaccines to be licensed for use, effectiveness (prevention of the symptoms of disease) rather than safety is of primary concern. There have been no large, long term studies done to investigate reported links between vaccination and asthma, diabetes, chronic ear infections, arthritis, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, autism, cancer, chronic fatigue, Gulf War-associated illness and other immune and neurological dysfunction. Know side effects range from fever to brain damage. These side effects are reported through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). In Michigan from 1991 through 1995, 461 adverse events have been reported through VAERS ((800) 822-7967), resulting in 69 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. Nationally, between 10,000 and 12,000 adverse events are reported yearly. Adverse events are under reported by up to 90%.

Please remember that it is YOUR decision to vaccinate or not. Please research all aspects of this important health care decision and make an informed choice. Please help us Keep Our RIGHT To Make Vaccine Decisions!

45 Vaccines at 6 Months - The current US vaccine schedule requires 45 vaccines at 6 months of age; 64 at 18 months and at least 74 at 4-6 years!! There is no proof that a child's immature immune system can handle this chemical assault.

Benefits of Childhood Diseases - Due to the fear that the pharmaceutical company's, news media, etc. have imbedded into the public, is the fact that acute infectious diseases, when properly managed, are good for overall health. Contracting and overcoming [childhood] disease is part of a developmental process that actually helps develop a healthy, robust, adult immune system able to meet the challenges that inevitable encounters with viruses and bacteria will present later on.

Viera Scheibner, PhD writes: Infectious diseases of childhood are very beneficial for children to catch...the general inflammatory process is important in the dynamics of maturation of the immune response to diseases.