Should the MMR jab be compulsory?
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Should the MMR jab be compulsory? Share your stories here.
The MMR vaccine was going to make measles, mumps and rubella a thing of a past, but the jab has been surrounded in controversy.
Measles is now on the rise and the government are proposing to make MMR compulsory. Anita Rani investigated if compulsory vaccination could be a solution and how parents might feel about losing the choice.
See also: MMR, NHS info.
And: MMR, BBC info.
The NHS says: "Some years ago, there were many stories in the media linking MMR with autism. These caused some parents to delay their child's MMR immunisation or not to have it at all resulting in outbreaks of measles. However, independent experts from around the world have found no credible scientific evidence for such a link and there is now a large amount of evidence showing that there is no link."
Should the MMR jab be compulsory? Did you allow your child to be vaccinated? Share your stories and knowledge here.
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No, it definitely should not. Our children were not vaccinated because it was unclear what the truth was and the government could not be believed. There is no proof either way, whether a child's immune system can withstand such an onslaught from a multiple vaccine. I do not understand why the government did not go back to single vaccines,as was the case when I was a child. We would have accepted those, but they kept complaining about the lack of take up of MMR, but refused to give single vaccines. there argument was poor. It was almost a case of we know best and YOU WILL DO IT OUR WAY OR NOT AT ALL. Bit head in the sand if they wanted a higher take up rate. Single vaccines is the answer, people are not so afraid of those. The government say they will cost more, but surely it costs more to have a high number not vaccinated.
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Yes! That stupid Wakefield bloke could be responsible for a measles epidemic.
Both my children (3 and 5) have had the MMR. The supposed link to Autism is absurd. According to friends of mine who works with disabled children, Autism starts to show itself at around 18mths old, the same time as the 1st MMR jab is done... a coincedence, not a nice one, but a coincedence.
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Our son had the jab really for two reasons. 1) Measels is a nasty disease and we didn't want him suffering, 2) I don't have the knowledge to make an informed decision therefore I trust the professionals.
If needs be the jab should be compulsory because parents in general quite frankly are not qualified to make the decision. This is proven by the fact so many believed all the media hype when this first came out and it was blindingly obvious even then the research that showed the link was severely flawed.
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Free healthcare including child birth should only be given to those who accept the NHs's prevenative vaccinations. If they dont accept, make them pay for healthcare as they are creating an unecessary burden on funds
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Both my children were vaccinated without any adverse effects. This research was discredited many years ago, and uninformed parents are simply placing their own children and others at risk. There is no doubt that the MMR jab should be compulsory before school access is allowed. Those that want to do otherwise can either:
(a) pay for the single jabs at their own cost
(b) pay for alternative education at their own cost
(c) move to another country
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I think that if it is believed that the MMR Vaccination should become compulsory then it should. However, even if it did become compulsory there will still be people who refuse to let their children have the vaccination.
Nikki, 18, London
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I have to question the mothers view that having the mmr made compulsory is against her human rights - what about my sons human rights who has had the mmr but was very ill with the mumps last year.
I think the children who have not been immunised should not be allowed to enrol in the school system. Perhaps their own schools where the can swap germs to their hearts content without infecting the rest of us !
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I think making anything mandatory is never a good thing, parents should be able to make there own choice for their children, however the government could make it easier and give the option of separate Injections or MMR, hence reducing the fear factor of MMR. We moved to Germany last year with our two children and there are more vacinations here compared to the UK, however they do offer separate injections for MMR or the combined, there is a small fee if you would like the separate ones. Again, Parents should be able to make there own decisions for their children, however these illnesses are killers and that should not be forgotten..
John - Germany
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It is not good enough saying that the previous comments about a relationship between MMR and autism or Crohn's disease have been discredited. There have not yet been proper studies to account for the clinical evidence of those children who received the MMR and subsequently (very shortly afterwards) regressed into an autistic state. As far as I know, the government has refused to carry out research to test what strain of the measles vaccine is being found in new measles cases - it is the same strain as that used to create the MMR vaccine?
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My oldest son is autistic he had the mmr...my younger son did not and he is fine, we have always blamed the mmr and the goverment should properly research and support families with autistic children, what about a lifetime of pain for them? its a discrase they are now talking about it becoming compulsory..i would rather leave the country!!!!!!!
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Definately not. I have not vaccinated and do not intend on vaccinating my child. Why is it that we have such lack of faith in our bodies. The human race has survived for hundreds of thousands of years yet we insist we 'know' what's best. There have been numerous cases in history where mans interventions have actually not been best. The MMR vaccine has only been used for less than 40 years, who's to say that it isn't a factor in the increasing rates of heart disease and other ailments? I know most people will mock my views but they are still valid and well researched. If they enforce this what is to stop them enforcing other things and eventually taking all our rights to choose.
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This is a prime example of the dangerous power of media.
Let's be absolutely clear:
1) There is NO link between the MMR jab and Autism. This has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt by clinical trials.
2) Measles, Mumps and Rubella are dangerous. They kill children. We don't vaccinate against them just to avoid a week off school.
3) Parents have a right to choose what's best for their children, but they do not have a right to harm their children. We do not allow them to beat their kids, abuse them or neglect them in any way.
If, as a parent, you choose to decline the MMR jab for your child you are, beyond doubt, endangering their health because of your own irrational fears.
MMR should be made compulsory for the sake of children everywhere, and to finally kill off this media-created storm over a non-existent link with Autism.
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call my cynical but i think forcing parents into having their children immunised with mmr is all about politics and money. it's cheaper to have all 3 jabs in one and i don't think these parents who have had problems with the mmr should be so disregarded. the 3 seperate jabs worked fine and the choice for them should still be there for worried parents.
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the lady on the programme said it was her human rights to choose not to immunise... surely it is also our childrens rights not be subjected to mump and measles needlessly. and Jo brands comments on the information could change tomorrow are niave and reckless. The study 10yrs ago was flawed and not a sample of the population yet here we are 10 years later with the same debate going round and round.
If you speak to parents of autistic children a lot of them will say to you that with hindsight their children did show signs of autism PRIOR to the jag it was easier to blame the jag.
I got my daugher immunised 4 months ago and have absolutely no regrets or worries. so yes perhaps the MMR should be compulsory after all we all have to wear seatbelts or does that infringe on our human rights too???
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When I was a young lad in Canada we never had immunisations that I can remember. I DO remember my mother rushing us all round to someone's house to play with their children if they had measles, mumps, etc. This ensured we caught it at a young age when our systems could fight build their immunity more easily. Of course, we never realised what was going on so we forgave her!
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It is not the combination of the three vaccines that is causing the health problems for children that are vaccinated but Murcury that binds the three vaccines together.
Scientists know of this problem and it is the only way of giving three atenuated vaccines at the same time.
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Absolutely it should be compulsory. Quit worrying about the parent and consider the child. The MMR vaccine is completely safe so there is no valid reason to deny a child this safety measure, other than parental paranoia. This is creating an issue out of a non-issue. Go get your kids protected!
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I feel that there is not enough information give to parents about the evidence base surrounding vaccinations and the full reasons we vaccinate. It is not only to protect their own children, but to protect the whole community as a whole. Some children as especially vulnerable, such as those with leukamia. These children are at huge risk from infections and vaccinations are unable to protect them fully. I have heard of at least one case where a vulnerable child(undergoing bone marrow transplant) died as a result of measles, caught from another UNvaccinated child in his class. I think the media scare around this needs to end, and evidence based medicine prevail.
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I was told by my paediatrician if you have a child diagnosed with autism, they recommend you not to have any more children vaccinated with the MMR. What am I supposed to do? I have 3 children all with autism, one had the jab, one only had one jab and one didn't have any.
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My son had his MMR vaccination and booster as a child so why has he just had a bad case of mumps aged 18? Does the vaccine not cover you for life?
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I don't think that the MMR should be compulsory however I do get annoyed with parents like the lady in the clip who put her daughter at unnecessary risk by not having her immunised.
I am pleased to say that both my children have had the MMR and I have been totally satisfied they had no after effects.
We must make our own informed decisions and if that means reading all the reports but in the long run you must go with your own inclinations.
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My son was vaccinated days before his first birthday and within weeks he changed. He stopped eating and his learning slowed down. When he was 3 he was diagnosed with Aspergers and I know it was because of the MMR. He is now 13 and I obviously love him to bits but I worry about his future and regret giving him the MMR.
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I can't actually believe there is even debate here. The one study that indicated a connection between autism and MMR, a very flims connection it was, has now been satisfactorily debunked. The study was shown to be inconclusive and based on the most ridiculous logic. I don't have any children as of yet, but I have full confidence that when I do, I will have no hesitation in immunising them with the combined jab.
As for whether or not the jab should be compulsiry, the government cannot force a parent to give their child treatment. However doctors whould be made to inform parents of the advantages of the vaccine and the bogusness of the study that attempted to prove otherwise.
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PArents should consider the welfare of other children as well as there own. perhaps it should be the choice of the parent, but if there child was affected by another child and caused their child a very serious help problem and even death, how would they feel. we live in France now and our daughter would not be able to attend school withour her vacination certificates. Parents can choose to have the injections seperately, but i see no reason why it should not be compulsory to have the vacinations in one form or another.
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It is totally untrue to say that Dr Andrew Wakefield has been discredited. Your report was biased and gives the wrong impression and is of little help to anyone. Indeed since the introduction of MMR Autism is now at an unprecedented level, that being one (1) in every one hundred and fifty (150) children.
The case against Wakefield has not been proven, indeed the jury is still Out!. However in the mean time an American Court in Atlanta has awarded damages for a child victim and against the MMR vaccine, many hundreds of other cases are pending.
If the 'Senior' doctors in the UK are so worried about Measles they should show a little more respect for the people who pay them, the taxpayer and recommend a single measles vaccination until Independent Research has been carried out to understand why certain children are becoming Autistic shortly after being vaccinated.
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We paid out of our own pocket for seperate vaccines for our children. We thought the costs of the single vaccine was cheaper than the cost of the possbility of looking after an autistic child. Should every person not consider this? Do most people not pay for their pets to be vaccinated annually, surely your children are more precious than them??
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My friend who has cared for her son for 18 years with severe autism after the MMR jab sent me this email on Feb 25 this year. Maybe your researchers could look into this.....
Government Again Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism
Mysterious Vaccine Court created in 1986 by the pharmaceutical industry, with the support of Congress, rules in favor of Bailey Banks against HHS.
Los Angeles - February 24, 2009 - Generation Rescue, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey's Los Angeles-based non-profit autism organization, today announced that the United States Government has once again conceded that vaccines cause autism. The announcement comes on the heels of the recently unsealed court case of Bailey Banks vs. HHS. The ruling states, "The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine...a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to PDD [Autism]."
In a curious and hypocritical method of operation, the mysterious Vaccine Court not only protects vaccine makers from liability but supports a policy that has tripled the number of vaccines given to U.S. children - all after being made aware of the fact that these vaccines do, in fact, cause autism and repeatedly ruling in favor of families with children hurt by their vaccines.
"It was heartbreaking to hear about Bailey's story, but through this ruling we are gaining the proof we need to open the eyes of the world to the fact that vaccines do, in fact, cause autism," said Jenny McCarthy, Hollywood actress, autism activist, best-selling author and Generation Rescue board member. "Bailey Banks' regression into autism after vaccination is the same story I went through with my own son and the same story I have heard from thousands of mothers and fathers around the country. Our hope is that this ruling will influence decision and policy-makers to help the hundreds of thousands of children and families affected by this terrible condition."
Banks vs. HHS is the second known case where the Vaccine Court could not deny the overwhelming evidence showing vaccines caused a child's autism. The first was the case of Hannah Poling in March of 2008, where the court found in her favor and awarded her family compensation.
Jim Carrey, Hollywood legend and Generation Rescue board member, reacted to the news, "It seems the U.S. government is sending mixed messages by telling the world that vaccines don't cause autism, while, at the same time, they are quietly managing a separate 'vaccine court' that is ruling in favor of affected families and finding that vaccines, in fact, were the cause. For most of the autism community the question is no longer whether vaccines caused of their child's autism. The question is why is their government only promoting the rulings that are in favor of the vaccine companies."
Why is a secret court, which no one knows about or understands, quietly paying these families for vaccine injuries and autism? Deirdre Imus, Generation Rescue board member and founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology says, "Over the past 20 years, the vaccine court has dispensed close to $2 billion in compensation to families whose children were injured or killed by a vaccine. I am not against vaccines and my own child has been vaccinated. But, I share the growing concerns of many parents questioning the number of vaccines given to children today, some of the toxic ingredients in vaccines, and whether we know enough about the combination risks associated with the multiple vaccines given to children during critical developmental windows."
To help spread the word of the Banks ruling, Generation Rescue also bought a full-page ad that will run in the USA Today on 02/25/2009, which has a daily circulation of 2,272,815.
Generation Rescue seeks to answer these questions and many more on a daily basis as they fight for the truth and to recover children with autism around the world. To learn more please visit www.generationrescue.org, write tomedia@generationrescue.com
About Generation Rescue
Generation Rescue is an international movement of scientists, physicians and parent-volunteers researching the causes and treatments for autism and helping thousands of children begin biomedical treatment.
Contact:
Peter Nilsson, President, Performance Public Relations for Generation Rescue
858.880.5466 x227 and peter@performpr.com
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Given the potential outcomes following non-vaccination which at a worse case scenario is death then not vaccinating my child is not an option. Regarding human rights what about those children who have limited immunity and therefore are unable to be vaccinated? We all need to immunise our children to create herd immunity.
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Compulsory vaccination should be at least considered. If it is to do with choice - if our children are exposed to the nasty and potentially disabling/fatal illnesses as Measles and Mumps because some are not vaccinated then where is our choice?
The evidence for MMR being safe is now ovewhelming and well researched compared with the "unsafe" small study which was flawed on so many counts. People who still believe that there are problems with this vaccine should read the research fist before judging it on the sensational and incorrect reports in the newspapers.
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It was arrogant of the medical profession and the government to insist that the MMR should be the only way. Parents were worried that to give three different vaccinations in one may stress the systems of some children and lead to complications. If the vaccinations had been available singly there would have been more of a take-up because the problem would have been defused.
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No vaccine is 100% effective on one child. It is by having LOTS of children vaccinated that potentially fatal diseases like measles are wiped out.
Responsible parents would never allow OTHER peoples kids to be put at risk because of the choices THEY make for their own kids. Parents should be able to choose... but each choice has consequences, and kids not vaccinated should not be allowed to put other children at risk in classrooms and playgroups...
IW
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when we was kids and measles was about all our mam told us was to go play with who ever had got them and get it over with
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I have recently recovered from Measles - caught from a pupil at the school where I teach. When I was a child (55) yrs ago there was no vaccine available. Being older the infection was quite severe and very debilitating. There have been problems throughout the school for staff, children and parents. A lot of the children are from other countries and are not vaccinated and have no resistance. In my humble opinion all children should be vaccinated before being offered free education.
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Lets solve the problem once and for all, get the government out of the equation and allow each vacination to be given seperately on the NHS with suitable publicity. Problem over.
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Jab them!
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The lack of take up for the MMR triple jab, can be laid firmly on the doorstep on No.10 Downing Street, when Tony Blair, under the banner of "Privacy", refused to say whether Leo had the triple or single jabs. His refusal to state which he had, lead people to believe then that it was the single jabs which Leo had, which had been refused to the majority of the population.
When Tony Blair states which jabs Leo had, then the uptake may be more.
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Unfortunately the government is strongly lobbied by pharmaceuticals and this left me feeling that their recommendations were far from unbiased. I researched my decision very carefully and eventually chose not to give my children MMR. Immunity is not guaranteed from these vaccines.
If the government chose to introduce a link between healthcare choices and education then I would home school my children, but then the government doesn't want us to do that either do they?
Are the professional people of this world determined to remove every element of choice from parenting?
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My 3 and a half year old daugther has had measles twice (contrary to popular belief...it is medically possible). My daugther has had all her vaccinations on time and got her first hit of measles when she was just one year old, she then contracted it again at 3 years old. The hospitals advised it had been lying dormant in her system. My daugther got the disease twice because so many parents are refusing to get their children vaccinated. If they saw a child with measles (whatever the age but especially as a baby), fitting, passed out, limp bodied, burning and covered in a rash (these are just a few of the sypmtoms...not knowing if their child would recover whilst sitting begging the hospital to help your child....they would get the vaccination!
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having had measles twice as a child myself i happily went along with the immunisation programme for my first daughter. When my 2nd had it, she reacted to the vaccine - I discovered later that I should have filled in a vaccination reaction form. I wasn't asked to, so if the DoH are not collecting the data on adverse reactions, how can they possibly say that any vaccination is without risk. My 3rd, who is 3, has had no vaccines - this was after careful consideration and soul searching. Not because of the autism link, but my concern about immunisations in general adversely affecting the developing immune system, so that we are seeing an increase in auto-immune diseases in young adults. We are bringing up a generation who will not have the natural resources to deal with disease as the vaccines do not give a rounded reaction. I would very strongly object to compusory vaccination as a violation of mine, and my childrens human rights not to have diseases injected into our bodies.
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For once Adrian infuriates me. Is it the medical profession or the drug companies that are insisting on compulsary jabs. Look how powerful the drug companies are in America. They are trying to prevent any natural medicines, they have even prevented people growing their own organic vegetables ...in their own gardens...all this because Monsanto insists you have to use their poisons and GM products.
We are gradually being controlled by hoverments, Police and big business. Why dont you invite some people on your show that dont
support the Establishment
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Single vaccine has had less research on it yet we seem to think this is more safe than the MMR - crazy!
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It should not be made compulsory,it's a parent's right to choose to give a vaccination which could adversely affect their child.
If people choose to give their child the MMR then thats up to them.
If the goverment is so concerned about an 'epidemic' then offer the single jabs,which i'm sure would be taken up by every parent thus every child would be immune.SIMPLE!
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When I had my first child in 1978 it was the whooping cough jab that caused the debate, and my brother in law ( an anaethetist) said I should have the jab, and my brother (a PHD Dr in science) said only if it was 100% safe - so I decided against, and incurred the wroth of all my family and friends - however, at the age of 3, my son developed temperature convulsions, which meant he would have been at risk of brain damage, and that my 2nd son was not allowed the vaccine because of it. Had I gone with the flow, it stands to reason that my 1st son could have been brain damaged.
regards, Sheila Tarr
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I have 2 sons and my youngest had the mmr jab but my eldest could not have it as he has a severe egg allergy and because the vaccine was grown in eggs(or something like that,I cant remember as he is 9 now!) anyway he def couldnt have it nor could he have the single vaccines and docs did not have anything similar they could give him so we just had no choice in the matter. Could you imagine if he wasnt allowed to go to school and mix with his friends through no fault of anyone except mother nature??!
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Frankly, it angers me greatly the parents who are entirely irresponsible and selfish not immunising their children.I am a Paediatric Staff Nurse and have first hand experience of the ravages of measles on a child and vividly recall one child coming close to death.Not only are parents endangering their child, but they are recklessly and thoughtlessly endangering other peoples children in a nursery or school environment in particular.They will complain to the high heavens about THEIR RIGHTS TO CHOOSE with the MMR but what about the rights of other parents and children?? Parents need to think rationally about the MMR and weigh up the umproven, low risk attached to this vaccination compared to the virrulence and severity of measles.
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The MMR should not be compulsory but parents must be given the choice. My children have had separate vaccinations as i would consider it irresposible to not have them vaccinated. However, it cost nearly £400 for all three jabs and a registration fee and i know that this is a cost some people cannot meet. I considered it worth it. Parent choice is paramount. Offer the MMR or single jabs to parents and the Measles outbreaks would probably disappear.
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All my children will have the mmr jab and any other safe vaccination. I think it is selfish of parents not to as they are endangering both their children and other babies and children who can't be vaccinated. The damage and complications measles can cause are far greater than any risk to health from vaccinations. I think it should be compulsory!
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Simple solution: freedom of choice for parents of combined MMR or single vaccinations available FREE on the NHS ... Equals a higher vaccination rate and parents that can sleep at night knowing they have made the best choice for their child.
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My son had the MMR jab and has been diagnosed with Autism. If I had another child I would have to have single jabs, as there is no-one in the family with Autism. Why should it be compulsory as I have a child with Autism I didn't have the medical knowledge to make an informed choice but I chose to beleive that he wouldn't be affected and that the media hype was untrue in hind sight I wished I weighed them both up and made more careful consideration
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this is not a health issue, this is a social issue. no one has the right to expose others to infection simply because they do not wish to immunise their own child. having said that, if someone declines to immunise their own child, there is nothing to preclude them making private arrangements for that child's education. what i am saying is, in essence, to take advantage of social advantage (ie, state education) you have to subbscribe to the notion of social responsiblity (ie vaccination). to do otherwise is the individual's choce - not the choice of the state. so ... to access state benefit (in educational terms), one must acede to state control. the choice is still there - it has not been removed.
vaccinate or make private schooling arrangements. i have been a teacher (in state education) for 30+ years and have seeen only too often the repercussions of "individual's rights" negatively affecting others. why should your decisions affect all the other families in your child's school?
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No Not at all. Parents should have the ability for individual vaccinations freely. I have one child who suffered massively at the initial MMR jab then again with the booster at pre-school age. One GP in my practice agreed with my wife and I that we had correct reason for not giving this to our 2nd child but wanted individual vaccinations.
Problems with 1st child were not autism or bowel disease but convulsions and fits immediately after both jabs - FACT.
Now that MMR actually contains 4 vaccinations (cannot remember what the 4th is) this is too big a cocktail of drugs to a one year old child.
So I totally disagree with POST (2)
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The MMR vaccine should absolutely NOT be made compulsory.
If the NHS were to offer individual vaccines it wouldn't be so bad, but the combined vaccine is far too controversial and there are so many conflicting reports on it's safety - my partner (a doctor) and I have read up on this subject a lot so that we can make the best decision for our children. The published medical reports appear to present a mixed bag of results for AND AGAINST vaccinations in general. Until a better study has been published I would seriously consider home schooling my children if the government tried to impose this vaccine on my children. A great source of information for parents is www.theinformedparent.co.uk
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The guy who started this controversy has been totally discredited.
I recommend Ben Goldacre's Bad Science website for the full story.
Interestingly enough, the show demonstrated perfectly what the major problem is with science reporting. Big interesting stories are taken from the science correspondents and given to more popular correspondents, who frankly are not capable of understanding the arguments.
This item finished then the one show's science correspondent had a twee little item about who invented the radio! Interesting I admit, but wouldn't it be better to have him or one of the medical regulars doing the job.
If you are irrationally frightened you are perfectly free to make your own arrangements.
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I dont understand why parents complain about MMR being compulsory! Arent all other routine vaccinations compulsory too?
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We hear a lot about the rights of objectors to not have their kids vaccinated, but what about the rights of everyone else not to have their kids subjected to an epidemic? Why *should* we have to send our kids into close proximity with unvaccinated kids?
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Parentsneed to have the full facts. Not enough is made clear about the dangers of diseases such as measles. Do parents who seem to consider themselves medical experts fully understand that measles can be fatal?
The reaearch causing the controversy has been discredited - it's an easy decision to make. Get them immunised.
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No, I don't think the MMR should be made compulsory. What about children who have already had the measles before vaccination age and are therefore already immune? There should always be an element of choice for those people whose situations aren't straightforward.
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im 18 i had the mmr jab when it first came out and it has not harmed me i think it only effects a small ammount of children nut its always the people who i does effect that makes the press but either way the mmr jab or single jabs children need to be vaccineated!
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No the vaccine should not be compulsory. The government cannot be trusted regarding the things it promotes. So-called research is increasinly being quoted to promote the things the government wants to promote, most often for financial gain. This labour government is hand in glove with big commercial concerns including the drug companies. It has a track record of trying to discredit those who do not promote its particular line and as current events have clearly demonstated it is rotten to the core. We should be very fearful of its continual attempts to control us. I want to retain control over medication I or my family take.
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i think it should be compulsory that all children should be vacinated, i have paid for my children to have these vacinations privatly as 3 seperate, every parent should have their children vacinated, if they dont other children are put at risk, i have a 5 month old baby who will be very much put at risk!
the 3 seperate vacinations should be given to parents as an option to the MMR jab on the NHS.
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It should definitley not be compulsory, as a parent who has a child with Autism who did have a reaction following the MMR (I'm not saying the MMR jab caused my son's Autism but his glands came up like golf balls. Co-incidence I'm not sure. However I was able to choose that my son did not have a booster, and if I have other children I feel I should have a choice. I do beleive that children's immune systems could be compromised by cocktails of vaccines and the preservatives etc that are in them. If someone was to say a child could not go to school because they had not had a vaccine I think this would be discrimination. Also where would something like this end, would all vaccines end up being mandatory??
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NO IT SHOULD NOT BE COMPULSORY
If Tony Blair had had the backbone to tell the nation whether his son had received the MMR jab at the time of this controversal research, then most parents would have accepted that "if it's good enough for the Prime Ministers child, then it's good enough for my child".
Sadly, he did a great disservice to parents, children and the medical services in this country. And Yes, both of our children were vaccinated.
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I find it difficult to understand what the big deal about measles is in this day and age. When I was a kid....nearly 50 years ago, we had measles and our parents encouraged siblings and friends to mix with us so that we all had it at the same time...and 'got it out of the way'. My sister had it pretty badly...but was back at school in 2 weeks! The same applied to chickenpox and Rubella. Can someone explain what all the ooh aah is about please, and why it's so different now?
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I think you have shown a very one sided argument and should find out more about Andrew Wakefield's story before you start saying he's been discredited. Perhaps the drugs companies have a vested interest in his research being discredited? My son is on the autistic spectrum and I would NOT give him the MMR if I could turn the clock back. I am not the only parent of a child with autism that thinks this way. If the Governmant had spent as much money providing the single vaccines rather than wasting money on campaigns to 'convince' parnets that the MMR is safe we'd all be better off. More parents would have their child vaccinated if single vaccines were available. It should not be compulsory - you will have a lot of children out of school if this is implemented!
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After this story was shown on the Welsh news 2 weeks ago I sent them and E-mail that was remarkably similar in content to the opinion expressed by the woman on your show. I believe the choice of whether or not to have your children vaccinated should be protected. I chose to have my children vaccinated with the seperate vaccines at a cost of over £300. The people who really need to be protected are the people who feel strongly about this issue but cannot afford to pay this amount for their children's vaccinations, these are the people who are not vaccinating their children. Instead of spending money on putting experts on the TV and funding reports that tell us we are stupid for doubting the vaccine and irresponsible for choosing not to inject our babies with 3 strong vaccines in one sitting, if the money was spent (because lets face it, it's all about the cash) on making the single vaccines available to people who expressed a concern then uptake would be the 100% that the government are trying to bully us into.
To deny a child a right to education based on the decision made by their parents is a Human Right violation...Lets see how this Human Rights Law works for us for a change!
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My son has anaphylaxis, one of his worst alleries is to eggs (as well as all poultry, nuts, beans and grass)and I was told 18 years ago not to have the MMR vaccine as it is a live vaccine cultured on eggs and the immunisation could kill him and I was better off not having the MMR and hopiing for the future. We have had 18 wonderful years and he has just completed his A Levels. I do not regret not having the immunisation s my daughter had it but I still have my son and we still live in hope for the future, because normal food could kill him so why hasten it.
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My answer is a resounding YES. In my opinion people who dont get their children vaccinated, despite the fact that the moron who started the panic and his research have been discredited, are selfish and irresponsible. If it was just their children who are at risk then I would say let them get on with it, but its not. They are risking other people`s children, those who are too young to have the mmr, or cant have it for other medical reasons. Why should my baby be put at risk just because someone else doesnt want to protect their kids from these nasty diseases? Are they going to keep their child at home at every sign of a sniffle or a temperature? Of course not! So they could be out on the street, coughing or sneezing as my child passes by, passing it on to my poor defenceless baby, who would have been vaccinated as soon as she was old enough. These parents say they are entitled to have the choice for their child. Well so am I, but what choice would i have in that scenario? None!
Why should the NHS foot the bill for worrywort parents to let their children have the seperate jabs, when there is a perfectly fine, and more effective, alternative already available?
The three of my children who are old enough have all had all of their vaccinations, and my baby will have them as soon as she reaches the right age.
I care about my children, therefore i want to protect them from harm. By getting them vaccinated i am doing everything in my power to stop them from getting something that is entirely preventable, to do anything less would be to fail in my responsibility as a parent.
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My son is now 11 and has never recieved the MMR vacination, born 1998 he was due for his 1st vacination around the time when there was alot of press in the media regarding MMR and links to Autism and bowl desease. After many conversations with our GP about risks/benefits we decided against the combined vacination and were refused any alternative for reason that the seperate vacinations could no longer be covered by the NHS. Many times we have enquired to have seperate vacinations but our GP has always refused this as an option.
If there was the option to have seperate vacinations under the NHS we would gladly take this option.
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The MMR jab should be compulsory, those that fail to inoculate their children should be held legally accountable for the any harm caused by the disease. By making a concious choice not to inoculate your child, you are making a concious choice to put others at risk, it is no different from drinking and driving.
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In the year of my birth - 1949 - there were 179 per 10,000 population notified cases of measles. Of these 18 per 10,000 notifications was fatal. That is approximately three per million population.
As a child my parents did not consider measles to be a problem. In fact, if a local child contracted the disease we were brought into close proximity on the understanding that a 'dose' of measles was best as young as possible, to promote immunity.
Whats changed since then?
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One son was seriously ill after the mmr. His eyesight permantly damaged. So yonger son not immunised, got the measals with no ill effects.
The chice should be No vaccination or the MMR or the seperate innoculations not compulsion.
Wish we had known about the seperate injections. No one on the BBC ever continues to discuss this option.
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Absolutely not!!! It is incomprehensible that we should even think of taking the right to choose away from parents. I have not have any vaccinations at all. My mother observed my bad reactions to every type of medication I have ever taken and made the difficult decision. I am still appalled at how I was bullied at school by the teachers for my mothers decision. I couldn't have possibly understood the implications at that age.
I am very glad I haven't had any vaccinations as I have since suffered a great deal more pharmaceutical allergies (even very common things such as every type of antibiotics, three types of contraceptive pill and codeine). I can't even imagine how I might have reacted to the MMR.
Further more - any process that uses mercury sounds crazy to me.
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We have an 18 year old Autistic son who reacted to the MMR before all the hype. We all now have to live with his lifetime disability. If I had a child now, I would not give it the MMR jab. What has happened to all the people who have caught Measles recently. Are they OK or have some suffered permanent damage? The older ones amongst us never had MMR, caught measles and are still OK!
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We do not think the mmr vaccine should be compulsary, however if you opt out and contract one of the diseases it is developed to prevent, then you should foot the medical bill and not the NHS.
Michael and Jane
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There is a great deal of evidence to support the MMR vaccine, the original story concerned around a dozen children, all of who had some form of autistic spectrum disorder. The article claimed retrospectively, that this was a result of the MMR Vaccine. A study of over 12,000 children in Norway has been conducted which does not report a link between the vaccine and autism. Visit the Evidence Based Medicine Website 'Bandolier' to support this argument. Jo Brand is a respected celebrity with a talent for comedy, please do not let her outdated views on the subject. Systematic reviews quite usual nowadys but not available in her days as a Mental Health Nurse weigh the evidence of all studies conducted and provide an overalljudgement of efficacy. The message is clear, the problem is a continued media interest in confusing the public.
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As a nurse in the fifties I saw a lot of things with childrens' problems. The MMR vaccine is wrong and should be given as separate vaccines. If separate vaccines were given there would be less controversy and also less stress to a child's immune system. if you can get it in France why can't you get it in England?
(I have a great niece who was vaccine damaged by the whooping cough virus and has to be constantly cared for since the incident nearly 10 years ago. It has caused a lot of problems for her family.)
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NO ONE has the right to tell a parent whether they should be immunised or not! My son hasnt had the jab but its the only one im not prepared to give him as he does not need to be immunised against rubella!!
If the injections were given seperately, more parents would give their children the jabs but why immunise a girl against mumps and a boy against rubella-its riduculous!!
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Well done The One Show! (note the hint of sarcasm) Your equivocation over the MMR will have convinced another bunch of middle-class 'I think I know it all mums' that the MMR maybe isn't safe.
Just to be clear - the MMR is SAFE, SAFE, SAFE!
Refusing to have your child vaccinated is tantamount to child abuse. It's like placing them in a shooting gallery without body armour. You know they'll get hit - you're just hoping that the wound won't be too bad!
Clearly the safe, sensible and proper thing to do is remove the child from the shooting gallery. That's pretty much what the MMR does.
Oh, and as for the whingy 'The government should provide the single jabs and let us choose' attitude - grow up! The single jabs are not available because they leave children exposed for longer. Oh, and there is far less evidence about the safety and efficacy of the single jabs than with the MMR.
Oddly, if your doctor told you your child had cancer and prescribed a treatment regime would you argue about it, would you demand some other treatment, would you refuse to follow it properly because of some article you read in the Sun? No of course you wouldn't. So where does this arrogant self-important attitude come from that makes these non-scientific, non-medical, non-sensical people think they know better about the MMR?
This is insane - pretty much nowhere else in the world is this vaccine an issue. Only here do we provide the proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
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Perhaps somebody might like to tell me what happened to my beautiful son, who was developing normally and meeting his developmental milestones until he had the MMR. Within days he had developed bowel disorder and I watched with horror as he lost his skills - now, aged 19 he requires 24 hour care due to his complex autism - I know what I am talking about , as a Child care lecturer with a degree in child development - why is the media too frightened to highlight the story of those children who Andrew Wakefield kept encountering - whose parents told the same story but who had never met ? How come we get to hear about the children damaged by measles and mumps but my story is never told? Poor media coverage exasperates the situation and until somebody tells me what happened to my beautiful son I believe that the MMR is a risk for those children with a paternal/maternal history of under functioning immune system.
PS The brand of MMR( used on my son) was later banned in Britain ..draw your own conclusions
Jacky Roe
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4 crucial points:
1. There is NO evidence for ANY benefit from single vaccines and well established problems with these making them much less effective than the combined MMR.
2. The discredited research was always questionable. The way the story was reported by the popular media at the time was irresponsible in the extreme in its one sidedness.
3. WHY would the medicdal profession/governmenr engage in some sort of weird conspiracy to give kids something dangerous. Believe it or not, the aim is to protect children.
4. Parents who do not immunise their children are putting ALL children, including those too young to be immunised at risk of death for nothing more than ill informed conspiratory theor
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Comment no. 56 : Did your children ave the DTP hib vacc when born as these contain 4 vaccines - did this bother you?
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I totally disagree with compulsory MMR Vaccination. What I would like to see is a CHOICE if this country can manage it !! If I had the choice to go to my local NHS clinic and get a single vaccines then I would do it. I do not agree with three random mixed vaccines floating around a baby's body and for that body to recognise each individual vaccine and figure out an antibody. I believe that the body sees a "blend". I beleive this "blend" causes huge problems with the body. I WANT A CHOICE... I would vaccinate but I want to choose single ones and the health sevice give you NO guidance what so ever as to where to go to get single vaccines. they seem to provide a blank wall and hope to scare people into submission. If they decide to make it compulsory I will have no choice but to teach my children at home. All the government need to do is provide single vaccines in the NHS doctor's surgeries and charge a fee for those who want single vaccines ...I dont mind paying I just want a proper choice. Right now im using homeopathic Nosodes for each of the diseases and for anyone who wants to give some form of protection (if your currently doing nothing) its worth a go. My advice is GOVERNMENT WAKE UP... STOP DICTATING AND START OFFERING A CHOICE...you never know they might make some money out of it...(they need more revenue!!!)
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I do not think the MMR Vaccine should be made compulsary. I made the wrong decision around 8 years ago when my son was 1 year old, not long after having the MMR vaccination his development stopped, and at 3 years old he was diagnosed with Autism. I did not have the MMR booster for my son and have no regrets what so ever. I have a daughter who is 4 years old and did not take up the MMR vaccination but opted for the single vaccines at a cost of £500.00, which was money well spent. If the government want us to have our children vaccinated, they should offer a choice, the MMR or the single vaccines at no additional cost to the parents. Parents do not want to be told what is best for their children, so make it easy on all of us and give us the choice.
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I realize people are frightened by this vaccine, but as I scientist understand the science behind the scare and have heard some of the scientists who have critically analyzed the original study and it was a very poor piece of research and the wrong methods were used.
I can not strongly enough encourage people to get their children vaccinated, as the diseases this vaccine protects your children against are very serious and there is the risk of permanent damage or even death. On a personal note a family friend had measles, as a child this lead to serious and permanent damage to her eyesight.
Also by ensuring all small children are vaccinated you protect young babies, who are too young to be vaccinated from be exposed to infected older children.
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all vaccines have a risk factor not everthing is told to you when you take your children for the mmr or whatever ,look around the surgery it is more or less shoved down your throat, our youngest is severly autistic his life our lives are ruined,when people see how your life has changed for the worse they think twice,its not the measles what scare the parents its autism!!!
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I have studied for several years the effect of vaccinations and the truth is that the long term effect of these can crop up in years to come, they have removed mercury now after it was found to lead to several autoimmune diseases, yet we still have it in our fillings... we have to remember there are two side of the story, not just the one from the pharmaceutical companies. it is a vast money making organisation. we would be better to feed our children healthier food and not full of aspartame, MSG, additives and preservatives. 50% of what we eat was not available 100yrs ago or later and 50% of the disease we have were not around 100 years ago or later.. this shows vaccination does not work, the immune system is 75% from the stomach, if we feed our children rubbish disguised as food then we have to expect they will become sick, I would fight to the last to stop my children getting vaccinated and endangering there future.. 1980 there were 1 in 10,000 case of autism in 2005 it was 1 in 250, now it is 1 in 150.. this in itself shows we are poisoning them... how long will it be before it will be every child that has it and NO medicine can prevent it only add to it... feed the cell and they look after the body.. abuse them and they shut down and dont work
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I am the mother of three children who are now all adults. As I come from a long line of asthmatics, my GP at the time of the MMR suggested it would be "unwise" to give my children the three "3-in one MMR" jab. I didn't and the two older ones caught Measles. Very pregnant with my third child at the time, my mother and I nursed them back to health. With 20/20 vision and now the grandmother of two 3.5 year olds who have had the MMR, I would most DEFINITELY vaccinate all children with the MMR jab. The chances of something going wrong are so small that they outweigh how impaired measles can leave a child. Fortunately, mine were not one of the many statistics of children who are left this way, but knowing more, I would not take the chance again.
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There is a perception that parents have a choice over childhood immunisation. The reality is that consent is assumed. But I don't see why the MMR vaccine should be considered a special case. Especially now that Dr. Wakefields' claims have been debunked.
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is it abuse if you do not look after your children ? and does social servises inturvine when this happens? yes therfore not vacinating your children against measles mumps a rubella is abuse as you are putting them at risk and evryones elses children at risk so your are abusing your children it has been proven that there is not link to autsim i was imunised my children have been imunised an the worse illness me an all my children have ever had is chicken pox yes i think it should be compulsory
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yes, I have a one year old ready for a jab in a few weeks but have been so afraid that she will get measles in the meantime form those who have not been vaccinated. Its not fair on those who do choose to get vaccinated.
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Our son is Autistic which we don't believe is cause by the MMR. However we know a lot of parents of autistic children and the stories we hear of from some parents about what happened after the MMR jab it is quite obvious in some cases (eg the child falls ill then goew backwards in their development) that the MMR is the cause. listening to true life stories is like this is how we as non medical people used common sense to make an informed decison about not giving out daughter MMR, who already has downs syndrome so doesn't need autism as well. NO i don't think it ought ot be compulsory
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My 16 year old had a febrile convulsion after having the MMR in 1993 at the age of 13 months - he has learning difficulties and is on the autism spectrum with dyspraxia - now would you let you 2nd child have the three live virus vaccination without taking further advice!?! Whilst having the MMR jab, unbeknown to us our son also had Chicken pox. 4 live viruses! He had a terrible time getting over it. I understand the need to clarify the information Dr Wakefield put out at the time but the government took years to look into his work which left many hundreds of people sceptical. How can you then blame parents for not giving their children the MMR. In hindsite our son (first born) should have been given more time to develop his immune system. He was late to walk and talk but the 'professionals' dont ask these questions before they pump the vaccine into such small bodies. Merely asking 'does your child have a cold' is not enough in my view. We paid for our 2nd son to have the 3 jabs at a cost of £100. each and waited a further 11 years to let him have the booster recently. We were satisfied that his immune system would cope. You should not judge people until you know their circumstances. Everybody is individual and if a child needs more time then they should be given it or single jabs. I have learnt that our local doctor (Dr Kasianos) is a pioneer for not only MMR but he wants to add Chicken pox virus too! I ask you.....
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Although the controvesy arose between our first and second child, we had both done with MMR having taken into account the alleged problems.
I believe that parents should be given the right to choose either the MMR or individual vaccines. It is for the health of the nation, not the dictate of the possibly uninformed, like Parliament.
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The debate on the One Show and some of the comments about are the reason why many medical professionals want MMR made compulsory: the general public are not sufficiently well informed, show little desire to inform themselves, and are very poor at weighing up risks.
Two very important points:
1) There is zero evidence that vaccinating your child with MMR will cause autism.
2) There is zero doubt that if you fail to do so then you are exposing your child to the risk of severe and potentially fatal diseases.
Just because A and B both happen doesn't mean that A causes B. If a child receives MMR then develops autism it doesn't mean the vaccine necessarily caused it. It takes scientific methodology to establish whether there is a causal link - and science has shown there is not one.
The parent interviewed on the One Show said that it's the parent's right to decide on these matters. Yet she also believes it's the state's responsibility to pick up the pieces (and cost) from her negligent parenting.
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Why on earth did these supposedly experienced interviewers ask the questions no one asks - How much extra would the separate injections cost the NHS? How much would the parents be charged? Would it be cheaper to opt for the separate injections rather than face the future cost to the NHS of children suffering from the diseases if they don't have the MMR. I am against forced injections - if parents opt not to have these if they are enforced, how would the government then treat parents who wouldn't be allowed to send their children to school when it is illegal not to (I mean for those parents who are not able to teach their children at home)? A lot of questions to which we never get answers.
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The MMR jab should NOT be compulsory, i have 2 children and am pregnant with my third. My first 2 children had the MMR and im happy with that, but if it was made compulsory i wouldn't want it done! Because i want to make my own mind up about it. They say this is a free country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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my son had his mmr jab in 1988. He is now severley mentally handicapped as his cerebellum stopped growing. If we could have them seperately then I would consider it but how can i take the risk of more damage. It is down to money as the triple jab is cheaper.If the powers that be are so concerned then let us have the choice instead of scaremongering and bullying us.
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It turns out that the wakefield study was of only 12 children how many millions have had the MMR. America, Canada, Australia and Other European countries have no problems? What is different about the UK? The idiot sensationalist press who should no better. Statistically his study is meaningless, and he was paid over £400,000 to give evidence by an compensation action group's lawyers. Read Ben Goldacres book, think for yourselves, look at the evidence. Do the right thing protect your children and others. Who will be responsible for the certain epidemic that is on its way and the first death from measles
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My children are adults now and they all had the measles jab seperately.I think that as we pay for the medical services we receive they should be flexible and allow mothers who have worries about the vaccine seperately.I had measles as a child so I suppose I have some defence against it.My children din't have it as a disease.Effectively we have killed the natural immunity in the population for future generations and I wonder whether it would become a killer,for me the disease was mild,without the vaccine,as it is reputed we killed the South American population.Letting people have the single injection on demand would solve the problem.no letting unvaccinated children into school is basically very Fascist.If the mother and child are happier with the single vaccine and it is effective what does it matter?
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No I don't believe it should compulsory, however I think that every parent should be aware that if there is a link to Autism (which I strongly believe there is not)!! Measle can kill, Autism can't!
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In our privilaged society we are blessed with many health advantages, childhood immunisation programmes prevent disease and reduce mortality rates, we have forgotten the devastating affects of such diesases and if we are not careful they will become all to real again.
the resaerch by Andrew Wakefied was based on evidence from only 12 children, more than 50 million doses of MMR have bben given world wide, and it has been routine in the UK for 20 years, a research of 12 is not useful and has damaged the uptake of a valuable medical resource.
as for overloading a babies immune sysyetm with 3 vaccines in one??
what about the 1st vaccines a baby recieves at 8 weeks old, it contains diptheria tetanus polio pertusus and hib (thats 5).
I think compulsory vaccinaion is wrong but more needs to be done to convince parents of the saftey.
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Yes it have to be compulsory, middle class parents can afford to send their children to a private school, that is not the case for the majority of the society. People who ignore the governments advice should not be allowed to compromise the nations childrens.
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No to compulsory vaccination.
The MMR IS a dangerous vaccination. There are too many cases reported to ignore where children have been harmed - just look at the ingredients in the vaccine. The only reason children are given the vaccine at an age where their immune systems are immature is because it is the only time when parents are visiting their doctors regularly and can be 'caught'. Doctors know this is true.
Remember the 'safe' Thalodomide? There are masses of cases of erroneous trials.
It MUST be a parent's right to decide on the health of their child. It should not be assumed that adults not in the 'medical profession' are ignorant.
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All very interesting. My son who is 15 now was never vaccinated, he is mildly Autistic. It was confirmed by NHS doctors and consultants that if he had have been vaccinated then he would have been severely Autistic. I suppose it depends how frightened the media make us. Biased reporting like this makes me annoyed but very clever one show.
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I am a veterinary surgeon and has seen a lot of damage done by overvaccination of our animals. I am not against vaccination, I am for SENSIBLE vaccination. To force parents to vaccinate their children is in my book DICTATORSHIP. They have to chose for themselves and their children - an informed choice! The pet owners haven't got a problem with making the choice - a lot of pets are treated by their owners as children - no less!
The doctor who is now pursued by the Medical Council only did what was right for him - but his results would have had huge economical effects for the vaccine companies. So you wonder if this was facilitated by the vaccine producers...?
Just a thought!
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I do not agree that it should be compulsory. Over the past 11 years I have heard statistics about epidemics etc but NEVER is the public given actual statistics of those cases of Measles Mumps that have contracted the disease despite having the vaccination. Even a blog has referred to a serious case of Mumps despite having received the vaccination. AND a parent is asked to weigh up the risks to their child.....
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I absolutely do not think the MMR should be compulsory. What happened to freedom of choice? But I do have some major concerns. I have a child who will soon need to be vaccinated and i had decided to have separate jabs and pay for them (my freedom of choice) however most health professionals I have talked to are against this telling me i risk leaving my child vulnerable for the time period between jabs (1 week, 1 month whatever - i havent taken advice on how far apart they should be - then of course there is the horror of having your child jabbed x 3!) Finding a doctor prepared to do this is becoming really difficult as even some private doctors are posting notices saying they concur with the NHS and recommend the 3-in-one. THe cost is high but i thought it would put my mind at risk re: Autism. What worries me most is this - I asked a nurse who gave my son his early jabs about getting them done privately and she said that the NHS doesnt recognise a child who is vaccinated privately - their innoculations remain absent on NHS documentation and the child is regarded as unprotected. I asked why - I was told that the NHS doesnt regard the jabs as reliable. Apparently because they are live jabs the vials are kept at a certain temperature during transit from where in the world they are made. The NHS apparently can track their supply and ensure the vials are still live vaccines when administerd. I was told that if you go privately this may not be the case, that they may not have similar tracing procedures in place and that not only are you paying a great deal for 3 vaccines which are uncomfortable for the child you cannot rely on them actually being live when administerd! Worrying I think and takes away my freedom of choice. It makes you wonder what you can trust anymore. And i still dont know what to do.
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My children were vaccinated and luckily OK but I can't agree with making it compulsory. The current evidence says the vaccine's OK, but that could be a ruse to get children vaccinated or to evade the compensation claims. The next piece of news may say the opposite to suit someone else's purposes.
If it's only the children of parents who refused the vaccine who get measles, then they must accept the blame. If vaccinated children can get measles seriously, why are we vaccinating them?
Let's have some famous role models - the prime minister's children,MP's, sport celebrities, film stars for example vaccinated by an impartial doctor, under scrutiny. I remember this discussion once before - when certain MPs wouldn't say that their children were/ were not immunised.
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Both my children were vaccinated, 11 and 9 years ago. The furore over the triple jabbegan just before my second child was due to be 'done'. I am pretty well educated and still felt terribly confused as to the best course of action. A child in my second child's nursery became virtually mute overnight following his MMR..his mother remains convinced his very slow development (in a family of high acheivers) was linked to the triple jab. Whilst respecting everyone's right to privacy, I believe that Tony and Cherie Blair could have restored massive confidence to the public at large by confirming that their youngest son leo had in fact had the triple jab. With the PM's access to information, his personal endorsement would have done wonders for the average, confused, wanting to do their best parent.
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The whole point is increased and sustained "herd Immunity". ie the benefit to ALL. Measles is a killer disease. Victims of this disease, having vaccinated their child/children should sue those parents who have refused vaccination,as they (the "my rights brigade") are directly causing the morbidity risk to the innocent and law abiding; who by the way have faith in our Health Service.
(Retired GP)
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If the Govt want to make the MMR compulsory then they need to provide a written guarantee that they will pay damages and for long term care for life for any child damaged by the vaccine. Somehow I don't believe they will.
My eldest children had every jab going. 2 now have gut problems. We paid for our youngest to have the single measles jab because I felt it was safer, and more effective.
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Furthermore, I am most annoyed that you have given a completely one sided slant on what is, to thousands of parents, a very worrying situation. You are peddling BIG PHARMA propaganda and supporting a Government who having purchased a Shed Load of MMR vaccine, are afraid that it will run out of date and be poured down the drain.
You, the BBC are a public service paid for by the people in the United Kingdom and not by the Pharmaceutical Industry. In future please show a little more respect to those who feed you.
To balance your report please contact those running the UK website, www.cryshame.net and ask them to contribute, I'm sure they would be delighted to recieve a little coverage from our National TV channel.
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My son who is nearly 13 had quite severe reactions to all his vaaccinations and within a week of the MMR after initially developing a high temperature his behaviour dramatically worstened. No vaccination is 100% safe and law suits have been won against drugs companies. Globally there is no disputing the benifits to the majority but I know from the legal action against the manufacturers of the MMR of which my son was one of the children selected that the evidence from other parents was very compelling. I believe more parents would take up the immunisation if they were available as single injections at no cost. There is a price to pay for the beneift of the majority. If I had to make the decision now it would be for measles to be given as a single injection.
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This makes me so mad. My son is 14 months old and is due his MMR shot, but I haven't made my mind up yet.
I have obviously heard about the link between MMR and autism suggested by Wakefield, something that made me especially cautious as we have Asbergers in the family. I realise that this research has been discredited since, but nobody seem to be 100% sure that there is no link.
Though having researched the safety of the shot for months I can't seem to get any answers. I can't believe they are considering making the MMR compulsory considering I can't get a single health professional (my GP, nurses and health visitors) or The National Autistic Society to say that it is indeed safe. All everybody does is give me pages and pages of information which still don't answer my questions.
My GP did suggest if I was unsure to possibly have the shots done separately, but they couldn't really advise where I could have that done. Their only advice was to find someone on the net who would do it a day clinic at one of the local hotels. How dodgy does that sound? Plus they also advised that the single vaccines have to be imported from Europe and you can't be sure it has been stored properly (refrigerated) during transport.
So my options are either I risk my son getting Autism or I pay someone I found on the Internet an obscene amount of money to inject my child with a vaccine which may or may not work. I know there are no guarantees in life, but you tell me, what would you do?
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I am in the position of seeing how dangerous a vaccinations can be as my daughter had a life threatening reaction. Basically her blood platelet count was so low that she had to have transfusion. She looked black and blue from just us touching her, gums bleeding and could not clot blood on any small cut. This is reason why my wife now gives blood and everyone should do it I cannot at the moment due to a serious accident and received blood products. She got over it but will not be taking the MMR booster except for rubella.
Now after much soul searching, reading up lots of sources and speaking to friends in the NHS we gave our next daughter the MMR jab. This was done in hospital with supervision due to her sisters reaction. We made the choice was made as Measles, Mumps and Rubella is worse not for just our child and her friends but our childrens children.
If you believed all the hype in the media you might as well just dig a hole and hide in it. Also any vaccination can have an allergic reaction and having separates are just at the same risk maybe even more.
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The MMR should not be given - full stop! The probability of a child on this planet contracting 3 different diseases at the same time is near impossible, so why would you introduce 3 into a young developing child.
I have one grandchild (one of a twin) who was bright and healthy until she had the MMR vaccine - she is not autistic - A crime against children.
Single vaccines should be given as an alternative but should not be mandatory because there are complimentary alternatives which are much much safer.
What makes the medical profession think that they have the right to dictate to everyone else that their way is right. They have made some terrible vaccine blunders in the past and until they have proven that a vaccine (or any other medication for that matter) is 100% safe it should not be used on people.
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To insist that MMR becomes compulsory is fascism and totally unacceptable. I have proof positive that this vaccine has caused autism and NHS doctors have been given a directive to say that it is safe. Any self-respecting scientist knows that nothing can be proved to be safe. Further I believe that any NHS doctor claiming that it is unsafe may lose their job. This is supposed to a country of free speech and democracy - no longer it seems
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Strange how many comments talk about the whole being forced business. If you want to travel to certain countries you have to provide evidence that you have had particular vaccines. Is that being forced?
Well, what if one of the entry requirements to state school was the MMR jab? That's not being forced - you could always go to a non-state school, couldn't you?
Oh yes, I hear you scream... the cost, the cost!
This from the same people who clearly believe that if, sorry I mean when, their non-MMR protected child contract measles and is, hopefully not, left brain damaged then the nation can pick up the bill for their ongoing medical care.
Now what should my response be if I follow their example? Oh yes... the cost, the cost!!!
Short-sighted and selfish don't even get close to the description of that sort of behaviour.
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Whilst I agree the combined MMR is now deemed as safe to use, you cannot ignore the thousands of parents who have doubts. My children are of the age where separate vaccines were given, now Merck the manufacturer of the MMR is producing the MMR 2 which will include the chicken pox vaccine - 4 in 1 !! These are live vaccines and in my opinion quite a lot for young babies to absorb in one shot. Parents are in doubt do pay for the single vaccines, however, now the sole Manufacturer of the Mumps single vaccine Merck has stopped producing it this will mean even though the parent is willing to pay, they cannot get the single mumps vaccine. Is this a government ploy to take away the rights to choose.
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The MMR vaccine consists of three live vaccines being given at one time to a child. The Cattle Industry does not, apparantly, give three vaccines at one time to cattle because this may be a health risk. Shouldn't children be afforded the same amount of concern?? I do NOT think the MMR vaccine should be made compulsary in order for a child to go to school.
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Parents have a duty to act in what they see as the best interests of their children. As citizens of this country they also have responsibilities to the populace as a whole. When these appear to conflict they must follow their own consciences. If they take steps to inform their opinions they have every right to opt out of the vaccination programme. They must of course take responsibility for their decisions and the consequences to their child. He/she may well get measles. The MMR debate is still not dead and buried. We do still live with some freedom of choice. Exercising this choice in this instance does not pose any danger to a child who makes the opposite choice.
There is no risk to a vaccinated and thus immune child in having contact with an unvaccinated child in school. The only danger is to the unvaccinated child who risks infection and it's consequences in any public exposure where there is infection present in a portion of the community.
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After all we are prepared to vastly over pay politicians,BBC celebrities ,county hall executives,bankers, quangos and many other groups, what is the cost of a few vaccines in comparison to that?
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My oldest daughter suffered brain damage from meningitis and when we had to decide about the vacinations to give our younger daughter it was a very difficult decision. A compulsory vacination programme allows the government to value the many i.e. the average response again the few who may react differently. Unfortunately the government does not pick up the pieces for famililies if it all goes wrong. They are left to sink or swim on their own, dealing with an NHS that is not geared up to deal with chronic long term disbility/special needs in children and young adults. I don't know how it works in the USA but you have to remember that they do not have univeral medical support for their population. Maybe there people take what they can. Here you may be aligning people to take a class action in law against what they see as the state removing the rest of their rights over their children.
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yes, it should be compulsory. What would have happened if parents could have opted out of the polio and tb vaccinations? Why should the majority of parents have their children put at risk because of the selfish behaviour of the few.
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antivac - you have evidence that MMR causes autism?
Please, please, please post it. Presumably you can also give us all the details of sample size, research methodology (was it double blind?), are the results statistically significant and has the research been repeated and peer-reviewed.
Why do I think that you will provide NONE of this?
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There is no proof MMR causes Autism. There is no proof it doesnt. Our first son has had most vaccinations at £100 each. It is extremely expensive and he has still got boosters to go and some vaccines are not available. There are also different manufacturers and some should be avoided. The NHS should offer the separate vaccinations at cost price so there is a choice. Our second son has it all to go yet and I am now trying to find the extra cash to get the separate vaccinations.
If the vaccinating becomes compulsory then the NHS should offer a free MMR option or a separate vaccination program at cost. I would never forgive myself if my children would get ill after vaccination and we should all protest strongly against the suggested compulsory MMR jab.
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Not sure about this being made compulsory but certainly think children should have this vaccine for their own sake and the sake of others.
As regards, the MMR/Autism case, I go not for a link with the jab but with the hereditary link every time. It's just unfortunate that the classis signs of autism occur at the same time as the vaccine is given.
Back in the 1970's our daughter had all her jabs and when, in a similar time scale, she began displaying odd tendancies, we did begin to wonder if the jabs were to blame. However, experience has taught us differently. She was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of 32 and once this diagnosis was given, we began to research and look back at the similarity in her behaviour with those of other members of the the family on her paternal side.....and there was the evidence for all to see.
I have heard it said that the reason why some people don't want to go down the hereditary link is because there would be a stigma attached to the family, yet these very people are unaware that they are displaying signs of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder themselves.
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I think it is important that as many children as possible are immunised and the MMR jab has been demonised in a very unhelpful way; people who argue that having three separate jabs are equivalent are ignoring a) the extra distress for the child and b) the less than 100% uptake of multiple inoculations. Making MMR a condition for state education would be unacceptable (unfortunately in my opinion) in the U.K. but a Doctor's certificate that individual jabs had been carried out could be accepted as an alternative. There is no reason why parents should not pay privately for the alternative treatment if that is their choice.
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I think they should review the MMR, because i have seen it first hand what it does as a child minder when it was first used, the little boy a cared for went from a happy go little boy who could count and knew his colours he was nearly three he passed a lot of test the do ready for nursery, two weeks after he had the MMR, he completely withdrew, he would not talk, he through tantrums lost all interest in playing with his toys that he loved to play with, would not play with other children, and became very clingy, i think the single vaccines that were used for a long time as i was growing up and my own children were the safe, and we got none this autism and bowel trouble, the little boys mum was told by the nursery he had autistic tendencies, we got rid of these diseases through the single vaccines, after all you dont mix oil and water together so why mix drugs chosnik
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My brother has Autism and it has made his life unbelievably difficult for him. I often wonder if his MMR jab was the cause, and there is that constant question of 'What if?'. Now that the research has been discredited, I am even more confused and hope that more research will be taken into the matter.
A vivid memory of when I was younger was of my mother telling me that before my brother had the jab, he seemed confident, happy, a sort of picture book kid. But then after the jab, he was violently ill, and became reclusive, anxious and so on. I cannot begin to imagine how my mother felt.
A few days later, I was in the doctors, and saw a young girl with her father. She was there for the vaccination. As I saw her climb about the waiting room, I had a sudden urge to cry, and imagined that family in a few years time, if the girl infact had Autism. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.
I understand that if you don't let your child have the jab, then you put many people at risk, but I still think parents should have the choice. I also think that we need more research to be taken into the matter.
My brother sometimes says he wants to die. I wonder that if he hadn't taken the jab, he would've done, or would he have led a life where he wasn't scared about picking up a pair of scissors, or nervous at the thought of opening his curtains. I wish I could know. But, sadly, I can't.
I hope I haven't shown disrespect to anyone's views, I can see this is a very emotional topic for many of us.
Thanks for listening, Sophie W
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We aren't being presented with the facts. What are the chances of an adverse reaction to the vaccination (I don't know). What are the chances from dying from measles (small). What are the chances of catching measles (small)
A recent issue of the new scientist magazine pointed at least one death occurred as a result of the strain of mumps agent within the earlier MMR vaccinations. Something had to be done about this obviously, but what about all the less dramatic reactions that my be occurring unreported. My daughter was sick shortly after her first MMR, she also produced white stools for the one and only time in her life. We didn't make the connection at the time, it was only looking back that we tied up this with her development of eczema and asthma which occured during the months that followed the MMR. Were they linked. I can't really say for sure, but they did follow each other. Nobody from the medical profession has investigated this. On the basis of this we have not opted for the second MMR.
My own feeling is that some jobsworth somewhere has decided that overall vaccination take up will be higher if as many diseases are covered in one jab regardless of the consequences. I remember the theory that gulf war syndrome was caused because 13 vaccinations were given in one session to troops. Assaulting the bodies immune system like this is bound to have repercussions. For children the repercussions may be even more profound.
If the government wants parents to protect their children from measles then separate the vaccinations and stop being so pig headed.
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I certainly will not be injecting my kids with this poison. I believe vaccinations weaken immune systems and MMR is totally unnecessary. There is very credible evidence linking MMR to autism, however, this info has been deliberately rubbished by our Government who are only interested in protecting the profits of big pharmaceutical companies.
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I have never posted on one of these boards, but I have been so upset and worried about the reaction to this I feel compelled to do so today.
Why do none of these reports point out all three of these diseases can cause deafness, convulsions brain damage and even death in otherwise healthy children They are not harmless.
1)The MMR vaccine has been shown beyond any reasonable doubt to show no corrolation to development of Autism. It is a sad fact that Autism tends to show itself and the symptoms (a regression in development being one) at about the same time as the MMR jab is administered.
2) I has been demonstrated that if parents are offered the separate injections then there will be more missed appointments and therefore more children who are half (and therefore not really) immunised against these diseases.
3) As this show demonstrated these stories, when they become mainstream are not reported by science correspondents and the questions that need to be asked are not asked and the FACT that the theory has been conclusively rubbished is ignored and one theory is presented as equally good as another.
I have a 10 month old daughter and she will definitely be vaccinated.
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I do not agree Instead of talking about forcing kids to have the triple MMR vaccine why cant they be offered the single jabs on the NHS. My son had the single vaccines and recently had his boosters and if I had anymore children they would have the single vaccines also.
I think that when statistics are compiled of how may kids have had the MMR triple vaccine, the amount children that are immunised seperately are not taken into account.
What will happen if they make it compulsary and then the children are not allowed to attend school? Where will they go then.
Single jabs will obviously be more costly than the combined jab but if they want every child immunised then they need to make the single jabs available on the NHS. The govenment needs to listen to the concern of genuinely worried parents and look at the bigger picture.
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I would not like the MMR vacination to become compulsory. I have had 4 children of my own and they have all been vacinated but I still have reservations about the MMR and do believe that it is still possible that it may have a contributing factor.
My nephew has dyspraxia and is on the autistic spectrum, and my third child appears to have problems regarding his ability to get things down on paper. It has been suggested that he may also have dyspraxia or Asperger Syndrome.
My sister and I believe that it is possible that the MMR injection could be responsible for their disabilities as we have heard no research to say otherwise. What is the cause of Autism,if not the MMR injection and until it been proved otherwise you can't blame people for reacting the way they do. We have no record of Autism within our family prior to this and there appears to be alot more people suffering from Autism, so where has Austism come from?
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Single vaccines have been used far longer than the combined MMR jab. The old system worked. Children had the measles jab pre school or Nursery, not as babies. At 13 years old girls had the rubella jab to safeguard any babies they might later have, (though I think that should be moved back to 11 years old with so many being promiscuous), and at 13 boys had the mumps jab to protect them from strerility. The girls didn't have the mumps jab, because mumps doesn't cause girls any problems. The boys didn't have the rubella jab. The ONLY reason for the MMR jab was to save money. In the UK you can no longer get Legal Aid to sue for Vaccine damage to children. The only reason I could find was to stop parents from claiming.
My grandson at 3 was toilet trained, verbal, and loved cuddles. He didn't have the MMR jab because he had been premature and was underweight. The Nursery had a no jab-no place rule so at 3 he had the MMR jab. He screamed continuously for 3 days like an animal in a trap while doctors tried to bring down his temperature. His arm was swollen and bright red from elbow to shoulder. Pre jab he was fine, and had passed all his developemental tests. 3 days after the jab he no longer made eye contact, was non verbal, hated to be touched, and was back in nappies. Later diagnosed as autistic, which he hadn't been before. The paediatrician said he would have expected some sign at 18 months to 2 years. He was 4 before he was toilet trained again, and almost 5 before he talked.
I know in Canada and the USA vaccine damaged children have been compensated with a confidentiality proviso. Japan actually withdrew the MMR Vaccine for a while, but nobody mentions that. Give parents the choice of MMR or single jabs. Is that so very difficult? Why should we be expected to pay for the single jabs unless it is to stop people asking for them? I was horrified when I read that the drug companies want to turn the MMR into a 7 jab cocktail. Read up about the possible cause of Gulf War Syndrome, then ask yourself whether your child really should have this dangerous cocktail injected into them while they are so small and fragile. The MMR should never become compulsory.
In the USA a 13 year old child has been forcibly given Chemo that he said he didn't want, and his parents were told they would lose custody and never see him again if they didn't comply. They wanted to try other treatments. The fact that the Chemo only "cures" 4% of patients or that 70% of Oncologists would refuse Chemo for themselves or family doesn't matter. Do we really want the State to have this sort of control over what we allow to be done to our children? We are the ones who pay the price when something goes wrong.
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There was a person on a forum who said their child got autism straight after having the MMR jab but said and I quote "at least it's better than getting a bad case of measles!" I can't believe the mentality of people these days, have we gone completely stupid ???
Twenty five shots of vaccine pushed into the developing immunity system of a child under 2 is DISGUSTING !!!
Also anyone thinking of taking the swine flu vaccine might want to do some research into the swine flu of 1976 where more people died of the vaccination than of the actual disease !!!
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The way I see it and here it more cases of mumps and measles are appearing now than has for years. You are NOT allowed to kennel your dog without giving it injections first in case it infects other dogs so why can't this be the case before infant school?? or at infant school. I beleive there are very few problems with the multi injection and really wouldn't be frightened to let any child of mine have it!........from quickbaldylocks
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Dear All Concerned Parents
Sadly, the MMR vaccination does not work.
How is it possible to have an epidemic if the majority of children have been vaccinated with MMR and only the minority have not?
When the old but INEXPENSIVE Measles vaccine was available there were NO epidemics of measles and just one vaccine lasted a life time.
Obivously this was not making someone enough money and so a vaccine that does not work had to be invented.
When MMR first came out, it was touted as a once in a life time jab.
A few years later they decided it would have to be given twice.
Then they decided it would have to be given again at age 15.
So, which one is it:
MMR does NOT work or the drug companies want to make more money on a product that does not work?
Something smells and I suspect that this is linked with education, something that we the taxpayers PAY for already there would be hell to pay for any politician who dared to deny a child an education simply because of a vaccination, that has to be repeatedly given simply because it does not work, being with held by concerned, loving and conpassionate parents.
Even MR Blair would NOT confirm whether he had given this controversial vaccine to his children.which can be translated as NO!
So, Mr Sandy MacCara.what are YOUR interests in this vaccination, especially as a doctor you should know by the evidence that MMR does not work if there are epidemics.
If your worried about this vaccine i suggest you brace yourself about the HPV vaccine. Check out recent Daily Mail article "1300 Girls Harmed by HPV Vaccines in UK; Bizarre Side Effects Like Paralysis and Epilepsy"
Link http://www.prisonplanet.com/1300-girls-harmed-by-hpv-vaccines-in-uk-bizarre-side-effects-like-paralysis-and-epilepsy.html
I would like to point out here that some children suffer with mumps even though they are given the MMR so I know it does not work!
We have been sold a LIE and the NHS has been sold and is attempting to give out a LIE!
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I felt so strongly whilst wathching tonights edition, WHERE WAS A PARENT ON THE SOFA WHO HAS WATCHED THEIR CHILD SUFFER?, as I did. Weeks in isolation in hospital with complications. Measles, wathching your child unable to lift her head off the pillow on Christmas day as she is so very unwell is heartbreaking.
You can not hold a gun to the heads of new parents, but because of previous scares they are reluctant to act. This of course leads to previously lower figures, now reaching higher numbers of these illnesses which trust me they, and their children would NOT wish to experience.
The message needs to be put across more strongly that there is an alternative available for them in the form of the MMR jab, I wish I had been able to give this to my child. Due to early complications I was advised against this action. New parents don't make the same mistake please.
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If the Government provided the SINGLE vaccine for Measles there would not be a problem.
Money is the reason this is not done at the risk of our children getting a bad reaction which sometimes causes autism in a sort of Russian roulette attitude -
Not everyone has seen the documentary drama some years ago produced giving Dr Andrew Wakefield's reasons. Everyone should be shown this to make an informed decision.
It is just plain commonsense that this should be shown
It is the fact that this Measles vaccine is combined with Mumps and Rubella which can prove an overload of bugs for the young child to absorb into the blood stream.
Andrew Wakefield explained all this very adequately. It is all too much for the gut to absorb in some children and they get in the blood stream through to the brain, causing autism in some children.
You have to bear in mind also that at the age of
2 months children have their first DTP, Polio HIB plus Pneumococcal injection
At 3 months their second DGT plus polio and HIB and the 1st Meningitis C
At 4 mth the third DTP plus polio and IB and 2nd pneumococcal injection the 2nd meningitis C
At 12 mths HIB, Menigitis C
13 mths 1st MMR plus 3rd pneumococcal injection
Preschool 4 yrs dtp plus polio, MMR booster
Surely all this is way too much for a childs body to absorb
This is common sense and I believe strongly that Andrew Wakefields research should not be shrugged off and discredited. His documentary should be shown again to the public and then perhaps more would understand his reasoning. I am convinced it is the cost of giving single vaccines by the Government which is at the root of the problem.
Just give a single Measles jab. Children already have too many vaccines at such a young age as it is!
All the above should be explained properly to the public
Carol E. Wall (Mrs)
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For me there is an issue around the link between vacination / free education. Besides I thought education was something that was paid for out of the taxes I pay which in turn also pays for the Doctors, Hospitals and drugs! There can be no link between the two issues, using a threat to deprive one to achieve the other is a nonesense! Furthermore some groups in society will refuse on the grounds of religious beliefs and if this was the case we would then have a two tier system. It also makes no sense to me why a concerned parent who wishes to comply with the vacination process but feels they do not want the combined vacination should have to bear the cost of the alternative. What happens to those in society that cannot afford this cost, do they comply and feel that they have to accept the risks. Doctors and medical science is not always correct!
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I watched an hour and half long video recently demonstrating that vaccines do long term damage to the human body. If I had my time again, I would never vaccinate my children. If it was compulsory for children before they could enter school, parents would have to educate their children at home as best they could. What would happen if the powers that be decided your education wasn't good enough and that the children must go to school? Legal conflict!
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There was no MMR jab avalable when I was young. I had measles at twenty one and mumps at 48.Both times I was quite ill and l think left me with long term problems. So let your children have there MMR NOW!!!
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The only reason Blair would not say which vaccination his child had was because he did NOT have MMR ! Like WMD the man hid the truth.
I can excuse the doctors on here advocating MMR because they are taught and conditioned by those who support Big Pharma. What I cannot excuse is a Government whose cabinet members preside over committee's of non elected senior medical professionals allied to the Pharmaceuticals, to decide what we will or will not be given on the NHS. This is the Lobby at it's worst and in my opinion illegal.
The Big Pharma Lobby have already posted on here advocating compulsory vaccination, they are quite easy to identify, they simply 'Know' too much !
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There is a theory currently circulating in the USA via the www.generationrescue.org website. The theory is that all the injections given prior to the MMR damaged the child's immune system if the liquid contained THIMEROSAL. This material was included in a large number of injections as a preservative and it contains Mercury. For some children, especially boys, in the presence of Testosterone, the mercury damaged immune system of some of the children. The MMR is a collection of deactivated live viruses and, when given to a child with a damaged immune system, causes an adverse reaction, leading to Autism.
The condition of many children in the USA has been improved by properly supervised Chelation therapy and there is evidence that the reduced use of THIMEROSAL is leading to reduced numbers of Autism cases. Sometimes the mercury comes from the fillings in the child's mother's teeth.
A new treatment is being tested in the USA and it is showing great promise and improving the condition of Autistic children. If the medical authorities were no so "bloody minded" about the MMR and actually investigated the problem properly, the parents would not be so scared of have an Autistic child.
Regards
John James
Watford.
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My 4th child,born in 1994,was the only one to recieve the MMR, when he was a year old. He stopped progressing in his development and went from a happy, healthy normal child to a screaming, traumatised child with no speech till he was 5 years old. He was hyperactive, awake all night, no understanding of speech or language,compulsive behavioural patterns, and constant distress at the world around him.He was diagnosed autistic at 3 years old. The government should cut down it's ministers expences and use the money to foot the bill for separate injections for all children. The take up would be 99% of the country. Happy parents,protected children,less risk of problems from combined bactereium injections, less expense to the goverment treating autistic children like my son and less expense to the NHS when an epidemic happens. Common-sense answers work!!!
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Measles was par for the course when I was young. We took it in our stride. There is also evidence from some studies I've read about that contracting measles gives protection from ovarian cancer and allergies; and that conditions such as psoriasis and chronic respiratory diseases clear up after measles.
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AntiBlazer: How ridiculous to say posters that "Know too much" are in the pockets of big Pharma. Well researched and educated does not mean biased.
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THE MMR JAB SHOULD NOT BE COMPULSORY !!
It hasn't been proved to me that the MMR jab did NOT contribute to Autism - in fact quite the reverse - the incidence of Autism has gone down and did so about the same time as they replaced mercury as the preservative in the MMR jab with something less poisonous ! LETS FACE IT PUTTING THE MOST POISONOUS SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO MAN IN AN INJECTION TO BE GIVEN TO CHILDREN WAS A CRAZY THING TO DO !
If the medical profession / pharmaceuticl industry had been honest about the MMR jab people would realise that the MMR jab with the new preservative is now relatively safe - nothing is safe so people should be able to make their own minds up as our daughters did - one gave their children the jab and the other did not !
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I totally agree with Buckscommonsense. The simple answer it to allow parents to choose single vaccines on the NHS, the uptake would go back up rapidly in my view. Myself and other parents I have spoken to are of the same opinion that we don't want our child to have their body assaulted by three viruses at once and would rather have them singly. Under NHS rules which we pay for, we are dictated to that this is the only option (All or nothing approach). If this truly is a free country (which I am starting to doubt) we should have a variety of solutions to solve the problem of low uptake. If you give people several options that lead to the same outcome in the end, then people will feel that they are free to make a choice that suits there needs without being forced to do something they are unhappy with. If this government continues with their 'Take it or leave it' approach they will find that a significant percentage of parents will 'Leave it' and the chance of a significant outbreak will continue. This is not the position that most parents of non vaccinated children wish to be in.
There is the option of paying for single vaccines, but this works out expensive as it is several 'jabs' over the first set and the boosters. You will also find that most of the areas that have a low take up of the MMR are also the poorest parts of the country. If single vaccines were free (the same as the MMR) this could make a big difference to the up take in these areas. Parents that want their children to have the single vaccines in these low income areas would still be able to take part in the vaccination programme. Why should we have to pay this large amount of money out to have our children immunized just because the government isn't big enough to admit that it has got its policy wrong. I thought that treatment under the NHS is meant to be free at the point of delivery (Only under their rules).
For a small extra cost compared to MMR most of this problem could be solved and uptake increased dramatically. Now isn't that worth it! I and may others think so.
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Not compulsory until the government allows single jabs on the NHS and better honesty about the benefits and dangers of vaccines.
People forget that there is ALWAYS a certain percentage of people taking vaccines that WILL DIE as a result of taking the vaccine. Does this mean vaccines should not be administered? No of course they should because more people will die as a result of NOT taking the vaccine and getting the disease. But because of this fact the government really needs to consider people's feeling and allow more choice as well as being honest that yes vaccines can be bad but the disease is far worse.
My own daughter had the MMR and went into a very scary "episode" of convulsions. She has never had them before or since, but what was very dissapointing is that all the doctors at the hospital absolutely refused to admit even the possibility that the convulsions had anything to do with the MMR jab, yet these convulsions occurred at precisely the time when we were told to watch for reactions to the Measles component of the MMR. Common sense would show that the MMR was at least possibly a factor - especially since I found out after more research that her convulsions were a known and possible side effect of MMR.
Clearly the doctors have been briefed to tell the public that vaccines are invariably safe which is just not true.
This type of thing leads to public mistrust and also to lower uptake of vaccinations.
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The all-in-one MMR innoculation seems to have generated many concerns with parents who are obviously still not convinced of its safety. What is it about this combined jab as opposed to having the three injections seperately?
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No the MMR should not be compulsory. Only recently Professor Simon Baron-Cohen (an authority on autism) protested that his premature statement that autism could be predicted in newborns had been misinterpreted by the media. Imagine what might happen if this turned out to be widely accepted.
I am simply a father and a grandfather who found deficiencies in published Health Protection Agency data about vaccines. I went to Oxford University at the age of 68 to study computer science and data systems. On that journey I found a massively greater lack of information on vaccines that leads me to the view that no doctor can reliably say what vaccines do or what they don't do.
Little known facts; the boroughs of Kensington, Westminster and Chelsea have the lowest childhood vaccine uptake in the whole of the UK. Despite being, according to the European Union, the best informed and most influential population group in the EU. Why do doctors form the biggest single parent group opting for single vaccines?
It is because neither I nor anyone I know of (I have aired this claim at conferences attended by an aggregate total of over 3,000 doctors, parents and professionals in the UK and USA) can explain why there seem to be barely any unvaccinated autistic people despite the unvaccinated group being up to 3 millions in number in the UK.
If vaccinations had not been compulsory in the USA and large western nations I am convinced that the cause of autism (perhaps 5 million sick people worldwide) would be known by now.
I would be happy to debate this question with any doctor, Chief Medical Officer, Vaccine specialist willing to discuss it. They have shown a marked reluctance so far.
Tony Bateson
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I would like to respond to Quickbaldylocks comment 143. The reason why we are not drawing a comparison between Innoculating dogs and MMR is because our children are not dogs! I think you are missing the point, parents are concerned and confused by the conflicting information given by medical professionals or comes to that, the lack of information! I have been reading many of the comments and parents are worried about the consequences the 'what if they are wrong'!
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Number 147 - young at heart maybe - clear of head .... NO.
A child will be exposed to hundreds, perhaps thousands of infections in their first few years of life. Almost all of those the child will fight off with perhaps a slight temperature, a runny nose and an ache or two. You have no control over these LIVE, FULL STRENGTH infections. No control over whether they pick up one or two or three or more at a time.
But you clearly think it's comon sense that giving ATTENUATED or DEAD viruses in the form of a vaccine is going to overload a child's immune system.
Clearly you are not entirely up to speed on the wonderful, complex job that a child's immune system does. Perversely, of course, one of those natural FULL STRENGTH infections the non-vaccinated child might pick up is measles. An infection that they will fight very hard but that just might leave them with brain damage, physical dysfuntion or even DEAD.
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The MMR should definitely not become compulsory.
as other people have said combining the 3 vaccines was more about money than effectiveness of the vaccine.
I am a member of a birth forum for people with children all of the same age, we are coming up to MMR time and there was recently a post asking whether MMR should be made compulsory and most of the posts finished off by saying my son/daughter had the MMR and then 2/3/4 years later caught mumps/measles/rubella from some kid at school whose parents hadnt immunised their child - i pointed out if the MMR was so effective how come 90% of kids on the forum who had the MMR managed to catch one of the diseases it protects against?
funnily enough no one deigned to respond.
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*** 8. At 7:13pm on 24 Jun 2009, clairebutton wrote:
I have to question the mothers view that having the mmr made compulsory is against her human rights - what about my sons human rights who has had the mmr but was very ill with the mumps last year.
I think the children who have not been immunised should not be allowed to enrol in the school system. Perhaps their own schools where the can swap germs to their hearts content without infecting the rest of us ! ***
I,m confused, how can your son get the Mumps when he had the MMR which is susposed to protect him from the Mumps. Are we mislead that this jab is a vacination? if this is the case why are we pumping our children with these toxins including Mercury that the MMR contains>?
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I have read most of the comments above (149 at the mo!)
Both 145 & 147 make very valid points. Pharmacueticals and governments control all of our existences.
I am a mother of 3 children aged 4 - 11. I trained as a nurse in 1988. When my first child was born the research carried out by Dr Wakefield was new. I opted not to give my child MMR. By 18months old he was demonstrating characteristics which could be seen as "not normal" and I knew he was somewhere on the Autstic Spectrum. My 2nd child arrived in 2000 and I was "brow beaten" by a GP at our practice re MMR for him. I did not give in and neither was he given MMR.
In 2001 we as a family knew that our first child was indeed displaying the characteristics classed as Asperger's Syndrome. It took until 2005 before he was formaly diagnosed and only now in 2009 have his needs been addressed from the LEA. Our 2nd child also displays characteristics but not may I stress all the same as his older brother.
2005 saw the birth of our daughter. When it came to MMR time both the Health Visitor & the GP independantly made the statement that as there was a family history of ASD that she would not have the MMR!
My longwinded point is this.
As a trained individual in the medical profession, I am aware of drug sensitivities and the importance of family history. This impacts on the medical management of many, in fact most conditions.
In many cases, Autistic Spectrum Disorder does not manifest itself until a similar age to that where MMR is given. Because of this I CAN see where Dr Wakefield had his inspiration from. I also understand the complexities of what is called "Exacerbation of Pre-disposition", i.e. to make someting underlying worse. Because of this I feel that where supported evidence can be made that there is a family history of ASD, (Cases on both sides of our family going back through the generations) single vaccinations should be offered unreservedly.
I do not think that ASD is caused by MMR. BUT, I think research needs to be carried out on the effect on a child with ASD. There are many, many cases out there that can be looked at where parents report a deterioration in the child's development after MMR was given.
A delay in the administration of the first dose of MMR by ven a few months would allow those children with an underlying ASD to be displaying the characteristics and therefore should be allowed the single jabs within the NHS.
I firmly believe that if I had given any of my children the MMR, that their ASD characteristics of which ALL display would be more marked.
I am grateful to Dr Wakefield, for his research as it made me stop and think. I believe that there is definatley a link between MMR & Autism. NOT that it is caused by it but that it makes the difficulties of the child and subsequently the adult more pronounced.
Hopefully someday someone will have the ability to research this properly.
For those of you who think I don't know the severity of Measles.... ....I had it as a child and lived to tell the tale.
Regards,
xx
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I am now over 70 and when I was young there was no measles vaccination. As a very young child I had measles and most of the other childhood illnesses. Since the age of about 18 months I have suffered from Bronchiectasis and understand it was caused by measles and/or whooping cough. I think vaccination should not be compulsory but parents must be made aware of the potential side effects, of which mine is only one and by no means the worst. The One Show would be the ideal vehicle for this.
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No, compulsory MMR jabs should not be given - not because it's unsafe, it patently is, but because I don't believe the state should be able to interfere in such a personal matter. Having said that, if someone chooses not to inoculate their child (not just MMR) then they should not be able to enrol their kids in state education. It is their choice.
I followed Gordon Harvey's (Post no. 58) suggestion to visit Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science' website. There's a good video clip that's worth watching at the end of which is a mention of a real piece of research done into the link between MMR & Autism.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/347/19/1477
I don't expect it dissuade those who have already decided there is a link, but the research has no connection with the NHS or drug companies. For parents that are unsure about what they should do I would argue that this is the sort of information they should be seeking out, not the piecemeal testimony of traumatised, unqualified parents.
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My mother insisted that I do not give my kids the MMR, as I didn't have it back in the late 70s/early 80s, when she says there were similar concerns about the effect injecting such a huge dose of vaccines on a developing immune system has.
I wasn't as concerned by the link to Autism as I was to the amount of viruses that a tiny little body was being exposed to at such a young age, when there is very little risk of children actually dying from those diseases, nor the fact that measles etc were the norm for many older people, who still recall their experiences BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY DIE FROM THEM!
I decided to research myself all the diseases that are protected by MMR vaccine, and none of them are actually dangerous or deadly unless there are further complications. I'm not a medical professional by any means, but you can find out yourself - here for example http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/measles.htm advice given by Dr. John Pilliper states specifically "after a week the child will be fit again."
I had whooping cough as a child, and I'm still here (thanks Mum_of_3_ASD!)
Why is there such an overwhelming belief in society that children should not become ill?
Another case in point, re Dom's report about diabetes - my father is a Type 1 diabetic, he has been since the age of 10, which might explain my mother's opinion that drugs should not be administered unless actually needed.
(Considering that my father would fall into a coma if he didn't keep his insulin levels at the correct level).
Conversely, we are also being told currently by the Government that there is nothing to worry about re Swine Flu. but of course, that too can be deadly if complications arise. Should everyone be vaccinated against Swine Flu and then file a law suit if they should catch it against those that choose not to??? I'm sure some would believe so.
Some of the opinions for compulsory vaccinations scare me as much as Nazi eugenics experiments.....
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I could not agree with posts 138 and 167 more. They are amongst the few blogs here dealing with proven facts. The amount of misinformation with NO factual grounding being bandied about is of genuine concern.
Not sure if compulsory vaccination is the answer, but this does not excuse demands for unproven single vaccinations on the NHS nor many of the other points being made on these blogs.
Like blogger 138, I never post blogs on these sites but was appalled at what I was reading. Apologies for typos on last post. I submitted it sooner than intended.
As the previous blogger spells out, there will be those who have decided for themselves there is a link. For the rest who are undecided, I urge them to look at the facts rather than the scaremongering.
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My 15 month old daughter has measles at the moment and is desperately unwell. I had to cancel her MMR twice due to other illnesses. She finally had it last week, but it was too late as she was already incubating the disease. She has had an extremely high temperature, is crying all the time, is drowsy and lethargic and hasn't eaten anything since last Friday. She developed a purpuric (non-blanching) rash on Monday night and I was so frightened that they sent an ambulance for her. It is absolutely terrifying. I wouldn't want any other children to experience this as she is clearly suffering so much.
Where I live uptake of the MMR is very low and we are heading for a measles epidemic. By deciding not to vaccinate their children, they are putting not only their own children at risk, but also all those too young to have had MMR.
Most parents today will not have experienced measles themselves or be familiar with the potential serious complications or possibility of death. There is a 3-4% risk of pneumonia and 1/5000 chance of encephalitis, not to mention other potential problems.
I just hope that my daughter makes a full recovery and that we can minimise the risk to others of this terrible illness. Current public health campaigns are ineffective. MMR needs to be compulsory.
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I was sadened to watch your MMR report tonight as it was biased. The current measels epidemic lies squarely with the government and their policy of refusing to provide the vacine! I am of course refering to the single jabs which everyone was formerly happy to have administered to their children.
When my children had the MMR two of them had adverse reactions and so we decided not to proceed.
More should have been made of the refusal of the government to provide this vital single jab to the public. Instead you decided to tow the government line and blame parents again. Shame.
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We opted not to vaccinate our son. My 15 year old nephew is severely autistic and his parents are convinced there is a link as his symptoms began very shortly after he received the MMR vaccination.
We decided to pay privately for separate vaccinations and our son has had his measles and rubella injections with no problems at a local private clinic. We have however been waiting over a year for the mumps vaccine - it is not available in the UK so has to be obtained from abroad & there is a severe shortage.
I think it is a disgrace that responsible people who wish to vaccinate separately at their own expense are unable to do so & this problem has received very little publicity.
I really don't know if there is a link between MMR and autism but every time I look at my nephew it makes me think that if there is only a million to one chance of there being so, its a risk I'm not willing to take with my son - especially if I'm willing to pay for my own peace of mind.
A friend of mine saw a hospital consultant a few months ago regarding a totally unrelated matter. They happened to get into conversation about the MMR vaccine and he told her he would not let his own children receive this immunisation. The problem with todays climate is people (ie. professional medical people) will not speak their mind for fear of litigation...it hardly gives peace of mind to concerned parents.
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Most people do not realise how deadly Measles and Whooping Cough can be and the complications that can occur with both these diseases because of the long term vaccinations that have taken place in previous years which made them "problems of the past".
I have personal knowledge that Measles can be fatal, even though it can take many years for this to happen. My daughter had measles at the age of six, although at the time I was told it was Scarlet Fever. She had had the normal inocculations, but when she went to Grammar School at eleven she became ill, unbeknown to any of us, she did not show the intelligence or apptitude that were obvious in her former years or exam results. there were only slight clues, her work became messy, she could not remember how to spell certain words and was less co-ordinated. There were questions raised about whether she should have been accepted into the school. At her first Christmas Carol Service the Headmistress asked me to come and see her about my daughter, which I did. The whole family were then subjected to physchiatric assesment to determine whether there were underlying family problems which had contributed to this change, we had moved house just prior to her entering the school, which was very traumatic for all of us. Fortunately the School Doctor, who had worked in Idia recognised the symptoms and sent her to Guy's Hospital in London for assessment. My daughter was the 33rd person to be diagnosed in the World with this condition - caused by the measles virus remaining dormant in the brain for a number of years. There was nothing the medical profession caould do to help and it was just a matter of time - how long they could not tell us. We were told that she had sub acute schlerosis pan ecephalitis. Within a matter of a few months my daughter went from a vibrant, intelligent and talented musician to a baby requiring 24 hour care and attention in a cot, she died in May, fortunately just about 4 months after we were told that nothing could be done, but not before a priest who was also a faith healer, who was devastated that he could nothing, said "Why did you not tell me that she was an Angel" , for that is what she will always be to me. The sweetest most lovely girl you could imagine.
I think that if immunisation can help to prevent any other family having to undergo this sort of experience, especially the loss of a child it is more than well worth it, because to lose a child is the most devastating experience in this life.
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I believe the childhood vaccinations should all be available separately. A young child's immune system should not have to cope with so many vaccines at one time. If I had young children now, I would definitely pay extra, if I had to to ensure the health of my children.
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As a childrens' nurse in the sixties I nursed several children with measles and measles related conditions, including one child who was so severely damaged by measles encephalitis that he just lay, lifeless in his bed, unable to communicate or do anything at all for his self. I would never have taken the risk of that happening to one of my children because I had chosen not to take the advice of professionals and have them vaccinated.
When my children were babies there were similar scare stories about the Pertussis vaccination and my husband and I thought long and hard before deciding to vaccinate.
Unvaccinated children are protected from disease only because other people choose to vaccinate.
I don't think vaccination should be compulsory but perhaps incentives are the way forward.
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I was never vaccinated. These things are manufactured by big pharmacological corporations for massive profits and we really do not know what they contain. If we do not have the right to bodily integrity, to individual inviolability, then I really think we are not free at all. It is absolutely no business of the state what I do and do not shoot into the bloodstream of my children. Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy have been fighting against the "grab em and jab em" culture in big pharma for a while now after their kid developed autism from the mercury in the shots. It's worth looking into their story.
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The MMR vaccination must NEVER be made compulsory! Vaccinations were only invented as another way to make money for the pharmaceutical industry (business).
I had measles as a child and I was covered with spots but it didn't last and I had no ill effects at all. Why are the public being given scare stories about measles now? It's not hard to work that out!
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Of course the Jab should not be compulsory, it should be a parents decision on what is best for their child. My son went into a coma after his MMR vaccine in 1991 (way before Andrew Wakefield discovered a link) my son was later dx with autism. The redid the children in 1995 at his school, I did not have redone,and got threatening letters threatening an epidemic (which never happened) one child immediately after the vaccine got measles. They do not guarantee immunisation from the conditions. Only 2 children have died of measles since the vaccines, they were both sick children with immune system problems which is why they had not had the vaccine. There is no evidence the vaccines are safe given the numbers who have had bad reactions and no research into why some children have had bad reactions and later diagnosed with autism or other conditions,such encephalitis, many of whom have been already awarded for vaccine damage such as Hanna Poling, why has this not made media news, her father is a neurologist. The reason why no research has been done as to why some children get bad reactions is it is all about profits for the makers of the vaccines, they do not want to pay out compensation. Compensation is only given if you avoid the autism word and use another one such an encephalitis
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Could I refer to the fact that the first Court case in Dallas has just been won by parents who had claimed their child became autistic as a result of the MMR jab. It has been suggested to me that this controversey centres around money and that a deal has been agreed by the Government and Big Pharma to promote the triple vaccine. I believe Professor Wakefield will be proved to have been correct. Can it be right to expose a tiny baby with a undeveloped immune system to three vaccines in one go. I think common sense would say NO.
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I do wish all this Government and NHS etc scaremongering with regards as to jabs would cease forthwith.
I had 'some' jabs as a baby. Seemingly the ones which were available then.
But the MMR couldn't have been, otherwise no doubt my un/ill informed Mother would have gone ahead and let me have it!
I know for certain - courtesy of my Mother advising me, that I contracted a bad case of the measles when I was 8 years old and can well recall being visited at home and confirmed by our family GP, confined to my bed for the duration, with curtains permanently drawn and no light allowed on in the room and I got over it, making a full and complete recovery, with no complications and no damage was done, including my sight, which is something most of the scaremongering seems to surround with measles - blindness.
I also had rubella (aka german measles) at 9 years old. I can also recall having rubella on no less than two more occasions after the first, each time worse than the previous, with the last time being around age 16. I also recall that the second time I had it, coincided with immunisation against it taking place at my senior school. No lasting effects or complications, even though I've had it three times no less and I heard that to get it twice is a rarity in itself!
Of the three, mumps is the only one I've never contracted, even due to the fact I've never been immunised against it.
Now comes, what I think is the really interesting bit! I went for fertility treatment investigations in my late 20's/early 30's and part of all the tests and investigations included blood tests to check for antibodies towards certain 'complaints' that could affect a developing foetus whilst pregnant. One such test was for antibodies towards rubella. My test results? Positive - ie I had developed natural antibodies towards rubella and so was protected without the need to be immunised. So it would seem that my body had produced it's own antibodies protecting me from ever catching rubella ever again and so far I never have!
With regards to all these 'childhood' ailments etc, I personally believe, like with all the other so called preventative measures there are out there, that the risks of succumbing to these so called preventative measures actually cause more problems than they solve, my own personal example and experience being that my family are and never have been a hirsute one and that I never had a problem either until I went on the contraceptive pill. I blame the hormonal disturbances/imbalances created by taking it, as the reasons for my hirsutism and infertily and no one and nothing will ever convince me otherwise. I instinctively know my own body thank you. Of course, the medical profession are going to pooh pooh it as a load of tosh. They're pill pushers and love nothing more than writing 'scripts. They want us all on so many meds., that if they had their way, we'd all be walking around rattling like tubes of smarties! I would be interested to learn if others out there feel the contraceptive pill etc is to blame for their developing ailments they never had prior to taking it/them! Therefore I'm a firm believer that you'll come to less harm and your bodily defences will be made stronger by being exposed rather than protected. Due to Government and NHS meddling we find ourselves living in a cottonwool environment, for all the wrong reasons and look what mess we're in as a result of it all!
So as far as I'm concerned, compulsory vaccination would only be a good thing if it never happened and to suggest that they should not be allowed to attend school without it, is once again mindless meddling. If the ones that want their children immunised do so and the ones that don't, don't. Where's the problem? As that way the only ones who are going to contract anything are the unprotected ones any way, ie, the ones where the adults responsible for it/them are willing to accept any potential risks that might arise as a result. So a child isn't going to contract something that the adults responsible for it don't want it to get if it's been immunised. Comprehend? It is most certainly not acceptable to deny a child it's right to be educated under any circumstances and something only a mindless moron would suggest! Mind you. With the seriously flawed education system we have nowadays, perhaps that's no bad thing! I could teach more in the correct usage of grammar and spelling than most of the so called professionals lumped together! But that's another story!
Finally and very much worth the consideration here I feel. Personally, if I'd had children, I would be able to live with myself more, if I hadn't had them immunised and one/they died as a result, than I could, if I'd had them immunised and I'd had my life and theirs ruined as a result! Think about it! Which way could you live with your conscience more? Then act upon your hunches/gut instinct. Afterall, that's what we normally do when faced with a dilemma isn't it? You don't need to be blinded with medical science, facts and figures in order to make a decision. A decision that at the time feels right. It may not necessarily turn out to be the right decision in the long run! But life's full of choices. Some good, some bad, some right, some wrong and the only way forward is to make mistakes and learn from them. Life is just one big constant learning curve and no doubt given enough time, the whole immunisation versus autism etc debate, will once again get turned completely on it's head, as everything always invariably does. One minute something is good for you, the next bad and then it's good again. a bit like fashion really. Comes in, goes out. Comes back in again and on it goes for eternity.
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No I don't think that it should be compulsory, for one very simple reason, it denies my right as a parent to make the decisions that I feel is right for MY child/ren. Today it's the MMR, then they will be wanting to make c-sections compulsory and formula will become the way to feed babies. When you allow governments to legislate in "people's best interests" you give them the right to legislate every area of your life.
Something I still don't get........if you believe that vaccines do what they say on the box then why do we need to vaccinate everyone? Surely if it protects your child it shouldn't matter if the kid next door isn't because your child is protected because YOU vaccinated. Just because someone went to medical school and insists that they know better than me (I am very well researched on this topic and others) doesn't mean I am incapable of making a decision that can affect my kids lives. I mean not so long ago Drs used to hand out thalidomide for morning sickness and we know how that turned out!
If you want to vaccinate then do, if you want to selectively vaccinate then do that, if you don't want to vaccinate at all then do that....I personally could care less what YOU do with YOUR children. I accept that my kids might get sick, I do what I feel is best to try and prevent that and if necessary I take them to the Dr to get treated when they are sick but it doesn't rule my life and I don't sit at home wondering if they are going to get swine flu tomorrow or measles or CP (which they have both had btw) and I certainly don't check the vaccination status of everyone before I let my kids play with them. DP, his brother and his dad all had measles; his dad obviously produced 2 children so no ill effects and DP is around to have 2 kids of his own. DP's brother and his dad had the mumps (not sure of ALL the details) but again, my FIL has 2 kids and my BIL has decided not to have kids of his own by choice but he's still alive to tell the tale. Everyone but FIL has had CP and we're all still alive.
I am much more concerned that we are pushing what were once childhood illnesses into increasingly older populations where complications are not only MORE likely but MORE severe........maybe going "back to the day" where vaccines weren't that common is the answer, I doubt that things would be as bad as we are being led to believe AND for everyone saying how horrible measles and mumps are, if you actually look at the stats the chance of your child dying from measles in a "developed" country with access to health care, sanitation and proper nutrition is less than 1% (0.01% to be precise)and before the mumps vaccine was introduced the mortality rate was 1%!
I've looked at it from all angles, I've weighed up the risks and benefits and decided what is best for MY family, just as others have and just because I (or others)might have a dissenting opinion doesn't mean that my right as a parent to make decisions for MY family should be taken away.
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And still the blogs come in with no factual evidence. Despite this, I would agree that you cannot make any immunisation obligatory. It would, however, not be unreasonable to protect other people by removing the right to state education for those who are unimmunised. You could still exercise your "rights". All this talk of choice and "rights" is nonsense for a number of reasons including:
1. The NHS has a duty to all citizens to provide an equitable and sustainable service. This does not mean pandering to scaremongering minorities with no evidence to back up their demands. I repeat: there is NO evidence of any benefit from single immunisations and plenty of evidence of problems with these. Pay for them if you wish. You cannot demand them on the NHS.
2. The state offers potentially life saving immunisations for free. Those who are unhappy to take these for their own reasons need not. However, inherent in that choice is the fact that they could potentially put other children at risk. It is therefore not unreasonable to suggest they then loose the right to state education. This is entirely their "choice".
3. I am imminently expecting my first child. (This will be why I have too much time on my hands to blog strongly held views!) This word "choice" has crept into health via politicians. It is used around birthing options. The bottom line is do whatever you are trained to do to get this baby delivered with me and the baby safe. That is my "choice". Health is NOT another consumer right.
4. My baby will have to go to nursery at 8 months unimmunised against MMR as it will be too young. If there are enough older unimmunised children there, then mine will be a risk of a potentially life threatening, but entirely preventable illness. What sort of "choice" has that left me?
I reiterate. There are very clearly established facts here. Read the link suggested by blogger 167. It is in neither the pharmaceutical industry nor the governments' interest to make children unwell. Look at the facts rationally before you put young unimmunised babies at risk.
Lastly, those reporting these issues need to do so in a responsible way, reporting established, evidence- based facts rather than cheap scaremongering stories. Though not a science correspondent, your reporter gave this a fair stab. Some will have found her report "biased" as it did not reflect their views,laregely because she was trying to reports facts.
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The repeated assertions in the programme that Wakefield is discredited and that there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and autism, are both wrong. Both extracts below are from articles linked to the One Click Group health advocacy. Please read them at theoneclickgroup.co.uk.
1.
The Defence presentation for Dr Andrew Wakefield at the General Medical Council MMR Vaccine Trial UK, has demonstrated that the position always maintained by Dr Wakefield of there being no conflict of interest, no issues relating to funding, that the investigations of these children were clinically justified and that the research was ethically approved has been very clearly established. [ Jane Bryant]
2
The US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims. The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case.
The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal "Vaccine Court," was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the "defendant" in all Vaccine Court cases. [ Huffington Post]
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There is so much to comment on here!
Firstly, all the scientific evidence shows that there is no link between autism and the MMR jab. The best piece of evidence was a study conducted in Denmark in 2002, which looked at 400,000 children who had the MMR jab and 100,000 that did not. They found that the rate of autism in both groups was statistically the same:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/347/19/1477
Second, the "MMR causes autism" crowd rely on "correlation implies causation" fallacies. This means that you find two things that correlate and assume they are related. Yes, diagnosis of autism correlates with MMR uptake, but it also correlates with things like iPod sales, Game Boy sales, the number of trophies Manchester United have won, and the global temperature. Do we assuem that all these things are related to autism? Of course not!
Third, saying "my kid had MMR and a few weeks later developed autism" is a ridiculous thing to say, because they are unrelated, and the vast majority of children have the MMR and DON'T go on to develop autism. You might as well say "we had a first birthday party for my child, then they developed autism. Ban first birthday parties!". Autism is diagnosable from around 12-18 months of age, which just happens to be the time when children receive the MMR jab.
A further thing to consider is blame. When a child has an illness/condition, it is natural for the parents to want to blame something/someone. It is a lot easier to blame a vaccine rather than your own genes.
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I think everyone should have the right to choose what is best for them and not to be hounded into what is believed to be the right thing to do. It may after all not be suited to everyone with certain health issues.
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commonsensemum wrote"No I don't think that it should be compulsory, for one very simple reason, it denies my right as a parent to make the decisions that I feel is right for MY child/ren. Today it's the MMR, then they will be wanting to make c-sections compulsory and formula will become the way to feed babies. When you allow governments to legislate in "people's best interests" you give them the right to legislate every area of your life."
I totally agree with the above quote.
I would also add that if the government really does need to interfere it should produce the vaccination itself, in it's own labs and at cost. that way we know for sure there is no profit motive and there will be accountability and quality control to prevent "regrettable errors" such as the accidental distribution of products, in Europe and Africa, knowingly contaminated with HIV and, more recently, seasonal flu vaccines containing Human and Avian - H5N1 flu viruses. Imagine if the labs involved hadn't carried out checks they would have enabled a pandemic on a scale that really would dwarf the Swine Flu "pandemic"
This will take the big pharmaceutical companies out of the loop; which can only be a good thing as the more astute of us know. "Big Parma" has a vested interest in keeping us sick; not well.
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The argument that the mandatory vaccination brigade have is crazy, they do not see that if their kid is vaccinated, then their kid is safe...simples...they then have no right whatsoever to force them on other people, who do not wish to risk autism and other horrors like mercury and other contaminants. The more one learns about vaccinations the more one learns of deaths and maimings caused by them that the media rarely cover.
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Imagine if there were an immensely powerful group of people, who saw themselves as a master race, who for hundreds of years have actually controlled kings and governments behind the scenes.
Imagine if that same group, has now decided they have no more use for a large world population, especially in light of 'global warming' and the financial crisis. What if, they now intend to cull the vast majority of the world population as quickly and safely (for them) as possible. A nuclear war is no good, as there is radiation. The answer is to place a slow acting poison or sterilising agent in a vaccine that the whole world is coerced into taking.
By the time the 'normal' people of the world realise they were killed or made sterile 'for their own good' it would be too late.
Many of the world's richest and most powerful people openly talk of mass eugenics or sterilisation to reduce the populations. Prince Philip is on record as stating he wishes to come back as a virus to kill off most of the world population.
Think on the above before you roll up your sleeve, or force your kid to take these injections.
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how can unvaccinated kids be a danger to kids who have been vaccinated?
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The sensible way is yes. those who refuse should be fined or forced to pay for the single doses if that is what they wish. Poor kids, having 3 jabs on one go instead of the one. shame on those parents. just as bad as those who smoke in cars/houses with their children present!
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I know someone who had two of her boys vaccinated with the MMR vaccine and straight after they got autism. So her third son she did not vaccinate with the MMR vaccine and he did not get autism. It is quite obvious from this that the MMR vaccine caused her boys' to get autism. For me vaccinations are too risky and if anyone actually bothers to do some research into the ingredients of vaccinations (and I am not just talking about the MMR vaccine) they will see why. So my answer to this question is no the MMR vaccine should not be made compulsory, parents should have the right to choose. We have an immune system for gods sake why not let it do the work it is meant to do instead of hammering it with toxic chemicals.
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If our government care so much about our children then please ask yourself why the following 'ingredients' are added to the vaccines as fillers. Please don't blindly accept the official government stand on this issue. Do your own research and and always ask the question, 'Who Benefits'?
LIST OF VACCINE FILLERS: Officially administered by design with every vaccine provided to the public -
In addition to the viral and bacterial RNA or DNA that is part of the vaccines, here are the fillers:
aluminum hydroxide
aluminum phosphate
ammonium sulfate
amphotericin B
animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,
dog kidney, monkey kidney,
chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
calf (bovine) serum
betapropiolactone
fetal bovine serum
formaldehyde
formalin
gelatin
glycerol
human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
hydrolized gelatin
monosodium glutamate (MSG)
neomycin
neomycin sulfate
phenol red indicator
phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
potassium diphosphate
potassium monophosphate
polymyxin B
polysorbate 20
polysorbate 80
porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
residual MRC5 proteins
sorbitol
sucrose
thimerosal (mercury)
tri(n)butylphosphate,
VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells
washed sheep red blood cells
*This data is available via: www.mercola.com
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/03/07/vaccine-ingredients.aspx
These additives are given without public knowledge or consent. Merck, the monster pharmaceutical giant in the US produces the vast
majority of vaccine supplies & are protected from prosecution by Federal Statutes imposed under the former Bush administration.
Analysis of vaccine fillers:
1) ALUMINUM (two variants) - directly linked to Alzheimer's Disease
2) AMMONIUM SULFATE - an inorganic chemical compound used a fertilizer and "protein purifier"; known to cause kidney & liver damage, gastrointestinal disfunctions
3) AMPHOTERICIN B - an "antifungal disinfectant", damages the urinary tract, bowels, heart functions
4) RE-CYCLED ANIMAL TISSUE (multiple) - the building blocks of Mad Cow Disease
5) FORMALDEHYDE - used as "a preservative & disinfectant", known to cause cancer, chronic bronchitis, eye irritation when exposed to the body's immune system
6) MSG - now known to cause cancer in humans
7) PHENOL - a highly toxic disinfectant dye, attributed to liver, kidney, heart & respiratory damage
8) PHENOXYETHANOL (ANTIFREEZE) - proven to have extreme neurotoxic side effects
9) THYMEROSAL (MERCURY) - This additive alone was the catalyst for another recent Class Action Lawsuit organized by mothers of children born with Autism & the many related behavioral disorders associated with it. Autism is now occurring at levels never seen before in history, 1 in 67. The average used to 1 in 20,000.
Thi is a very serious issue, please DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
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Well after looking at those ingredients anyone in the right mind would not want that rubbish pumped into their children
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192 - that is excellent information, no wonder cancer is on the increase!
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I like many other parents have a 15 year old son who was diagnosed with Autism from an early age, he doesn't talk and will never be able to call me 'Dad'. Like many other stories listed here we watched as he regressed immediately after having the triple MMR vaccine as a baby. It's easy for people to say that there's nothing wrong with it. I cannot say for certain that it caused his Autism but I'm sure it was part of the cause and as we all know there's no cure, it's for life !
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Google Alex Jones on vaccines
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The One Show item did not use any data to show how children die or are seriously harmed by measles. I read data from a few years ago that found that 5 children in 100,000 who have measles will die from it. That is pretty low. I do not know how many of that 100,000 would have been left with permenant damage - obviously more, but I bet it is still low. So why didn't the One Show use data???
Measles is just an illness - people die all the time from flu, chest infections, food poisoning. You could argue that these are all also preventable deaths.
Another thing I do not understand is the argument that we should give our children the MMR so that they do not infect others. What kind of ridiculousness is that? These 'others' should be immunised then - it is freely available.
If we choose not to vaccinate then we are saying we choose to take the risk - I will stand up and say I have done this. I also take the risk of letting my children go out by themselves, eat junk food, ride a bike in London, share buses with people who carry TB (one of my local bus services is known by local medical people as a 'TB route').
Guess what - risk is part of life!
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Can I just say that the list compiled by Leemondo 75 is largely inaccurate, biased, and likely to scare parents without any warrant. Obviously I can't go through all of them, so I'll just pick one for now:
"6) MSG - now known to cause cancer in humans"
That is a blatant lie. MSG is monosodium glutamate. It is a flavour enhancer, and can be bought in food shops by the pound. It is sometimes called "chinese salt" or "umami". It has never been shown to cause cancer, and studies on so called "chinese restaurant syndrome" have always come back negative:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/130/4/1058S
The claim "MSG causes cancer" is completely unsubstantiated and has no supporting evidence.
Yes, do your research, but don't believe crank websites like that of Dr. Mercola! He only posts lists like the one above so that you buy his "all natural" products!
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In response to bigpurplemonster:
"I read data from a few years ago that found that 5 children in 100,000 who have measles will die from it. That is pretty low."
So are you happy for 5 children in 100,000 to die from a preventable disease? What would you say to the parent of a child who died from measles? "Nevermind, the mortality rate is pretty low"?
"Another thing I do not understand is the argument that we should give our children the MMR so that they do not infect others. What kind of ridiculousness is that? These 'others' should be immunised then - it is freely available."
There are various immunodeficient children who CANNOT be vaccinated. Herd immunity protects them.
"Guess what - risk is part of life!"
Minimize it. What are you risking by immunizing your children with MMR?
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I couldn't decide to let my son have this vaccination so I thought I would be a resposible parent and pay for the vaccinations singly. So I would make the trips to Manchester at a private clinic paying £250. He was due to have the last one which was the mumphs and now it cannot be sourced anywhere, they told me january 09 and now its the summer! I am tearing my hair out to try and get my son this vaccination and have written to various MP's and Lords at the House of Commons with no luck at all. I am being responsible but I think we should have the choice to have single vaccinations. What made me decide was a friend now has an autustic son which was diagnosed at 18months old. Why should I jeopardise my sons health!
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199 tom_in_liverpool wrote...
"There are various immunodeficient children who CANNOT be vaccinated. Herd immunity protects them."
your use of the word "herd" says it all aka as if human beings are bovine. my grandfather did not risk his life fighting for his country against fascism in ww2 just so that less than 70years later corporate totalitarianism could tiptoe its way into the uk. if you believe in the notion of the collective over the individual, then when it comes to immunodeficient children why not put the following in your pipe and smoke it... they are the minority, the "individual" in this case thus exclude them from all forms of public education rather than have the "collective" aka the majority being forced into compulsory vaccinations. thanks, but no thanks- i do not wish for my children, nor myself for that matter, to be injected with something brewed in the labs of the industrial pharmaceutical complex. i mentioned myself, well guess what? donald rumsfeld is a major shareholder in the company that developed "tamiflu", gilead sciences. as are several other members of the united states republican party. google "pnac" and read all about their vision for the world.
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apekteina wrote:
"they are the minority, the "individual" in this case thus exclude them from all forms of public education rather than have the "collective" aka the majority being forced into compulsory vaccinations."
Nice. So the minority shouldn't be protected from disease, because you have an unfounded problem with vaccination?
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all 3 of my children and my 2 step children have received the mmr back in the 80's and 90's, all 5 are fine and now we have 3 grandchildren i would not hesitate to advise that they are also immunised...................the person who says that they wouldn't have their children immunised by the NHS should think where thet would have their children treated when they contract these dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases
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I have a child with special medical needs who couldnt have the vacine until a later date - people who chose not to vaciate help to breed these killer childhood diseases that put not only there but other children like mine at risk from something which is so simple.
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I had the jab & I don't have autism! Nor do any of my friends who had the MMR. If parents refuse it for their children, then they should have to pay for any treatment when their kids get mumps & measles!
What fools - there is a bigger risk of autism from parents who smoke, but that doesn't stop millions of them lighting up when they have a bump or small child.
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Hi, When my son was 15 months his developement was normally, his speach was there everything was ok, he had his mmr at 15 months, by the time he was 16 months he had lost all of his speach by the time he had his 24 month review he was totally speachless had no interaction with anyone and was referred to speach therapist and child psychologist, when he was 3 he was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy with severe learning and development delay, he is now 5 and has a mental age and development of an 18 month old child, We believed it was the MMR as we had nothing of this or anything like this illness in our families, When he had the MMR we didn't know of the complications or the views which there are now, and we have been assured its not the vaccine but its such a coincidence that he was fine but soon after having the vaccine his develepment started to decline, We now take every day one step at a time, But we love him more everyday.
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MMR should be compulsory, i had measles in the sixties and was ill from it for over 3 months
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Actually vaccination can trigger some cases of ADEM?
NINDS Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) Information Page
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/acute_encephalomyelitis/acute_encephalomyelitis.htm
"What is Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis?
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is characterized by a brief but intense attack of inflammation in the brain and spinal cord that damages myelin the protective covering of nerve fibers. It often follows viral infection, or less often, vaccination for measles, mumps, or rubella."
Did they say MMR?
That does not qualify for 100% safe.
For more on ADEM refer to http://www.myelitis.org/ or other reputable medical sites.
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yes prevention better than cure
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My Mothers cousin has got MS because she got Measles before she had the Jab and it affected her brain. So the Jab is the best option in my opinion.
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Both of my children had three seperate injections for Measles, Mumps and Rubella. I decided against the MMR vacine as it's an awful lot to be injecting into a little toddler in one go.
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"I decided against the MMR vacine as it's an awful lot to be injecting into a little toddler in one go."
What is this based on? The immune system is constantly fighting off infections.
On my first day in a lab, they demonstrated the importance of sterility by getting you to breath on an agar (food) plate. Within 24 hours, we could see over 30 different bugs growing on each plate!
3 attenuated viruses is not "an awful lot" to be injecting into a toddler!
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I can't understand why the vaccines cannot be given seperately like they were when I was a child. It never did me any harm. I'm quite prepared to pay for seperate vaccines for my little girl. I don't care how much it costs.
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