Measles Epidemic

By now most of us have heard about the great Measles Epidemic of 2008. If you are not sure what I am referring to check out this article from CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/21/measles.outbreaks.ap/index.html

In this article, they take many shots at families who choose not to vaccinate. Those families, families like my own, are having the finger pointed at them because of the current measles outbreaks (which, in the big scheme of things, there is NO epidemic). Funny thing is, if you read the very first sentence in this news story you see something a "little"contradictory. Let me show you:
"Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday." Did you catch what I caught when you read the opening sentence? If not, let me show you what caught my eye."...with nearly half of those involving children who parents rejected vaccination..."Nearly half. Not the total group, not half, nearly half. So that means that the other half, or actually slightly more than half, came from VACCINATED children. Funny how the news and the CDC can spin things, huh? Seems to me, the CDC should be examining why the half who were vaccinated got the measles. The story even goes on to say that some of the unvaccinated children were too young for the vaccine. That is why they had not received it. See again, the families who choose not to vaccinate are being blamed for those numbers too. Somehow they got grouped in with the rest of us. Later, the article flips and gives a higher number for unvaccinated children. This article is filled with inconsistencies.

I am often asked, "Well, don't you worry about your kids getting Measles?" I certainly wouldn't like to see my boys get the measles, but I trust that they would survive if they got it. Based on the facts that they are healthy, well-adjusted, and have good nutritional habits, I think they would get through measles and would then develop a life long immunity to it, just as they would chicken pox. Like any parent who loves their children, I hate to see my kids suffer. I would feel terrible for them if they were to contract measles; however, I am much more willing to watch them conquer the measles than to suffer a disabling side effect from the MMR vaccine. Not only have I seen a lot of research on the dangerous ingredients in the vaccine, I have also read testimony after testimony of parents who had totally normal children pre-vaccine, and literally hours after receiving the MMR vaccine, they had zombies. So it may not protect my kids from an illness that nearly all kids in America would be able to recover from, but may cause permanent disability? For me and our family, we find the risk to outweigh the possible benefits. This is why I continue to ask parents to please educate yourselves and make the decision that is right for you and your family. Your decision may not be the same as my decision, but make it an EDUCATED decision.