Why I Don't Gamble and Neither Should You

Gambling. It's not really my thing, Have I done it? Yes. Do I enjoy it? Not particularly. Have I won? Yes. A lot? No. But, I'm also not willing to gamble a lot, so that might make a difference. But, either way, it's not worth the risk to me. Because the only guarantee you have in gambling is that, at some point, you are going to lose. And lose big. So, maybe it's better not to take the risk.

The same could be said about a number of things in life. One area in particular that comes to mind is our health. With a chronic illness and having already lost a child, I'm really not ready to gamble with my family's health. We eat well. We exercise. We cough into our elbows. We wash our hands (a lot). We disinfect. When we're sick (which is pretty rare in our house, maybe once or twice a year), we stay home. Because, it's not just my family's health I'm concerned about; I care about the health of other families and individuals as well. This is one of the reasons I vaccinate. In my (educated) opinion, not vaccinating is a huge gamble. One that could potentially be life threatening to you, your child and your community. Take the Disneyland measles outbreak. One infected person (contagious, but not yet showing signs or symptoms) goes to Disneyland over winter break and unknowingly spreads a highly contagious, airborne virus to thousands of others. Thankfully, most of these people (like myself and my family--we visited the park during that time) are immunized and don't catch the disease. However, a small percentage aren't vaccinated and become infected. They then hang out with folks too young or too medically fragile to be vaccinated and they catch the virus too. And, viola! You've got almost 100 people (and counting) in 7 states and Mexico infected with this awful virus. This is the result of the rising rates of unvaccinated people in the population. Diseases we've just about eradicated are making a comeback.

And, it's not just the measles.

Pertussis (whooping cough) is another one making a huge comeback. It killed 5 babies (too young to be vaccinated with the Tdap vaccine) in CA alone in 2014. That's unacceptable. As a parent who's lost a child, I am APPALLED that babies are dying from preventable diseases. These babies counted on herd immunity to protect them. Herd immunity is quickly starting to break down due to the increasing rates of parents choosing not to vaccinate. These parents, you might say, are willing to gamble with deadly diseases and their own children. What pisses me off is that they are also gambling with an entire community. And, call me a party pooper, but gambling with other people's health is not ok with me. It is completely irresponsible to subject other families to your gambling. I think it's akin to gambling with someone else's money. Totally unacceptable. When you choose not to vaccinate, you are putting others at risk. PERIOD.

The non-vaxxing community has published many rebuttals to these accusations that their decisions have led to these diseases coming back. They're angry and tired of being blamed, shamed or made to feel guilty. Well, I'm sorry (not sorry), but, you've got to call a spade a spade. Vaccination rates go down and incidences of disease go up. That's not rocket science folks. That's an alarming correlation that's too evident to ignore. These people have some nerve to throw it back in our faces and tell us that it's the vaccinations themselves that are causing the increase (and they use some pseudoscience as their evidence). But, we're ok. We've got actual science on our side.

Now, I'll have you know that the majority of the non-vaccinating community think they understand the science behind building immunity, but they don't. They don't have a friggin' clue. They look at articles on Mercola or VacTruth or the NVIC and see the title "doctor" before a name and take what's written there as fact. But, you don't get the whole story there. And, often, these websites source fabricated, discredited studies to support their opinions, not actual science. If you actually want to understand the science behind immunity, take an upper division (college) microbiology class. AND an anatomy/physiology class. AND an immunology class. AND a genetics class. Oh, and throw pharmacology in there for kicks, that way you can understand the difference between a side effect and an allergy (they are completely different from each other). I've taken all of those classes, as well as pathophysiology and several nursing care classes. I think I know what I'm talking about when I vouch for vaccines. Until you've taken (at least) TWO of these courses, I won't consider you educated on immunity. And, as far as I'm concerned, none of your "evidence" will hold any weight to support your decision not to vaccinate.

If your child is truly allergic or can't get the vaccine due to age or for another health reason, you get a pass. You are who we (I like to call us The Vaccinators!--like superheroes) are trying to protect. Who I'm really talking to are the rest of you. The ones who did some "research" on the internet and decided vaccines aren't safe. The ones who make up reasons for not vaccinating (my child is "allergic" to vaccines; my child had a "reaction" to vaccines; it's against my religion) without any science whatsoever, even the pseudoscience from Mercola, VacTruth and "Dr." Tenpenny. They think their child's high fever means him or her is allergic to vaccines (um, no they aren't, because fever is a side effect, not an allergic reaction). A severe allergic reaction would be life-threatening or lead to long-term damage, and would be a justifiable reason not to vaccinate. However, a side effect is a secondary response of the body to a medication -- fever, pain, swelling, redness, rash, itching, headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting are all examples of side effects and should not prevent you from getting vaccines. Side effects very in intensity and frequency. Sure, they're annoying and some can freak parents out, but, they are usually mild and don't last longer than 1 to 2 days. Serious side effects (changes in blood pressure, heart rate, respirations, brain damage, sepsis, seizures, coma, death, etc.) of vaccines are rare. Like (literally) one-in-a-million rare. A side effect can only be considered a side effect if it occurs within a few hours up to a few days after the vaccine. I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you 2 weeks. Anything that happens after that cannot be attributed to the vaccines, and should not be reason to not continue getting your vaccinations. I'm studying to be a nurse and have to do a lot of patient teaching on this kind of stuff, so I'm not talking out of my ass here. And, my patience is growing very thin with the non-vaccinating community. I'm tired of their excuses. I'm tired of them gambling with other people's lives. No, I'm not worried about myself or my family. We're covered. I'm worried for the vulnerable in our population. The babies, the immunocompromised, the elderly. I'm worried that someone will have to go through what I went through, and grieve the loss of their infant for the rest of their lives, and I don't want anyone to have to do that. When you gamble with deadly diseases, you won't win. And, we can't win without vaccinations.

What's it going to take for you to listen to science? Will it have to be the ultimate loss? Will you have to lose a child? Or perhaps, have one go blind or deaf from the measles will be enough. Perhaps meningitis, pneumococcal or hepatitis will wreak havoc in your lives and you'll change your tune. Or maybe, because I'm a planner, a future-thinker, your little girl grows up and gets married and gets pregnant, but she contracts rubella and your grandchild is born with serious developmental disabilities. Because those are the stakes you're gambling with when you choose not to vaccinate.

So, tell me. How much do you have to lose before you stop gambling?