To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate: How to Talk to Your Child's Pediatrician About Vaccines

Recently there has been a lot of information circulating on the web and on television about the possible dangers of vaccines. Everyone from Jenny McCarthy to Amanda Peet to Jennifer Gardner have join in on the debate on vaccinations.

When the chicken pox vaccination came out, my son was a toddler. I was against giving him the shot. I had chicken pox when I was in my early teens. Total disclaimer- it was not a bad case. Since I had the virus I had the security of knowing that any children I had who contracted it could not pass it onto me. This was the main reason I did not want my child to have the shot. I wanted him to have the security of knowing that when he is a parent and one of his children comes down with the virus, there would be certainty that he could be exposed to them without any repercussions.

The other factor in my opposition to this vaccine was that when I was in grade school, college aged students were coming down with cases of measles. This is the point that it was decided college age students needed to have a booster shot of the MMR vaccine. Because of this, I was worried about my son's false sense of immunity to the chicken pox virus. You always hear that cases of adult chicken pox has the potential to be much worse than a child having it. What if I had my son vaccinated at 3 and when he is 30 he is exposed to the virus and contracts it. What if it is a horrible case?

My son's pediatrician understood my views and was tolerant of my decisions. It was never an issue.

Jump forward 9 years. My son started a new school. This school required that he be vaccinated against chicken pox prior to admission to the school. I had to bite the bullet and get him this vaccination.

At our doctor's visit I expressed my concerns to our doctor and we discussed it at length. I told him my main concern was that scientists do not yet know if a booster will be necessary for children who receive the shot later than recommended. My doctor reassured me that since my son received his shot almost 10 years after winning approval by the FDA, we will know early enough if a booster shot in his late teens is necessary.

I believe that all parents have a duty to research anything that they are putting into their child's bodies. If you have questions, ask you doctor. They are usually more than willing to discuss your concerns. Each parent needs to make an informed decision and determine whether or not to vaccinate. It is a personal decision and supporters on both sides have very strong opinions and reasoning behind why they will or won't vaccinate.

Do your own research. Talk to your child's pediatrician. Make him aware of your concerns. Take a stand and make an informed decision based on your own opinions and research, not that of a celebrity.