In the graphic above, the “Accept some, Delay, Refuse some” middle ground is “look before you leap” in action. There are more of us in this area than you might realize.
Since 2003, the percentage of parents not adhering to the CDC’s childhood vaccination schedule has increased from 21.8% to more than 33% today.
Vaccine hesitancy is something to celebrate and encourage.
It is a sign of intelligent, bold decision-making in the face of tremendous pressure to “just do what you’re told.” It’s thinking for yourself and having the courage of your convictions. It’s the traditional common-sense of “look before you leap.” It’s weighing the evidence and taking your time to come to a conclusion about what is best.
Before I had my own children, I used to be an enthusiastic believer in vaccines. I read The Economist and considered myself worldly and smart.
That changed when every pediatrician we interviewed said that our soon-to-be-born infant daughter would “need” the Hep-B vaccine on her first day of life. This made no sense at all.
Me: why does my daughter need it?
Doctor: well, she might get bit in daycare.
Me: uh, she won’t ever be in daycare.
Doctor: she may need a blood transfusion and the vaccine will protect her.
Me: why do you think she might need a blood transfusion? How many kids actually get that?
Doctor: well, there’s a reason it’s recommend…
Me: ok, what is the reason as it specifically applies to my daughter and how she will live?
Doctor: Hepatitis B is a serious disease.
Me: but she’s not in any way at risk….
Doctor: it’s just better to be safe than to be sorry…
Me: that’s exactly why I’m asking these questions! If there is no benefit, how is her safety improved?
There was much that the doctors were not telling me. They were lying by withholding important information from new parents.
In 1991, the CDC launched Hepatitis B Virus: A Comprehensive Strategy for Eliminating Transmission in the United States Through Universal Childhood Vaccination where you can find the real purpose of vaccinating all infants:
In the United States, most infections occur among adults and adolescents. The recommended strategy for preventing these infections has been the selective vaccination of persons with identified risk factors. However, this strategy has not lowered the incidence of hepatitis B, primarily because vaccinating persons engaged in high-risk behaviors, life-styles, or occupations before they become infected generally has not been feasible. In addition, many infected persons have no identifiable source for their infections and thus cannot be targeted for vaccination
So…. just like with the current push to vaccinate every man, woman and child for COVID instead of focusing on the most vulnerable, 30 years ago the CDC took the same “vaccinate them all” approach instead of doing the obviously hard work of vaccinating a tiny at-risk population.
Let’s put that another way. The CDC, instead of using hard work and creativity to take care of an isolated and difficult to reach problem, took the lazy way out and placed the risks on every parent and every new born infant in America by pushing an unnecessary lifestyle vaccine. And then our trusted pediatricians lied to us about it, and many schools started requiring it.
This systemic dishonesty is why vaccine hesitancy is common sense that improves individual and public health. The very best doctors recognize that someone who is “vaccine hesitant” is actually looking for individualized healthcare instead of primitive one-size-fits-all approaches.
