There is a lot of controversy about vaccination circulating on the Internet right now. And a lot of it has to do with increasing fears related to the H1N1 flu (swine flu).

Personally I think that the current level of attention seen in the media about H1N1 amounts to hype. While no one can deny that a serious outbreak could occur at any time, it’s worth noting that an estimated several hundred thousand people die each year, worldwide, because of flu in general (all variants, not just H1N1); this is nothing new.

With all the fears of a national or global pandemic, many people and organizations are considering whether they should get vaccinated.

The Controversy

Within my own circles of friends and acquaintances, there is a lot of controversy about whether vaccination is good. Typically the opposition to vaccines comes down to one or more common arguments:

• vaccines are unnatural/toxic/etc.
• vaccines can cause serious side effects
• vaccines are unnecessary

On the Internet one can find a lot more negative information about vaccines. They are blamed for everything from triggering neurological problems, to causing people to be vectors of disease, to causing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), to causing autism, etc.

For examples of sites opposing vaccines, see:

• ThinkTwice (it’s funny, because just this week both myself and someone I know used the expression “think twice” when talking about this very issue, and I had no idea there was a website with that name!)
• Mercola.com
• ConsumerHealth.com
• Some YouTube videos: “Beautiful Cheerleader Develops Dystonia After Taking Flu Shot,” “CBS 60mins Reports 1976 Deadly Swine Flu Fraud,” and many others

There are many other sources. A Google search for “vaccinations safe” or “vaccinations dangerous” will yield many hits on sites critical of vaccinations.

Of course, it is hard to sort out the truth from the errors. The fact that one viewpoint has websites with lots of official-sounding statements in support, or heart-wrenching testimonials to back it up, doesn’t make it true. Health problems are not easy to trace to the root cause; and many times the reasoning on sites opposing vaccinations boils down to guilt by association or other equally questionable thinking. I think it is rash to take some unfortunate incidents in the history of vaccinations and apply those to everything. If you’re like me, and have had your share of run-arounds with conspiracy theories, urban legends, and such, you probably have learned to be a bit skeptical.

The Conventional View

The prevailing view among doctors, health professionals, and government agencies is that vaccines are an important asset in controlling and reducing infectious diseases. They generally argue that vaccines are a time-tested method, and that many serious diseases have been dramatically reduced since vaccines began to be used.

You can find this view on many websites. For a quick summary, see the Wikipedia article, “Vaccines.” That article also gives a helpful rundown of the various types of vaccines in use and other information I found interesting.

For a brief summary of the common responses to those who oppose vaccines, see the Wikipedia article, “Vaccine controversy.”

My Own Conclusions

I received the usual vaccinations when I was a child, and I’m still alive. As far as I know, I haven’t suffered any neurological damage (although others might disagree!). I’ve never had mumps or measles, etc. And this is basically the experience of the family and friends that I know. In other words, vaccination seemed to work okay for us.

On the other hand, since turning to more natural methods of health and healing in my adolescence and early adulthood, I am somewhat skeptical of anything manmade or artificial. I think that the keys to health are in the lifestyle of health that God designed for us, which is based on such things as eating right, exercising, getting fresh air, getting enough sleep, and so on. And I think that our body is naturally equipped with powerful disease-fighting mechanisms that can do wonders if they are not damaged by our own bad lifestyle choices.

I wish I had a definitive answer on vaccines. If you’ve read this far and you’ve been hoping for one, I’m sorry. I guess I am more skeptical of vaccines now than I was before starting on my search for the truth, but at the same time it seems like many of the anti-vaccination sites resort to junk science or otherwise have the earmarks of sensationalism. It is hard to know who has the balanced perspective.

For myself I have decided that vaccines for common illnesses like the flu are an unnecessary risk, although I remain open minded on the subject. For others who do not have the foundation of a healthy lifestyle, I think that vaccinations may provide an effective barrier — especially if they are adults, and thus not subject to many of the alleged complications from vaccinations in childhood/infancy.

If you have done research on this subject, I would love to hear your opinion.