Hey guys, it's funny to find a thread like this! Not that I wanna ruin the thread or anything, but I'm actually a medical student almost done with my second year. In Norway that pretty much means I've gone through all the pre-clinical subjects. I had immunology earlier this year, so I have a lot to say on this matter.
Being against vaccines is utter and complete idiocy. Sorry, just had to get that out there.
You see, what a vaccine does is introduce an inactive version of a microbe into your bloodstream. This is often a fragment of the microbe, like a part of their membrane. This activates your immune system and triggers it to produce special white blood cells called 'memory cells'. Your immune system being activated after the vaccine is the reason why people often get a bit ill the day after a vaccine. When your body has stored memory cells in your blood, you are immunized against a specific microbe. This means that if you ever get exposed to that microbe again, you are very likely to be able to have a fast, effective immune response in your body, killing off the infection. This means you don't get sick!
Now you know how vaccines work. I do not see how the above mechanism can lead to autism. You probably don't either. So let's all agree that vaccines do not lead to autism. Period.
As to allergies or rare side-effects; these are extremely small risks you take for a very big reward. I understand that it's scary to take these risks, but the fact is deciding not to vaccinate your kids is a lot bigger risk. You see, using vaccines, we can actually eradicate entire diseases. This is amazing, it really is. If we vaccinate all children against a disease, it simply stops existing! So when you vaccinate your child, you are protecting them from a really bad disease, and you're protecting all other kids and future generations. This is the big reward i mentioned. And just a comment on the allergy-risk; we have the medical knowledge these days to save a child who gets an allergic reaction. In fact, this is the reason why you're asked to wait in the hospital for a set amount of time after a vaccine. In case you get a reaction.
Hope this post doesn't come off as too stubborn, but this really is a frustrating problem society is facing.
