To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

After many studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and American Medical Association have all found that the minuscule risks of vaccines are outweighed by the tremendous benefit they provide to individual and public health. And that's good enough for me.

I don't know how much aluminum is safe in a newborn's bloodstream, and I'm sure even a modestly educated opponent of vaccination could throttle me in a debate. What I do know is that I'm pretty confident in the way I get my knowledge. Even in the age of Google and Wikipedia, we still receive almost all of our information through our peers. I believe in evolution not because I've read Darwin but because everyone I know thinks it's true. When presented with doubts, I don't search for detailed information from my side. I go with the consensus of mainstream media, academia and the government. Not because they're always right but because they're right far more often than not, and I have a TiVo to watch. Also, unlike antivaccination people, they usually shut up after a little while.

But Cassandra has her reasons for distrusting the drug companies and the Federal Government, so we compromised. Our son got all the shots, but we searched for brands low in aluminum and spaced out the injections over time. Which is fine with me because it means a few extra visits to the doctor's office to make sure things are O.K.-- and a lot less fighting. I'm just hoping her yoga joint doesn't do seminars on peanut allergies.