Argh...this frustrates me!

Things like this bother me to no end. I am not decidedly anti-vaccine or pro-vaccine. I firmly believe that each family needs to make a decision that is right for them, taking into account all the things that make them unique (length of breastfeeding, child care situation, sibling situation...all those things that determine a child's exposure to disease). But to make a decision requires that a family has all the necessary information AND that they can trust the information they are getting. It is ridiculous that these relationships between government agencies and testing agencies and whoever else are allowed to form, much less be profited from. Millions of kids and their families have suffered because a handful of people are not willing to tell the WHOLE truth about something. "Yes, mercury can be harmful. Yes, we are injecting that into your child. Yes, there are good reasons to do that, but you also need to know the risks." Inform parents and let them decide. But INFORM them FIRST! (Yes, I know vaccines no longer contain mercury, but they DO contain aluminum--another concern I have.)

For me, it leads to a whole lack of trust--yes, I trust my doctor...but I have to trust the information my doctor has. Who wrote that paper and who paid them to do that research? That is where I have no faith--none at all. The drug companies are just too big and too powerful and I just can't believe they have my child's best interests at heart. (For example, after reading the above article, do I trust what drug makers say about aluminum being perfectly safe??) In a perfect world, maybe, but not in our world. And that makes me sad.