Hellobee Boards

@lawbee11: Oh good Lord. Just look at her citations:
A boatload of anti-vaccination websites: wellwithin1, poisonevercure (sounds impartial, no?), novaccine (lol), vaccinationcouncil and one of my favorite, thinktwice which raves like a lunatic about “secret government databases”. Sound science, there.

Then there’s the ever popular conservative shill “news” source, NewsMax.

With her critical thinking and research skills, I’m so glad she is (of course) home schooling. Ugh.

@lawbee11: But she still drives/is transported in a car, right? Her son, too?

So suddenly she's the campaign manager for anti-vax?

Unfortunately we live in a world where anyone can have an opinion about anything and social media will help spread your cause if you're famous enough!

I think it's so crazy out of all people, she's starting this giant fight about vax for kids! I mean, I know the issue is long standing and she didn't start it, but I didn't realize how many people care about what she has to say?!

@littlebug: Ugh, I don't know if that's better or worse! I kinda get it... This is more like an underground issue that doesn't always get "face time" and I guess KC is the the 1st (or most recent) face that popped up choosing the unpopular side and worse, citing crazy reasons for her choices.

At least I'm glad those on HB are not basing their decisions the same way she is! I'm proud of the bees that do the subject due diligence before making decisions.

@looch: some states also allow "philosophical exemption", basically you just sign a slip that says you understand the risks of not vaccinating, get it notarized and submit it to the school. Not all states allow this though. Most are only for medical or religious exemption. Here is a map.

Did anyone catch her on Watch What Happens Live the other night? She repeated her no vaccine stance, but omitted autism as the reason. Instead she cited ear aches, allergies, and something else as to why not vaccinating was the right choice for her family.

@BlueWolverine: One of my best friends (she's an adult, obviously) just finally got over pertussis in Texas! She hadn't had a booster as an adult (her kids are older and apparently 10 years ago or so, they didn't necessarily give pregnant women a booster). She was sick for 3+ months! She's had so many "thank you very much, anti-vaxers" FB posts since December. I feel so sorry for her. Apparently, she was coughing until she threw up on a regular basis, fever, etc. It's becoming a pretty big deal there.

@MamaMoose: lol!!! It's actually pretty hard to get religious exemption though - there are very few religions, to my knowledge, that refuse to vax.

@lawbee11: It shocks me that your state would have that exemption actually!

@MamaMoose: it's a pretty conservative state though... why would it be surprising?

I dunno - I know it's a hot topic... and I know it impacts public health, but I gotta say it makes me a little uncomfortable thinking of taking away personal right to choose to vaccinate. I know a lot of anti-vaxxers and I respect their decisions. I don't mind having playdates because I want to believe that my son will be protected by his vaccines in the event they happen to have been exposed or carrying a vaccine-preventable disease.

@MsLipGloss: oh really?? I thought it was. I thought you needed a something signed by a pastor/elder/priest etc..

@MamaMoose: perhaps it's regional then - all the anti-vaxxers I know are pretty conservative.

and yes, the map is referring to laws regarding school vaccinations.

So on the exemption, I live in a state with religious exemption, and the only signature that is required on that form is the parent or guardian.

We're looking at options for preschool now, and i plan to ask the director if there are any children enrolled that have an exemption on file. I know she can't release the names, but I wonder how she would handle the question.

@lawbee11: Very interesting, thanks for posting! And I agree with you on the philosophical vs religious point.

Wow...this is more of a hot-button topic than I ever realized. My son HAD to be fully vax'd according to our adoption ppw. Due to serious illness in infancy, as well as a reaction to a vaccine (PCV), he is now on an altered schedule (and will definitely not receive "optional" shots like Flu). His doctor will do his school booster shots one-at-a-time between the ages of 4 and 6 (which amounts to one shot every 6 months). Reactions to vaccines are not as rare as a lot of people believe, and they can be truly frightening and eye-opening.

Celebrities like Cavallari make it harder to talk about legitimate concerns that a growing number of people have about vaccines and vaccine ingredients (and, quite frankly, I understand - and share - concerns about heavy metals in vaccines). It is also (for me) frightening and upsetting to see exactly how many shots can be given to an infant in one doctor's appointment (up to 7 per day). We would not know which vaccine caused my son's reaction had he received more than two that day (one in each thigh). It might not be popular to say so (and I am not trying to upset anyone), but I do believe in personal freedom. While I disagree with the profoundly ignorant reasons Cavallari gives for not vaccinating, I do respect that there are people who make educated decisions not to vaccinate their children.