Should people have to pay for shots that the government requires?

They actually stopped using mercury in vaccines in the 80's. I don't know exactly what they subsituted it with, but I also haven't seen alternative studies on the subsitute yet either. It would make sense to me that mercury could cause autism, but if there is a connection, especialy in cases of kids vaccinated after the mercury was removed, then we must try and find what another source could possibly be. In answer to your direct question, No, in a percet world we shouldn't. But the government burdens the public with unfunded mandates all the time and in a lot of cases, it ammounts to intrusion.

I don't believe there is any corralation between the MMR vaccine and autism. In Canada, the government does pay for the immunizations, and I think we're going down a really slippery slope when parents decide against immunizing their kids. Vaccines have saved millions of lives as well as reduced child mortality and suffering around the world. Vaccines have rid the world of small pox and have eliminated polio from most of the planet. Yes the government should pay for the shots!

You pose two different issues in your post. As to the first, personally, I think that even if the government requires it, it doesn't let the citizen off the hook. We are required to car insurance by law and also expected to pay for it ourselves. If the government requires something, they are responsible for overseeing that what they require is accessible to the public. However, they are not responsible for providing it. As to the second issue of required immunizations. You make a good and strong point. For most people the vaccinations appear to be harmless, but there needs to be more research into just what we are putting into our kids. It is assumed that preventing the disease is so important it trumps everything else. But if preventing the disease causes another just as bad disease, are you really gaining anything. Now, measles, mumps and rubella are all contagious and can spread through the general population. Autism is not. But, there needs to be inquiry into the long-term effects of vaccinations before we jump on the bandwagon. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.

My goodness, your government really knows how to "shoot" at people. I thought only China government is famous for shooting people. I doubt the government is fully at fault. It can be due to that particular immunization shot. The government will not check every single shot, and sometimes the quality control let the substandard medical passes through. I hope you can help him wriggle out of the immunization shot. I don't know what is MMR shot, maybe I dont have it, that's why I'm still alive today.

Unfortunately it is required in order for children to enter school that they have all of their immunizations and have them all current. I do have to agree that if this is a government regulated thing that the government should either pay for it out of their own pockets or they should allow for certain shots to be free and we could pay for others or something of that nature. It is very difficult for a lot of people with the way the economy is to be able to afford to pay these health care costs as a lot of people do not have insurance either because their employer doesn't offer it or they just plain can't afford it. There has to be some sort of resolution to this dilemma but just exactly what it is I am not sure.

There are no more shots with any form of mercury including Thermisol. Not to mention that Thermisol has a half life of about 3 days. It's out of the body in 7 days tops. Kids with autism may have high mercury levels but it's of the type that accumulates in the body. The type of mercury in the shots did not accumulate in the body. So while mercury may indeed be a culprit in causing the genes associated with Autism to activate, there is no way that the mercury in the shots was a cause.

No. I think that the government needs to pay for the shots. I think that the government should pay for all children and people to be immunized. I, and all of my friends, and believe me there are a lot, have all been immunized for just about everything. Only one, out of my hundreds of friends, has Autism, high functioning Autism, her parents caught it early. For the record, not everyone who is immunized gets Autism, but there are those few that do. Mommaj, I am sorry for what you have to go through, but let me tell you about my friend. She has Autism as well and she is doing very well. She has her AA in child development and she is a Manager at her local Ralph's store. She lives her life like a normal person does. Sure, she has gone to Hell and back because of her condition and she has struggled, but she has a lot of help and support from friends and family, and she has been making her own way. None of us are sure how she got Autism, because her two sisters do not have it, only she does, but we assume the shots and genetics may have had something to do with it. I have been noticing that many children are being diagnosed with it these days, but like my friend has proved, it is not the end of the world if your child has Autism. If you catch it early, give him all of the help that he needs, give him a good support system, and really work with him, lots of therapy, he will be fine. I really do not know for sure if these cases of Autism are from the shots because I know so many of my friends and family, and myself, we have all been immunized and none of us is Autistic. I believe that genetics also have a lot to do with this, and if that is the case, then every child at birth needs to be screened for the gene and then it should be up to the parents whether or not they want their children to be immunized. Children already have to be screened for so much when they are born and I think that Autism needs to be added to that list. My brother was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 12. In fact, every day children are being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This condition is genetic, and because so many children are being diagnosed with this condition, children have to be screened for it after they are born. Now, with this knowledge, let's start screening children for Autism as well. It could be genetic and/or it could be from the shots. A lot of research has got to be done on Autism to properly find out why it is on the rise and why more children are being diagnosed with it. Again, I am sorry about what has happened to your child, but do not give up hope and be your child's advocate. If their are any organizations for Autism, then join them. I am part of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) for my brother. My suggestion to you is to do everything that you can possibly do for your son and hope for the best.

You can get out of getting them shots. After an autism scare with my first child I educated myself on the topic. What I did not know and then found out scared the you know what out of me. You can decide not to vaccinate your children AND still send them to school. MOst states let you get a "religious" or "medical" wavier. Which means you either don't belive in immunization due to religious or meidal reasons. You can get one from your local health department. Read it, sign it and then have it notorized. The school will take it instead of a shots record and allow your child to go to school. I will tell you I have not immunized my youngest. Not after what I learned with the whole situation with my son. When time comes for her to go to school I will fill out a waiver. But then I vitural school. It is a public charter school so I still have to turn in all the same paperwork. But my children have less of a chance of acutally catching anything because they are not in class with 30 ohter kids all day.They do school at home online. I don't see parents having any "good" choices here. YOu don't get the shots....they may get the disease or virus.....you give them the shot you could give your child austim. THe number of children with austism is shocking and the number keep climbing fast. SO I thought it was the bigger and mostly likely risk I would have to face. So I decided not to do anymore shots for my son and when my daughter was born do none at all. I know I am taking a risk. But it is a risk either way. I do what I can to minumize the risks.