Interview One: Local Paper

Interview conducted by Natalie Calico with Kristin Vessel a registered nurse currently working at Grace Jordan Elementary.

Date: 9/22/2011



1.) What is your stance on vaccinations?

I would never make someone have their children immunized, it is their choice. I am not sure if I am convinced 100 percent one way or the other on immunizations pro’s and con’s. However, the chicken pox immunization is amazing for students because it prevents them from missing weeks of school.


2.) Do you believe there is a link between autism and immunizations?

I do not, mainly because I have seen evidence that points more in the direction of there being no link. I have not been convinced that there is a link. My friend has a son that is autistic and he was diagnosed soon after he received his immunizations. My friend thought for sure it was the cause of his autism, and when she had her next child she did not have them immunized and they still were diagnosed with autism. There is research out there showing that there is a large genetic link to autism. I have seen it for myself here at school with students and their siblings. If one student has autism they usually have another sibling with it as well. I think that we want to protect our children so much that sometimes we end up harming them by ignoring research and having false fears of what could happen to our children if we immunize them.


3.) Do many parents exempt their children from immunizations?

Yes. Whether it is for religious reasons or something else, many parents do choose not to have their children immunized. Also because this year there was a Idaho law passed requiring more immunizations. I have definitely been seeing an increase in parents exempting their children from immunizations. Many cases it has been because their child or someone they know has been diagnosed with autism after receiving vaccinations. It has become a ethical dilemma also with this new law because technically the students cannot come to school if they do not have their immunizations. However, it is better for them to be in school then to be missing so much and falling behind.


4.) What negative effects have you seen as results of children not being immunized?

Well they are very susceptible to preventable illnesses such as whooping cough. I have seen parents not stay immunized either on their whooping cough vaccination and actually give it to their children. When I worked in the pediatric unit at St. Luke’s hospital I saw a lot of parents passing whooping cough onto their infants without even knowing it. For adults whooping cough is a common cold, but for infants it often results in death. Their little lungs build up so much mucus they suffocate themselves.