Book Supports Parents Who Want to Opt Out of Vaccinations As New Controversies Rage Over Mandatory Immunizations

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Book Supports Parents Who Want to Opt Out of Vaccinations As New

Controversies Rage Over Mandatory Immunizations

Mon Aug 11, 3:01 AM ET

August is National Vaccine Awareness Month. While government agencies and

health officials take this opportunity to urge parents to be sure their

children receive all the required early childhood immunizations, a growing

group of opponents now question the safety of vaccines and challenge their

mandatory status. Many parents are choosing to opt out or finding additional

means for resisting the practice of vaccinating their children.

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) August 11, 2008 -- August is National Vaccine

Awareness Month. While government agencies and health officials take this

opportunity to urge parents to be sure their children receive all the

required early childhood immunizations, a growing group of opponents now

question the safety of vaccines and challenge their mandatory status. Many

parents are choosing to opt out or finding additional means for resisting

the practice of vaccinating their children.

While opt-out options may not always be available, exemptions for

immunizations do exist. In Your Personal Guide to Immunization Exemptions

(paperback, 40 pages, $10.95), by Grace Girdwain, published by Dorrance

Publishing, Pittsburgh, the author provides concrete advice and options for

the growing number of parents who oppose having their children vaccinated

for religious, medical, philosophical, or personal reasons. Girdwain

explains an individual's health rights and the importance of freedom of

choice, exercising informed consent as it relates to these rights. She

provides sample exemption forms, listing the most commonly asked questions

and their answers.

Recent headlines have fueled the debate and caused even the most

traditionally compliant parents to wonder about how well the safety of

vaccines is being monitored. About one month after having been vaccinated

with Gardasil, the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine produced by

pharmaceutical giant Merck, a 13-year-old California girl noticed the first

symptoms of muscle weakness that led to her eventual paralysis.

The public watchdog group, Judicial Watch, has been keeping an eye on the

adverse effects, pertaining to the drug, reported to the Food and Drug

Administration. They have stated there have been 10 deaths since September

2007 and 140 reports of serious health effects.

More and more vaccines are added to the list parents must consider. In

February of 2007 Governor Rick of Texas issued an order making HPV

vaccination of preteen girls in his state mandatory. Now 21 states and the

District of Columbia are considering similar laws. And the CDC has issued a

Universal Recommendation that the vaccine be given to all 11-12 year-old

girls in the United States.

In Your Personal Guide to Immunization Exemptions, author Girdwain advises

parents about communicating with school officials and discusses

ever-changing state laws. Recent developments illustrate just how difficult

and painful challenging government officials can be.

Last November land's State's Attorney General issued a statement that

public health officials would use whatever means necessary, including

threats of jail to parents, in order to get young children vaccinated

against childhood and other diseases. According to the National Vaccine

Information Center, children in land who have not been vaccinated are

expelled from school, and parents, facing truancy laws, can then be forced

to have their children comply with vaccination policies or face fines and

jail time. Currently children in most states are required to have 38

immunization shots by the time they enter public school. Worries about

increases in the rates of autism that some think could be linked to

immunizations and stated apprehensions about the rapidly increasing numbers

of immunizations required continue to appear in articles, interviews, and

blogs, making it difficult for parents to decide what to do.

Girdwain's book, which answers the toughest questions faced by parents who

desire to meet proper compliance with the least amount of resistance, will

discover a great deal of support and invaluable information in this volume.

For more information, please contact the book's publisher, Dorrance

Publishing Co., Inc. At 800-788-7654.

###

Dorrance Publishing Company

Kathleen Haak

800-788-7654

E-mail Information

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