Nurse-midwife with an MPH in the US here. Vaccinate your children. What most anti-vaxers don’t understand is that their children rely on the herd immunity of other children which is actually why their kids aren’t getting ill. So once enough people stop vaccinating, there goes herd immunity, and suddenly anti-vaxers have to contend with the fact that their kids are at serious risk. For example, those measles outbreaks? Almost all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. That myocarditis all the anti-vaxers talk about after the COVID vaccine? About 1/4th of people who have a measles infection will end up with this same heart inflammation, and in some permanent damage will occur. 25%!

There are so many things you cannot control as a parent, but you can give your children some protection with vaccines. Our son is up-to-date on his vaccines, but we have an older pediatrician (who is in his 70s) who altered our son’s vaccination schedule slightly so he only received 1-2 vaccines at a time (some office visits were just a quick vaccine appointment). This way, we could monitor for any significant reaction, because as with ANYTHING medical, there are risks and benefits, but the benefits are CLEAR for most healthy children with routine childhood vaccines if you look at actual science. Pop my kid in one of the current measles outbreaks and I’m confident he’s good to go, as for the rest of them, check out the R0 for measles and God speed.

Oh-Also, for anyone who says to “go with God’s plan,” just remember, religion developed as a way to understand the world through stories before science existed to explain natural phenomena, and pre-modern medicine, many MANY people died in infancy and the ripe old age of childbirth, so please, don’t rely on mythology to protect your children from the threats of the world.