Since the election of Donald Trump and his endorsement by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been confirmed to the position of HHS Secretary, vaccines have become a prominent topic in the recent political conversation. Whether you are pro-vaccine, an “anti-vaxxer,” or somewhere in-between, it is important that you have all of the information at your disposal to make the most informed decision for your family. This post is meant to serve as an introduction to the vaccine debate and lay the groundwork for you to embark on your own research and make the best decision for you and your family.

The History of Vaccines

The first successful vaccine was created by Edward Jenner in 1796 for protection against Smallpox. It wasn’t until the 1940s that technology had advanced enough to produce large scale production and distribution of vaccines.¹ By the late 1940s, the recommended vaccines included Smallpox, Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis, with the former three combined into a single vaccine known as the DTaP vaccine.

In 1962, there were only 3 vaccines on the recommended schedule, with a total of 5 doses administered to young children.³ By 1986, there were 12 vaccines administered over a total of 25 doses between 2 months of age and 15 years old. If you are in the middle regarding the vaccine debate, then that doesn’t seem too bad, especially given that most of those were for diseases like Smallpox, Polio, and Tetanus. As of 2023, the vaccine schedule has exploded, with new vaccines being added at an alarming rate since the mid 1990s.

I can’t say for certain that this was the reason, but I do find it interesting that the number of vaccines just so happened to increase following the passage of The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act in 1986. What exactly did this legislation include might you ask? Well, it just so happened that it granted vaccine manufacturers protection from liability for any adverse vaccine reactions. 

Vaccine reactions? Aren’t they safe? Why would they need protection from liability if they are safe? I’m glad you asked, we will get to that below.

Almost immediately following the Act’s passage, the number of vaccines on the CDC’s recommended schedule increased year after year, from approximately 11 vaccines in 1986 to over 200 recommended lifetime doses by 2023, starting from in-utero.

The Current CDC Schedule

According to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent book, Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak, the 2023 CDC recommended schedule included 73 doses between birth and 18 years of age for 17 different diseases, with a shocking 28 of them happening before a child’s first birthday!⁴ (The total number of doses can vary depending on the vaccine manufacturer). The current CDC schedule has not changed much from 2023’s, with a total of 72 doses administered in that same time frame. 

And if someone wants to follow the complete schedule throughout childhood and adulthood – including those that are administered to the mother when she is pregnant – you may be looking at a total of over 200 doses! 

To me personally, that seems like an excessive amount and truly makes me wonder how those could all be necessary. 

Are All of The Vaccines Necessary?

If you are pregnant or just had a baby, the question above is what you need to be asking yourself before you go to your child’s well visits, and preferably before their birth, since the first vaccine is administered within 24 hours. I can’t tell you the right answer for your family and your circumstances, but you should absolutely continue your research and make the best decision for you. 72 or more vaccines, almost 30 of which are given within the first year, is a lot of shots for a small child who doesn’t even have a fully functioning immune system. So, it is important to ask, are they all necessary? Are there certain vaccines where the chance of your child contracting the disease is lower than the chance of a reaction to the vaccine? If a baby doesn’t have a fully functioning immune system yet, then how can we expect their small bodies to protect themselves against potentially harmful ingredients in the vaccines. 

Yes, there are questionable additives in vaccines and there have been from the very beginning, with many vaccines containing toxins like formaldehyde, mercury, and aluminum just to name a few. 

Below are two examples of CDC-recommended vaccines that can help you start thinking about which of these vaccines – if any – are truly necessary. 

HEP B Example

First up is the Hepatitis B vaccine. This is one that RFK. Jr. has been getting a lot of heat over the past few weeks leading up to and during his confirmation hearings. This vaccine is administered when a newborn is just 24 hours old! Think about that: your baby is born and within 24 hours your perfectly created baby is being injected with a shot to be protected against a viral infection that spreads by exposure to infected blood, semen, or other bodily fluids. Why would your baby be exposed to those things within the first 24 hours of life? The chance of coming into contact with this virus – unless the mother knows she has the virus – is extremely unlikely, especially if you are doing a home birth or birthing center birth. So unless your baby is exposed to needles because either you or someone in your household are routinely sticking themselves with needles, the likelihood of contracting the virus is extremely unlikely. With that in mind, wouldn’t this vaccine be unnecessary for the vast majority of children?

The reason that they give for routinely administering the HEP B vaccine to day-old newborns is because the HEP B status of the mother may be unknown at the time of birth. However, for each of my pregnancies, I was tested for HEP B in my bloodwork. So, unless you are someone that is engaging in extramarital sex or using contaminated needles, the chances that your maternal status will change is very unlikely. Thus, if the mother knows she doesn’t carry the virus, and the baby is not going to be exposed to contaminated bodily fluids, then why should your baby be given this shot at a day old?

The Flu Shot

Another example is one that, at least until recently, has not been as sensitive of a topic in the public sphere. I don’t know about you, but I never routinely got my flu shot. I think I had it a handful of times, and it was only when the media said that the flu was particularly bad that year, which is another topic of conversation. More often than not, I heard stories of people getting their yearly flu shot, only to come down with the flu within days. Since there are so many different experiences for people with the flu, there is no stigma for not getting your flu shot each year. So why is it that when a parent decides to delay or not participate in the recommended vaccine schedule, they are called crazy, hippies, or neglectful?

Natural Immunity vs. Vaccination

I am a big proponent of the strength of our God-given immune systems, and there are supplements that we can take and lifestyle habits that we can create that will support and improve our immune systems and our family’s. For instance, during the cold and flu season, I like to give my kids doses of Vitamin D₃+K₂, Briar Rose, Elderberry Syrup, Liposomal Vitamin C and others, just to help boost their immune system and help keep them well. These supplements are also great for administering when they do get sick. 

And most people these days don’t even remember or know that prior to 1995, Pox Parties were actually a thing. Parents would take their kids to gatherings where another child had chickenpox in order to expose their child to the virus and allow them to contract it, so that their bodies could develop a natural immunity to it. I’m sure some people still do that to this day. 

Why is it today that we seemingly have forgotten that God gave us an immune system? Maybe if we didn’t try to mess with it for the sake of “progress,” then maybe there wouldn’t be as much chronic disease. But I digress. 

Something to Think About

A common question or argument that you will hear from people who support vaccinating their children is the concern that if not everyone is required to vaccinate their kids, it will put the vaccinated children at risk in social settings like school, daycare, etc. A simple logical question to ask in response to this, and one that I encourage you to think about, is: if your child is vaccinated against a disease, then wouldn’t the unvaccinated be at greater risk of the disease? After all, if the vaccine is effective, then your child should be protected from the disease, right? So just asking that question makes me wonder just how effective these vaccines actually are. 

Are Vaccines Safe?

This is the ultimate elephant in the room. On one side you have the vaccine manufactures, mainstream media, and the majority of Congress all stating that we have vaccines that are safe and effective. (As an aside, there is evidence out there detailing the substantial amount of money that members of congress receive from the pharmaceutical companies; not to mention, the pharmaceutical industry is one of, if not the largest, lobbying groups on Capitol Hill.) However, when we look at the science – which is hard to do because a lot of the “science” is filled with conflicting interests – we aren’t so sure. One of the biggest talking points you will hear from those who choose to not vaccinate their kids is that vaccines may cause autism. While there is no definitive data to prove that autism is caused by vaccines – we technically do not know what actually causes autism – there are studies to suggest that vaccines may contribute to an increased risk of developing it.

In addition to the autism question, there is concern over the extreme rise in chronic disease over the past several decades. There are a host of speculations, and I don’t think it’s a single issue that is causing the epidemic, but, I would not be surprised to learn that a good portion of it may stem from the increase in administered vaccines since the 90s. According to the Children’s Health Defense, in 1986 only 12.8% of children in the U.S dealt with some form of chronic disease; in 2007, that number rose to 54%. I can only imagine what the percentage is in 2025.⁵ One example of this increase in childhood chronic illness is the rise in peanut allergies. When I was a kid, PB&Js were a staple in school lunches. Today, kids aren’t even allowed to bring peanut butter into the schools! It’s worth mentioning here that peanut oil is a common additive in a number of childhood vaccines?⁶

Another important topic to consider is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. If you are a parent already or you’re expecting your first child, then you have come across the discussion of SIDS when deciding on whether you want to use a crib, a bassinet, or to co-sleep with your new baby. Despite what the mainstream media says, there are studies that have shown at least a possible relationship between vaccination and SIDS, with a large percentage of SIDS deaths occurring within just days or weeks of vaccination. .

What About VAERS?

Isn’t there a reporting system for adverse reactions? Aren’t they tracking all of these incidents? Well, yes and no. There are vaccine injury reporting systems, but apparently the number of reports received compared to the number of adverse reactions are miniscule. Essentially, they don’t monitor for adverse reactions nearly as much as they should be to determine if a vaccine is actually safe.

A Middle Ground

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to vaccines. Some parents may choose to follow the CDC schedule as it is. Some parents may choose to decline all vaccines. But there is a middle ground. You might choose to do a delayed schedule – meaning you may follow the CDC schedule, but rather than doing multiple vaccinations during one visit, you may choose to only do one per visit and spread the schedule out over a longer period of time. The current schedule of 72 vaccines is given over a period 18 years. Another option is to research each vaccine individually and decide which ones you think are necessary or unnecessary based on your child and your family’s lifestyle and living conditions. 

One option for a delayed schedule is from Dr. Bob Sears, MD. This link will provide you with his suggested delayed schedule.

How to Support Your Child’s Immune System if You Choose to Vaccinate

If you do decide to vaccinate your child, I highly encourage you to take precautions. There is some evidence to suggest that a child’s MTHFR gene status may impact the chance of an adverse reaction to the vaccines. So if you are interested, it may be worth checking either you and your loved one’s MTHFR status or your baby’s so that you know how best to support their body’s detoxification process. For more information about the MTHFR gene and its implications, see here or check out this book by Dr. Ben Lynch.

Additionally, like I mentioned above, it may be best to follow a delayed schedule and to ask for preservative-free vaccines if possible. For all three of my children, we did the Vitamin K shot at birth, but we requested the preservative-free option, which should be available at the hospital or with your midwife. I would also recommend that you limit the number of vaccines per visit to a single dose and do a heavy metal detox with your child following each vaccination.

What Feels Right to You?

I truly hope that the information in this post has provided you with a starting point to find the information you need to make an informed decision for your child, no matter how old they are. There is a lot of fearmongering in the media, and I think we are truly at a time in our history where, as moms, we need to do our own research and not listen solely to the “experts.” For more information on vaccines and other health-related questions, I highly recommend you check out Just The Inserts. On this website, you’ll learn how to read a medical insert and dissect the information so that you know whether or not a vaccine, drug, antibiotic, or even the well-known Vitamin K shot is right for you.

As a mom of three, there are some things I wish I had known when I was pregnant with my first, and I wish I had done more independent research. So, I hope this post and my website are helpful to you, so that you can be armed with the information I wish I had after having three children, with your first. 

Questions or comments? Drop them below or send me a message at [email protected].

Additional Resources

Online Resources

• Children’s Health Defense: This is a fantastic website for so many things surrounding the health of you and your family.
• Health Freedom Defense Fund
• Just The Inserts
• A Shot in The Dark by Candace Owens: This resource is for those who are paying members at CandaceOwens.com. If you are in a position to pay even for a month to watch the ten part series, I highly recommend it.

Books

• Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Brian Hooker
• The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Dr. Robert Sears
• Children’s Health Defense Book List

Podcast Episodes

These are just some of the great podcast episodes out there on the subject of vaccination.

• Candace: This is Why I Choose Not to Vaccinate My Kids
• Culture Apothecary: To Vax or Not to Vax: Educating Parents On the Options with Dr. Bob Sears, MD.
• Culture Apothecary: Literally JUST What the Gov Says About Vaccines with @JusttheInserts
• Culture Apothecary: The Childhood Vaccine Schedule Episode with @NaturalNurseMomma
• Red Pill Your Healthcast: Elephant in the Room: Overview
• Wise Traditions: What You Need to Know About the HPV Vaccine
• Wise Traditions: Health Freedom: Discerning Truth
• Wise Traditions: Vaccine Facts Few Know About

Instagram Accounts to Follow

• Dr. Austin Lake: Great resource for all things holistic health and he has some very interesting reels and posts on vaccines.
• Just The Inserts

Looking for more educational content? Check out my posts here.