How do vegans get vaccinated for anything?

Question

Flu and MMR vaccines are grown in chicken eggs, and therefore contain traces of it. Flu, MMR, varicella, DTaP, and yellow fever vaccines all contain gelatin. Polio, MMR, rotavirus, and varicella vaccines contain fetal bovine serum. DTap, HebB, IPV, and typhoid vaccines contain bovine casein. What do vegans do?

Answer 1

Veganism is about minimising your personal contribution to animal suffering and exploitation as much as is - in the words of the man who invented the word 'vegan' - reasonable and practical.



Putting yourself at risk of deadly and preventable diseases is not reasonable or practical; it's psychotic. Leaving your children vulnerable to deadly and preventable diseases is wickedly, shamefully neglectful and abusive,



I'm vegan and I'm very, very pro-vaccination. There's no contradiction there, and no hypocrisy either. 'Hypocrisy' means claiming to have higher standards or beliefs than is in fact the case. Or, to put it simply, saying one thing while doing another. Thus if I was to claim I was, for example, against vaccination and discourage others from vaccinating while secretly having every vaccine going - THAT would be hypocrisy.



Saying I'm pro-vaccination while being, erm, pro-vaccination - no hypocrisy there.



ALL medicines and medical procedures have, by law, been tested on animals. Most medicines contain animal by-products. Vegans do what they can, but we don't live in a bubble of vegan perfection.



A vegan with a life-threatening condition who takes medication, a vegan with a broken limb who has pain relief and has the bones re-set, a vegan who wants to protect her/his kids from preventable and devastating illness by vaccinating - hell, a vegan with a headache who takes aspirin - none of these is a hypocrite.



I'm vegan; I owe my life to animal tested procedures and animal-tested drugs that contain animal by products. It doesn't make me any less a vegan, and it doesn't make me a hypocrite. Allowing cancer to spread through my body and ensure me a painful death would be reducing my contribution to animal suffering how, exactly?



I'm old enough to remember the terrible effects of some of the diseases that have been all but eradicated by vaccination. I'm willing to bet none of the vegan answerers here claiming they don't need vaccines because of their good health are.



And they probably don't realise how much they have to thank vaccinations for. They are relying on the herd immunity provided by the majority who have protected themselves and their children from potentially deadly diseases. As a medical professional YA contact of mine puts it: 'Ever seen a person who has been paralyzed by polio? No? You have vaccines to thank for that. Have you ever seen horrendous scarring as a result of smallpox? No? You have vaccines to thank for that too.'



I'm vegan to minimise my personal contribution to animal suffering. But I value human life - including my own (and yours) - way, way over animal life.



The word 'vegan' is not synonymous with the word 'martyr'.

Answer 2

For vaccines I make an exception. I know that vaccines contain things I am against, like egg and foetal tissue, but I live in a non-vegan, pro abortion world and I have no other alternative when it comes to keeping my family and the community safe from life threatening viruses. No amount of good diet or naturalistic medicine foolproofs someone from contracting a virus. Me and my daughter eat a very balanced vegan diet and at 18 months she is still breastfed but we still both catch colds sometimes. I agree wholeheartedly that vaccine ingredients need to be changed and made more ethical but for the time being there is no other option.

Answer 3

Wow, some people need to educate themselves before they start writing!



The flu vaccine has been exposed for the second year as being as about effective as taking Paracetamol.

Don't take my word for it, google it. So, why are the government still encouraging the public to have a shot? Because they've got a stockpile of it, never mind, their friends in the pharmaceutical industry have made a lot of money out of it!!!



I would not condemn anyone who vaccinates their child but I did not vaccinate mine, he's 21 now, and fit as a fiddle. Being vegan isn't just about eating vegetables, it is also about taking responsibility for your health. I would say that vegans are on the whole very healthy, because they DO CARE about what they eat.



It would be foolish to discourage anyone, including vegans from using conventional treatment because it was tested on animals, it is the law to test. However as an anti vivisection campaigner I would like more reliable methods of testing to be used to predict better outcomes for humans. Let's not forget that 9 out of 10 drugs that have been successful in animal tests fail miserably in human trials.



Vegans take the path of least harm, we know we are not perfect, who is?

We do the best we can in an imperfect world.

Answer 4

as people have posted before people are vegetarian for many different reason's IE health, beliefs etc. So to answer a question like yours you need to ask each veggie why they became veggie in the first. For example someone who became veggie for a health reason may not have an issue using animal products in other parts of their life's. I myself am a vegan and do not use or wear anything that has animal parts. There is however some things that are beyond my control e.g my car seats are made of leather however i can't afford to buy a new one,medicine is a big issue as well. my only problem with your issue is why you seem to relate vegetarians with plain people as you ask why Pam Anderson has tattoos, wears make up and has breast implants. You can get vegan make up and i think vegan tat ink, i don't know enough about silicone to comment but just because you choose to eat a certain way doesn't mean you can't look nice while doing it. ;). Blue sea i would think that killing a healthy living cow is inhumane in definition. I myself don't belive in killing whether it be human or animal.

Answer 5

The author of the question replied with

"I like your devotion to minimizing animal suffering, though I'm not sure I would consider you strictly vegan. My issue I guess, is when a vegan lectures me for eating local, free-range, organic chicken, and claim that they are completely anti animal products, and then go for their yearly flu shot."



Lets use numbers from 0 to 9 for harm caused. 0 being none and 9 be maximum. 9 would be something like factory farming and fur everyday.

So lets saw that that a vegan does not care about their health and is willing to forgo all modernity including vaccines they would get a 0.



You might get a 5 (assuming no fur) and the vegan in the example gets a 1.

Its ridiculous to think you can compare something as unnecessary as meat to something life saving like vaccines. There are no alternatives to vaccines other than risking your life, with meat however there many alternatives.

Answer 6

So some of you are saying it is okay for some vegans to get injected with something that contains DNA from an aborted fetuses (not 1 but 2 fetuses) some decades ago but not to drink milk or eat eggs? Doesn't make sense to me.



My opinion to the statement of "The Best Answer":

"Putting yourself at risk of deadly and preventable diseases is not reasonable or practical; it's psychotic. Leaving your children vulnerable to deadly and preventable diseases is wickedly, shamefully neglectful and abusive,"



What you said is so judgmental and disgusting. I am one of those mothers you call psychotic. I don't vaccinate my family. They are healthy - they eat mud, touch bugs, chase chickens, they have lots of friends everywhere they go (old or young, sick or not) and they of course get sick ( at least once a year for a duration of a week in an average). I don't vaccinate because I trust we are far more stronger than those viruses and illnesses because my family invest more on healthy diet and lifestyle, moral values and a home full of love and harmony. I would like to think we don't follow the mob who just do what everyone else is doing (who usually believe whatever they see from media without doing their own research). I question what I am told to do especially if it is questionable. I have my INSTINCT (natural or maternal instinct, whatever you wanna call it) and I use it well. I DECIDE. I am not a ROBOT. I KNOW I have the RIGHT to decide what is BEST for my family. It is MY life, MY family, NOT yours. NOT hers. MINE.



To judge, insult and degrade someone who is BRAVE enough to decide what is BEST for their family, to the best of their knowledge (and not due to peer pressure, media, and the trend) is.. is.. .. now that is what you can call psychotic.



Many of us are misinformed and been lied too. For most of us, it is way easier to just believe and do what we are asked to do rather than to ask questions and educate ourselves. I just hope these people won't learn things the hard way, like many parents did. Autism, SIDS, Diabetes, Allergies - with improved sanitation and healthcare and vaccines, why are there still a lot of diseases lurking around? And many more are being discovered. Is it just coincidence? I'd rather think not.



And why are vaccinating parents so worried and angry about unvaccinating parents? Aren't these vaccinating family "safe'" and "protected"? So what is there to worry about?



Why don't we just respect each other? What everybody need is RESPECT. Like I said, this is my life and my family. Not yours.



"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:2

Answer 7

Being a vegan isn't about being a martyr. It's about doing the best you can to reduce animal suffering.



Eating - easy, don't eat animal products

Personal Cleansing - easy, use vegetable oil based cleansing products

Make-up - use mineral makeup

Household Cleaning - vinegar and baking soda



It's not about being perfect. We still use computers, travel on roads, and eat food that was poisoned so an animal won't eat it before us (yes, even organic food, it's just the type of pesticide that was used is special). We don't live 100% cruelty free, us being alive does mean that something died (even to live in a house/apt). If you want 100% no suffering, then just off yourself right now.



It's about doing the best you can. No one is expected to be perfect. Dying from a preventable disease isn't going to help. It doesn't neglect the other times we don't use animals. When 94% of animal use is preventable (the other 6% due to medicinal uses), then why not do something about it, in your daily life?



Also, not having your kid vaccinated is child abuse. If you're not going to get vaccinated, you're not just endangering your kid, you're endangering the kid who legitimately couldn't get vaccinated because it didn't "take". You're a public health hazard.

Answer 8

Are Vaccines Vegan

Answer 9

Anon, I hate to break it to you, but humans are hypocrites. I'm guessing that you aren't perfect, either. I have never met a vegan that claims to be perfect.



No answer is going to satisfy you - if you just want to bash vegans, head over to a Fox News Ted Nugent forum and bash away.



Vegetarians and vegans control the things they can and work to be better people. Being a better person doesn't mean coming on to an anonymous website bashing others for doing their best to be good. In fact, it's the exact opposite.

Answer 10

I can't help what vaccinations I was given as a child when I had no say in it, but now I don't get vaccinations for anything. I don't believe in them. And as one poster has already stated, when you're eating a healthy vegan diet you don't need vaccinations because you simply don't get sick as much, and when you do it isn't as severe.



Contrary to what another poster said, no, not everyone is a hypocrite. ;)

Answer 11

Being a Vegan is about living well for a cause, not dying for some stupid reason like contracting a preventable disease.

Answer 12

My vegan diet protects me from getting sick; in fact, I haven't had a cold or even a cough in years since I became vegan. I have never received a vaccine in my entire life, even before I was vegan, and I've turned out fine. This question has NOTHING to do with food or drinks. Vegans are not here to amuse you. I don't like your pretentious attitude. It's ignorant and cruel. Why do you get to judge what other people do in their lives? Grow up, and focus on your own life, you scum.

Answer 13

They get vaccinated, just like the rest of us. You see them making a big deal out of buying makeup that's not tested on animals: "look at me, I'm cruelty free".



But when it comes to their own health, it's a different story. They are happy to use drugs that have been tested on animals and vaccine grown in chicken eggs.

Answer 14

No wonder certain vaccines can cause ADD. Thanks for letting me know that these come from animal products.