find anything that undeniably linked
vaccines to health problems.
I live in a state that permits philosophical
exemptions, so my three children were
allowed to attend school unvaccinated. But
by the time my older kids were 9 and 6—
they’re now 15 and 12—they were totally
caught up on their shots. My 2-year-old
son has had every vaccine on time. I’m
really proud of that. And I’m finally one-
hundred-percent confident in my decisions
about immunizations.
“I LEARNED THAT
HERD IMMUNITY
CAN BE MORE
EFFECTIVE THAN
PRAYER AT
SAVING LIVES.”
JODI ROSE CRUMP, 47 | HERNDON, VIRGINIA
Mother and writer
I was raised as an ultraconservative
Christian Scientist, fourth generation.
One of the core beliefs I grew up with
These are the vaccines the CDC recommends
everyone get before age 18:- HepB (hepatitis B)
- RV (rotavirus)
- DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular
pertussis) - Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
- PCV13 (pneumococcal conjugate)
- IPV (inactivated poliovirus)
- Influenza (a.k.a. flu): Annually, ideally
by the end of October. - MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
- VAR (varicella, a.k.a. chicken pox)
- HepA (hepatitis A)
- MenACWY (meningococcal serogroups A,
C, W, and Y) - Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular
pertussis) - HPV (human papillomavirus)
- MenB (meningococcal serogroup B)
- PPSV23 (pneumococcal polysaccharide)
These shots are recommended for adults:- Influenza: Annually, ideally by the end
of October. - Tdap or Td (tetanus and diphtheria)
booster: Every ten years. Tdap is also
recommended during the third trimester
of each pregnancy. - MMR
- VAR
- RZV or ZVL (zoster, a.k.a. shingles):
Recommended for adults 50 and older. - HPV: People can benefit from the vaccine
up to age 26. - PCV13 and PPSV23: One dose of each is
recommended for adults 65 and older, at
least one year apart. - HepA
- HepB
- MenACWY
- MenB
- Hib
clicked: Most people had the shots, and
most people are fine. We will be, too.
Today I’m fully vaccinated, and my kids
are on track with their alternative schedules.
We even get flu shots—in the past, we were
always sick, but not anymore! And at the
start of the school year, I can confidently say,
“Yes, my children are protected.”is that you cannot mix medicine and prayer;
if you do, neither will work. And if you
take the prayer route—which you will—then
you can’t go to a doctor, take medicine,
or get vaccines because that would show
a lack of faith.
Like a lot of Christian Science kids, I
attended a summer camp in Missouri called
Cedars Camps. The year I was 16, we had
a bad measles outbreak, and all campers
had to be quarantined, sent home, or given
the measles shot. I wanted to take a stand
for Christian Science. I was like, “I haven’t
caught any of these horrible diseases—and
that’s because prayer works!” But my
parents said I had to follow the law and get
immunized. I’d never had anybody stick a
needle in me. I was scared. And being given
the shot against my will felt like a violation
of my beliefs. I was supposed to get a
follow-up shot, but I didn’t.
Almost three decades later, when I
was 42, my dad died of complications from
Parkinson’s, and people in the church
insinuated it was because he hadn’t read
enough Christian Science. Over the years,
I’d gradually developed misgivings about
not getting healthcare, and after losing
my dad, I had a crisis of faith. I connected
with some like-minded friends, and we
found a Facebook group for former
Christian Scientists. I began the slow
process of leaving the religion.
At that time, my kids were 12 and 9.
Every year we’d fill out the form for
religious exemptions from vaccinations.
But once I was no longer a Christian
Scientist, I felt like I couldn’t do that. I still
wasn’t convinced the shots were a good
idea, and I had fears about an autism
connection. Here’s the thing, though: My
younger son already had some emotional
processing issues, and prayer hadn’t
helped—in fact, addressing the issues in
public school is what really made a
difference for him.
My sister-in-law is a nurse who was
educated at Johns Hopkins. When I told
her how scared I was about the effect
vaccines might have on my kids, she told
me she was going to vaccinate her baby
when he was old enough. It’s safe for him, I
thought, so why not for my boys? My sister-in-
law was so kind and patient. She explained
that the vast majority of children in the U.S.
are vaccinated. I finally realized that herd
immunity is what had been protecting me
and other Christian Science kids—it wasn’t
the prayer effect, but the fact that people
in our town had been vaccinated and were
therefore unlikely to spread the illness. ItYOUR SHOT
CHEAT SHEET
@OPRAHMAGAZINESEPTEMBER (^201967)