This is my granddaughter, Harper. She is one of three beautiful grandkids with a fourth on the way. My grand babies are one of the reasons I am so passionate about protecting our precious kids from the invisible predators that threaten to destroy them.

As I mentioned last Friday in the blog, VACCINATIONS—THE TRUTH ABOUT AUTISM AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, and on Monday in, WHY NOT VACCINATING MY CHILD PUTS YOURS AT RISK OF ILLNESS OR DEATH, immunizations are a hot topic. I definitely have my opinion, with which not everyone agrees.

My intent in writing those (and other medical) blogs on issues such as vaccinations is to provide evidence-based medical and scientific reasons for making an informed decision.

What I did not intend to convey was that if you don’t vaccinate your children, you are an ignorant parent, blindly following a popular fad.

As a family physician, my request is that you research the data, and not just Internet propaganda and horror stories. Many of the posts I have seen are comprised of unsubstantiated vaccination-related illnesses, and claims of direct correlations when no such correlations exist.

It is a challenge to separate truth from fiction because there is so much garbage from individuals who have no idea what they are talking about.

As parents, we have a responsibility to our children that goes far beyond a cavalier or fear based approach to vaccinations. We need to learn the facts, formulate an opinion, and know what to do as well informed citizens.

For those whom I offended in those articles, I am truly sorry. Again, that was not my intent. And I have received some very gracious opposing opinions from some of you both on the blog and in my email. I appreciate those very much.

To be clear, I don’t apologize for my medical recommendations regarding vaccinations. But I do apologize for offending some by failing to draw the distinction between responsible parenting and irresponsible, ignorant decision-making.

By the way, for the handful of readers who continue to refer to me as “The Beast” from a Biblical perspective, please refer to the Book of Revelation.

I assure you – when The Beast presents himself on this earth, you will have more to worry about than a doctor giving information on vaccinations that you disagree with.