People who get their children vaccinated are “sheeples” who follow the flock.

That’s the belief of one parent who hasn’t inoculated her kids against diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella. Her opponents call her a lunatic.

The vaccination debate is boiling hot since reports of a possible measles case in Bermuda.

Parents who have refused to vaccinate cite fears of autism, learning disabilities and seizures.

Government child health coordinator Lynn Jackson said the risks are too serious to take lightly. Side effects include hearing and vision loss, brain inflammation and, in some cases, death.

One mother said her son suffered seizures after he was vaccinated.

“I blindly followed our paediatrician’s advice when my baby was born and vaccinated, and was not even given the handout to explain possible side effects or reactions,” she said, asking that we don’t publish her name. “My son was seizing for two weeks before a friend of mine even made the connection between the seizures and his vaccinations.”

Her baby’s paediatrician was dismissive so she changed doctors. The new one took the situation seriously, and was able to isolate the whooping cough vaccine as the cause. When it came time for her son’s boosters, the new doctor omitted the whooping cough portion. If she were to do it again, the mother said she wouldn’t vaccinate.

Sylvanus Nawab, of Edgewood Pediatrics, said that the most common reaction to childhood vaccinations is a slight fever and rash.

“There is no scientific proof that the vaccinations cause autism, as some people have suggested,” said Dr Nawab. “I have never seen a child have the vaccine and then have a severe reaction. The new modern vaccines are so good, and so much better than those made in the 1950s and 1960s.”

He said if a child has a seizure, they may have already been ill, or had a history of seizures prior to vaccination.

“A child who is unwell should not receive a vaccination at that time,” he said.

Another mother, who also didn’t want to be named, decided not to vaccinate her daughter because she had seizures while still an infant.

“I did the research, and some of the vaccines come with a warning that a child who has seizures should not have the vaccine.

“I am not against vaccination,” she said. “It just wasn’t right for us.”

One woman accused the medical community of using the vaccines to grow wealthy.

Ms Jackson quickly refuted this.

“If your child has their full series of vaccinations, it costs less than $200,” she said. “A $200 investment for your child to avoid 11 different diseases is money well spent.”

She said Bermuda could not afford to become complacent.

“These diseases are just a plane journey away. In our global climate they can, and have, re-emerged in certain jurisdictions. We want to protect the community.”

In the 1960s and 1970s measles, mumps and rubella outbreaks were common. Some people had mild symptoms. Others lost their hearing and vision and suffered brain damage.

Ms Jackson said many who attended the old Friendship Vale School for children with special needs were there because their mothers contracted rubella during pregnancy.

This was the case for Ellen Brown’s mother, Ann, in 1956.

“I was born very sick with cerebral palsy, and hearing difficulties,” said Ms Brown. Doctors predicted her demise.

“They told my mother to get pregnant again right away because I wouldn’t live,” she said. “My sister Melissa was born 11 months after I was. We were Irish twins. But I surprised the doctors, because here I still am.”

She believes children should be vaccinated.

“Funny enough, I just came from getting the flu vaccine and a tetanus shot,” said Ms Brown. “I understand that some parents are hesitant about childhood vaccines, but given what happened to my mother and myself, I am for them.”

Seven per cent of Bermuda’s population is not vaccinated.

“At the moment, those who are not vaccinated are protected by the greater community,” said Ms Jackson. “If fewer people are vaccinated, the community provides less protection.”

She said there are several reasons to vaccinate.

“The first reason is to protect individuals from disease, disability and death,” she said.

“In some instances, it is to protect those around you. Some vaccines that children have reduce the carriage of that illness for others such as the elderly. Vaccinations also protect you from contracting diseases when you travel. If you visit a place where many people haven’t access to vaccinations, it may prevent you from carrying diseases to vulnerable populations.”