The debate on vaccinations continues after the viewing of Vaxxed movie in Beaumont
BEAUMONT — Beaumont resident O.J Augustine is at the Sterling Pruitt Center to watch the documentary Vaxxed.
"Up until now, I thought it was the thing to do, to protect your kids,” said Augustine. “But if there is information out there that says it can be harmful, I want to look into that."
Dr. Akili Graham is showing the documentary about the dangers of vaccinations.
"Vaxxed is to educate people, so they can make an educated decision,” said Dr. Graham. “You don't have to do things because everybody else is doing it, you don't have to do it because a doctor is trying to pressure you to do it."
The family medicine doctor says it wasn't until hearing mother's stories about how immunizations affected their children.
"She said, I believed my daughter developed type one diabetes after immunization,” said Dr. Graham. “Of course I didn't believe her. I haven't read anything like that in any medical book, never heard anything like that from anybody that I studied with or a person that mentored me."
Dr. Graham says he started researching.
"There is no study that I’ve ever seen that proves vaccination have done anything that we as a medical society clams," said Dr. Graham.
Pediatrician Dr. Ramona Ataya-Dakour says otherwise.
"They have been proven effective and safe. There is no reason why your child shouldn't be vaccinated unless you have some type of medical condition to that keeps you from being vaccinated," said Dr. Ataya-Dakour.
She says the side effects, if any, are minimal.
"The few side effects that you can get from the vaccinations are minimal compared to the actually disease that can kill your child,” said Dr. Ataya-Dakour.
Dr. Graham says all he wants, is for people to be informed and to make their own decisions.
"I’m not trying to make up anybody's mind for them, I want to introduce information," said Dr. Graham.
