Doctor's visit -- time for vaccines!
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, January 8, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg is setting an example of being a responsible parent with his latest photo of 1-month-old daughter Max.
The 31-year-old Facebook CEO posted on the social network on Friday a picture of him taking his baby girl to the pediatrician to get vaccinated. The child looks adorable and cozy in a Patagonia wind and water-resistant quilted and insulated zip-up onesie.
"Doctor's visit—time for vaccines!" he wrote.
Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan, 30, announced their daughter's arrival on Dec. 1. Max is the couple's first child.
The U.S. government recommends people receive vaccines at childhood and many child care facilities, schools and colleges maintain lists of the types required from all applicants. Exemptions may be granted for religious, philosophical or medical purposes. Some people cannot get vaccinated due to compromised immune systems.
A 2013 outbreak of measles in California renewed a national debate about vaccines and boosted awareness of an anti-vaccination movement, whose supporters believe they are harmful and could even cause lifelong ailments such as autism. The CDC denies this and says while vaccines can cause side effects, they are mild and short-lasting. Health officials have warned of the health risks for people who skip immunizations by choice, as well as the potential danger they pose for others.
While the response to Zuckerberg's photo has been overwhelmingly positive, not every reader was happy.
"Why would you subject your wee little one to vaccines?!?" one person wrote. "I know your wife is a pediatrician but did you do your research on vaccines? I've seen, firsthand the results of vaccines and it isn't worth it! Btw, I'm a retired R.N."
Many people praised Zuckerberg's actions and even thanked him.
"As someone with autism, with a son with autism, as someone who is constantly watching good people put their own children at serious risk because of old, fraudulent fears of vaccines and autism...thank you for being sensible," one person wrote to Zuckerberg on Facebook. "Thank you for doing what's right and also for showing everyone else that it's the right thing to do as well."
"Thanks for being a responsible and informed parent," another person said. "You are protecting your child and many others by giving her these. It is hard to see your child given a shot, but much harder to see your child sick from a very preventable disease."