a cautious yay

As you indicate, it becomes an issue of social responsibility.  Now, if there were uncontrovertable proof that vaccinations cause harm, then perhaps the individual liberty (to refrain from getting a vaccination) would outweigh the social responsibility.  I've read the Robert Kennedy autism reports (and other literature), and I don't find them to be compelling enough.

Now that said, my infant got sick for about 2 weeks after his last round of shots, including swelling, a high fever and a raised red rash all over his body. So it's not like I don't question the wisdom of my judgement.

We decided to vaccinate our baby.  In part, because we travel overseas a couple of times a year.  Also, the social responsibility issue.  Our main concern about vaccinating was the possible presence of mercury, but we learned that mercury is now prohibited for use in vaccines in our state (California).  

Good points, Jane.

One thing I didn't mention but perhaps should have was that I believe you can mitigate some of the immunization's effects by having them administered singly if possible.  Problem is, many people can't afford this option.  And I think there's merit at times in waiting, too: my 3-year old was quite frail medically in his first year and I couldn't stomach the thought of taxing his system more (and instead hoped he wouldn't contract an illness that would further compromise his immune system), but now at almost 4 he's pretty robust.

I'm still working this one out and haven't got anything in black and white.

We decided to vaccinate our baby.  In part, because we travel overseas a couple of times a year.  Also, the social responsibility issue.  Our main concern about vaccinating was the possible presence of mercury, but we learned that mercury is now prohibited for use in vaccines in our state (California).  

We're working this out now for the baby. In my other life I have worked with clients who have had documented adverse effects from a vaccination, so I know they do happen, and it's difficult to weigh those cases against the social contract. It's *SO HARD* to find decent unbiased information, everything seems geared to "have the vaccinations or you will kill your baby" or "do not have the vaccinations or you will kill your baby" Sigh. So extreme on both sides.

As it worked out we moved right before baby's 2 month check up, and didn't get his insurance card till his 3 month bday so we will start the whole vaccination thing on his 4 month bday. We decided against the HepB vac series for now b/c we've both had the HepB vac ourselves and felt we could safely reduce his risk of starting an IV drug habit till at least Kindergarten (:)). I do think we will do DTaP separate from the rest (alternating Hib and PCV on the even months and DTaP on the odd months) because I remember getting the tetanus boosters and dude, those suckers HURT.

We start the shots on the 28th, looking forward to reading the comments to get a feel for the opinions out there.

Ok, am I the only mom that just blindly accepted the vaccine schedule?  I didn't do any research, didn't know anyone that delayed or went the the no-vax route.  I didn't even hear of people not vaccinating their kids until well after my son's 1st birthday (and after many rounds of vaccines).  

We do have an immuno-compromised family member, so we've been really careful ensuring we are all up to date on vaccines - including the flu shot.  

This is one issue where I think it will never be black or white in our lifetimes. I'm totally for vaccinating kids as the good so far outweighs the bad. And so far our experiences with our 17 month old have been good with vaccinations with no major reactions worth noting.

But I am always concerned that medical science has a lot more learning to do before these choices will no longer be fraught with uncertainty. We still seem to know so little about babies' fragile little systems and how they develop that I can't help but think that maybe we jump to vaccinate on some issues too early.

Here's hoping everything goes well with your brood's immunizations, Karen. And hopefully you won't get too much smug 'Well, about time!' or 'Oh my god, what's wrong with you?' responses from the different parties on your decision.

When I was pregnant with my second, I visited a friend whose daughter started coughing the day we were there.  Turned out she had whooping cough, and the outbreak was traced back to an unvaccinated child in her neighborhood.  The risk to my unborn baby was high, and I was beyond pissed that it could have been prevented in the first place.

My son did have a reaction to a vaccine once, and our pediatrician had to document it.  It had been so long since she had a patient with a reaction, they didn't even know where the paperwork was.

Serious diseases have been eliminated from the face of the planet thanks to vaccines.  Do we really want to see polio in this country again?

We plan on sending our kids to school, and all vaccines are required in this state, so even if I had conflicting feelings on it, we don't have a choice.  I will not homeschool.

Asd for autism, the additives that have been blamed for autism were eliminated in Europe and autism rates in Europe have continued to rise.

In population vs. scientific community terms vaccination is sort of the medical equivalent of global climate change.  The population is going to believe what they're going to believe no matter what the scientific community says.  Never mind that for both climate change and vaccination there is overwhelming scientific support.  In not so polite terms, if you choose not to vaccinate your child, in some ways, you're choosing to be a little like Dick Cheney.

We're expecting our first in November, and I'm still not sure about the vaccinations. I wouldn't have a problem with it except that they start so early with them, and give so many at once. In the end, we'll probably vaccinate because neither of our families has any history of negative reactions to them.

I would say, however, that unvaccinated kids can go to public school--all states have exemptions.

Also, I agree that vaccines have been a public health tool, and I don't want to see the return of polio. But where does it end? Do we need to vaccinate against every childhood disease (e.g., chicken pox, measles, etc)? do we need to vaccinate against HPV? are we accepting these vaccines simply because the pharmaceutical companies have spent billions on R&D for them and they now have to turn a profit? at what cost?  We've all heard that the prevalence of anti-bacterial products is allowing bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. I just wonder what the increased usage of vaccines is going to do to our collective immune systems in the long-term.

I think it's good to be cautious and to question what your child is being injected with.

I had a (childless) friend giving me grief about trusting my doctor and allowing my girl to be vaccinated. We decided to do so because a) we weren't impressed with the "con" literature that we found, b) social responsibility--not necessarily in that order. But when my daughter had a bad reaction to the second of three Rototec (sp?) vaccines, and my doctor said "No more!" and sent letters to the manufacturers and notified all the other doctors in her practice, I realized that I DO trust my doctor. In my daughter's case, she proved that she deserved it. Now, when my friend says that I shouldn't trust the medical establishment, I just tell her that maybe she needs to find a doc she *can* trust.

Of course I vaccinate my child, no question about it.  I also do not find the research suggesting a link between the MMR vaccination and autism to be compelling, and my own knowledge of statistics informs me that the benefits of vaccinating your child far outweigh its risks.  Parents who vaccinate their children have made it possible for previously deadly diseases to be eradicated in their community, but social responsibility aside, knowing that my daughter's vaccines are up-to-date gives me a peace of mind whenever we find ourselves in a crowded hospital or subway car.  As far as vaccination side-effects are concerned, I would much rather deal with having my child develop some soreness or even a treatable fever than a potentially deadly disease.  Finally, keeping your children from being immunized prevents them from partaking in a lot of activities, such as going to public and most private schools, traveling abroad, and working in hospitals, daycares, and other institutions geared towards providing social services.  I do not believe the Medical establishment and Public Health Officials are not trying to dupe us into doing something that is harmful to our children and community.  Although their record may not be perfect (because nothing involving humans ever is), they do use research to develop their guidelines for best practices.  I'm happy, Karen, to see that you finally came around to immunizing your children.

Due to a family history (ok, one cousin) of adverse reactions to vaccines, we decided to be cautious with our son and have each vaccine administered separately (meaning only 1 shot per visit, though we did not separate the multi-shots (for example MMR)) at least 4 weeks (if not more) apart, which meant many, many visits to the doctor over the last 2 years.  I also check the VAERS database with the lot numbers from my doctor to ensure that we are not getting a bad batch.

Our insurance covered all of these visits up until the last one, when they decided they would only pay for each official well baby visit and no separate visits for vaccines.  That means if we are ever blessed with a second child, we will have a very expensive two years, but we will still keep that schedule.  My son developed a fever after every shot (even though there is only a 1 in 100 chance of that) and after the MMR he developed what looked very much like the measles and had a fever for 5 days.  Though the doctor assumed since our son survived the shots we'd be willing to combine the next time, my husband and I agree that given our son's reactions, we'd go ahead and separate them again and just max out our flexible spending accounts.

After a lot of scary research before my son was born, we decided to follow the tips in "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, Deborah Mitchell.  I highly recommend this book as it is pro-vaccine but has great advice on how to make vaccinating your children safer.

Anyone ever see a four year old with meningitis? I have. Vaccinate? Hell, I'd irradiate my kid if it helped.

My son's ped recommends against separating vaccines, as she believes it increases the likelyhood of strong reactions - when you combine, the body is using its resources to fight off multiple bugs at a time, and spreading it all out. when you do one at a time, it means your body is attacking the one virus at once, possibly causing a bigger reaction.

So we're on the normal schedule, and so far so good. We believe in the social responsibility paradigm, as well as the fact that the chances of a reaction are much smaller and not nearly as severe as getting the disease itself, even so-called mild illnesses as chicken pox....

With no adverse reactions on either side of the family, we had no hesitation in vaccinating our children, and to date have had no adverse reactions apart from soreness for a couple of days.

Having a brother with HepB and who knows what else from his youth, I decided that it was well worth the risk. As it is my children have very healthy immune systems, if they didn't I would probably have thought about it a bit more carefully.

Just for the record, the authors of the MMR/autism study withdrew their findings a couple years ago!  And the exemptions that exist in all states are supposed to be strictly for medical or religious reasons.  Massachusetts (where we live) has a curiously high number of medical expemtions this year, despite a declining number of people who attend church.  Fishy? I think so!

I was going to make a comment, but Bean's Mom already said what I was going to say. Of course we're vaccinating our daughter. As responsible adults, we have a social responsibility to do this. Moreover, I feel much safer having her out and about knowing that she is protected from the myriad of diseases that, only decades ago, were quite common and rather deadly (especially since I live within a stone's throw of Boulder, CO).

I'm for education and deciding what's right for your family.

That being said, we don't vaccinate.  My responsibility is to my children, because society sure as hell won't do a thing for them if they are harmed by a vaccine.

Turns out, my instincts were right on--my son has anaphylactic allergies to eggs.  Had he been vaccinated as an infant....::Shudder::  Not to mention the mercury, aborted fetal tissue, etc, that is in shots.  The forms never tell you that stuff (so how can it truly be informed consent?)

Unfortunately, our daughter was vaxxed for CP, and now that it's been proven it wears off, she'll either have to get wild CP, or have boosters for life @@.

Angel, my son has egg allergy, but at my allergist's recommendation, we got him vaccinated anyway (except flu).  He was fine.  We kept him under observation at the doctor's office for a while after the vaccination to make sure he was okay.  No problems. It's a personal decision, but I wouldn't discount vaccination just because of egg allergy, unless your allergist says you should.

And for the record, if you nursed your son, he got exposed anyway, unless you don't eat eggs.

The only vaccination that Cara hasn't gotten thus far is RotaTeq for Rotavirus.

After the FDA released a notice concerning possible links between RotaTeq and intestinal intussusception, we decided that we didn't want to risk it.  

I read the Merck proposal to the FDA when Merck was trying to get the vaccine approved and though the risk is small, it is documented.

I think that before anyone decides for or against vaccinating their children, they should do their research.

In most cases, there is sound, medical proof that vaccines are necessary.  However, in a few instances, the vaccine can be worse than the disease.

You know, I am impressed (but not surprised) with the number and level of thoughtful responses here.  I wish more parents were as well-informed as you are.  Thanks, all of you, for adding your viewpoint and knowledge!

We vaccinated but held off on the recommended schedule. We chose to wait a little longer to allow for his immune system to develop and fight any side effects, but not to separate out the combination shots. I am glad that we did not separate the combos b/c it would have been far too many shots for our child to endure. I think my only regret on waiting is that we could have completed some rounds before he was really aware of what was happening and instead, we were in the thick of it as his awareness grew but he didn't have the logic and reason! He's a real fighter when it comes to shots. He's the kid that the nurse was asking to stop kicking and screaming and I had to hold him down with all my might-- sheer torture for both of us, really!

I'm old enough to remember when the only vaccination was smallpox.  I was in the very first group of kids to be vaccinated for polio--the shots, not the oral vaccine.

People have forgotten how many kids died of those childhood diseases--I had measles and was sick for a month!  A lot of those diseases are killers, even chicken pox.  Children with asthma can die of chicken pox and more and more kids have asthma these days.

As I read the comments above, I have found that this is a support forum of parents who happily vaccinate their children without really knowing what is in the vaccines.  If at your next visit, you ask your doctor to give you sample of the vaccine they are about to inject in your child, and you take that to a lab for analysis you may be surprised if not shocked of the results.

If the average American were aware of the common components of vaccines, they may think twice before considering them. Now they have replaced mercury with equally damaging toxins, aluminum and formaldehyde. But the list of vaccine fillers doesn't end there. Here is a partial list of some of the other fillers that vaccines could contain:

formaldehyde, the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, aluminum phosphate (toxic and carcinogenic), antibiotics, phenols (corrosive to skin and toxic), live viruses, aluminum hydroxide

animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain, dog kidney, monkey kidney, chick embryo, human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)

monosodium glutamate (MSG)

phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)

sorbitol

sucrose etc.

These additives are often more dangerous than the viral component of the vaccine.

Many parents here in this forum would pick the side-effects of vaccinations over risk of the potential danger of getting the disease.  But none of you said you would rather have an autistic child for life than a month of chicken pox.

Before you decide to vaccinate your children, do them a favor and look into the many risks and side effects associated with common childhood vaccines. Doing so could mean the difference between life and death.

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So, there's a couple posts on the CDC's study of thimerosal exposures and neuropsychological outcomes--related perhaps to the issue of whether vaccines caused autism, ADHD, and other disorders. One post says the study results indicate a relationship

Parents of about 2300 Maryland schoolkids face fines and possible jail time if they fail to show up to court tomorrow because they have failed to vaccinate their kids . The kids themselves will have to witness their parents being lectured to/yelled at