I know this is a hot topic on another board I go to and I was clueless about it before I was PG. I have been getting Luke immunized on schedule so far but the one I am concerned about and considering not doing is the MMR, especially with it's possible relation to autism. Even my pediatrician was agreeing with me at my visit last week. But it's a topic that is very scary b/c there are risks either way if you do immunize or your don't immunize and I'm still weighing the facts on both sides. I'm not trying to scare anyone, just looking for some other information myself and passing along info for some who may not be familiar with the issues surrounding immunizations.
Claud - I KNOW you will have info on the topic!! You are a research person
NIHA
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
I haven't made any final decisions yet. I am going to interview some peds in the next couple of weeks and see what their opinions are. You're right, it's a very hot topic and I think both sides have good supportive information. As a public health professional, this is also a very difficult area for me. All of the health departments and govt. health agencies promote immunizations, but sometimes I don't trust the motives.
As of now, I am probably not going to vaccinate for Hepatitis or Chickenpox. I still have to research on the others. I would love to hear everyone's choices on this.
Elizabeth, what websites have you looked at for information?
kptoys
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
I have done A LOT of research on this before getting Emma her shots. Derek and I also considered not giving them to her (she didnt have her first shot till she was 4 months old). At first I didnt understand why we should be giving her shots for things that have a less than 1% chance of effecting her but then I think about all the people coming into the country from less industrialized nations and the sicknesses that they have there and my chance to prevent my child from getting them with vaccinations made my decision for me. Every time she gets a shot I get nervous until the waiting period is over and I know she is going to be just fine.
As with the MMR they are suggesting that babies dont get them between 12-15 months but get them between 15-18 months, your ped should know that and if he/she doesnt tell them its your wish. You have the control. Also with all the worries about DTaP you should know that it isnt the 1st,2nd or 3rd shot that causes most of the problems its the 4th... My ped. told me that its a personal choice to make. He advocates getting them but didnt pressure us at all. Just know that in NYS if you get one shot then you have to get them ALL. You cant select the ones you want to get. If you decide not to get any then you have to sign something saying that you are religously (or something) against them.
ALSO, babies born in 2002 or later MUST get the chickenpox vac. before entering any school. The bad part about that is they dont know how long the vaccine lasts. It could be 5 year or their whole lifetime. My fear (and what makes me mad!!!) is since they REQUIRE that kids get them and they dont know the durration of the vaccine what happens if in 20 years it wears off and Emma (and all the other babies that had the vac) gets chickenpox its going to be 100X worse than if she go the actual disease in her childhood. I think that vac. should be purly optional.
This is one of the first or many important decisions you have to make for you child. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. Like ask your ped. how many parents call after the shot with fevers, etc. and what are the sideeffects. Ask your ped. what kind of vac. he is using. My ped uses the mildest form of DTaP available. No mercury!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If ANYONE has any questions Ive probably asked them all. If you need anything just ask. I know what kind of nerve wracking experience this is
NIHA
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
Karen, are you sure about the chickenpox requirements before entering school? I've read on some discussion boards that this is not true and it's a myth that children HAVE to be vaccinated before entering school.
I think delaying the shots is a good option. When was Emma's first shot, and what was it?
kptoys
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
Niha - I was just told April 10th, 2003. That its the new requirement for chickenpox. In NYS kids have to have all their shots (22 of them) before they enter ANY school. The only way they get out of the shots before school is if they dont get any. Poor babies
I wanted to wait till her immune system was just a bit more mature before injecting her little body with diseases.
I cant remember off the top of my head and her book is in the car but I think her first shot was a Prevnar (very mild shot) and she got it in October (she was born 6/19). She tolerated it beautifully!!! No problems. It made me feel a lot better than if she got a vaccine and had a fever or some sort of reaction.
NIHA
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
I think it is possible to get a medical or religious waiver. I found this:
I agree this is a very hot topic - especially when it comes to the MMR vaccine. I spoke to my pediatrician about that shot in particular. Her opinion was that the signs of autism would tend to show up at around the same time as the shot is administered, which is why people are trying to draw a connection between the two. Her preference is to give the shot. And she has an autistic child. It is still my choice however, and I have been doing a lot of reading on the topic. Most other Moms I have spoken to feel the benefit outweights the risk, but I do have a friend who has been put on the wait list to get 3 separate shots for MMR, rather than the combo - but the wait list is years long - and you do need these to go to school in NYS. I think these are some very tough decisions to make. My DH believes in the vaccinations and has found me all kinds of studies to 'disprove' the autism connection with MMR in particular. I just feel so bad - it seems these infants get soooo many shots compared to what we had. This is a difficult topic, I think.
michele31
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
My nephew has autism and I still plan on vaccinating my child. I never thought for a minute not too. I agree with Lee's doctors that signs of autism BEGIN to show at the same time as the shot, which is why people assume it must have been the shot. Of course they could have a new study out at some point that says otherwise. I just could not live with myself if my child died or was serious ill because I chose NOT to immunize. But this is a very personal decision.
JennRenee
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
I am giving this TONS of thought. To add fuel to the fire on the autism front, a few years age I had a girl in my class who was a twin (I'll call her twin A). On the day of their doctor's visit to get the MMR, twin A was runniing a fever so she didn't get the shot (she received in several months later at their next well visit), and twin B was fine, so she received the MMR shot. Twin B is now autistic, and A is fine. I don't know for certain if there is a link, but her parents certainly think there is. I will be researching this HEAVILY for the next 6 months.
michele31
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
How do we explain Autism from 20-30 years ago then? It has been around for a long time, well before the shot. I can see a twin being sick, and another not, or one twin with a shutter and the other is fine. I just don't know. I wish the FDA would do a huge study and give us better answers.
KarenG
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Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
I needed to prove immunization before entering my MBA program. I am 33 and have obviously been accepted to many schools before now but this was the first time I didn't have access to my pediatrician's records to prove immunization. My current primary adminstered the tithe test.
All came back OK except I was a few tenths shy of the required amount for MMR...and they would not let me attend class with out it.
I never heard about the autism link before, but the MMR is a requirement before entering school and I'm not sure how you can get around it (I know I couldn't).
This are very tough decisions and I think you are a GREAT mom for taking the time to question and research!
Diane
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
This is a very hot topic too. Like Karne said....Your babies will eventually need these shots to enter school, so either way it will have to be done. I worked with autistic children for 3 years, and worked with a little boy...who mom thinks the shot had a big factor. But it is NOT proven. I believe it is also some link to the child's immune system. If you have ever worked with them....many of the children have allergies, and are sick very often.
I think it is a matter of time, but like Karen said there is NO WAY around it.
NIHA
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
For anyone who doesn't want to vaccinate, it is not true that the shots HAVE to be done before they enter school. You can get a medical or religious waiver, see my post above, or I'm sure you can find other sites that discuss your legal rights.
Lee
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
I just honestly think that not vaccinating is more dangerous. Granted, a lot of these diseases have been mostly eradicated, but how could I live with myself if my child caught something as mundane as measles from an unvaccinated child because my child was also unvaccinated and something terrible happened? While the autism link is a concern, I also am trying to be rational - comparing how many children are vaccinated versus how many children are autistic. I believe the rate would be fairly low, and again, unfortunately, there is no definitive proof of a link one way or the other. As I said earlier, this is a very personal, and tough, decision...
Diane
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
Lee I agree with you
Elizabeth
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It's so hard to know, I'm going to keep on researching. I agree that it's scary to not vaccinate but the controversy over some vaccinations is definitely enough to make me as a parent need to do alot more research. IMO, it can't be written off as not an issue. Also....I don't think they HAVE TO have the vaccinations to enter school. I think that you can somehow get around that if you want but I can't back that statement up with info, if I find out, I'll let you all know.
So much to think about!
kptoys
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
Elizabeth - Babies dont HAVE to have the shots to enter school BUT you must sign a waiver stating you have religious/moral objections to shots... this means your child can not have ANY vaccinations for ANYTHING!!! If you get one shot... you must continue getting the rest. This is what my ped. told me before we decided to give Emma her shots.
NIHA
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Re: Believe it or not, I just had another MMR shot
Karen, I read differently about not being able to get ANY if you get a waiver. You can also have a medical reason, and be selective about which shots you get. That's been my point in the last few posts, there are myths about HAVING to get vaccinations and most of us are unaware of it.
I can't say I know much about vaccinations (especially MMR) but I can tell you that my 6 year old nephew had the chicken pox vaccine as a baby and he just got over the chicken pox!
kptoys
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Re: Anyone not vaccinating or not going to?
Always a good site for info on baby health and such...
