Vaccinations for your kids

[mackbamf]

So my wife and I have a little girl that is almost four months old now and we are having a discussion regarding vaccinations. My wife is very health conscious, she prefers a mostly all organic diet, avoids sugar, caffeine, artificial food dyes, flavors, preservatives, etc. I have a lot of respect for how regimented she is in her diet and how much she values her health. She also feels strongly that vaccinations have serious health risks for your kids, that they contains substances (such as mercury and aluminum) which can cause heath issues down the road. She is leaning towards not wanting to give our daughter any immunization shots. I on the other hand feel that not vaccinating the baby would be a bad idea and that we would be exposing her to some un-necessary dangers. I have done some research online to read about the pro's and con's of each side, it is pretty hard to determine what is a non-biased opinion. There is a growing movement of people who are really against the vaccinations and there is a lot of conflicting information out there on it. One side says that vaccinations are linked to Autism rates, then there are multiple studies saying that has been scientifically disproven. I think it is mostly a no brainer to get most all of the vaccinations and skipping them just puts her and others at a higher risk.

This is a tough one in that my wife and I are both on opposite ends of the discussion. She wants me to be open minded about it, which I am trying, but so far I can't find risks that would outweigh the benefits of getting the shots. Have any of you not vaccinated your kids? If so I would love to hear some reasons that you didn't.

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

I won't give my opinion one or the other. But have you found a daycare provider that will accept your kid without vaccines yet?

[Teufelhund]

My wife has a Master's in human development and early childhood disorders (everything I know on this subject I learn from her). We have a 3-month old (our first) and have talked at length about this subject. The autism argument has no basis in reality; don't base your decision on fear-mongering. There are several childhood afflictions that were nearly eliminated and are now staging a comeback due to people not vaccinating their kids, such as polio. We allowed our little one to be vaccinated, but not for everything based on what we think is reasonable. We think it highly unlikely he's going to be exposed to hep b, for instance.

[sniper7]

I have a 2 year old and it is best to have them vaccinated. The only thing I disagree with is the flu. Total bullshit shot.

[Snowman78]

I won't give my opinion one or the other. But have you found a daycare provider that will accept your kid without vaccines yet?

Or a School that will take them.

[Snowman78]

My wife has a Master's in human development and early childhood disorders (everything I know on this subject I learn from her). We have a 3-month old (our first) and have talked at length about this subject. The autism argument has no basis in reality; don't base your decision on fear-mongering. There are several childhood afflictions that were nearly eliminated and are now staging a comeback due to people not vaccinating their kids, such as polio. We allowed our little one to be vaccinated, but not for everything based on what we think is reasonable. We think it highly unlikely he's going to be exposed to hep b, for instance.

My wife is also very educated
about this and I have talked to 2 different Doc about this, bottom line we
vaccinated all 3 of our kids (with no regrets).

[rbeau30]

HB1288 is going through the hurdles right now.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/03/14/controversial-vaccine-bill-clears-first-hurdle-in-colorado-house/

Here is the bill:
http://legiscan.com/CO/text/HB1288/id/964923

[clodhopper]

Another option. You don't have to get the vaccinations in the complexes they are typically administered. You can, if you want, get them separated. Sure, there will be more fees as there will be more doc visits, but you can do this. It will allow you to get only certain ones as some people see value in some but not others. The other benefit is the tax on your daughter's system, spreads out the side effects or the toxins (if you see it that way).

I don't really know if there is a significant benefit to spreading out the shots, but it is an option most people aren't aware of.



The other way to look at it is to tell the doc "Hit it, then do it again. I ain't raising no weenie kid and if she can't handle a measly shot, life will be just too hard. My family genes is tough as month stale jerky."

[Tinelement]

My boy will be 4 on Tuesday, my girl will be 2 on 4/23.

Both vaccinated.

[stenz]

If you want your child to get polio, mmr, and a slough of other diseases don't vaccinate them. Millions of children have been vaccinated around the world for decades and 99% of them turn out just fine.

In my opinion do the right thing for your child and vaccinate them. (I have two healthy vaccinated boys ).

[Jesus-With-A-.45]

My wife is a Speech Language Pathologist(SLP) with an emphasis in elementary level childhood education, she works with developmentally disabled & autistic children in the Douglas County school district.

We have 4 children........all 4 have been fully vaccinated.

[Delfuego]

I on the other hand feel that not vaccinating the baby would be a bad idea and that we would be exposing her to some un-necessary dangers.And my kids, your neighbors kids, parents and especially old people.

Not vaccinating your children effects everyone not just them. It will allow these once eradicated disease to return. Polio, Whooping Cough, Measles, Etc are not to be taken lightly. These "were" horrific diseases that have been all but eradicated in modern society because of mandatory vaccinations. This is about heath, all of our health, mine is no more or less important than yours.

I understand the fear and wanting to protect you children. I believe that not vaccinating kids is selfish parenting. The Opt-Out has been taken to far and will come back to haunt us. This is not specifically directed as an attack toward you or your wife, but is just my opinion.

[cstone]

Your child, your decision.

I think you realize that your hurdle is with your wife, not with the issue of vaccinations. Finding a source of information, medical care provider, medical text, or website, that both of you can agree to as a good source of sound information to help you settle your differences would be important.

Please don't answer this question here, but do you have a set way of settling disputes? When there are two people in a relationship and there is a dispute, you inevitably will find yourself in a tie over many issues. How the two of you resolve those ties will go along way to defining your marriage. I would advise you to make great efforts to insuring that both of you are heard and that neither of you feel steam rolled by the other.

Good luck and God's blessings on you and your family.

[Rucker61]

Vaccinate.

http://fooyoh.com/geekapolis_gadgets_camcorders/9889190/angry-scientist-posts-epic-response-to-anti-vaccine-momvocate

[sniper7]

Also do some research or have your wife do research on death rates in countries without vaccinations. Take a look at the gates foundation, responsible for saving millions of lives due to vaccinations

[Jamnanc]

There are some of the optional vaccinations that we chose not to get for our kids. I suggest you look at the risk reward ratio for each vaccination.

[asmo]

I want to answer - but everything I keep writing comes off VERY BAD in a ends up as a rant..

Short answer: Vaccinate.

[mcjhr]

I've got 3 kids. All non vaccinated until age 1. My babies momma and I read the Dr. Sears book. Not a bad read. We non vaccinated until age 1. And we take a delayed vaccination schedule. 5yr old and twins that are 3. All healthy as horses.

My babies momma works at a children's hospital and the word on the street is pertussis is making a comeback in Denver.

I'd reccomend what we did. But all 3 were breastfeed and no strangers touched them and they were never put in restaurant booster seats or shopping carts.

Id recommend the Dr Sears book. It even has vacc plans laid out.

Congratulations! Kids are awesome!

[Scanker19]

My kids are vaccinated. However the nano machines in one of the vaccines completely took over my oldest and now is a manchurian candidate style assassin. But at least she doesn't have polio.

[ruthabagah]

Vaccinate: the whole "vaccination is bad" drama has been pushed to the media by religious interest. My wife was the PR for them until she realized it was BS and dropped them as a customer.

[merl]

Vaccinate: the whole "vaccination is bad" drama has been pushed to the media by religious interest. My wife was the PR for them until she realized it was BS and dropped them as a customer.

There is also the completely discredited study linking vaccines & autism that eventually the researcher admitted was a hoax.
Get the vaccines, it surprises me this is still discussed. There is a risk, every shot has some risk, but the benefit of never being able to get that disease outweighs it.

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

My kids are vaccinated. However the nano machines in one of the vaccines completely took over my oldest and now is a manchurian candidate style assassin. But at least she doesn't have polio.

This is the funniest shit I've read today.

[68Charger]

HB1288 is going through the hurdles right now.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/03/14/controversial-vaccine-bill-clears-first-hurdle-in-colorado-house/

Here is the bill:
http://legiscan.com/CO/text/HB1288/id/964923

Yeah, everybody here believes the Colorado legislature has all of our best interests in mind... [facepalm]

I've got 3 kids. All non vaccinated until age 1. My babies momma and I read the Dr. Sears book. Not a bad read. We non vaccinated until age 1. And we take a delayed vaccination schedule. 5yr old and twins that are 3. All healthy as horses.

My babies momma works at a children's hospital and the word on the street is pertussis is making a comeback in Denver.

I'd reccomend what we did. But all 3 were breastfeed and no strangers touched them and they were never put in restaurant booster seats or shopping carts.

Id recommend the Dr Sears book. It even has vacc plans laid out.

Congratulations! Kids are awesome!

^^^^ IMHO, Probably the best answer here... we have a very similar experience- ask your doctor about risks of each vaccination, they all come with lists of side affects much like meds do.

Did you know that you can't sue vaccination providers if there turns out to be live virus (or worse) in the vaccine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine_court
(I know it's wikipedia- but that page has lots of references)

Also, don't vaccinate someone who is already sick- wait for them to get better before adding that to them (you will find this in the fine print of some vaccines)


Yeah, MMR doesn't "cause" autism... but it can "result" in it... they did see fit to find in this child's favor:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-to-receive-15m-plus-in-first-ever-vaccine-autism-court-award/

The cases are rare, but denying they exist erodes credibility of the industry (and it's a multi-Billion dollar industry)

Frankly, I think that reality and the best course of action is somewhere down the middle of these 2 groups- not vaccinating at all is dangerous, but pumping a newborn full of chemicals and dead organisms doesn't seem very good to me either.

[rbeau30]

Yeah, everybody here believes the Colorado legislature has all of our best interests in mind... [facepalm]




Didn't mean it that way... Just that the legislature is taking a little bit more of the parenting choices away from us every day. If it was up to all of them, they would make all the parenting decisions for us and legislate our choices for us.

[mackbamf]

Your child, your decision.

I think you realize that your hurdle is with your wife, not with the issue of vaccinations. Finding a source of information, medical care provider, medical text, or website, that both of you can agree to as a good source of sound information to help you settle your differences would be important.

Please don't answer this question here, but do you have a set way of settling disputes? When there are two people in a relationship and there is a dispute, you inevitably will find yourself in a tie over many issues. How the two of you resolve those ties will go along way to defining your marriage. I would advise you to make great efforts to insuring that both of you are heard and that neither of you feel steam rolled by the other.

Good luck and God's blessings on you and your family.

You are absolutely right. I am all for the vaccinations, granted there may be a couple that I could see holding off on or not doing, but I feel that it is definitely the right thing to do. I have two boys from a previous marriage and they a both fully vaccinated and am assuming she ultimately will be as well. She has also been asking her own circles and it seems that most all the responses that she is receiving is also telling her to have them administered. We do pretty well in conflict resolution, this one makes me nervous because at this point we both feel strongly at each side of the issue, both of us feeling that it is a health issue. I ultimately think she will come around, I envision possibly some type of modified/delayed version.

[mackbamf]

Or a School that will take them.

From what I have read Colorado is actually a state that gives you the option and will allow them into public schools without them...

[Snowman78]

I had also thought that, however my son will be going to middle school next year and we went to the info night they said if a student is not current on shots the school will not accept the student.

[Irving]

There is a small risk that a seat belt will cause more harm than help in certain kinds of accidents. Ask your wife if she wants to start leaving the baby unbuckled in the car as well.

[JohnnyEgo]

My wife was a former Jehovah's Witness, and still has some legacy nuttiness associated with them, despite being a.) highly educated and b.) a former elementary school teacher who has seen first-hand how classrooms are essentially bio-terror labs.

We have a fairly equal, contemporary relationship where we try to compromise when possible. There was no compromise here. I got my kid vaccinated.
Perhaps this is horrible advice, but sometimes you have to put your foot down and do what is in the best interest of the child over the objections of your spouse.

[davsel]

I guess I'm the odd man out in this discussion.
We did not vaccinate our daughter until she was 5. Then we only gave her one chosen vaccination every 3 months.
She was in daycare at 3 and the provider had to notify the other parents and display a memo that said there was an unvaccinated child in the house.
She was one of a few unvaccinated kids in Kindergarten.
Only one pediatrician at Peterson AFB gave us a lecture, the rest were ok.

I am not against all vaccinations.
I do not believe they should be given to newborn babies with still developing immune systems.
I do not believe they should be given as a multiple vaccine in a single dose.
I do not believe the carriers for the vaccines are proven safe.

I believe Govt vaccination programs are more interested in the collective rather than the individual - fair enough - my priorities differ.
I believe Pharmacies/Med Community are primarily interested in the money.

Do your research on the interwebs and make your own decision. Good luck, because there is a lot of BS on both sides.

My daughter is now 9 and is as smart and healthy as can be.

Best of luck.

[Justin]

She also feels strongly that vaccinations have serious health risks for your kids,

Your wife is wrong, and her disapproval of vaccinations not only puts your kid at risk, but other kids as well.

Were you my neighbor, I wouldn't allow my kid to play with your kid.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/13/thanks-anti-vaxxers-you-just-brought-back-measles-in-nyc.html

[Justin]

I do not believe they should be given to newborn babies with still developing immune systems.

And what are your qualifications to make such a statement? Are you a doctor? A researcher in immunology or epidemiology? Has your research, experimentation, or whitepapers been published in any peer-reviewed journals? Can you point to anything that makes you a subject matter expert in the field that should cause me to doubt the prevailing wisdom that vaccinations are good?


I do not believe they should be given as a multiple vaccine in a single dose.

Again, what expertise do you have in the field? Are you a pediatrician? A pharmacist? A doctor of any sort?


I do not believe the carriers for the vaccines are proven safe.

What evidence do you have? Do you have the proper credentials, training, or background to interpret the data?


I believe Govt vaccination programs are more interested in the collective rather than the individual - fair enough - my priorities differ.

Once vaccinations hit a certain percentage of people who've been vaccinated, then herd immunity kicks in.

Basically, if 98% of everyone is vaccinated, then they end up protecting the remaining 2%, as well as whatever percentage of people where the vaccination didn't take effect.

Long story short, vaccinations are good for both the individual and society at large, and if you're not willing to vaccinate your children in order to protect both them, and others, then you are one of the people most directly responsible for the return of treatable diseases like measles and whooping cough.


I believe Pharmacies/Med Community are primarily interested in the money.

The science for vaccines and their creation is well-established. The cost to produce them is very low, the patents have generally expired making generics available at reasonable cost, and the profit margin on them is correspondingly very thin, especially when compared to other drugs like, say, Viagra, Propecia, or whatever malady du jour is being pushed as the new thing you need a pill for. There simply isn't enough of a profit margin in vaccines for them to be pushed as something that's meant to be a massive money-maker. That's like saying that the only reason they sell Aspirin is to make money.


Do your research on the interwebs and make your own decision. Good luck, because there is a lot of BS on both sides.

Realize that anything tied to Andrew Wakefield can be completely dismissed. Not only was his research fabricated purely on the hope of being able to establish enough "evidence" to sue drug companies in order to reap a massive settlement, he's also had his medical license revoked.

Other than that, the only major anti-vaccine person is the gun-grabber Jenny McCarthy, and she's a completely dim-witted imbecile.


My daughter is now 9 and is as smart and healthy as can be.

Your child's health has been protected by all of the other children whose parents were responsible enough to have their children vaccinated. (See: herd immunity.) Your selfishness is putting her health at risk, and is indirectly putting the health of other children at risk.

[sniper7]

I'll also add, there is a reason we are living longer, less children die from disease in the US, etc etc.

take a look back 200 years and see what the mortality rate was for a kid from birth to 18. Percentages are quite staggering.

[Katastrophic]

FWIW, I'm pro vaccine from a family that's anti vaccine. I was doing research when my kids were smaller (now 7 and 10), and I stumbled upon the infection probability rates of some of these terrible diseases (holy crap, I was floored). My husband travels internationally, as do many people, and Lord knows what he brings home from his flights. If he touches something, than touches our kids, whoops! Frankly, I'm far more worried about the unvaccinated Adults from other countries who come here, or pass by, without thinking about it and inadvertently infect our young people. As opposed to the locals and school yard buddies that so many are afraid of.

Long story short, is it worth the risk to go somewhere innocent, like the mall or grocery store, and have someone that just came from either the plane or another country cough on my kid? NO. We are one vaccinated bunch that avoids aluminum poisoning elsewhere in our lives.

[Justin]

I'll also add, there is a reason we are living longer, less children die from disease in the US, etc etc.

take a look back 200 years and see what the mortality rate was for a kid from birth to 18. Percentages are quite staggering.

A five-minute conversation with someone who suffered through polio should be enough to disabuse even the most ardent anti-vaxxer.

[68Charger]

Your wife is wrong, and her disapproval of vaccinations not only puts your kid at risk, but other kids as well.

Were you my neighbor, I wouldn't allow my kid to play with your kid.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/13/thanks-anti-vaxxers-you-just-brought-back-measles-in-nyc.html

Can you rationally explain fear based on some something you and your kids are vaccinated against?
"My child is vaccinated, but he may catch measles from your child who is not?"

I've always found this argument fascinating...

[ruthabagah]

Can you rationally explain fear based on some something you and your kids are vaccinated against?
"My child is vaccinated, but he may catch measles from your child who is not?"

I've always found this argument fascinating...

When my wife decided to drop her clients who were pushing their anti vaccine agenda she did some research and contacted a relative who is epidemioligist at the Pasteur institute in Paris. (Pasteur invented vaccines and the institute is where the CDC goes where they can't figure out what a virus is...) He gave us an "epidemiology course for dummy" and summarized this way:

Immunization will protect you against known strain of a virus. Viruses will go from one host to another and are able to adapt their strategy to infect you based on your immune system. Once a new host is infected and the virus find a "delta" in the immune system it may/will infect other hosts with as variant of the virus. There is 7-8 billions of us and we all have variance in our immune system that will create the delta.

Vaccination on a global scale will prevent the primary infection and the variation of the virus. Basically if you do not get vaccinated you are nothing more than an incubator for viruses. Because of this, you will serve as a trojan horse for viruses to infect vaccinated host who will not be prepared for a new strain of the same virus they have been vaccinated for.

I remember a story a couple of years ago of this businessman living in Vancouver, BC, coming back from china, and infecting his family with a really potent flue like virus. He was sick but survived, his wife was ok, but one or 2 kids were not that lucky and died. He was the only one not vaccinated against the flue.

[kidicarus13]

Maybe it should be mandated by the government like health insurance so me and mine don't have to suffer because you and yours aren't responsible enough to vaccinate. Don't want to vaccinate? Don't mingle with the herd.

[Gman]

There is also the completely discredited study linking vaccines & autism that eventually the researcher admitted was a hoax.
Get the vaccines, it surprises me this is still discussed. There is a risk, every shot has some risk, but the benefit of never being able to get that disease outweighs it.
...and the doctor that spread the propaganda had his license revoked.
The General Medical Council to Andrew Wakefield: “The panel is satisfied that your conduct was irresponsible and dishonest” (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/andrew-wakefield-the-panel-is-satisfied-that-your-conduct-was-irresponsible-and-dishonest/)

...and then you have some real science (PDF document);
The Journal of Pediatrics: Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides (http://jpeds.com/webfiles/images/journals/ympd/JPEDSDeStefano.pdf)
in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism (http://jpeds.com/webfiles/images/journals/ympd/JPEDSDeStefano.pdf)

Objective: To evaluate the association between autism and the level of immunologic stimulation received from vaccines administered during the first 2 years of life.
Study design: We analyzed data from a case-control study conducted in 3 managed care organizations (MCOs) of 256 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 752 control children matched on birth year, sex, and MCO. In addition to the broader category of ASD, we also evaluated autistic disorder and ASD with regression. ASD diagnoses were validated through standardized in-person evaluations. Exposure to total antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides from vaccines was determined by summing the antigen content of each vaccine received, as obtained from immunization registries and medical records. Potential confounding factors were ascertained from parent interviews and medical charts. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess associations between ASD outcomes and exposure to antigens in selected time periods.
Results: The aOR (95% CI) of ASD associated with each 25-unit increase in total antigen exposure was 0.999 (0.994-1.003) for cumulative exposure to age 3 months, 0.999 (0.997-1.001) for cumulative exposure to age 7 months, and 0.999 (0.998-1.001) for cumulative exposure to age 2 years. Similarly, no increased risk was found for autistic disorder or ASD with regression.
Conclusion: In this study of MCO members, increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines during the first 2 years of life was not related to the risk of developing ASD.

[68Charger]

Maybe it should be mandated by the government like health insurance so me and mine don't have to suffer because you and yours aren't responsible enough to vaccinate. Don't want to vaccinate? Don't mingle with the herd.

Maybe it would be better to start policing big Pharma, and demonstrate that they are being held to a high standard of quality and ethics...
Many people want to just ostracize people for being wary of organizations that are protected from liabililty that HAVE done unethical practices.

Try addressing the concerns, and maybe you'll get less people joining in with them (you'll always have the fringe that won't comply, but they are managing to convince many reasonable people to join them)

Just one example: http://www.naturalnews.com/036417_Glaxo_Merck_fraud.html

[68Charger]

I remember a story a couple of years ago of this businessman living in Vancouver, BC, coming back from china, and infecting his family with a really potent flue like virus. He was sick but survived, his wife was ok, but one or 2 kids were not that lucky and died. He was the only one not vaccinated against the flue.

Hey Sniper7, what to re-think that Flu vaccine? [Coffee]

Thanks, ruthabagah- a very well stated argument that applies logic and science, rather than an emotional "get the lepers away from MY children" response. (which doesn't help the problem)

In the interest of full disclosure: my children are immunized- but I opted for an alternate schedule, and also reschedule any vaccinations when my children were already showing any symptoms of infection (even a mild rash or cold symptoms)

[tmckay2]

You're plum crazy if you don't vaccinate your kids. Especially in today's world where many aren't and deadly diseases are staging comebacks. People have the luxury to discuss things like this in the US because most of us weren't around when such diseases were a real concern. Back then it wasn't even an option, you got vaccinated at school, period. Now that no one has experience with those diseases and some others got some fear mongering with zero evidence going, everyone is debating an obviously easy choice. We have more preservatives and chemicals in our foods than in immunizations. The doses in immunizations (which nowadays almost all can be had without them by the way if you ask) are so small that you have a way higher chance of dying from the foods and things we ingest. Once people start dying in fairly large numbers again in probably 30-40 years this will be a non discussion yet again. Then rinse and repeat 50 years later.

In terms of the flu shot it's not fool proof. The virus mutates every year and it is a physical impossibility to make a vaccine for something like the flu that is 100 percent effective. However it is about 70-75 percent effective and get it or don't get it but remeber the flu is life threatening. 30k adults die in the US each year from it. Many people say they had the flu when they didn't, they had a cold and are just a big pansy. The flu isn't something to joke about.

i did an infectious disease pharmacy residency so trust me I know something on the topic.

[Irving]

Like Sniper7, I've never had a flu shot. It's because I've never had the flu. I've never missed more than one day in a row of work due to illness. I'm under the impression that the flu wipes people out for longer than that. I feel like if I'd ever actually had the flu, I wouldn't have mistaken it for a cold. Is that correct?

[ruthabagah]

Like Sniper7, I've never had a flu shot. It's because I've never had the flu. I've never missed more than one day in a row of work due to illness. I'm under the impression that the flu wipes people out for longer than that. I feel like if I'd ever actually had the flu, I wouldn't have mistaken it for a cold. Is that correct?

You are lucky. Just like me when i was in my 20' but then this one time i did catch it, and it send me to the hospital for 5 days... i was sick for a month and lost 15 lbs. I will never skip a flue vaccine.

[WETWRKS]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-family-furious-teen-vaccinated-without-parental-consent-1.2570354

[TFOGGER]

My father has been a well respected pediatrician in Denver for more than 50 years. He puts it in perspective: the chances of a debilitating or fatal reaction to a childhood vaccine are roughly 1:100000. The chance of negative outcome contracting measles, mumps, rubella, polio, or whooping cough are anywhere from 1:5 to 1:25. That seems to be a no brainer to me.

[CO Hugh]

If you want your child to get polio, mmr, and a slough of other diseases don't vaccinate them. Millions of children have been vaccinated around the world for decades and 99% of them turn out just fine.

In my opinion do the right thing for your child and vaccinate them. (I have two healthy vaccinated boys ).

Mine vaccinated and have been fine.

[68Charger]

Lots of good information here, and some blind faith in companies that I would not trust with my life...

My advise to the the OP, look up VIS (Vaccine Information Statements) that is the information they are required to tell you about the vaccines, including possible side effects and reasons to delay or not administer a specific vaccine.
Example VIS for MMR: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mmr.html
Note the section "Some people should not get MMR vaccine or should wait." and heed that advise... they are there for a reason- every VIS has this section (that I'm aware of)... and some doctors frankly don't read them (I'm sure they have lots of other reading to do)

and VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) is how you would open a case in the event of an adverse reaction.

I know somebody who's child had a severe adverse reaction (he is brain damaged now)... had they read the VIS, they would have delayed the MMR (he had an infection at the time that could have lead to the adverse reaction).

[Aloha_Shooter]

A lot of blind dislike and distrust as well -- both by people who call others "anti-vaxers" and by people who talk about "Big Pharma". By all means, look up specifics on anything you ingest but also don't fall prey to blind panic. The only thing that's certain are death and taxes. Medicines and vaccines are crafted to work on a majority of people but there are always outliers as with anything in life.

[RMAC757]

When my daughter was born 3 months early at 2 pounds I had this conversation with her neonatologist. She looked at me blankly and said "your child has no immune system and a simple cold could kill her......but it's your choice". We had her vaccinated. She had to take a non traditional route due to her prematurity but if she can be vaccinated at a couple pounds ( she was also vaccinated for RSV which she later developed a year later after we were told she was out of danger [facepalm] And she was nearly hospitalized again), a healthy baby should be fine. I'm no doc, but I received a crash course in how the immune system works with my daughter. CSTONE is right. Consult a physician.

[Beprepared]

Short story

Friends family with immuno-supressed non-vaccinated 4yr old with down syndrome gets sick and is admited to Childrens Hospital. Doctors said, seeing that she is non-vaccinated, if the illness progressed and crossed a certain threshold, the State of Colorado would arrest the parents for child endangerment and their adopted children would become wards of the State.

We vaccinate. Althought the delayed schedule sounds interesting.

[tmckay2]

Like Sniper7, I've never had a flu shot. It's because I've never had the flu. I've never missed more than one day in a row of work due to illness. I'm under the impression that the flu wipes people out for longer than that. I feel like if I'd ever actually had the flu, I wouldn't have mistaken it for a cold. Is that correct?
You are correct that you shouldn't confuse a cold for the flu, but sadly people go around all the time saying they have the flu when they don't. Heck even doctors will write for tamiflu when it's not the flu just to shut people up. A lot of times the flu is so bad you can't even get out of bed or possibly have to go to the hospital.

[ChadAmberg]

Another (positive) side effect of vaccines, especially the yearly flu vaccine: The Hygiene hypothesis basically says that the less exposed to pathogens you are throughout your life, the more your immune system decides to attack you, because it has to have something to do. That's the reason for the incredible rise in auto-immune disorders in the past 50 years or so.
By getting the vaccines, you basically give your immune system something to do, at least temporarily.

I was listening to the radio the other afternoon and the conservative talk show host had on a Dr talking about vaccines. It was an interesting comment he made though: That the best place for knowledge about vaccines is on the cdc.gov website. He then said because it's a govt website, that the majority of the population won't trust it, because of how bad the govt overall is. So people automatically assume what they're providing is crap and look for alternative theories, which can be put up by any ol' crackpot with a blog. And since they're not the govt, they are trusted more.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I've got 3 kids. All non vaccinated until age 1. My babies momma and I read the Dr. Sears book. Not a bad read. We non vaccinated until age 1. And we take a delayed vaccination schedule. 5yr old and twins that are 3. All healthy as horses.

My babies momma works at a children's hospital and the word on the street is pertussis is making a comeback in Denver.

I'd reccomend what we did. But all 3 were breastfeed and no strangers touched them and they were never put in restaurant booster seats or shopping carts.

Id recommend the Dr Sears book. It even has vacc plans laid out.

Congratulations! Kids are awesome!

Yep on the bolded part, but Dr. Sears is such a charlatan. What a goofball regimen.



Realize that anything tied to Andrew Wakefield can be completely dismissed. Not only was his research fabricated purely on the hope of being able to establish enough "evidence" to sue drug companies in order to reap a massive settlement, he's also had his medical license revoked.


Yeah, that guy is a total piece of work too.


My father has been a well respected pediatrician in Denver for more than 50 years. He puts it in perspective: the chances of a debilitating or fatal reaction to a childhood vaccine are roughly 1:100000. The chance of negative outcome contracting measles, mumps, rubella, polio, or whooping cough are anywhere from 1:5 to 1:25. That seems to be a no brainer to me.

^^^ Yep. :)


Lots of good information here, and some blind faith in companies that I would not trust with my life...

My advise to the the OP, look up VIS (Vaccine Information Statements) that is the information they are required to tell you about the vaccines, including possible side effects and reasons to delay or not administer a specific vaccine.
Example VIS for MMR: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mmr.html
Note the section "Some people should not get MMR vaccine or should wait." and heed that advise... they are there for a reason- every VIS has this section (that I'm aware of)... and some doctors frankly don't read them (I'm sure they have lots of other reading to do)

and VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) is how you would open a case in the event of an adverse reaction.

I know somebody who's child had a severe adverse reaction (he is brain damaged now)... had they read the VIS, they would have delayed the MMR (he had an infection at the time that could have lead to the adverse reaction).

Likewise on the same site, spend as much time as you'd like with the "CDC Pink Book" (or just google it directly). It is pretty great info for free. You can get the whole book as a pdf by chapter.

[Justin]

Lots of good information here, and some blind faith in companies that I would not trust with my life...

Between sanctions leveled by the FDA and the fact that trial lawyers love nothing more than an excuse to sue large pharmacy companies with deep pockets (see: Andrew Wakefield) I have a hard time believing that pharmacy companies are deliberately trying to poison or inflict illness on people via vaccines.

There's simply nothing to be gained by being slipshod about it, and the profit margins on vaccines just simply aren't high enough for the conspiracies alleged by the anti-vax crowd.

[Justin]

My father has been a well respected pediatrician in Denver for more than 50 years. He puts it in perspective: the chances of a debilitating or fatal reaction to a childhood vaccine are roughly 1:100000. The chance of negative outcome contracting measles, mumps, rubella, polio, or whooping cough are anywhere from 1:5 to 1:25. That seems to be a no brainer to me.


It's a bit like owning a gun.

If you own a gun is there a non-zero chance that you or a family member could be injured or killed by a negligent discharge?

Sure, but those odds are extremely low, especially if you follow some basic safety procedures, and they're more than offset by the advantage that gun ownership brings for things like self-defense.

[SSChameleon]

I regard to vacines causing autism, there is a website with a very in-depth analysis of the topic: http://howdovaccinescauseautism.com

[Fentonite]

I regard to vacines causing autism, there is a website with a very in-depth analysis of the topic: http://howdovaccinescauseautism.com

[ROFL2]

[ruthabagah]

I regard to vacines causing autism, there is a website with a very in-depth analysis of the topic: http://howdovaccinescauseautism.com

[ROFL1]

[osok-308]

Currently taking an immunology class at UCD, my prof is very pro-vaccine. My sister-in-law is constantly telling me the risks of vaccines, she is anti-vaccine. My conclusion is that we are over vaccinates (for the flu and chickenpox, really?) But I will totally vaccinate for things like mmr and the other big things. You take a risk either way to be sure. But i would rather not risk my child getting polio than them not getting chickenpox.

[GilpinGuy]

I've never had a flu shot. But I did get the flu once - it was horrendous. My wife said I was hallucinating and going nuts in bed. I don't remember any of that. But I still refuse a flu shot. One time in 43 years? I'll take my chances.

But common vaccinations for babies for polio, etc.? No brainer for me and my baby.

[tmckay2]

The flu kills a fair amount of people. Remeber that once you get the flu there is little they can do except try to treat the symptoms until it passes. If an immune system has a really rough time dealing with it there isn't a whole lot that can be done. For most adults that are healthy and in their 20's-40's you can probably risk it. Kids who have the highest likelihood of getting it due to close proximity with tiers as well as elderly who have a high chance of complications should definitely get the shot. Just ask for it without preservative and it's free on 90 percent of insurances anyway.


Currently taking an immunology class at UCD, my prof is very pro-vaccine. My sister-in-law is constantly telling me the risks of vaccines, she is anti-vaccine. My conclusion is that we are over vaccinates (for the flu and chickenpox, really?) But I will totally vaccinate for things like mmr and the other big things. You take a risk either way to be sure. But i would rather not risk my child getting polio than them not getting chickenpox.

[mackbamf]

So after some discussion my wife is on board with moving forward with the vaccinations. There may be a select few that we either hold off on or possibly skip, but the important thing is that my child will be receiving all the major vaccinations.

[Irving]

Great to hear!

[ruthabagah]

Great news!

One more thing that you folks may consider about the flu: a good year 3000 people die from it, on a bad year it's 49.000. Also of concern concern is that 200.000 people a year will end up in an hospital due to complication from the flu....

According to the CDC: "children younger than 5 years old had rates of hospitalization similar to people 50 to 64 years of age."

Finally, young healthy people have been known to suffer from debilitating central nervous system shutdown due to the flu... some of them are member of this forum. I may even be one of them [Sarcasm2]


http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm

[Gark]

Myself, my pediatrician wife and our physician colleagues recommend vaccinations and have vaccinated our children without regrets. The likelihood of a bad outcome from not vaccinating is much greater than with vaccinating.