Vaccinations???

I don't want to start a heated debate, but did anyone elect NOT to vaccinate?
The more research I do, the more I am leaning against doing it. There are scary side effects (autism, fevers, sickness, etc. etc. etc...) and I am trying to weigh out all options.

For those who did not, why did you decide not to vaccinate?

Re: Vaccinations???

I vaccinated but I did not follow the CDC schedule at all. We did not allow Hep B in the hospital and she still has not gotten it at all.
We started her other vaccinations at 5 months and if we didn't have a trip planned for a cruise I would have probably waited until she was over a year old to start. I only allow her to get 1 shot a month and have come up with my own schedule.
A book I found very helpful was What your Doctor May not tell you About Childhood Vaccinations by Dr. Stephanie Cave. She gives a great delayed schedule.
Hope you can come to a decision you feel comfortable with. IMO and from what I have read the CDC schedule is not scientific at all. It is based on the fact that most parents even low income parents will bring their child in for well child exams when they are a very young age so the CDC feels they ge the most access then and that is why little babies get all these shots at one time.

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I thought long and hard about it but the truth is millions of children die everyday around the World because they are not vaccinated- they don't have access like we do in the US. If my child isn't vaccinated and she comes in contact with a disease and died I would never forgive myself.
I did not follow the schedule..I put off a few shots such as the MMR until she was older than 2, even though I KNOW Autism is NOT caused by a vaccine- there is just no medical or scientific evidance to prove it.
My nephew is autistic so I have done so much researching into it. Not one of his teachers, specialists, even Autism organizations say it is related. Parents searching for answers reach onto anything to know "why" when sometimes there are no answers. Some scientists have found a genetic component to it so that is being looked into. Thermosol is not used in the MMR vaccine anymore. Just ask your doctor about it.

If you do not want to vaccinate there is a lot to consider. Your child may not be allowed to go to certain camps, schools, lessons etc. Daycare will not accept your child nor will preschools. You cannot "selectivly" vaccinate and go to a public school. It is all or none, unless there is a true medical reason for not having a certain shot. Most children without vaccinations are homeschooled it seems- which is probably better because they should not put the other children at risk for a disease IMO. Also, you need to be very careful about international travel- very careful.
You will need a Ped who is willing to not vaccinate. I think there may be one in East Northport.

Anyway, you should do what is best for your family. Good luck with your decision.

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We had no choice but to vaccinate. Due to Dh's career he is constantly out of the country and not in nice places and due to that we felt it was very important to have Jack get his shots accordingly.
One of my best friends works with children with autism and firmly believes it has nothing to do with MMR and all that shots Jack has recieved have no Thermosol.
We did skip on the Chicken Pox Vax because I would rather him get it as a younger child and will rethink the shot as he gets closer to school, I also skipped on it but added the HepA shot at his one year because he spends ALOT of time in swimming pools.

Message edited 6/30/2006 10:39:34 AM.

Re: Vaccinations???

Posted by pharmcat2000

Posted by monkeybride

Finally, what is the implication as far as school goes if a child is not vaccinated? I thought NYS required certain vaccinations in order for kids to attend school.

If you say it is "against your beliefs" or religion they cannot discriminate and let your child into school.

As for the MMR shot you can get it in single dose vials that do not contain thimerosal. However, there are other side effects. Here are some links to websites:

http://www.909shot.com/

This is from Merck (the pharmaceutical company):
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch085/ch085b.html


I have looked at the CDC and AMA websites, yet I can't help but feel that there is a bigger agenda going on here and that the government is not telling the truth. I know 2 families that have autistic children and I am petrified to vaccinate (especially the MMR shot). If there is even a small percentage chance that the MMR shot can cause autism, I feel that the government should step in and reformulate the shot or something. I am really confused about this.

ETA: I just saw a few more of your posts ladies. Thank you for the info. I just want my DD to be healthy. All of the info out there is confusing. If my DD had autism because of the MMR, I would never forgive myself. Yet, if she had mumps or polio because she was not vaccinated I would never forgive myself. I just feel that more research needs to be done on these vaccinations. I have heard of kids being paralyzed by the polio vaccine. This decision is so overwhelming for me

Message edited 6/30/2006 10:45:48 AM.

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I so think the benefits of vaccinations sure outweigh possible side effects. The truth being, autism could be caused by a gene passed onto the child from the parents (I know this cause I have a friend with an autistic son and she had genetic testing done on herself and DH), I haven't read any concrete evidence that vaccines have given children autism. Right now is all speculation in my opinion.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't want gianna around kids who weren't immunized cause I don't know what that kid is carrying. With that said I plan and have already given Gianna immunizations.

If parents do not get their kid immunized, how will we stop the diseases that HAVE KILLED humans in the past from coming back.

Do we really want another round of the killer flu, polio, measles, mumps, etc? Hundreds of people many many years ago died from these diseases and still do today in other countries that aren't as advanced as we.

I don't think the government is hiding something at all, it's just every drug, etc we put into our body for the better good comes with some kind of side effect. I think i did read somewhere they don't use a component in vaccines that possibly caused harm anymore.

In the long run vaccines are the greater good and health of our country children and their future children.

edited for spelling

Message edited 6/30/2006 10:50:57 AM.

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I have worked with autistic children for years and have done a lot of reading and research on the topic and I haven't found anything that shows autism is linked to vaccinations. I thought all of the vaccinations for children these days were thimerosol free? I personally think that the benefits of the vaccinations outweigh the risks, but it is a decision that you have to make for yourself.

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Message edited 6/30/2006 10:53:46 AM.

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Message edited 6/30/2006 10:56:43 AM.

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I think it's important to get vaccinations but that's just my opinion.

Also - when they go to school - don't you have to have all shots? So you'll be doing it any way

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I have done a lot of research on autism and different studies

when you have a friend who has a child with autism - take a closer look at the parents - two highly intelligent people specfically in math and science are more likely to have an autistic child - this has bee shown through a few studies of families in the silicon valley

also ask the parents if they have gone through genetic counseling to check if they are carriers - alot have not yet

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My pediatrician told me that if you are going to autistic it shows up by the time a child is 2, so she does not give the MMR shot till then.

IMO, the benefits outweighed not getting vaccinated.

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I have a feeling that the rate in higher in very educated couples because they are more adapt to get their child tested and diagnosed earlier. But I would love to see the studies on that. There is no autism gene though...you can't get tested before pregnancy to find out if you will or will not have an autistic child, nor can an aminio tell you if the baby you are carrying will have autism. It is a big mystery unfortunetly.

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Message edited 6/30/2006 2:17:58 PM.

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Isnt it possible to have the shots done seperately rather than as one? One shot for measles, one for rubella and one for mumps at different times? Someone mentioned this may be an option.