Immunizations in newborns...and autoimmune disorders

There has just been an outbreak of whooping cough in school age children in fairfax county. If an unvaxinated preschooler were to be exposed to this disease it could kill him/her.
To vacinate or not to vacinate?

Most of these diseases are contagious way before the person looks sick.

IMO not immunizing would be wrong. There is no credible evidence that immunization leads to autoimmune disorders, and the link to autism has been firmly disproved. So in my mind, the REAL risk of death from whooping cough, pertussis, measles, etc. far outweighs an unproven benefit. If these are separate injections, not combination shots, it may be possible to space them out so the immune system is not challenged from so many directions at once. But that would mean more doctor visits and jabs.

There is also a suspicion that our modern cleanliness (the "hygeine hypothesis") results in a lack of challenge to the immune system. It says that because we are so clean and don't "exercise" our immune system when we are young, the immune system does not develop properly--ultimately leading to allergies and autoimmune disorders later in life. Basically the opposite idea!

So far I don't think there is enough evidence to not vaccinate, or not keep a tidy house :)

We chose not to vaccinate our child. Her aunt and grandma had bad reactions to vaccines (aunt developed asthma immediately). I feel my health deteriorated after a "required" (it wasn't, they just make it seem like it is) vaccine for college. A cascade of symptoms, culminating in CD diagnosis. I have researched all the diseases and risks and decided at the very minimum to wait and possibly selectively vaccinate later if that seems like the thing to do.

We chose to go on a shot by shot basis, so my kids are only partially vaccinated. In my opinion they've gotten carried away with what they mandate now. For instance, my kids were around age 5 and 7 when the chicken pox vaccine became widely available. A few very short years following that it became mandated for school (thankfully we have religious/philosophical exemption). I happened to be on an airplane of pediatricians headed to a conference when the shot first became available. I asked a large group what they thought about that shot in particular. They were split 50/50 on whether they were going to recommend it to their patients. Why? Because they all dreaded having to "track down all those people who will be in college when the vaccine wears off in about 10 years to get a booster. It means a lifetime of booster shots." No lifetime immunity like when one gets the real chicken pox. My own pediatrician was opposed to the shot at the time, but has since succumbed to pressure to use it for the sake of working parents.

Side note: My nephew lives in the UK and is 3 years old. They came to visit us last summer and I happened to see his list of vaccinations which his mother carries with her when they travel. She had typed them all in 12 font, 1.5 spaced. The list went down one entire page and onto about 1/2 of the second page. 3 years old...

There are some good books out there you can read if you care to research this further. The problem is that there seems to be no information that is *truly* unbiased. It either comes from the medical community or those opposed to vaccinating, so either way, there's a slant. That said, there is data that supports that many of the childhood diseases we vaccinate for were waning before their vaccines came along. There is also plenty of data that supports these diseases would not all be back if the vaccines were discontinued.

As killerzoey said, I believe the best way to go is to research each disease and vaccine, weigh the risks, and then if you wish, selectively vaccinate on your own schedule. There are many, many doctors who advocate waiting, at the very least, until age two when the myelin (a sort of protective sheath around neurons of the central nervous system) is fully formed, thus protecting the child from certain reactions.

Just curious since I do not have kids. What opportunities will an unvaccinated child have? Can they go to school? Daycare? Play groups? Residential College? I even had to prove my vaccinations to work in a correctional facility. Even if it turned out to be health wise safer to limit vaccines, will your child still be able to live a normal life or will it be a constant hurdle precluding them from activities?

Fitzy       

There are no compulsory vaccination laws. All are voluntary, and you are held responsible for the adverse results upon you or your children. While all immunization laws have exceptions you can use, the wording in each state differs, and you must know the exact wording for your state to make the proper request of waiver.

I think it is and should be a personal choice when it comes to vaccinations but I know where I live in Alberta, when your kids start kindergarten you have to bring their immunization records to proove they've been vaccinated because there are some pretty deadly diseases that are still around (likely because of the many who don't vaccinate their kids) and the debate will likely always be ongoing but think of all the diseases that used to kill small villages/towns of people back in the day when vaccines did not yet exsit compared to nowadays.

Nothing's perfect and it wouldn't surprise me if by doing one thing to save your life you may compromise something eles like your immune system.

:)

As a Pediatric RN,I strongly agree with vaccinations. The "old"diseases" aren't being seen much,because of t he vaccinations.However,we are seeing some of the "whooping cough",we had two kids admitted last year and they were very sick. I totally agree with Sarita,about the responsibility part,kids need these shots,my one little patient almost died last year.