Immunizations

[Dove123]

My child is now almost 8 months old and has only had the first set of shots ( other than in the hospital )..  I was going to give them at a slower pace but she has been so sick with either a cold or teething that I refuse to give them to her when she isnt feeling well..  I have 2 other children and they had all there shots normally, but she has been so different that I worry about her safty with all the hype around Autism.. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated..

[AndiJ78]

Teething and simple colds are not contraindicated when getting shots. I understand, believe me I do, but what your child could end up with by not having the shots done in a reasonable amount of time is far worse. There comes a point that it is harder to catch up on those vaccinations, the scheduling gets thrown off, and your child is then left unprotected. A few years ago when more people were vaccinating it wasn't as scary, but the more parents rely on the rest of us to protect their kids because we vaccinate, the less kids are being vaccinated, and the higher incidences of these previously eradicated diseases are coming back. Throw into the mix the influx of children coming in from other countries with these illnesses and before you know it there is an outbreak and all of these unvaccinated children are at risk.

i would talk with the pediatrician and set up a schedule to catch up. I did all of my boys on time every time, teething, colds, no matter what, but I realize that doesn't work for everyone. I live in an area where several times a year there are pertussis outbreaks, measles exposures, etc. Those are often fatal illnesses in infants. A few seconds of pain from a shot was worth knowing my child would be protected.

[wonderme]

I agree with Andi...it is better to make sure your child is protected.  The reason we don't see all these diseases is b/c most people have been vaccinated against them since the 60s...if we all stop vaccintating, there will be a resurgence and quite frankly, the risks of these diseases are very real and very serious, especially for young children.

The point of the vaccine is to expose your child to a small amount of the disease to kickstart their immune system into building antibodies against the actual disease.  It is these antibodies that protect them in the future.  A child should continue to get the booster/complete series to obtain the best immunity.

Some children and adults are immunocompromised and canNOT get vaccinated and if they were to get exposed to the disease would get very sick...not only do I want to protect my children, I feel a social responsibility to not expose those people who are already at such risk.

There has been no definitive link to vaccinations and autism...I know there are some who feel there is.  There are always risks to every medical procedure -- but the risks are miniscule in comparison to the benefit to your child and the community as a whole.

This is just my opinion...good luck.

[mum2beagain]

My son does has autism, he's recieved every shot, I don't attribute any of his shots to *causing* his autism, it's just part of who he is. Both my children have and will recieve all their shots on schedule, there's too many risks associated with not having them done for me.

[becca_3456]

Hi I just wanted to say that my DD is 7 1/2 months old and has not had any shots except what they gave her in the hospital. I am waiting until she is older. She does not go to daycare and she is not around a whole lot of kids. I think that sometimes kids get to many vacs. these days. I will pass on alot of her shots such as DTaP and MMR , Chicken Pox and rotovirus(spelling?) and when we do get her shots they will be one at a time. I too am scared about Autism but more scared of the ingredients in the shots. We are more afraid to give our children baby food early because of their immature digestive systems but we let strangers inject them with God knows what when they are so tiny and helpless. We will get some of them but at our own pace. Also if there is no link between Autism and Vacs. then why is there a settlement on one little girl with Autism who after receiving her shots had seizures and brain damage? Your her mom and only you can make the decision for her. good luck

[taysmommy1]

my ped. said that if my girls didnt have a fever, or a virus that it was safe to get their shots, ive also contemplated not vaccinating them because of the side effects, but after doing some research i decided that the risk was better than any possible outcome if they contracted a disease they were being vaccinated for, vaccines have nearly wiped out most diseases people struggled with in the years past, diseases that have killed off millions of people have been completely avoided by a single shot, this is what convinced me that vaccinating them was the right choice,

i hate getting them shots, i hate how they feel afterwards, i hate seeing them in pain,  so i truly know how you feel, especially if they are already not feeling well, but can you imagine if they were to get increadibly sick with a disease that could have been prevented

[stoledo]

Well you can always do some research about where you can get "Thimerosal" free immunizations. Which is what "possibly" could be linked to autism. I know the hospital I work at give these types of flu shots to the immunocomprimised and pregnant ladies I work with. And although, yes they are your children, and your choice to get them vaccinated, I will tell you that every single health care professional I work with, and I work at a Childrens Hospital, have vaccinated their children, a little teething/cold is no biggy.

[tiredbuthappy]

I would strongly suggest you not pass on DTaP and MMR. mumps is making a comeback, and as Andi said, pertussis is on the rise. My OB had ME and DH get a DTaP booster when dd was born because of pertussis. Immunity for pertussis wears off and many people neglect to get the booster, making it possible for infants to get it before they build an immunity. and Tetanus is rare, but the vaccine has been widely given since the 40's (therefore plenty of generations showing it's safe). as stoledo said, most vaccines are now thimerosal free, and since they are readily available, you can make sure that your child receives thimerisal free vaccines.  
your child may not be in daycare, but do you ever go to the store? out in public?

i am unsure of Chicken pox vaccine though. rotovirus is probably not necessary for your situation since your child is in daycare. i understand how scary the thought of autism is. and how scary the thought of things being injected into your child is. i had to put aside those fears and look at the situation with a rational and not emotional mind.

[girliegrl1723]

tiredbuthappy is right. DTaP and MMR are super important shots to get. those are things your don not want your child to have. Rotovirus as well. i'm pretty sure you can't decide when you want to have those done, as it is necessary to do it on some sort of schedule. if and when your child starts school, you can't just call up the doctor and say ok, my child needs all the shots so he/she can go to school. also, like tired said, even if your child isn't in daycare, they don't live in a bubble either. im sorry, but if your child isn't vaccinated and someone else's child isn't vaccinated and they're playing on the same playground, or meet eachother at a store, you're playing with fire there. why take the risk? its one thing to do less shots at one time, a lot of people ask for the shots to be more spaced out, but ito just not do at all...?

[girliegrl1723]

i was talking to my mom the other day about the chix pox shot b/c i am undecided on that one as well and she said she thought some schools were going to start making it a requirement, as with the other shots kids need to go to school. did you hear anything about that?

[wonderme]

I know my older two had the chicken pox vaccine and then had to get the booster last fall.  I was not sure if they should have the booster since I was preggo at the time, but my ob said it was okay.  It was good they did b/c their school has had 5 kids who have had chicken pox since Jan (they had not gotten the booster yet) -- which would have been concerning to take care of a child w/ CP and a newborn!

It is mandatory at our school to have the initial vaccine, and now they are looking at making it mandatory to get the booster as they need that to bolster immunity.

I considered spacing out my daughter's vaccinations since it is so many at once, but the ped suggested that it might be harder to have to come back 2 or 3 times and that it might be better just to get it over with.  It is soooo hard to watch, but I was glad I don't have to go back for a couple more months and am HAPPY to know that I have increased her protection against some horrible diseases.

And, all the vaccines we have are thermosol free...my understanding is that they don't use it at all any more, but be sure to check w/ your ped for sure (and that they're not using old stock that hasn't expired yet)...but I would like to believe no ped would give a little one a vaccine with thermosol.

[kjbutcher]

why would you not protect your child