Immunizations - Phoenix, AZ

There are several articles on the internet about this so you can do some reaserch if you want to. My son is almost two and I have had not problems with the shots. he is growing just like he should with no signs of autism. babycenter.com is a good place to do research on the subject. They have news bulletins and other information that is linked to the subject. Just type in immunization or autism and it will bring up some links for you.

We are fortunate that almost all 50 states (including AZ) have waiver rights for vaccines for personal, medical or religious reasons. YES, your children can go to school w/o vaccines. Ask the school nurse for a "waiver form" - it's your right by state law.

We have 4 kids who we do not vaccinate. Our oldest son (8) is my step-son and was vaccinated as a baby. He has autism, and we are not ruling out vaccines as the potential cause. A great book is called, A Shot in the Dark, for those wanting to learn more.

Do your research and make the decision from your heart. Trust your mother's instinct - your hesititation about vaccines is good. I've done a lot of research on this subject of vaccines and autism, and would be happy to send you more documentation if you are interested - just email me directly at ____@____.com For example, the autism rate in Amish societ's where they do not vacinate is 0% - a fascinating fact to consider ;)

The correlation between vaccines and disease eradication is also questionable because MANY factors have improved or helped to eliminate disease throughout history: cooking methods, food storage methods, the quality of drinking water, sanitization practices, sterilization processes, the health of the animals and plants we eat, and so on. Humans are living longer and healthier for many reasons, not just because of miracle vaccines.

The body is equipped to protect itself and immunities can be passed on through breastfeeding. In fact, my oldest daughter (now 8) was tested for mumps because she had some facial swelling, and her blood work came back with the immunity for mumps, as if she had been vaccinated - and she never has been! I, have never had chicken pox, but I tested positive for the immunity. We must be careful what we put in our bodies - as everything has cause and effect. Federally, the goverment even developed a compensation program for children and adults who are injured or killed by vaccines - because it HAPPENS! http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/

For a list of ingredients in vaccines, check out the John Hopkins site where you can click on any vaccine and get the packet-insert that comes with vaccines - you can see ingredients like mercury, fetal bovine (cow) tissue, monkey, pig, etc, along with possible complications, injury and mortality rates: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

Kudos for you for taking the time to do your research!!

Hi L.,
My son had his MMR and he's fine. He's two and a half years old now. Do you have a Immunizations Schedule to let you know what is needed for your child each doctors visit? If not, I have one and I can send you a copy via email. Let me know by sending me a personal message with your email address and I'll be happy to send you a copy. As well as any other Mom's who read this. :-)
I've heard that Autism starts at birth in most cases. Something goes wrong in the birth, and the child can end up with Autism. Now that's just hear-say. I don't truly think you have anything to worry about with your baby's immunizations.
Take care, and let me know if you'd like that schedule.
G.

my doctor split all the shots up and my daughter got half at her 12 month visit and the other half at her 15 month visit so that she was not getting all of them at once. my daughter had the mmr vaccine and she is far from haveing any problems with autism. the best thing you can do is talk to your doctor. they usually know a little more then the general public.

Hi Lee Ann,
I, too, am questioning whether or not to give my daughter her second set of shots this month. The statistics of autism are startling: 1 in 150 babies!!! That is alot. And why has this become so prevalent in the past 30 years, with the common factor being the MMR vaccine? I read some of the other responses about doctors saying it's safe, and of course they're going to tell us that! - they would be held accountable if our children were to catch one of the viruses the vaccines are supposed to prevent if they recommended otherwise. And I know there is no "link" per se, but what if the mercury in the vaccines is triggering a condition that would otherwise remain dormant? The reason I mention this is because I have two good friends in the military who were both healthy as oxes, but when they received the required Anthrax vaccine they suddenly had Lupus. I've read other cases about this, too, and think we should at least consider it.

And yes, many many children are just fine after they receive their vaccinations. But how will I know if my daughter will be just fine?

Either way, go with your heart- if you are uncomfortable with it, then don't do it.

You can always delay immunizations. They will still be there when you have done more research. If you do decide to get them go when your baby doesnt have any signs of a cold, not even a runny nose. Please do your research about vaccines and know what you are putting into your child. All Arizona schools and daycares have to provide you with a vaccine waiver -you choose whether you decline them for personal, medical or religous reasons, it is state law! They cannot deny your child school or daycare because you do not immunize!

I read a lot of research when I was pregnant regarding immunizations because my brother as adamant against them. And they have not immunized either of their children.

While the articles I read tried to draw lines between the increase in autism and the immunizations I did not find any real substantiated proof to show that there was any link at all.

Personally, I feel that immunizations are important. Diseases like polio are not irradiacted (as some of the articles imply) they are simply not present in our country due to immunizations. Although I have read that one or two cases still occur. And if anything happened to my daughter that I could have prevented with a vaccination, I would never forgive myself.

Regards,

N. E.

I have watched several documentaries on this issue (meaning I am not a Dr. LOL) but the biggest threat is that people are not getting their children immunization shots and children are now coming up with deadly diseases that have once been extinct (like small pox,I think). Basically the Dr.s said that there has been no link to autism,and the amount of cases that claim this has happened are so small it is not worth mothers not immunizing their children against threats known to have killed tons and tons of people in the past.

My son is 14 months old. When he got his 1 year shot they gave him the MMRV....so make sure and ask questions. The V part is the chicken pox vaccine and it actaully gave my son chicken pox. I was so furious, because they said they were giving him the MMR.
When I took him back about a week and a half later when he broke out in the blisters I than found out they gave him the MMRv.

Hello. Yeah I read about that in this months issue of people magazine. This is still under investigation. I stil immunized my baby because Those are very important vaccines, My child is fine. They also talk how ultra sounds can cause autism in babies. but there are other possibilities. Im sure your baby will be fine. Im about to have my second child in a week and there is no doubt in my mind not to immunize him.

I have never heard of this risk but I considered not vaccinating my children but decided the risk of them getting ill was much greater had they not been vaccinated. They are both vaccinated and no problems with the shots. They aren't even sure what causes autism so I would like to know where she got her info. Every time you turn around they say they believe something causes autism.

LeeAn,

Are you a stay at home mom, or do you have your baby in daycare at all? I was very surprised to see your request which prompted my wanting to reply to it. My son has Autism. I have gone in great deapths of research of it and the possible causes. The one logical thing I can think of is if Autism is caused or even linked with the MMR vaccine, why does not EVERYONE who has ever had it have Autism? My daughter does not have Autism, and she has the same shots from the same doctor that my son has. It just seems highly illogical that we would want our children to go unvaccinated from horrible other diseases, MMR that have vaccines available because of what science says. I know we can only do so much research on our own, and then it is limited to what we have access to. I would talk to you your pediatrician before not getting the vaccine. Also, if you plan on letting your daughter into a daycare or even when she is getting ready to go to school, everyone requires it. Please let us know what happens!

I reccomend reading a book by Dr. Stephanie Cave called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations."
Draw your own conclusions after looking it over, and remember that the responses you receive on this website are not those of a licensed physician!
I have an older son w/autism who was given every shot that was recommended by the dr and on their schedule. I would NEVER do that again. You will understand why if you read the book. I have vaccinated my second child on an extremely DELAYED schedule. So, I am not totally anti-vaccine, but I am wary. There is no rush as long as you are a responsible parent and keep track on your own. The CDC schedule is way too aggressive for little bodies who have no immunity built up yet to be injected with all these things! There is no way of knowing if your child is predisposed one way or the other as to how they will react. I think it would be very sad to find out the hard way. I know it was for me.

I talked to my doctor about this last week when my daughter went in for her 15 month vaccinations. He said there is NO link between any vaccination and autism, and in fact the gene has been found making the disease GENETIC. The study that your friend is probably referring to (which I had heard about too), was evidently completed in the late 80s, on a study of 12 children, and done retroactively. That means that these 12 kids had autism, and while studying aspects of their lives, the doctor found out they all had the same immunization and concluded that the autism was caused by it. This is all of a sudden getting so much attention b/c there are now so many forms of autism and it is being diagnosed much more prevalently now, whereas before, it may have been misdiagnosed as ADHD or something else.
My doctor also said that immunizations are SO important in saving lives and preventing illnesses that even if there were a link (but there ISN'T), he'd still give the shots to his kids because the benefits would outweigh the risks.
Good luck!

I believe that the rise in Autism is the fact that doctors now know what to look for. Before they would just say the child was mentally retarded or has add or whatever. I believe that the pros to immunizations outweigh the cons and really it's better safe than sorry. Just my opinion.

My daughter has had her shots and was "diagnoised" with autism spectrum disorder. Turns out she really has a genetic disorder instead. She might actually have Williams Syndrome instead!

Hi L.,

I am a mom myself of a two year old, who is vaccinated with all reccommended vaccines on the reccommended schedule. My sister was concerned about vaccinating her children, not because of a link to autism,but because of the amount of the vaccines that children are given. This was a heated debate in my family because the majority of my family members are in the medical field and felt the information she was using as an argument against innoculating her children was "old". And, it was. Most of the research against this is older, at least 20 years old, and with the advances in the knowledge that is currently available, it is not a widespread opinion not to vaccinate, or a medically supported one. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly encourage vaccinating on a regular schedule. As for a link to Autism, I am an education student and just finished a class on child development. One other student mentioned this possible link, and the whole class started researching it. The fact it, a link cannot be proven between the two. I understand being a worry wart-I am one myself,and research everything on my own because it is hard to trust what one person might suggest. I am sure your sister in law meant well, but the advice she passed on to you is not correct. Visit: http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/mmr_autism.htm for more information.

Hope this helps!

L.

L.,
I did lots of research before my son was born and we have decided against vaccination at this time. If you look closely at the tests, they are often funded by the drug company that makes the vaccine, they only look for complications for two weeks afterward, and throw out some data that might lead to other conclusions. I was horrified by what I learned in the process of reading and researching. My suggestion would be to hold off for a while, do some more reasearch and then make a decision when you feel sure of what is the best for your family. A great book to read, which gives a lot of facts about the history of the diseases, complications and alternatives is What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Childhood Vaccinations by Dr. Stephanie Cave. MMR is a big one, often made from aborted human fetus tissue. Don't make a decision until you know more. Mercury and a possible link to autism and autism-like behavior is only the tip of the iceburg. Anyway, I won't get on a soapbox, just suggest you read the book and look into everything before making your decision. Good Luck, M.

I was worried also, so I have waited to give my children their MMR. The research I did showed that the booster shot they get before they start school, is actually the same dosage because the first one wears off. I've decided to wait until their closer to school age to get their shots when hopefully if there is a link to autism their bodies can handle the vaccines better.
R.

Hi L.,
My daughter just turned 1 this past Monday and I took her for her shots and she did get the MMR shot. I did hear on the news that they are trying to link all immunizations to autism but it is not a proven fact. I spk to the doctor and he said that all these shots are fine and ones she needs. If you have speculation when you take your child in, talk to your doctor before he gives them their shots and voice your concerns. I hope this helps