Not Finishing Rounds of Booster Shots?

The reason we don't see polio and other diseases running rampant is becuase of vaccines. So, you are welcome. I vaccinated my son.

I know there are people who don't vaccinate or don't do all the boosters. But in talking to women my mom's age (in their 80's) who recall the days of polio and remember when chicken pox, measles or rubella swept through their kids' school and neighborhoods they completely do not understand why parents choose not to vaccinate. It's modern medicine at it's best.

The only reason you can feel a relative level of security that your child won't get these potentially deadly and disabling diseases is because 99% of the other children who'll come in contact with your kid will have had these vaccines. In effect everyone else protecting their kids in turn protects yours.

Be very careful about travel to other countries, particularly Mexico and the Carribean.

You're welcome.

I'm saying you're welcome because by vaccinating my kids, I'm protecting yours.

Best wishes!

We do not vaccinate either of our children at all (7 month boy, 2.5 year old girl).

First of all, just because a child (or adult or pet) receives all of the recommeded initial and booster shots DOES NOT necessarily mean they are immune. Some people are immune without the boosters. Some need more boosters than the required amount to reach immunity. For some people the required number of initial and boosters is just right to acquire immunity. The way to know is to do a simple blood workup called a TITER. Now, you'll probably have to TELL your doctor you want this done. They'll probably put up a fight and try to talk you out of it. Just stick to your guns. You will need a titer done for EACH disease you want to test immunity for. Once your children are ready for school you can get an exemption to get them into school. Don't let the schools tell you no vaccines, no entry. It's just not the case. So, just because he doesn't get all of the boosters does not necessarily mean he will not be protected.

We titer our dogs since they had initial vaccines before we learned about how awful vaccines were, and for the last 7 years they have remained immune to ALL diseases. Just look... for the last 7 years they would have recieved boosters they didn't need!! Over-vaccination is a big issue in the pet and human world alike. I say... if you aren't comfortable then don't do it yet. Do all the research you want, and don't do anything until you are comfortable. If at a later time you feel comfortable then go for it. I think parents should be able to be well educated and make the decision for yourself. Realize that your doctor probably really isn't a good resource as he/she is going to be pro-vaccine and that will be their agenda. Whatever you do, just make sure it is YOUR decision!

I will say this - don't look for your answer here on these boards. You're going to get a flurry of emotional responses. Go looking for primary sources that give real data and statistics. Even Dr. Sears is an opinion. He would be considered a secondary source. Go looking for the information he is giving from the actual source. Is he interpreting it the same way you would?? That is the way to go about this. It is time consuming, but worth it - whichever way you decide.

Personally, I like Dr. Mercola at www.mercola.com. He is very straight forward with raw data - primary sources. Many other doctors have input to his articles with primary sources as well.

Also check out www.vacinfo.org. This is a very simple site made by parents of a child who was vaccine injured, but they have many, many primary sources gathered in one place. Interesting information there from a man who worked in the labs creating new vaccines for many years, and on Amish who are not vaccinated and the fact that they have no cases of autism.

As far as the guy whose paper was recinded on the link between vaccines and autism - if you look at the case closely you will actually see that the reason his paper was recinded was because his research methods were considered by the common medical community to be "unethical". While that is something to be argued in a different discussion, the important thing to note is that the actual findings were not discredited. The paper was not recinded because the findings were found to be false, or tampered with. He didn't do some "creative research". In my opinion this is a loophole the medical community and big pharma used to get the paper thrown out to further their own agenda. It's papers like this we need so that parents can make their own informed decision. By getting it thrown out on a technicality that in no way affects the actual validity of the findings the medical community and big pharma is trying to inadvertently (and falsely in my opinion) influence the publics decision making process on giving vaccines. Once again, go to the PRIMARY SOURCE (not some news article) to research this for yourself.

But there are many issues with vaccines far, far beyond autism. These are the things you need to research and decide for yourself. Also consider that these outbreaks - measles, pertussis, etc. - are being suffered by people who are supposedly vaccinated. They don't just affect those who are un- or under-vaccinated. You have to ask yourself - why?? I could tell you that answer too, but I'm just a secondary source. Go looking for the primary sources on that question. www.mercola.com and www.vacinfo.org are two great places to start for primary info. If it's primary info then no one else's agenda - whether they be pro or anti vaccine - can skew the facts and affect your decisions.

Also research into "herd immunity" and why it is actually a big hoax. Again, I could give you the answer myself, but you need to see it from the primary source. While you are there look at why people THINK vaccines are what have eradicated diseases from society. Question everything, and go looking for the answers on both sides. Weigh the facts and statistics against one another and decide for yourself what you believe.

It's time consuming. You'll have to look a lot of things up so you understand. But it's worth it for your kids. I applaud you for questioning things in the first place! Whatever you decide, I think it is excellent that you are making the decision YOURSELF!!! :-)

In response to Jo G. I find it so irritating that people always assume that someone does not vaccinate because "vaccines cause autism." The majority of mothers that choose not to vaccinate are very well educated and that is not the reason they are choosing not to vaccinate.

There is no harm in not finishing the boosters. Most people are immune with just the first dose. You can either forgo them or ask the doctor to do a simple blood test called a titer. This will tell you if your baby is immune or not. And if you are not sure then just don't do anything for the time being. You can always come back later and do vaccines but you can't go back and undo them.

How good do you feel about measils? My grandfather felt deep sorrow and heartache that he just never got over, and the child who died was not even his, it was his baby sister at age 7 in 1915. It has just been in the last century that modern medicine has given us the privalege to reject the gift it has given us. That gift is that we expect that our children will be born live and will out live us and will most likely never face a life threatening event in our life time.

My grandfather thought that vaccines were the most wonderful things ever. People who lived in the 18th century spent 6 weeks in isolation, risked a high death rate, and endured a less deadly illness to aquire imumity from one of the first vaccines for small pox. In third world contries, mothers walk for miles and miles to get vaccinations for thier children. I think that we need to think more about why we have vaccines because that seems to be lost on our modern outlook, and we just don't get it. We don't get mumps, we don't get measils, we don't get polio, and we don't (until recently) get whooping cough.

You are free in this country to do as you wish. I vaccinate. For the sake of your child and all unvaccinated and under vaccinated children, I hope that I am wrong and the time never comes when one of these illnesses make a comeback. That is what my heart says, and I am glad that my family (and my autistic children too) are all protected. Not even autism changed my heart...

M.

How has your son respond to the vaccinations that he has received so far? We regularly hear about kids who have or are presumed to have bad reactions to vaccines, but there are millions of kids who get vaccinated regularly with no more than minor side effects. When things go right, it doesn't make it into the news.

Every person's immune system responds differently, but if your son responds well that may work in your favor. My son (4) has done the full vaccination schedule with never more than a little sleepiness and a sore arm from the tetanus shot. If your gut is telling you to get him vaccinated, and he handled he's previous vaccinations with minimal side effects, it might be an indicator for you to go ahead with the boosters now.

And because more parents are choosing to opt out or delay vaccinations, they are depending on the vaccinated "herd" to protect their kids from diseases that regularly killed or maimed children a couple of generations ago. As the herd becomes thinner, it makes me feel more strongly about vaccinating my child, even understanding that I am making a calculated risk that the next vaccine may cause a problem. If you chat with anyone older than 70 in your family, they will be able to list the people they know who died from diseases that we no longer think of as serious threats....

I am highly offended by a previous "you're welcome" comment from another parent.

The bottom line is that there is a growing list of parents and physicians who believe that vaccines CAN AND DO harm some children (in various ways, and I'm not talking solely about autism). There is a $2 billion dollar fund to pay for just such injuries (and that's if you can prevail - it is not a traditional court of law).

For that reason, i.e., THERE IS A RISK INVOLVED NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU BELIEVE IT IS - it is SHAMEFUL to attempt to "guilt" or push another parent to make a decision that may or may not be in the best interest of that parent's particular child. I do not believe that our children should be soldiers automatically pressed into service in the "war on disease." I do not believe ANY children should be sacrificed to supposedly save the lives of other children or adults. I am not anti-vaccine either; I just believe it is a medical intervention like anything else and something that must be carefully considered.

People are trying to make the best decisions that they can for their particular children. That's all any of us can do. My job is to protect my children. Perhaps if the schedule hadn't more than doubled in the last 20 years people would be a bit more willing to trust their doctors no questions asked. Because the list continues to expand (there are 200 vaccines in the pharma pipeline?) parents can no longer afford to simply rubber-stamp every vaccine that comes down the line. It's disgusting to make this very nuanced and complex matter something simplistic like "you're welcome."

JMO. I'm not a health care provider of any type - this is just my "mom" opinion. S. - I do wish you luck and good health whatever you decide to do for your child. You don't need snarky comments to make your job even more difficult.

PS: I would keep talking with my pediatrician and I'd probably get a couple more opinions. I would also of course do my own reading and research to help get my questions and understanding as focused as possible.

You do know the original study that said these shots were harmful was proven wrong. It was done by a doctor working for a plantifs attorney who needed proof to win a case.

So far as the autism gluiten thing, I would put that cause at antibiotics given during labor and the thrush it cases in nursing mothers.

Oh also without the boosters you have no immunity, not partial.

I am sure you are going to get some very emotional responses! After much research and discussion, my husband and I chose to vaccinate our son, just at a much slower pace. We also chose to opt out of the hep b and chicken pox at this point. My son is 2 today, and we are planning on giving him the MMR when he turns 5.
I think what we all forget is that we all do what we think is best for our children. If you are not comfortable with something, then don't do it. Trust your insticts.

My children both have had all the shots on the regular schedule and have had no ill effects from it. We do flu vaccines and H1N1 too. I do believe vaccine injury can occur, but the chance is slim. I think NOT vaccinating children opens them up to many more risks in their lifetime, we just haven't seen the effects of people not vaccinating their kids yet. What sealed the deal for my family's decision was talking to a NICU nurse that had never treated a child for vaccine injury at that time, but watched a mother hold her critically ill child with whooping cough regret her decision to not give him the vaccine. I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but it really was what made my final decision. Hindsight is always 20/20.
This is an intensely personally decision for every family to make, so take my opinions for what you think they are worth. I do honestly believe it is a debate based mostly on fear and sensationalism created by the media. Good luck with your decision!
A.

My favorite book on the subject is the sanctity of human blood, his website is www.thedoctorwithin.com, it goes over the likelihood of catching each of the diseases naturally, side effects from vaccinations, etc. HTH!

I vaccinated my children on schedule, every time and neither had any side effects or problems. My entire family has vaccinated all their children.
I have said before that I had an aunt who contracted polio as a child and was crippled with health problems throughout the rest of her life. I've seen what polio can do. I would never risk my children having to go through that when there is a vaccine to prevent it.
It's just my personal opinion and I don't mean to be inflammatory, but I think it's a mistake to assume your children are safe because most other people immunize their children. Most? Some? Any that your kids are around? How do you really know?
It used to be that kids couldn't enroll in school without their immunization records. Now parents can opt out. It's a personal and private decision which means you have no way of knowing how many children your child is exposed to that are not vaccinated. The parents who vaccinate are the only ones who know what their kids are exposed to and protected against.

If you truly believe that vaccines are harmful, don't do it. It's your choice as a parent. If you think that possible side effects from a vaccine far outweigh the effects of an illness, then your decision should be pretty clear.
Again, these are just my opinions.

I go both ways on this, my boys didn't have issues, my daughter had serious delays and honestly i have and always will blame her first round of shots, after which we stopped vaccinating her and in 6 months she was right on track.

That being said she's 8 and about to enter public school next fall (we homeschooled up until now) and she got the rest of her shots and is up to date and doing really well.

My 4 month old isn't vaccinated at all, but after a whooping cough scare we will slowly be getting his done. I'm planning one shot at a time starting with what I feel is most important until he is done with that shot and then moving on. But he is also home with me and not in daycare or anything else so his exposure is limited.

I know how hard it is to contemplate how an important decision can have long term effects. But the thing is...if the kids don't get these vaccines they can die from the diseases or have life long illnesses that cause them to have a much lesser degree of life. Can you imagine your child getting Polio? or some other disease that you could have prevented by a simple shot that has very minimal side effects?

I could not live with myself if I didn't get their shots and something happened to their health. So it was never even a consideration for me to not take the kids in and get them.

I agree that it is the parents decision to vaccinate or not but I can't help but look at them and think how they are going to feel if their child gets a preventable illness or dies from something silly like measles or chicken pox. There was an episode on ER when a mom took her kids to someplace like France and they got some disease and one or both of her children died in the ER. They finally figured out the kids had not been vaccinated before traveling.

I have heard some things too about some countries not allowing people in that have not had vaccinations but I don't know if it's true. I know when you travel to foreign countries you sometimes have to go get tons of shots to get your passport.

Well dtap is for whooping cough and with all the recent outbreaks I'd think you would want to protect your baby. The more people that dont vaccinate the more we are going to hear about outbreaks of these diseases and babies/children dying from them.

Our osteopath (MD), told us that if you get one of the shots in a series, you are less protected if you don't finish the series, than if you don't get any at all. So since you have started, in his professional opinion, they should be finished. For the record he is anti all immunizations, and we are on a very limited vaccine schedule for our 2 year old as well. I wish I had not started on a few for my daughter, but since I did I am completing them.