Pros & Cons on Vaccines & Immunization

Hi. Just to let you know, the study that supposedly showed a link between vaccines and autism has been discovered to have been a fraud.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/inde...

Vaccines do not cause autism.

ETA: There is a major whooping cough outbreak in California right now because of people not vaccinating their children. Measles outbreaks have also started popping up because of this. The doctor who promoted this fraud should face criminal charges. Children are dying because of his "study."

Maybe this is me being lazy, but I don't have a medical degree.
Therefore, I don't think that I know better than my doctor. Nor do I think that reading a book or two will put me in that position.

There are tons of books from tons of prospectives based on tons of unique cases in small percentages. People have been vaccinating their kids for years, and 99% of them are totally fine.

My kids are healthy with no issues or family history of issues (like autism). I'm vaccinating them as recommended.

As many have said - this is a hot button issue. Without giving you a lengthy response, I would just say do ONE shot at a time. That way, if there are any negative reactions you will know exactly what caused it. It takes more doctor visits and patience, but in the end it is 100% worth it for the peace of mind.

After my grandson got a DPT shot he went into the worst case of epilepsy which required hospitalization. That happened a few more times. I used homeopathy to get him out of it. Even his doctor admitted it was the shot.
I did not vaccinate my children against every little thing. They had mumps and chickenpox. These are not serious diseases.
I quit vaccinating my children when I nearly lost my two year old to a measles vaccination. If she hadn't been at the home of a doctor whose kids she was playing with anaphalectic shock would have killed her.
DO NOT LET BIG PHARMA RUN YOUR LIFE.

Here is my thought on vaccines. I did a lot of research and I read and own the vaccine book which is a wonderful resource. Vaccines have saved lives and can be a useful tool for keeping kids healthy....however they also have many nasty chemicals. The one chemical that I kept getting stuck on is aluminum. Here are the facts about aluminum that really stuck out to me
1. It has no purpose in the human body and can in fact crowd out other useful minerals.
2. Aluminum is painful when injected by itself and can cause local reactions at the injection site.
3. Aluminum causes brain inflammation and swelling (this is a fact and is not argued by doctors when talking about aluminum in general but for some reason in vaccines this concept is totally dismissed.)
4. In adults in the hospital there is an allowable level of aluminum of 50 mcg per day intravenously. This is a maximum level allowed and at higher levels side effects such as headaches, brain swelling, inflammation of the brain and possible brain damage are common.

That last point is what made me choose to go with an alternate vaccine schedule with my son. If you go with the CDC recommended schedule your infant will be injected with 250+mcg in one day in one moment. I don't understand how 50mcg a day in an adult is dangerous but 5 times that amount in an infant with an underdeveloped body is not considered dangerous. It seems that in the interest of the herd safety for my child is not considered.

My son is now 3 and is up to date on all the shots that are required for his age however he never received more than 2 shots at any one visit and no more than one aluminum containing shot on any day. I also allowed at least a month between visits to give his body time to filter out all the aluminum and chemicals in the shots. This choice did require more time, traveling, research etc on my part. I had to go to the peds office every month for the first 18 months of my sons life. For me this choice was totally worth it. My son has never had a reaction from his shots and I feel good knowing that I balanced the pros and cons as best I could. If you feel like you would be willing to invest the extra time and go back every month then by all means look into the vaccine books alternate schedule. If you don't fell this is possible for you then go with the CDC's schedule because it is important for kids to have vaccines and keep as close to the schedule as possible.

In conclusion I wish that the government and doctors would take parents concerns seriously. It seems like a no brainer to me that injecting kids with toxic chemicals in large amounts can't be good for them. If there were more incentive the manufacturers would take out some of these things. Unfortunately in this country we have a policy of do first ask questions later. Maybe after the deaths and injuries of thousands of children policies will begin to change. Good luck in your research and try to find a middle road. There are people on opposite sides of this issue and I don't think that either side is completely wrong. I would love to live in a world where vaccines were completely safe and chemical free while also providing the protection from diseases however this is not the world we live in. I would feel bad if my child had a severe reaction to a shot but I would also feel terrible if he died or was injured after contracting a preventable disease. As all things in life there is no easy answer.

Vaccines can be a part of powerful, effective, life-saving health care. So can antibiotics. If used inappropriately, vaccines can cause serious adverse effects, including disability and death. So can antibiotics. Like any medical intervention, there are benefits and risks.

Vaccines need to be evaluated individually. Each one is different in terms of effectiveness, complication rate, and how long it lasts. Each disease is also different in terms of vectors, seriousness, and how common it is. You need to weigh these factors and decide what risks are acceptable to you.

When doing your own research, I highly recommend reading the package inserts, available here: http://www.immunize.org/packageinserts/

When researching, keep in mind the bias of the source. CDC is strongly pro-vaccine biased, so anything *negative* they have to say about vaccines is likely to be accurate. If looking at a strongly anti-vaccine source, anything *positive* they have to say about vaccines is likely to be accurate.

Be aware that most physicians have *not* read the package inserts and may not be very informed about specific vaccines. Incidentally, this is true for most medications, which is why pharmacists are a better source of info than a doctor on drug interactions.

We are doing a cautious, spaced out approach to vaccination. If my child has a serious reaction to a vaccine, I want to know which vaccine it is, so I may safely continue with the others. Most serious reactions to vaccines happen when there are warning signs and contraindications that are ignored. Most serious reactions to vaccines happen on the *second* dose, not the first.

Regarding autism:
It is unlikely that vaccines cause most autism. It is known that vaccines can, in rare cases, cause encephalitis. Encephalitis can have identical symptoms to autism. So *some* cases of "autism" may be caused by vaccines, but certainly not all. There are documented cases of totally unvaccinated kids developing autism.

It may also be that autistic kids are uniquely vulnerable to vaccine complications. Correlation does not mean causation. I personally suspect that there is an unknown factor that is causing an increase in autism, allergies, autoimmune disorders, and vaccine injuries. I have no idea what that might be. But if my theory is correct, you would expect to see a strong correlation between autism and vaccine injuries, but absolutely no causal relationship.

I think, if you have a pediatrician that you like and respect, you would be wise to discuss this with him/her.

But O. 'pro' that comes to mind with regard to vaccination is knowing your child won't die from a preventable disease.

Oh--and the vaccine-autism link is hogwash. A hoax, totally untrue!

I cannot imagine not protecting my kids and grandkids from preventable diseases. The media hype about vaccines and autism is not true and cannot be duplicated in a lab. It is just a few people who think they have the answers. If you decided to not vaccinate and your child developed Polio or died from chicken pox or measles how would you feel about the shots then?

If you decide to not do them it is of course your decision but please use actual scientific research and talk to the doc about it.

I would never not vaccinate and possibly allow the kids to get those horrid diseases. But I grew up going to school with kids who wore leg braces and walked with canes and braces due to having polio.

You can be clear on vaccinations not causing Autism. It's been thoroughly debunked by the scientific community aka not the pharmaceutical companies. There is no link nor causation. If your child is typically healthy, there shouldn't any problems with getting vaccinations. Your baby will be at higher risk for getting diseases by not being vaccinated. The vaccines will NOT give your baby the diseases that they're vaccinated against.

EDIT: Andrew Wakefield was in fact proven scientifically to be a fraud. He NEVER DID THE RESEARCH but faked all of the supposed results where he did in fact state that there was a causal link between vaccines and Autism. It was independent scientific research, not pharmaceutical companies, that time and again debunked his worldwide hoax (he claimed that the MMR vaccine was linked to causing Autism knowingly and falsely and this was proven in court). Prior to this, he tried linking the MMR vaccine to causing Crohn's Disease. When he did that, his peers rejected that idea immediately so he moved on to choosing to set up an elaborate hoax using what would have been faulty "research" had it actually occurred. He manufactured data. That's been PROVEN, so there's no possible way that any of his "data" could be duplicated by five other countries. That's a blatant lie.

Vaccines DO NOT contain mercury aka thimerosal for children 6 and under. That has been phased out for many, many years. Flu vaccinations and vaccines for older children and adults that have thimerosal have 1 MICROGRAM or LESS, which is what it means when a doctor says thimerosal may be present in trace amounts.

When vaccines are given together, such as the MMR vaccine which has measles, mumps, and rubella all in one vaccine, that means you're DECREASING the amount of preservatives going into your child. And there isn't any mercury in the MMR and there never was.

The chicken pox vaccine NEVER had mercury in it either.

The FDA has made sure that childhood vaccines that used to have thimerosal no longer do, and many of them never did. That's a fact.

EDIT AGAIN: Diploid cells aka human fetal cell lines originate from the fetal tissue (from two abortions) obtained decades ago. Don't try to mislead people that fetal cells are being harvested from aborted fetuses in order to produce vaccines. As a Catholic, I hate that, but it's extremely important that my children are vaccinated with having two immuno-suppressed people in my house.

I am pro vaccine. Part of this reason is that my 1st child has had cancer, 2 times. None of those diseases, or autism, is scarier. If I could give my child a shot to prevent the Hell he has gone through, I would, gladly.

The autism rumor has been 100% debunked. The 1 doctor that did the study has admitted he faked all his results.

You need to make the best decision you can for your baby. CA has a problem with whooping cough right now. If you do not want to give vaccines that is your decision. Find out about each shot, what each one is, why they give it at each age. And, think about how many other people do not immunize. If your child were to get a communicable disease, and you did not vaccinate, how would you feel? Guilty? Also, think about other people your child is putting at risk by not being immunized. My son is one of them.

Everyone needs to make the best decision for their family. You decide what is best.

All I can say is think it through carefully--my fully immunized 6 year old is just getting over a lengthy bout of pertussis. Lots and lots of coughing, up at night for weeks on end. The peds pulmonary doc says she has seen a sharp rise in pertussis, even in immunized kids. She said my daughter would have definitely been hospitalized and in serious trouble had she not been immunized. Don't put your kiddo at risk for serious preventable diseases if you can avoid it. Don't put my kid at risk for serious preventable diseases, either.

Please get your child their vaccination many studies have disproved the one faulty study that linked autism.

Hi,

When my daughter, now eight, was getting her shots, it was at the height of the autism/vaccine scare and I was afraid of getting her vaccinated as well.

Since then, however, the doctor (google Andrew Wakefield and you will see a bunch of related articles) whose study claimed that vaccines cause autism was found fraudulent and, I believe, had his license revoked as a result.

So, there is no need to worry about the autism link to vaccines. So many moms totally understand your concerns, but after reading stories of parents whose kids caught and spread whooping cough, measels, and other illnesses that we haven't seen in centuries, I'd side with the vaccines.

Take care,
L.

look up the ingredients in the vaccines, then do your own research on each ingredient and decide if you want to inject it into your baby's blood.

good luck!

This is just my opinion--

VACINATE!! There is NO PROOF that vacines cause autism or any other childhood related problems; yes it is possible that a child could have a serious allergic reaction (but that could happen for lots of things, food, pollen, dust etc.). Vacinating is the only way to keep your child and the children he plays with healthy. Modernly, people have never seen anyone with Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio etc.... why is this so? Did they disappear off the planet?? NO - it is because people have vacinated them out of existence.

If moms stop vacinating their children, these and other diseases that are preventable WILL return - with a vengence! I can not imagine how it would feel to lose your child to whooping cough, measles, mumps or polio -- knowing that you could have prevented his pain and suffering. I would NEVER want my boys to go to school (if I could possibly avoid it) with kids who were not vacinated. I get every vacination possible for my kids (even ones beyond the basic recommendations). At the birth of my first, I too worried about this stuff that is pushed through mommy outlets, but I did my homework and talked to my kids pediatrician and others I trust (on both sides of the coin). My kids are extremely healthy, happy and smart. I truly feel that the media and junk science has scared moms into not vacinating their kids out of fear of autism. It is one thing to spread out the vacines, but there is no reason not to vacinate, please dont let a few worried moms convince you not to do this.

Also, be sure to get yourself, spouse and older children vacinated, as many times it is out of date booster "adults" around babies who are carriers of diseases they can pass to un-vacinated (or not fully vacinated) babies.

Discuss your worries with your doctor and do your own homework....you will see that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks!

Best of luck to you!

There is no "definitive PROOF" that vaccines cause autism or other serious side-effects, however there is PLENTY of proof that vaccines and immunization PROTECT your baby against common and potentially serious diseases and associated complications. The truth is that nobody knows for sure what causes autism and, since it usually only gets diagnosed later in a child's life (when most have had all their "shots") its easy to blame it on that. Both my children had ALL their vaccinations and they are both perfectly healthy teens now. I'm sure that most Moms would say the same thing - side-effects are rare. Trust your instincts and do what you feel is right. May God bless you and your baby. :)

There has actually been quite a bit of research on this topic. I have several friends with Autistic kids and have gone on the journey of research, treatment and therapy with them.

The bottom line is that many vaccines contain harmful preservatives, mercury being one of the worst. Normal immune systems can expel these toxins, so most kids don't have a problem. The problem arises when these "dirty" (i.e. heavily chemically laden) vaccines are given all at once. It's too much for the small child's system, especially for boys because research shows that these chemicals more easily bond to testosterone and they are not able to be expelled. This causes mercury poisoning which in turn affects the development of the brain.

So what' the solution? You can either ask your doctor for clean vaccines (which normally need to be specially ordered because they don't have the same shelf life as the dirty ones) or ask your doctor to space out the vaccines or (if it were me) I'd ask for both.

There is a lot of emotion around this issue - pro and con. Personally, I put my faith in things that can be proven scientifically. Science has proven that vaccines are helpful for the entire population, so please don't skip them. But science has also shown us that there is a limit to what the human body can tolerate. Go slowly and your precious little boy should be fine.

Best of luck to you!

I like a book by Stephanie Cave, MD called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations." My library had it.

I would also call the doctor's office and ask which vaccines are due at that visit, and then research them prior to the appointment. At the very least it would help me formulate and focus my questions for the doctor.

My children were born in the 90's. Back then we did not have easy access to any of this info. I trusted my ped, and I'm sorry for it. I would do things much differently today.

It's a very tough issue, either way you go. I just try to do my own research, consult with trusted experts for different opinions, and then make the best decision I can in the best interest of my child.

My children are not "soldiers" in anyone's war, including the war on disease, particularly when the car seats that they rode in had more potential manufacturer liability than a vaccine that gets injected straight into their bodies. Be sure to read the United States Supreme Court's recent decision known as "Bruesewitz" - http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-152.pdf , particularly Justice Sotomayor's dissent.

I am not suggesting that we not do vaccines. I am not anti-vaccine and my children have received vaccines. I am just very PRO informed consent. Two big ideas there: 1) INFORMED and 2) CONSENT.

A lot of my friends don't and one gave me a book called The sanctity of human blood, the doctor's website is www.thedoctorwithin.com. We do none and may consider just tetanus (dt) and hib but nothing else. I say at least space them out one by one if you don't want to skip them entirely! Too much junk, toxins, etc for little ones! My state has philosophical, medical, and religious exemptions so school has never been a problem.

ETA: my kids were exposed directly to whooping cough through two immediate family members, had a high fever for one day and nothing else. I called our ped who recommended nothing unless they start coughing. He said my kids were the healthiest kids he knows and their immune systems should handle it just fine, as they did with swine flu the year before! Natural immunity is far better than a vaccine.

No real 'research' done on this. I only know that if I were to decide this all over again, I would. I have 4 children (ages 6-14). I would also be more cognicent of which are immunizations and which are vaccines (there is a difference). Also, I would space them out, allow my children to be older than what the doctor's 'schedule' says, and have less immunizations given at any one time. I'm thankful that my children did not react negatively to them. That being said, I'm still not sure if I should have given my children the chickenpox vaccine or if I would choose that for them again. Something tells me that nature sometimes needs to run its course.

I have not read all of the responses, but I can say that it has not definitely been proven that vaccines do not cause Autism. My dr. thinks there is a direct link. I have not vaccinated my 2 (7 and 8) and they are extremely healthy. One had swine flu and did well. Yes it is risky, no doubt about it. But those that don't vaccinate are not willing to take the risks that are definitely involved with vaccinating. My dr says that his vaccinated patients come in sick more often. We pretty much only see him on well kid visits (not that my kids have not gotten sick and gotten fevers, but in all their years of life, they have never needed an antibiotic. All sicknesses were viral and worked their way out. We have also go to Dr. Feder in L.A. A good homeopathic dr, who gives alternatives for illnesses. Maybe go slow if you are on the fence.
Good luck,
D.

There is NO causal link between vaccinations and autism. This rumor was started because of ONE very badly done study, and it was debunked so don't worry about that. The only recommendation I would make is to request dead polio virus rather than the live. Down side is that the dead has to be given in an injection and the live is oral...but it is much safer. If you have concerns about your child's immune response being over-loaded, you can ask your doctor to separate the vaccinations and do them one at a time rather than the usual 3 in one.

This is a hot topic and has been addressed constantly on this site (and everywhere else). Do a search and you will see all of our posts (with more info and controversy then you care to get).

Here is my quick version because I have to get ready for work....the immunization shots do not CAUSE autism. For some, they can "trigger" the apparent onset of highly visible autistic symptoms...these usually occur around the time they get their 18 months shots (which is around the time autism becomes apparent anyway) and most of these usually show some signs early on (before any shots are ever given).

Immunizations help prevent lots of life threatening and/or painful diseases for your child and help to not expose other's children (those too young or ill to receive the shots themselves) to them as well.

While it is your responsibility to protect your child and you must do what you feel is best for him, I personally feel it is irresponsible to risk your child and everyone else's. Everything in life has risks and the reason so few children (and adults) contract these horrible illnesses today is because of the vaccinations. Without them, they will make a comeback and that would be a tragedy since we can prevent them.

I suggest you discuss this with your dr.

It has been definatively proved that vaccines do not cause autism. The scientific journal that published the original study proportedly showing a link and from which all these accusations originated has since called the original study an elaborate sham and retracted the article. There was a legal trial here in the US at which the pro and anti-vaccine sides each presented their case. There was no scientific evidence presented on the anti-vaccine side. TIME magazine did a really good overview of this whole story in perhaps 2010. Look it up on their website.

With all the information available, RESEARCH! I spaced out my kids vaccinations and even though some doctors will fight you on this - take charge and do what you think is right. They also combine some vaccines into one shot, but they CAN be split up, so if one is necessary, but you want to wait on the others - it can be done. My daughter (1st child) had more needles because I split up the vacinnes, but in the long run it seems like the right think for our family. I would suggest the whooping cough because of the outbreak, but Hep B can be spaced out ~ Good luck. It is one of your challenging decisions as a parent... I wish you well.

Hi, my sister is a pediatric nurse and yes she too will tell you that there is NO LINK between vaccines and autism. That said, however, there are children that are much more sensitive to vaccines than others. If you are concerned talk to your baby's doctor about the longer vaccine schedule. My son's doctor's office offers this and your child will still get all his vaccines within acceptable time frames he just won't get five and six shots at a time. This gives sensitive systems time to recover a little bit better.

This question is asked just about every day on this site. Go to the search feature and you'll find enough responses to keep you reading for days.

Autism and vaccinations are a Drs attempt to scare people into NOT vaccinating...

there is a chance that, even after being vaccinated, you can contract one of the diseases, however, it won't be as bad...

When my kids were that young, I made sure my pediatrician was on board with me - i will vaccinate - just not all 4 or 5 at the same time...we broke them up and did it a few weeks apart...

However, I cannot tell you what to do...I would research and find out what works for you...you can even research what has been said HERE by "searching" in the top right hand corner....you can google vaccinations, go to the CDC.gov website....I, however, cannot imagine NOT vaccinating my children..

CONGRATULATIONS on your baby!!!

The issue with vaccines and autism is that basically no one knows whether or not your child's immune system has trouble getting rid or or "detoxing" metals and other non-biological components at this point and no one knows if your child has a predisposition to autism. Most people agree that there needs to be a predisposition towards autism and then something environmentally sets it off. That said, mom's know their kids best and if you separate your vaccines and watch your child, you will know if there is any reaction and how healthy they are. Make sure your child is and has been healthy with every vaccine. With my kids, that was hard in the winter, so most of their vaccines happen in the summer months when I look back at their vaccination records. Doctors also say that if your child has some sickness like the chicken pox, the child's immune system has been compromised for at least 6 months even though the child looks healthy. Ask your doctor to be honest with you about things like this. No one seems to hear these things until after the fact. If your other children have been fine after vaccines, that is a good sign for you, too.

There is a very new study out about autism done on identical twins by researchers at UCSF, "which points to environmental factors as contributing to autism. Before this study, researchers believed autism stemmed mostly from genetics. But as autism rates skyrocketed in recent decades — now affecting 1 percent of U.S. children — researchers started looking at environmental factors, too. Deemed a “game changer” by Dr. Joseph Coyle, editor-in-chief of the journal that published it, the new study shows that autism can also be traced to environmental factors — everything a woman eats, breathes, and sleeps while pregnant. A related study shows that the use of antidepressants raises the chance of having an autistic child from 1-2 percent.."
Ok so essentially, it indicates that there is partly an environmental cause- and this would give me pause to put anything into my child's body other than breast milk and wholesome food. You have to decide which risk is greater... I would trust your judgment, though that is easier said than done!
My husband has two autistic nephews, so with our children we decided to go the no vaccine route and to keep them out of daycare or other places where they will be exposed to lots of viruses for as long as possible. We have been blessed with healthy robust boys.
Best of luck on your decision. This was the first of many of those parenting decisions I agonized over at the time...

If you are concerned (as we all seem to be concerned about possible side effects) ask the ped to give 1/2 doses and talk about the pros and cons with the dr.

More pros than cons... with Mothers of boys tho - I always recommend doing a slower schedule with not as many at one time. Boys have a weaker DNA, so if the child is more pre-disposed genetically to have mutations, immune issues, etc - single dosed or 2 together is better.

I will be having a son in the next week or so - and I'll be taking him for his shots often but one at a time.

im a 1st time mom. Hearing what could happen if I get the shots & what reactions she might have. I went and got her vaccinated. Take all the time you need. Which ever way you pick is correct. Good Luck momma.

I have a six year old with autism. She was vaccinated and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's probably tough enough for her being on the autistic spectrum; I don't want to make her life more challenging by having her suffer the effects of measles or whooping cough.

That said, I did stagger some of my daughter's immunizations, because I was concerned about overwhelming her system.

check out knowvaccines.com