Vaccinations - Columbus,OH

Hi H.. I am expecting my first child this October and actually just met with the pediatrician last week. We discussed vaccinations and she told me some information that I had not heard, so I thought I'd pass it along to you. Basically, she explained that in the late 1990's when the focus was on the mercury levels in vaccines in order to prolong shelf life, studies were done on European children (as vaccinations in Europe, especially England contain double the mercury levels as those in the states at that time). The number of cases of children diagnosed as autistic were consistent w/ the number of cases diagnosed in the U.S. Then, they also tested children from Amish communities as they typically do not vaccinate. Again, the levels of children diagnosed w/ autism were consistent w/ children who had been vaccinated. According to my pediatrician, these various studies basically ruled out the link b/w mercury and autism, however, to be safe the U.S. government banned the use of mercury to preserve vaccines shelf life in all required vaccinations beginning in 2002 (note: the flu shot, for example, is not a "required" vaccine and thus still does contain small amounts of mercury). All in all, my pediatrician stated that there is still no known cause for autism and the rise in the number of children diagnosed autistic is more likely due to the fact that doctors are just getting better at identifying it. I have a friend who is a speech pathologist who works primarily w/ autistic children and she said about 1/2 of the children she works w/ were not vaccinated, yet they are still autistic. Long story short, my pediatrician felt strongly that it is best to get the vaccinations to prevent known diseases that can result from not having vaccinations rather than to not vaccinate to prevent the unknown possibility of autism. Of course this is just one view and I'm sure you've heard quite a few opposing views, but I hope this helps in some way.

C.

I have had conflicting feelings about vaccinations. Yes, there are scary things out there about what the long-term problems might be (when you do vaccinate.) Still, after researching and really trying to find the right answer, I went with the majority and I vaccinated my daughter. I think that they have improved vaccines over the past decades and they are working to make them safer. I just weighed my choices and I guess I preferred to do what I could to protect her and hope that, in doing so, I wasn't exposing her to other problems. Most of the reports that I have read are somewhat biased or not very controlled. When speaking with multiple pediatricians and even a wholistic specialist, I concluded that vaccinations were the best defense against many scary diseases and I couldn't knowingly refuse this for my daughter. Good luck with your decision. So much stress over someone so tiny!!

H., I was just wondering if you decided to vaccinate or not? I have two kids (3yrs old and 15month old)and have chosen not to vaccinate either. I worried for a long time about my decision, but then I realized that I was worried about what people would think of me not weather i was making the right decision or not. I think that after you have done all the research you really just have to listen to your gut. I am sure that by now you have more then enough info but, if you haven't already, you should check out mothering.com. It is full of really good info on everything!! Happy parenting!!

Hi,
I have gotten my 3 year old vaccinated, though I really didn't want to and I have been able to not get as many with my 9 mos. old. I would prefer not to vaccinate my children because the vaccines are a man-made or altered substances that I believe shouldn't be in the body unless absolutely necessary. I do agree to it in certain situations, but for the most part I believe children are over vaccinated. I believe it may have something to do with the rising numbers of Autism cases and other issues. I think vaccines cause other problems while trying to prevent problems. My pediatrician does not support my decision. She does work with me on cutting the number of vaccines down, but let's me know that she thinks I'm jeopardizing my childs health. In fact, the staff mistakenly gave my son a vaccine he wasn't supposed to get and she commented that she was sorry they made the mistake, but not sorry he received the vaccine. The pediatrician's office I go to has a policy that all children that are seen there are required to be vaccinated. I would like to find a different pediatrician, but not sure how.
I have 5 cousins who were not vaccinated due to religious reasons, but I tried that at the pediatrician and that didn't fly either. There has freedom to choose what is injected into our children. They've started the Hep B vaccine when my younger brother started school in the mid 1980's, I don't know why, there was not a Hep B outbreak or scare. I think someone decided they could make money from it, not sure...
I hope you get good advice to help you make your decision. Stick up for what you believe is right.
I haven't had to deal with schools yet.

Hi H.,
my pediatrician has been very supportive of me vaccinating on a different schedule. I only give one shot at a time and I have elected not to do many of the vaccinations that are recommended. I also waited til my older son was well past 2 to do the MMR, which is the vaccination in question for autism. I know that many pediatricians dismiss the whole link of vaccinations with autism, but the research community still does not know what does cause it, so I have chosen to be more cautious. Also, even though mercury has supposedly been banned by the FDA, I still always inquire as to whether the shot my child receives is thimerisol free. Good luck to you!!!!
E.