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HIB vaccine and disease: How important is it to vaccinate for a disease that is very severe, but extremely rare?
There's no doubt that HIB disease is severe. But now that this particular form of meningitis is extremely rare, how important is the vaccine for infants today? On the one hand, continued vaccination helps keep the disease out of our population, and helps protect each infant individually. But on the other hand, since the disease is so rare, can parents safely skip this vaccine in their babies? There's really no right or wrong answer to this question. Most parents choose the vaccine, but some don't. The ultimate choice is up to you! Labels: Vaccines and their diseases
DTaP vaccine and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis: Raise your hand if you want a plain pertussis-only vaccine?
Although the D and the T diseases are virtually unheard of in infants and young children in the United States, the P disease, pertussis, is still very common and can be very serious for infants. This makes this vaccine very important, and I place it first on my Alternative Vaccine Schedule. But wouldn't it be nice if you could just give your baby a pertussis vaccine, and delay the D and the T components until later in childhood? According to the vaccine product insert, it may be the Tetanus component of the vaccine that is responsible for the neurologic reactions (see The Vaccine Book). Unfortunately, an individual pertussis vaccine isn't available. Interestingly, however, P component of this vaccine is manufactured separately from the D and T parts, then combined at the end of the process. So it seems plausible that a separate pertussis vaccine could be done. It's quite the dilemma. Labels: Vaccines and their diseases
American Academy of Pediatrics 2007 Vaccine Schedule
Birth - Hep B 1 month - Hep B 2 months - DTaP, HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Polio 4 months - DTaP HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Polio 6 months - DTaP, HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Hep B, Flu (if in season) 1 year - MMR, Chickenpox, Hep A 15 months - HIB, Pc 18 months - DTaP, Polio, Hep A, Flu (if in season) 2 years - Flu 3 years - Flu 4 years - Flu 5 years - DTaP, Polio, MMR, Flu 12 years - Tdap, Meningococcal, HPV (3 doses - girls only) My main worry about this schedule is that there really hasn't been enough research on the various chemicals and ingredients in many vaccines to prove that they are 100% safe. It has also been my experience that giving 5 or 6 vaccines at a time can increase the likelihood of a severe reaction. My Alternative Vaccine Schedule circumvents these theoretical worries and provides complete vaccine coverage, but at a more reasonable pace. Before proceeding with the full regular vaccine schedule, I encourage parents to become fully informed about each disease and vaccine so they can understand the safest way to vaccinate their children. Labels: American Academy of Pediatrics 2007 Vaccine Schedule
Is it worth the trouble to spread a baby's vaccines out over more visits so less shots are given at a time?
The main difference in my suggested alternative vaccine schedule is it spreads the infant vaccines out over the first few years of life, instead of bunching them all up in the first 18 months. It gives fewer vaccines at a time, gives the most important vaccines first, and slightly delays the less important vaccines. But ultimately the end result is the same - a fully vaccinated child. What are the benefits of my alternative schedule compared to the standard one? - By only giving two vaccines at a time (instead of as many as 6), I decrease the chance of chemical overload from grouping so many vaccines chemicals all together at once. This allows a baby's body to better detoxify the chemicals one or two at a time.
- I give only 1 aluminum-containing vaccine at a time (instead of the recommended 4). Overloading on this metal can be particularly toxic to the brain (See Resources, page ___ of The Vaccine Book to view the research on this).
- I give only one live-virus vaccine component at a time to allow the body's immune system to better handle the live viruses in these vaccines.
- Giving fewer shots at a time may decrease the side effects, in my experience.
- Giving fewer shots at a time also makes it easier to figure out which vaccine a child is reacting to if a severe reaction occurs.
Sure, vaccinating this way means more visits to the doctor's office, more gas money, more insurance co-pays and more time off work to take your baby in. BUT, some parents may decide it's worth the extra time, money and trouble. Labels: Alternative Vaccine Schedule
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