Seeking Information on Vaccinating or Not.

Updated on April 21, 2009
J.H. asks from Oviedo, FL
7 answers

I would like to get others opinion on whether or not to vaccinate my son. He is 11 months old. We have had him vaccinated so far, but it is a conflict between my husband and I. I just want to get others outlook/professional advice. I know that the MMR vaccine is the "big" one that is the main concern. I actually did a research paper on the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.

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T.M.

answers from Orlando on

Blindly getting every vaccine available can be foolish. It is good you are putting thoughtful consideration into this. Vaccinations can damage the natural immune system and stunt it from developing fully.

For my husband and I, we agreed to do vaccines that were time tested...such as DTaP and polio (dead). We refused Hep B (my infant was not sexually active and I was negative so he had no need for such a vaccine that would only protect him for 10 years or so anyway) and the rotovirus (that one was actually pulled off the market about 10 years ago because it was killing kids...and only recently brought back into the vaccination schedules!) We will also be skipping chicken pox since that is not a fatal disease and is simply an inconvenience (and by allowing your child to get chicken pox, you are protecting them from getting shingles as an adult which the vaccine does not help with!) We also won't be getting the Hep A vaccine as we do not feel my son is at risk for that either.

The MMR is obviously the one that most people feel is the riskiest. I can tell you two things for certain for us, there is NO WAY I will do the 3-in-1 vaccine. Period. It's not worth the risk to me. IF we vaccinate it will be is 3 separate vaccines, spaced a month apart. Additionally, we will not consider even the separate vaccines until my son is closer to school age. There is NO HARM in waiting!

Additionally, you do not have to have vaccines to attend school in FL. You do have to go to your county health department, watch a brief video about vaccines and then sign a document.

The doctors want to vaccinate on their schedule, but you, as the parent, can alter that schedule to best fit your child. Refuse more than 1-2 vaccines per appointment! Refuse vaccines that are not necessary or contain live viruses if you don't feel comfortable with them. Be your child's advocate and minimize the amount of toxins you inject into your son at one time, or at all. You don't have to be completely against vaccines or totally for them in order to exist in our society....but you should be very thoughtful about them.

You likely wouldn't lose too much sleep if you skipped a chicken pox vaccine and your son caught chicken pox. Would you forgive yourself if he had a bad reaction to the MMR vaccine though?

The bottom line is, can you live with your decision if it turns out badly afterwards?

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S.T.

answers from Orlando on

J., as a mother of two I could NEVER think of not having my children get EVERY shot avaialable. THey will protect your child for their life & by not getting them, you could be setting them up for a life of illness & possible death. One thing I want to point out is that without all the shots the doctor offers, except for the option ones, your child will not be allowed to go to school. Good luck.

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D.T.

answers from Orlando on

Hi J.

I did vacinate my son, however, I would not do so now. I wish I knew what I now know. I think it's great that you are questioning. Especially the MMR, I think it's called. There is one round at 18m that many children end up autistic, it somehow changes how they think and their brain function. We have a poster at work that shows all the different vaccines and what they put in them and it's awful. They used to put formaldhyde (not spelled right, sorry, the same used to embalm people, was used as a perservative, can't be good). It's a great poster and helps you to start asking questions.
I have been involved with several families who would tell you they had a healthy normal child until they vaccinated. Do your research. Some of the stuff they put in is for HIV or sexually transmitted diseases, which is objectionable as well.

I'm glad your wanting to know. I hope others will have more info that will be helpful. While I did vaccinate my son, I did it at a much slower pace. I also didn't know I had a choice, here in Florida, you sign a blue form that states it's for religious reasons and the Dr.s can't do anything about it. They will pressure you and sometimes drop you if you don't vaccinate though.

Take care.
D.

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S.A.

answers from Orlando on

There is so much controversy on this topic. After doing my own research I decided to vaccinate my son (who just turned 2) but I did not follow the vaccination schedule. I felt that receiving more than 2-3 vaccines at once was too much. Some of the research is now pointing to children who have been diagnosed as vaccine damaged to have been the result of too many vaccinations at once versus the type of vaccinations they received. So, I would limit the amount of vaccines at once to no more than 2-3, would make sure the vaccines were at least 4 weeks apart, and would ensure that my son was perfectly healthy when receiving any vaccine (no runny nose, no cough, no nothing!). Also, the MMR and the chicken pox are both live vaccines (the MMR is 3 vaccines in one) so I would have those administered alone, without any other shots, including the flu shot. My doctor wanted to do the chicken pox with the flu shot and I said, "absolutely not, we'll do one now and do the other a month from now." Your doctor may not like it and it means more visits to the doc but I feel better knowing that my little guy isn't being subjected to more than 2 or 3 vaccinations at once. I'm comfortable knowing that he is safe from the diseases the vaccinations are protecting him from but also know that I have given his little body time to process the vaccine being given. Good Luck!

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M.H.

answers from Orlando on

read "what causes that" and talk to your doctor.
we decided to vaccinate after much consideration.

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V.G.

answers from Orlando on

J., Shannon is absolutely right! Get them all, including evidently, they now offer a chicken pox vaccination! My two are 18 and 16, so hadn't had a vacc since 7th grade. I swear nobody ever told me about the chicken pox one.....and don't you know, they both came down with it last summer. So! I say, go get those vaccines! Good luck!

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K.K.

answers from Orlando on

I, too, am seeking to learn more about vaccinations all together. I have 2 children and my oldest is 2 1/2 years. She has been vaccinated only for 3 of the immunizations and that was only because we were going out of the country. My second child is almost 8 months and has not been vaccinated for anything at all. As far as the connection with autism I am not sure about that. Autism is a difficult condition and I can't imagine seeing your healthy child suddenly slow down but from what I have seen the symptoms of autism appear around the 2 year age mark (which is right around another set of immunizations). Thus far I have not been totally convinced that immunizations lead to autism. I do believe that every child is different and the vaccines will affect each one a little differently. I would be interested in seeing what other information you find though.

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