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October 03, 2006

Vaccinations

Vaccines are a controversial subject for those of us who have delved into this series of shots given to our children from birth on. Some parents don’t question the pediatrician when it comes to vaccinations, but many parents have doubts about their safety and necessity. Here are a few things you should know about vaccinations that may come as a surprise.

#1 Adverse effects and side effects do occur, though infrequently. If you suspect your child has had a vaccination reaction, tell your healthcare practitioner and ask him or her to file a report with the VAERS- the Vaccination Adverse Event Reporting System. You can also file reports yourself. See http://vaers.hhs.gov/ for more information.

#2 If you feel very strongly about it, you can refuse to have your child vaccinated. Most pediatricians will try to convince you otherwise, but you do have the legal right to refuse. In New Hampshire, you can obtain a medical or religious exemption. You do not need to belong to a specific religious group to qualify for a religious exemption. For medical exemptions, you would need to have a doctor state a medical reason why your child should not receive a particular vaccination or any immunizations at all. An example of a medical reason would be having had an adverse reaction to a vaccine in the past. There are many online resources to guide you through this process, such as http://www.909shot.com/ and http://www.vaclib.org/. Be aware, though, that some daycare programs, schools, and camps may try to refuse admission to your unvaccinated child. View the copy of New Hampshire’s Religious exemption form .


#3 You may choose which shots to be administered to your child and when. If you are concerned about the frequency and quantity of vaccinations, you can offer an alternate schedule of vaccinations to your pediatrician. As with #2 above, daycare programs, schools, and camps may try to refuse admission if your child has not received all of the vaccinations.

#4 Did you know that vaccine manufacturers are protected from liability when it comes to vaccinations? In 1988 the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, an arm of The U.S. Government’s Health and Human Services Department created the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) to compensate individuals whose injuries may have been caused by vaccines. This created a no-fault system so that pharmaceutical companies are not liable for injuries that their vaccinations might have caused.

#5 Thimerosal is a preservative used in some vaccine preparations. It was been linked to allergic reactions and, as it is a form of mercury, has potential neurotoxic effects. According to New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services, the following vaccinations are thimerosal-free:
DTaP Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis vaccine
eIPV Enhanced Inactivated Polio vaccine
HIB Haemophilus Influenzae type B vaccine
PCV7 Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, (Prevnar)
MMR Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine
Varicella Chickenpox vaccine

These vaccinations below still contain thimerosal:
DT: Diphtheria and Tetanus vaccine-pediatric formulation
Td: Tetanus and diphtheria vaccine-adult formulation
Influenza: Influenza vaccine
Pnu23: Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine

You can read more about the thimerosal controversy by using the ‘search’ function at www.mercola.com.


#6 Good reasons TO vaccinate include the following: you plan to travel to third world countries; your children are not breastfed; you and your family do not eat a whole foods diet (i.e., your diet is high in sugar, refined and processed food, and low in whole grains and vegetables.); you are more concerned about the diseases themselves than the possibility of adverse effects from the vaccinations. Also, many doctors in developed countries are less adept at recognizing and therefore effectively treating the early signs of many of the diseases that are vaccinated against, because they are less prevalent in society.
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