Vaccinations

Warning: Long post ahead!!!!

I was asked by a few people my thoughts about vaccines and the girls vaccine schedule since I commented that we would be doing an alternate schedule as recommended by Dr. Sears. For the record, bc I am sure there are people who read this blog who choose not to vaccinate their children as well as people who will follow the traditional vaccine schedule as recommended by the CDC, I have an opinion in regards to vaccines but ONLY when it comes to MY children. Vaccines have become a very controversial topic and what you choose to do with your own children is up to you.

I read The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It is very informative and tells you everything about each vaccine, what they are made of,how they are made and potential known side effects. He also gives an alternative vaccine schedule. Through his website I was able to find a "vaccine friendly" doctor. For me a "vaccine friendly" doctor is one who is open to an alternative schedule besides the one recommended by the CDC but one who still recommends vaccinations.

My work experience as a pediatric nurse has only been in the hospital but upon admission I will ask if all the vaccinations are up to date, it is protocol and something I am required to chart. I have worked with several doctors who are very closed minded when it comes to vaccines. They don't want to have a conversation about them and to question their worth,necessity,much less schedule is quite possibly the dumbest thing a parent could ask and they'll let you know that is how they feel! In their defense...the wake of the MMR vaccine being potentially linked to autism, parents of children with autism who feel that the MMR is a root cause of their child's autism, and the wide media coverage regarding vaccines especially the MMR has alerted many parents. Parents have every right to question it...questioning has led to several vaccines no longer containing mercury and until we know more about autism and what causes it (bc we don't know) parents should ask questions and doctors need to be willing to have the conversation. Unfortunately, the Oprah show with Jenny McCarthy didn't do anybody any favors bc that is the source of which many parents are using to say they don't want their children vaccinated at all, period. To not vaccinate your child is a decision a parent has to choose but we all hope the decision making process involves more thorough investigating outside the Oprah show. With that being said,because vaccines in the past have contained potentially dangerous/harmful ingredients, it is imperative doctors have the conversation with parents and not demonize or make a parent feel crazy for asking questions. My biggest pet peeve in medicine is doing something or continuing to do something bc we have always done it that way. In every hospital I have ever worked in,you will find this to be true in many circumstances even if there is a better way to do it or if evidence based practice leads to a different conclusion, you will still find doctors and nurses who will do it the old way bc that is the way they have always done it. We all resist change to an extent and this is no different. Dr. Sears even states in the book himself that in medical school, they receive very little education about vaccines. They can tell you all about the disease but they don't know much about vaccines and they don't really question it. They assume that thorough investigating and studying is conducted by the drug companies that make them and so they don't question their safety. I think that is part of the reason they are so reluctant to have an in depth discussion because they themselves don't know what to tell you. Also stated by Dr. Sears and I feel this way as well in my practice as a nurse, any doctor who has encountered a child who died or suffered severe neurological damage, or a baby born with birth defects(ie rubella) from a disease that is preventable from a vaccine will feel very strongly about vaccines and be against not vaccinating and certainly question if not disapprove of an alternative vaccine schedule Finding a doctor who is willing to educate parents about vaccines without making them feel stupid for asking about them in the first place is proving to not be easy! For me, there are several factors that led me down the road of how I will vaccinate my children. Here is their vaccination schedule below up to 6 years as of now (things can change as more research is conducted and if it contradicts this schedule then I am flexible to change, also there may be new vaccines..who knows?)

2 months: DTaP and Rotavirus
3 months: PC(prevnar) and HIB
4 months: DTaP#2, Rota #2
5months: PC,HIB
6 months: DTaP#3 and Rota #3
7 months:PC,HIB, and Flu
8 months: Flu #2
9months: Polio#1
12 months: Mumps, Polio#2
15 months: PC, and HIB
18 months: DTaP and Chickenpox(varicella)
19 months: Flu(now on an annual basis)
2 years: Rubella and Polio #3
2.5 years: Hep B#1 and Hep A #1
3 years: Hep B#2 and Measles
3.5 years:Hep B#3 and Hep A #2
4 years: DTaP, Polio #4
5years: MMR booster
6 years: chicken pox #2


My twins were born premature at 35 weeks. I knew before they were born the chances of me carrying them to term was slim and that more than likely they would be premature and small. Hence, I started to educate myself on vaccines. They both weighed roughly 5 lbs when they were born. In my opinion, there is a huge difference between a baby born at term weighing 9-10 lbs than babies like my girls. They have more weight on them, they spent more time in the womb so they are more mature and developed including their immune system. My girls weighed as much as many newborn babies at their 2 month visit which was actually at 2 1/2 months.

In reading his book, I learned a lot about aluminum and primarily how much is in each vaccine, how little we know about aluminum toxicity as it relates to vaccines and the lack of research on aluminum toxicity as it relates to vaccines. We do know that aluminum is toxic at certain levels and if my girls received all of the vaccines as recommended by the CDC at their two month appt,depending on which brand our clinic uses, they could have potentially exceeded the amount of aluminum that is safe for them to receive by over 1000mcg. According to his book, there is a study that states a safe amount of aluminum for premature babies or people with impaired kidney function to receive is no more than 10-25mcg via injection at any one time. It becomes a bit overwhelming reading and determining which vaccines we should give because there is more than one brand for several vaccines and they don't all contain the same levels and that requires asking which brand of vaccine they use at your clinic. So limiting the amount of vaccines given at each visit lowers the amount of aluminum my girls are injected with each time. I wonder, because it hasn't been studied in babies, how fast their kidneys are capable of excreting the aluminum. While I am sure my girls could potentially safely receive more than 25 mcg of aluminum now,to receive over 1000mcg of aluminum injected at one time certainly leaves me questioning its safety.

He talks about giving only one live virus vaccine per visit. For this reason we will be splitting up the MMR into 3 separate vaccines. We have 9 months before this vaccination is neccessary though so I could potentially change my mind. That is about all I am going to say in regards to live vaccines. I liked his perspective and to find out more you should read the book.

Overall, the question that I have had in my head is why does the CDC recommend so many vaccinations at one time? I understand if they want to say it is fine to do them all at once especially for families, doctors know are unpredictable, don't show up for appointments etc.. But why not say it is ok to spread them out especially for parents who are responsible and accountable when it comes to seeking medical advice/attention for their children? If the end result for my girls is to receive all of their vaccinations before they start school, what difference does it make? Why overload any child's system with multiple vaccines? So many of the vaccinations they receive, there is a 0% risk of catching the disease this early in life if ever. The way he lines up his schedule is based on importance and the risk of getting the disease. As of right now, the only vaccine my girls will not be done with before they start school is their second varicella vaccination. That vaccine in itself is somewhat questionable to me anyways and with many physicians is "optional.". It is made using lung cells from a human embryo,along with guinea pig embryo cells as well as serum from a cow fetus. So many of our vaccines are made from animal tissues...that I did not know! As you can imagine many people decline this vaccine due to the human embryo issue. Because so many people choose not to vaccinate, it is still an ever present disease in our society. I wish they could have found a better way to make it that didn't involve a human embryo.

For our family the choice to vaccinate was easy...I am a nurse and while I have no plans of returning to work any time soon, eventually I may return to work a few shifts a week( nursing can be a super flexible career) once my kids are in school. I would put them at risk bc I am potentially exposing myself to all of these diseases everytime I am at work. I have certainly taken care of countless children with rotavirus and pertussis. I am not anti-vaccines, but I do think the schedule recommended by the CDC is questionable. My kids will not be in daycare so I also feel more comfortable with a delayed schedule. However so many of the vaccines we are delaying are such low risk...ie Polio,MMR and Hep B. I am sure most people know that Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease. So in my mind, the only risk I am taking with delaying this vaccine is if heaven forbid my children need a blood transfusion before they are vaccinated and then they are at risk of aquiring it this way if they are extremely unlucky and receive blood from an infected person. There again, the risk of them needing a blood transfusion and then getting blood infected with this disease is such a low risk. My girls will be flying in a plane when we move and that will probably be their greatest exposure,however it is still low risk because they allow babies to fly even before they can be vaccinated. All in all, this is what we feel is best for our children and like I said before I only have this opinion in reference to my own children, not anybody else. That is up to their parents and doctor to decide!

The cons to this schedule for us as you can see is it is going to require multiple doctor visits, co-pays, and multiple injections. All of which are ok with me. Sure shots can be traumatic and painful but it is short lived. Don't get me wrong,while I may be the mean ol'nurse that often starts IV's and gives shots, it isn't fun to see any child experience pain especially my own. They also may boycott the doctor's office by crying and throwing fits especially once they are capable of understanding where we are going but we'll deal with it as it comes! Ok, so if you're still with me...sorry for the super long post!

I referenced The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears throughout this post.