OT: ease my mind about immunizations!

[Anjelica]

I've skipped around a lot in the thread, but wanted to add in a few points.

No link b/t vaccines and autism has ever been proven in a medical journal, though the media seems to have a different opinion. Jenny McCarthy mentioned on Larry King that the child of a friend of hers developed autism after a Hep C vaccine, though no such vaccine exists.

The disease these vaccinations protect against are SERIOUS and we tend to lose sight of that - who is the last person you've seen with meningitis caused by H.influenzae? One poster commented that if you have a good doctor, you can treat those. Some diseases advance too quickly for even the best physician to prevent lifelong damage. I also don't know of a single physician who "slept through the classes because everyone gets vaccinated now." These diseases still show up on EVERY board exam physicians take before getting liscensed.

The slippery slope theorem of "everyone else's kids are vaccinated so I don't have to worry since they won't give my kid the disease" has major flaws - you can't continue to protect kids if EVERYONE develops that attitude. How do you decide which kids should be the ones to get vaccinated? You'll eventually come across someone who has been to a country where these diseases are still endemic and who can then pass it along.

This isn't meant to cause flames in this topic. I think there is A LOT of misinformation distributed about this topic. Almost all the mercury in vaccines were removed a number of years ago, yet the rate of autism keeps rising. That argues against a link. I personally believe that since verbal skills start around 12 months of age, which does correlate with immunizations, that most people opt to believe one caused the other - its easier sometimes to have a scapegoat, a cause. The alternative explanation, that its most likely caused by a complexity of factors that we don't yet completely understand isn't sufficient. This is not meant to mitigate what parents of autistic children go through - it takes incredible strength of character to persevere and I have the utmost respect for those who do it day in and day out.

Just my opinion.

Ahhh - a breathe of fresh air. People may not agree with your stance but you put your statements out there with forethought. I think the statements you have made can be proven as more factual than say others...

 

[maymom96]

No link b/t vaccines and autism has ever been proven in a medical journal, though the media seems to have a different opinion.

I just don't understand why the government is saying there is no link but then conceded that a vaccine contributed to Hannah Poling's autism? Why did this little girl get compensation from the federal vaccination court if there is no link? If nothing has been proven, why did the government rule in this families favor?
What I find even more amazing is that this child had genetic testing and was found to have the gene for an underlying mitochondrial disorder. Yet the family still won compensation. But the Centers for Diseases Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine and other prestigious medical organizations still maintain there is no link between vaccines and autism.

 

[LanaJae]

I just don't understand why the government is saying there is no link but then conceded that a vaccine contributed to Hannah Poling's autism? Why did this little girl get compensation from the federal vaccination court if there is no link? If nothing has been proven, why did the government rule in this families favor?
What I find even more amazing is that this child had genetic testing and was found to have the gene for an underlying mitochondrial disorder. Yet the family still won compensation. But the Centers for Diseases Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine and other prestigious medical organizations still maintain there is no link between vaccines and autism.

This child had 5 vaccines at once to "catch up" so its more about the vaccines being labeled as a trigger. The amount of stress put on her body at that time did cause what happened to her, although an illness and/or a high fever could have triggered it at a different time. It was found that it coincided with the vaccinations (based on the news reports I read). I personally feel angry at the doctor who decided to do 5 at once.

Some parents might say, "well I'm pretty sure my child doesn't have any pre-existing conditions and most don't so there's nothing to worry about." Others might say, "I don't know if my child has pre-existing conditions so I'm afraid to take the chance." (and gobs of parents somewhere in the middle)

As an example, I know my HLA (human leukocyte antigen) type. I only know this because I paid to have the test done privately after I developed an autoimmune disease. I now have a list of all the autoimmune diseases and cancers that I have pre-disposition to. Is this good knowledge? HECK NO! There is little to nothing I can do to prevent any of them and no certainty that I would even develop them. The only thing it has been helpful for is identifying new problems faster.

If parents started having their children HLA tested, they would be afraid to leave the house. If insurance companies got a hold of that information, they would exclude people from being insured.

The healthiest child on the planet could have a list a mile long of all the things that could possibly go wrong, and on paper, would look like a walking time bomb. We just don't know what lights the fuse.

 

[maymom96]

I personally feel angry at the doctor who decided to do 5 at once.

Everyday children are getting 5+ vaccinations at one time. I just looked at the typical vaccination schedule from the CDC. At 2 months old, a baby can get the below at a well baby visit:
Hep B
Rota
DTaP
HIB
PCV
IPV
At 12 months old, they get the same shots except for the DTaP (it can be gave at 12 months old as long as it's been 6 months since the last DTaP). But they can also get Influenza, MMR, Varicella and Hep A. That is a possible 9 vaccinations. At 4-6 years old, they can get up to 8 different vaccinations at one time. WOW