Shots----what do your kids get?

[DixyDoodle]

Recently our school started sending out a sheaf of flyers for vaccinations for our kids. Meningitis. Hepatitis B. And H1N1. For girls (of which I don't have, but), they also got a form for the human pap virus shot.

Well, I can personally say that the H1N1 is definitely NOT going to happen; my boys will not be made into guinea pigs.

But what do you think about the others? We never got those in school. In reading the info that came with the permission slip to be signed, there was a lot of vague info such as: some people who MAY get sick MAY develop this, that and the other thing. And 1% of people WHO COME SERIOUSLY ILL (read to me as in "most people do NOT") may die. I have to say that I was very suspicious of all the "might be" and "may" and "possibly" words used in the form. Call me suspicious.

I did not sign the forms. Firstly because my one son absolutely goes beserk when he needs shots, so a doctor trip is in order. Secondly, I can't help but wonder why all these shots are suddenly being pushed? NO papers sent out last year to anyone.

??????

What would you do? What do you give your kids?

Thanks~

[mduncn52]

If you watch the commercial for the meningitis vaccine and read the fine print you will see that there are only something like 2500 cases worldwide a year. The drug company would not spend the money to develop a vaccine for a disease that only affected 2500 people worldwide ( like that syndrome that ages children), but they have found a word, meningitis, that scares the bejabbers out of everyone and developed a vaccine they knew they could foist off on millions ($) of folks. Possible side effect--Guillian-Barre. This is why I won't ever get a flu shot. I had a friend, Not a friend of a friend, I knew this guy, we worked together. He was the one in a million that is allergic to the flu shot and he got Guillian_Barre from it. This man went from a big, strong guy, to being wheelchair bound in 60 days. It took a year before he could walk again and he never fully recovered. He could not go back to work as a prison guard and had to move to the records office and a desk job because of his disability.. Be very afraid of any drug company that tries to do you a favor.

[Lada]

I'm leery of just about all vaccinations, although we do selectively vaccinate. I would do meningitis, and probably Hep B, for older children anyway. I see no need for newborns to get a Hep vaccine.

The HPV one I am torn about, as my best friend has battled HPV because of one college boyfriend. I want my daughters to wait until marriage, of course, but I'm also realistic. My friend contracted HPV from a guy she had dated for 18 months, who didn't even know he had it. I'd hate to think that one mistake my daughters make could damage them the way my friend has been damaged by this disease. I have a few years to think about it, but I'm really torn on that one.

[debbydoo1966]

I want to share my vaccination experience

[Kmac15]

I went to school in Belgium, and got most of my shots in school.
I thought all the shots had to be given before they would let the kids in school, or at least that is how it was when my son was in school.
We got my DS all that was required at the time, I did wait on the chicken pox, as he was just 6 when it came out and I wanted to wait for a few years before trying it. He had to have the Hep B, and Meningitis before starting High school.
I never had a problem with getting him his shots, never gave it a thought as I don't know anyone that had any problems so not doing it never entered my mind LOL

[sancraft]

I was just listening to NPR today and the lack of testing and rush to get the new flu vaccine out. No thanks. We did the 1st 2 DPT with my oldest and she got really sick on the 2nd on. Nothing else but Polio for her. The youngest got polio only.

[Shygal]

My kids had all the recommended ones.

The H1N1 I am very leery about. They wanted to give my 9 year old, the HPV one, I said no.

I hope this thread lasts longer than most vaccine threads do here

[Callieslamb]

We have never had someone get a flu that lasted more than 24 hours. We have never had a flu shot either. Our risk factors are very low so we haven't bothered. If we had flu in our home every year and had it badly, we would consider getting a regular flu shot. I don't know about H1N1. I don't want it, but if someone else does - let them go for it. I really think everyone has the right to choose for themselves. Now - starting telling me I HAVE to have shot for some illness that hasn't been shown to be a real threat.....that's another story.

[mammabooh]

No way.

[jen74145]

Schools can't force you to vax. Exemption forms, depending on your state there are philosophical, personal, or religious waivers or some combination thereof.

It is nuts... in 1984 there were something like ten vaccines given before adulthood. Now, it's a couple dozen. And remember too, alot of them are combo vaccines, so not uncommon for a baby or child to wind up with six vaccinations in one day.


The CDC has a list of the ingredients of each vaccine, and the insert as well. Here....

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

It's a personal choice, and everyone has to do what they feel most comfortable with.

[Jenn]

Family doctor pro vaccine here. My older DD has had HPV shots without problems, both got Varicella (chicken pox) ASAP (I have a scar on my forehead from chicken pox- MY vaccination mark and 'ended my modeling career' heh heh). If I could find safe small pox vaccine I'd get it for them.

Of course they've gotten all the other CDC recommended http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwr...cid=mm5751a5_e BTW the purple ones are only for high risk groups- and high school kids are NOT high risk for meningitis so far as have heard. Army new recruits and college kids living in dorm- germs from all over the country in close proximity- do have outbreaks of meningitis so there is argument for them. It is a disease of adolescents not young children- they get HIB or other meningitis generally (or did before HIB vaccines).

That said my kids didn't get rotavirus- new reccomendation- and I don't bother with the flu nor will I with the H1N1 flu. Think I got DD16 the meningovax when we sent her off to baording school and will do so for the little one when she goes off to college or boarding school.

[spurdie]

Our kids are very healthy, and are hardly ever sick. Natural homebirth, no vax, and no circumcision. Scare tactics do not work on us.

[TurnerHill]

Originally Posted by Lada

I'm leery of just about all vaccinations, although we do selectively vaccinate. I would do meningitis, and probably Hep B, for older children anyway. I see no need for newborns to get a Hep vaccine.

The HPV one I am torn about, as my best friend has battled HPV because of one college boyfriend. I want my daughters to wait until marriage, of course, but I'm also realistic. My friend contracted HPV from a guy she had dated for 18 months, who didn't even know he had it. I'd hate to think that one mistake my daughters make could damage them the way my friend has been damaged by this disease. I have a few years to think about it, but I'm really torn on that one.

It might not even be a "mistake" they are paying for.

Since it is possible to have HPV and never know it, your daughters could go to their weddings pure as driven snow and be infected by their husbands.

[Lada]

Originally Posted by TurnerHill

It might not even be a "mistake" they are paying for.

Since it is possible to have HPV and never know it, your daughters could go to their weddings pure as driven snow and be infected by their husbands.

I know. That is what really scares me. Men can carry it and have NO idea whatsoever that they have it, spreading it to anyone they have "contact" with. That's scary. And if you know someone with it, or if you care to research the possible effects of it, it becomes way more scary.

[horsepoor21]

If a man or woman waits until marriage to have sex , can't their soon to be spouse be tested (if they chose not to wait) and then go from there?

[TurnerHill]

Originally Posted by horsepoor21

If a man or woman waits until marriage to have sex , can't their soon to be spouse be tested (if they chose not to wait) and then go from there?

There is no approved HPV test for men.

[Fujiko]

My dd is only two, but we also delay and selectively vax. We don't do regular flu shots, nor will we be doing the H1N1 either. If she were in school I would probably decline them for her, unless I felt she was old enough to make an informed decision then I'd let her choose. She has DTaP, MMR (although I'm not sure if I'll get her boosters for this as she had a weird reaction), Hib, and polio. I think that's all of them we got for her, I can't remember. HepB and HPV we will wait until adolescence and see. Probably not doing chicken pox. I think it's silly that all newborns get a vaccine for HepB. Why can't they test the mother and if her test is neg, then not do it then? Just for uniformity?

[NicoleandBrian]

Fujiko, that's what I'm confused about. I am pregnant and trying to figure out all these shots. I was tested negative for HepB but they still "recommend" my baby getting the shot before leaving the hospital. When did your dd start getting her shots, and did you scatter them so she wasn't getting a bunch at once?

According the the CDC chart, babies can get up to 6 shots covering 8 different diseases at just 2 months old!? Then again at 4 and 6 months? Seems a bit much for such a little body. I'm not sure what we're going to do.

[Fujiko]

Originally Posted by NicoleandBrian

Fujiko, that's what I'm confused about. I am pregnant and trying to figure out all these shots. I was tested negative for HepB but they still "recommend" my baby getting the shot before leaving the hospital. When did your dd start getting her shots, and did you scatter them so she wasn't getting a bunch at once?

According the the CDC chart, babies can get up to 6 shots covering 8 different diseases at just 2 months old!? Then again at 4 and 6 months? Seems a bit much for such a little body. I'm not sure what we're going to do.

Yeah, it's an STD and blood-borne illness. You can't get it like you would get a cold or the flu. So if you don't have it, then I don't see a reason for babies to get it, you know? (I am not a doctor, just a disclaimer!) That's why we declined it.

For me though, other than HepB, it's kind of a grey area and it's all hard to sort out. One reason I feel a bit better about it is that I breastfeed my babies exclusively, and that passes on a lot of antibodies from things that happen to be going around. Obviously not a catch-all, but breastfed babies tend to be healthier and get less infections. DD has never needed antibiotics.

We started vaxing DD at 12 months. We did DTaP first, then Hib (at 15 months, this way they only need one shot), then polio, then MMR on her second birthday. We only did one or two shots at once, and we would never do two "new" shots at the same time. It took a lot of extra visits to our doctor, but I felt it was worth it. For our next child, since we will have an older child that goes to church nursery, playdates, etc. I might do PCV, too, though I'm undecided, and I think we will hold off on polio unless we travel abroad, have close contact with international travellers/recent immigrants or there is a case of it in the Americas. I think it's important to get it eventually, since polio still does exist in the world, but maybe not so young, you know?

I hear ya, though. So much info that it can make your head explode!

[MaineFarmMom]

Originally Posted by spurdie

Our kids are very healthy, and are hardly ever sick. Natural homebirth, no vax, and no circumcision. Scare tactics do not work on us.

They don't work on us either. DD is 16. She had a seasonal flu shot two days ago. She's in the public six days a week between work and school. She's not going to the HPV shots. Wise choices and pap smears will take care of this issue. If the immunization had been tested another 10 years we might reconsider. I was immunized for mumps but got it anyway. I remember how painful it was. When I started college at 40 I opted for a titer rather than a booster. The titer showed I'm not immune to mumps so I had the vaccine again. I still don't go out into the public when it can be avoided during an outbreak.

These are personal decisions. If there were one right answer this wouldn't be an issue.