© Copyright 1998-2002 by Grayson Morris.
Here in America, babies and children are routinely vaccinated against a myriad of diseases. Immunizations begin at birth and continue at nearly every well-baby checkup through the first two years, with boosters thereafter. While most schools and daycares require proof of immunization before enrolling your child, you may not be aware that you do not, in fact, have to vaccinate your child -- either at all, or on the suggested schedule.
There are a number of reasons why parents choose not to vaccinate their children. Some wish to avoid possible vaccine reactions, which can range from mild -- fever, swelling -- to very severe -- brain damage, even death. There's generally no way to tell if your child will have a reaction to a given vaccine; most children do not have serious reactions, but some do, and the fallout from such a reaction can be devastating. Parents who choose not to give a vaccine to their child have weighed the benefits the vaccine conveys against the potential risks, and decided the risks are too great to justify vaccination.
Other parents (or the same parents, regarding other vaccines) feel that the disease being immunized against is not serious enough to warrant vaccination. Vaccines commonly contain mercury, formaldahyde, and other chemicals which are known to cause damage to the body, and many parents would rather take their chances with chicken pox, measles, and mumps than subject their child to these substances. (In fact, if you immunize your child according to the currently suggested schedule, the amount of mercury in his body will exceed the FDA-allowed levels for a short time during the first year of life.)
Still other parents choose to postpone vaccinations, feeling that the assault to the immune system from vaccination is better handled by an older child. (One study in Japan showed a dramatic decline in reactions to the DTP vaccine when vaccination was delayed to two years of age.) We did this with our first child, beginning her vaccinations at age six months instead of two months. (With our second, we waited until thirteen months.) There is no magic to the current immunization schedule; its primary benefit is that you will be seeing the doctor at two months, four months, six months, and so forth for well-baby checkups, so it's convenient to give immunizations at the same time.
Breastfed babies inherit all the immunities of their mother during the time they are breastfeeding, so your child is at negligible risk of contracting any of these diseases during the first six months of life if you are breastfeeding him -- assuming you were immunized (or had the disease).
Here's a quick overview of each vaccine and the buzz around it. You can find much more detailed information about each in the books listed in the Resources section at the end of this page.
DTaP -- also known as DPT. A combined vaccine against Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis. (The "a" is for "acellular", an improved version of the original Pertussis vaccine.) Most of the controversy around this vaccine centers on the Pertussis portion. Of all childhood vaccines, Pertussis has had the highest reported incidence of severe vaccine reaction, including encephalitis, brain damage, and death.
Pertussis (or "whooping cough") is a serious and dramatic childhood disease, most dangerous for children under one year of age; its primary danger occurs as a complicating respiratory infection such as pneumonia. It can be treated homeopathically (though I cannot vouch for this myself). Incidence of Pertussis is very low in the US, though my family doctor tells me she does see a few cases every year.
Diptheria is a very rare disease, and the vaccine does not appear to reliably convey immunity.
Tetanus (or "lockjaw") can be contracted in your own backyard; the offending organism is found in dirt, and enters the body through a scrape or puncture wound. It requires immediate medical treatment. The vaccine is considered very effective; few serious vaccine reactions have been reported, though some have, including a few deaths.
MMR -- A combined vaccine against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella ("German Measles"). Some studies have linked this vaccine with autism, and reported reactions include meningitis and arthritis. Measles and Mumps were, until recently, common childhood diseases; complications and fatalities are very rare, and are more dangerous to adults than to children. Rubella is a mild disease whose only threat is to developing fetuses (and it can cause severe birth defects in the first three months of pregnancy). The Rubella vaccine is routinely given in the US in order to minimize the likelihood that a pregnant woman will contract the disease. Other countries (such as Finland) delay Rubella immunization until puberty, and administer it only to girls.
IPV -- Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a replacement for the Oral Polio Vaccine which was previously administered. The OPV contained live, weakened polio, and was found to actually cause the disease in some vaccine recipients and others with whom they came into contact. The IPV appears to have no such problem. The incidence of Polio in the US is zero; all reported cases since the late 1970's have been from the vaccine itself, or from travel to a country which still has Polio.
HiB -- Haemophilus Influenzae Type B, a potentially life-threatening disease whose primary complication is meningitis. It is more common in young children than most of the other diseases, though rare in a child who remains home (rather than in daycare) for the first year of life. The vaccine is relatively new, and has been reported to suppress immune system function and, ironically, increase susceptibility to HiB.
Hepatitis B -- A disease which can become chronic, causing liver damage and possibly death. Hep-B is transmitted primarily through sexual contact, use of intravenous drugs, and other contact with infected blood. Its only means of transmission to infants is from an infected mother. Some severe reactions have been reported as a result of the vaccine. Its effectiveness is thought likely to wear off before the child reaches puberty.
Varicella -- Chickenpox, until recently a common and mild childhood disease. The disease is far more serious in teenagers and adults. The vaccine is very new, and effectiveness and reactions are unknown. It's likely that, like many immunizations, boosters will be required to maintain immunity; as with Hep-B, immunizing a young child probably transfers the threat of contracting the disease into puberty.
Ah, I'm so glad you asked. (Okay, okay, so I asked.) We have progressed between child #1 and child #2 from delayed-but-complete vaccination to delayed-and-partial vaccination. Could I do it over again, I'd not give #1 many of the vaccinations she received, but hey, what's done is done. At the time, it seemed like the wisest course of action -- or at least the simplest. I had no idea how to get her into daycare (and, later, school) without her vaccinations, and -- this is the really scrungy part I hate to admit -- when she hadn't contracted chicken pox by age 4, and I was out in the full-time work force as a single mother, I gave her the Varicella vaccine so I wouldn't miss a week of work. Like I said, what's done is done. Fortunately, she never had a reaction to any vaccine, though we do now have to worry about her contracting chicken pox as a teenager.
With #2, we read up on everything, including the pamphlets from the doctor's office and other pro-vaccination material. We finally decided on polio and tetanus only. Polio, because we travel quite a bit, and you never know what's waiting for you at the airport or at your destination. Tetanus, because it's easy to get anywhere if you are a normal kid goofing off outside, and the treatment if you are not immunized is severe and does not convey permanent immunity. Even worse is not catching the disease in time to treat it. Neither vaccine has been linked with major reactions. For us, the benefits of vaccine-induced immunity outweigh the risks of experiencing a vaccine-induced reaction.
As for the MMR and Varicella vaccines, well, I had chicken pox as a child, and my Dutch husband had Measles and Mumps as a child, and we both feel that the rhetoric about these suddenly "life threatening" diseases is a bit, well, overwrought. I am certain that, should they ever develop a vaccine for the common cold, it will suddenly become a "life threatening" disease from which you must protect the ones you love. Just mark my words. As for Rubella, we'll give it to our girls at puberty.
Diptheria and Pertussis are most dangerous for the under-one crowd, and all the hoopla surrounding the Pertussis vaccine gave us great pause. Breastfeeding was the deciding factor; since I had immunity to these two diseases, so did #2 for the first year of his life. So we axed the D-aP vaccines as well.
We never even thought much about HiB or Hep-B; I was not positive for Hep-B, and toddler Ben doesn't appear to be using drugs, playing with other people's blood, or having sex yet, so he doesn't need the vaccine. As for HiB, Ben is home with me, with limited contact with other people, and I didn't like the fact that the vaccine might make you more likely to get the disease.
We also, at bottom, just plain feel that the human immune system is like a pie. If you eat up half the pie with immunizations, then you've only got the other half left for any other diseases you encounter later in life. Maybe this is a bogus belief, but it makes sense to us -- I mean, how many resources can your body devote to permanent antibodies before it runs out of resources?
In a word: yes. Every state in the US has one to three provisions for exemption from immunization: religious, medical, and philosophical. If you live in a state with a philosophical exemption, then you will have no problems getting your child into public schools. Even a religious exemption can be taken by most people; it isn't required that you be a member of an organized religion -- your religion can be a personal set of beliefs (though it must be sincere).
While our daughter never had any vaccine reactions, the toddler has. They have been very mild, and have in no way undermined our convinction that the polio and tetanus vaccines are a good idea for our children.
These reactions occurred each time Ben had the polio and tetanus vaccines, so we feel pretty certain that they are related.
First, Ben experienced random fright at ordinary things about a day or two after the vaccinations. (We can't tell which is responsible, since we gave both at the same time.) He'd be playing with, say, a toy basket, then suddenly shriek in fear and start crying and shaking. This would last a few seconds, and then he'd go back to playing with the basket. It happened once or twice after each set of vaccinations.
Second, about two weeks after the vaccinations, Ben developed a one-night, low-grade fever which had him tossing and turning, unable to sleep well. It was not severe enough for medical attention; we gave him a dose of echinacea extract, but nothing else.
Third, Ben developed a fairly intense diaper rash right after the fever. It lasted less than a week; we did what we always do for rashes -- put some lanolin on the rashy parts and keep him clean and dry.
Vaccination, like most things, is an individual choice. Each parent must weigh the risks and the benefits and come up with her own workable solution. That solution will vary from family to family -- and even from child to child -- for a number of reasons. You may travel, and need protection from diseases most children will never be exposed to (such as malaria). You may have a child who has had a severe reaction to one vaccine, and decide to avoid that vaccine for your other children. Or you, being you and not someone else, may decide the risk/benefit ratio is greater or lower for a given vaccine than someone else, not being you, would. (Follow that?)
In making your choices, be sure to consult a variety of references, both pro- and anti-vaccination. Be sensitive to propaganda and rhetoric on both sides of the question. Sift out the valuable nuggets of information.
(BOOK) The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice, by Randall Neustaedter. This book is full of detail regarding the diseases and vaccines. Its goal is to educate and inform parents, and it refers to a number of published studies. While well-rounded in its presentation of the pros and cons, it is at heart anti-vaccination.
© Copyright 1998-2002 by Grayson Morris.