Which vax did you skip - and why?? - Page 3

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by alissamari

Did I answer your question at all??? LOL

Kind of I suppose. I was wondering if you had a link or something, as I had not heard any of this news. Kind of out of the loop on vaccines lately I guess. thanks.

[Penny4Them]

Originally Posted by alegna

It's important to note that the DTaP doesn't seem to prevent carriage and transmission of pertussis.

-Angela

Are you saying the Pertussis portion of this vax only prevents recipient from contracting the disease, but they can still carry and transmit? Sorry ... I'm confused by what you said.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Penny4Them

Are you saying the Pertussis portion of this vax only prevents recipient from contracting the disease, but they can still carry and transmit? Sorry ... I'm confused by what you said.

It actually doesn't prevent them from contracting the bacteria at all. It prevents the toxin induced symptoms (the worst of the cough.)

-Angela

[clothdiaperingmom]

BarefootScientist said "I'm looking at the AAP's vax schedule right now and realizing we never did Hep A either, but it was never offered. I don't think I would have done it if it was but I wonder why not...is that one not required in some areas, or is it a new recommendation to require it for all children?"

Im not sure what state you are in or if the vax requirements are the same everywhere...Im in TX.

Hep A was just required this yr for Kindergarteners and 7th graders (I believe 7th)

Our doc told us this past month, that after the next legislature, meningitis vax will be required for 14/15 yr olds.

Ive never had the Hep A shot, nor any of my kids. Since its a new requirement, Im assuming that none of my friends/family have regularly had it...yet I only know of 2 ppl that have had it. And the other members in their household didnt get it.

[elmh23]

Originally Posted by alegna

It's important to note that the DTaP doesn't seem to prevent carriage and transmission of pertussis.

-Angela

But it will still lesson our risks.

I'm not saying if everyone should get one shot, it should be DTaP. I'm saying in OUR situation, with a niece who has severe lung disease, WE decided DTaP would be worth it. We already don't take the kids around my niece if they are sick, but if we could make an illness milder, then we should try. As is, we don't see their cousin as much as we would like because of illness.

[mommy amber]

sorry, I have to chime in on rotavirus too...
dd got rotavirus around 10 months and we spent nearly a week in the hospital with her trying to get her re-hydrated and starting an iv (several times) was the most awful thing...she was breastfed, delayed solids, and so on and we still ended up there.
that being said, we still didn't do this one for ds b/c I had concerns over how new the vaccine was and the previous problems with the old one.
ds is 12 months and we will begin his schedule at this check up with dtap.
we will also do hib and pc.
and polio, mmr, hep b far far down the road.

[KellyJelly]

Originally Posted by alegna

Rotavirus is not dangerous for children in the US. At most it's a nasty nuisance.

-Angela

Not true.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), rotavirus infects almost all children in the United States by age 5. (Adults can contract it, too, but the illness tends to be mild.) In the United States alone, it triggers more than 400,000 doctor visits and 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths among kids under age 5.


http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-rota...ine_1494687.bc

http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/

[alegna]

Originally Posted by KellyJelly

Not true.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), rotavirus infects almost all children in the United States by age 5. (Adults can contract it, too, but the illness tends to be mild.) In the United States alone, it triggers more than 400,000 doctor visits and 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths among kids under age 5.


http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-rota...ine_1494687.bc

http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/

I suppose it depends on your definition of dangerous. By my definition it's not dangerous- it doesn't kill kids (with any statistical significance) in the US and it's no more scary than most stomach bugs.

There is info out there showing that the main reason the vax is even available in the US was to push costs down enough to make it available in other places.

As a kid we never worried about rotavirus. I don't worry about it for my kids.

-Angela

[bubbamummy]

My son was born in England where they do NOT give:

Hep B (unless mother is Hep B + )
Rotavirus
Chickenpox
Hep A

so, if thats good enough for the UK its good enough for me. Hep B seems totally not needed. No one in this household is Hep b+ and my baby will not be taking drugs/getting tattoos etc. I am willing to take the TINY risk associated with blood transfusions.

Rotavirus-my kids dont attend any childcare facilities and I just think its not needed for my children

Chicken pox-im hoping for 'natural immunity' but I may re-evaluate if that hasnt happened by age 10ish

Hep A-again, they dont give it in the UK (unless you're off to a country with substandard hygiene) and I havent had it.

My son is 2 next month and still hasnt had the MMR. I do intend for him to get it, just waiting a while longer as 3 live virus's in one make me nervous.

[objet_trouve]

Bubbamummy- That was so helpful. My husband and I are starting to study the vaccine issue, and I was actually just wondering about how they do things in the UK (my brother and sister were both born there). Thank you!

[sleepingbeauty]

My family gets sick if we do the Flu shot so that won't be happening with our kids. The Gardasil one is too new (I heard infertility might be involved with that one!) so we'll see down the line about that one. There will be no Chicken Pox vax given to my children either. There is no reason why I will give my child the virus so they can develop shingles as a 9-yr-old (as in the case of my cousin). No. Way.

I'll probably do more research as they get closer, but those are my biggest ones. I'll likely delay as many as I can when I feel it nessesary.

[natural4mybabies]

DD is 4 yrs (october baby) so she will start school right before she turns six. She is fully vaxed for her age with the exception of rotavirus and any flu vaxes. Sadly, I was completely unaware that vaxing was optional when she was a baby or I would have started my research a long time ago and limited her vaxes

DS is almost 9 mos. Both kids are in daycare full time. Because of this, DS has had HIB, DTAP and Prevnar and nothing else.

I have no intentions of getting DS any Hep B, Hep A, Polio, Rotavirus, H1N1, or seasonal flu until at least school age, at which time I will consider the Heps only.

I remain undecided on Chickenpox and want to hold out on MMR as long as possible. So far, daycare has been very flexible with my exemptions, but they have to turn in in their vax records at the end of every year and by this Dec he will be "overdue" according to standard schedule. I am hoping to make it through 2010 without MMR for him so we will see what happens this Dec.

[erin23kate]

Replying mostly to bump the thread, but right now we're planning to skip

Chickenpox
Influenza
Rotavirus
MMR (for now, DS is only 2 months old, may delay until school age rather than skip)

Why? They're "live vaccines" and I have a compromised immune system.

We're also going to skip Hep A, Hep B, Gardasil because the risk of infection is small. On the fence about Prevnar; I was plagued by terrible ear infections with resultant hearing loss as a child and would like to spare him that if I can.

We will be doing HIB and DTAP/IPV but delayed slightly because of my infusions. Ordinarily, I'd skip Polio but since it's included (and becuase my husband's aunt had it and memory is fresh) we're not going to fight it.

I think I got everything.....anything I missed we'll probably delay until kindergarten.

[CityGranola]

We don't do rotavirus, varicella, influenza, or MMR. I recently saw they approved Gardisil (I think) for boys - we won't do that either. I won't do Hep B for future kids, but the ones I already have, have been vaxed for it.

My ODS has all his vaxes except varicella and MMR. We have since determined he shouldn't be vaccinated any further.

YDS has had : DTap, Hep B, HiB, and Prevnanr vaxes. They were spread out, no more than one shot per visit, at least a month between vaxes. I only gave him Hep B because i was very close to needing a blood transfusion at his birth, so I agreed to let him get it. I also let him get DTap because he was born during a pertussis outbreak in my area.

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

Initially, I was going to vax DD with what I had as a child - MMR, polio, DTaP and nothing else. But now I am both considering including Prevnar and HiB, while also considering not vaxing her at all even for the older vaccines. There is SO much evidence both ways. So we will be delaying EVERYTHING until DH and I reach a decision we are both comfortable with.

What I definitely will NOT be vaxxing:
Hep A - mild in children if contracted
Hep B - very very low risk of exposure
Chickenpox - I, and everyone I know, had a wild case as a child and it is a very mild, if unpleasant, illness. I will consider vaxxing this if DD reaches adolescence without contracting a wild case.
Flu - Very little chance that vaccine is effective against current strain, and if contracted I am not frightened about the prognosis.
Gardisil - getting pulled from the market soon because of the horrible side effects
Rotavirus - pulled from market due to terrible side effects

I think that's all of them.
Also, this thread should be archived.

[snowqueen]

Originally Posted by 1stTimeMama4/4/10

Rotavirus - pulled from market due to terrible side effects

Which brand? I know there are 2 brands. The one that is recommended to not use is Rotarix. This is what I read:

The warning follows an academic research group's discovery -- subsequently confirmed by the FDA and Rotarix manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline -- that the vaccine contains a pig virus called porcine circovirus 1, or PCV1. The virus is not known to cause illness in humans, and no adverse effects have been observed in children vaccinated with Rotarix, but the agency decided to err on the side of caution with the warning until more information can be obtained. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Infectio...Vaccines/20595

And the CDC says vaccines are safe, ha!

Haven't heard anything bad about Rotateq though.

[Zoesmama]

I skip the flu shots. I've never had one and never had the flu either. The school was giving H1N1 flu shots and I passed on it too. I will also be skipping the Gardasil shot for dd even if they try to make it on the "mandatory" lists for schools. I would have skipped the Hep A but we live in a community where risks of contracting are higher. Myself I contracted it at age 15 from deli food at the grocery store I worked at. It was the only food I had eaten that my family(none of home contracted it) had not. It is not usually fatal or anything but as a healthy teen I experienced over a month of horrible nausea and was bed ridden for weeks. I didn't eat much food for a month. And the part the bothers me the most is I am ineligible to donate blood because of it and I would be all over regular donations.

I was going to skip chickenpox but the Shingles protection kinda rang with me. The more friends I hear coming down with Shingles in their 30s scares me and now I am feeling even more comfortable with that decision.

I delayed her first 2 years of shots by waiting past the "recommended" time on purpose. And spread out the MMR as far as possible. I had a ped tell me the tetanus ones could be given as early as 4 weeks and they had wanted to "Catch her up" and I said no the CDC even recommends much much longer than that and she backed off.

Her current and newer(last couple years) ped is not pushy with the flu shot. Its a good thing her birthday is in July she says you can make an appointment in Sept for one on her annual well check.

I am definitely going to look into tithers when the next DTaP or tetanus is due. And especially for myself as the last one I got in August 2008 left me with a quarter size around and 3-4 cm protruding welt for about 2 weeks.

[jessjgh1]

Originally Posted by Zoesmama

I was going to skip chickenpox but the Shingles protection kinda rang with me. The more friends I hear coming down with Shingles in their 30s scares me and now I am feeling even more comfortable with that decision.

What do you mean by protection for shingles? The vax might lesson the chance of getting shingles.... but it still exposes you to virus and doesn't protect against getting shingles.
Besides, there's now a vax for shingles.... It used to be that 30 year olds (and children) rarely got shingles, but since the vax for chicken pox more and more younger people and children seem to be getting shingles.

Jessica

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by jessjgh1

What do you mean by protection for shingles? The vax might lesson the chance of getting shingles.... but it still exposes you to virus and doesn't protect against getting shingles.
Besides, there's now a vax for shingles.... It used to be that 30 year olds (and children) didn't get shingles, but since the vax for chicken pox the age group that gets shingles has shifted to a lower age.

...if anything the shot would raise the risk of getting shingles (as immunity from the vax tends to wane over the years whereas natural immunity through contracting chickenpox is more often lifelong), unless perhaps if you got booster shots in your late teens/20's/30's...

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

Originally Posted by jessjgh1

It used to be that 30 year olds (and children) didn't get shingles, but since the vax for chicken pox the age group that gets shingles has shifted to a lower age.

I had wild chickenpox at age 4 and had shingles when I was 25. My brother got wild chickenpox at age 3, and had shingles at age 21. Neither of us received a cp vax. Before I had my daughter, it was the worst pain I have ever had. At the time I had shingles, it was a disease that rarely affected young people but since then I have heard of TONS of young people getting it. I don't know whether there is an association with the vaccine though.