Following Dr. Sears' Selective Schedule.. Son starts school in Sept. (Ontario, Canada) Is it...

[nicholeraine]

My son(4 in March) has had everything on Dr. Sears selective schedule. I am planning on him having the MMR at some point, though, either this summer right before he starts school or next summer before he starts full days. I haven't made my mind up yet though, so would it be easier at this point to just get the exemption form filled out and notorized and give the school that with his registration? I would like to register him soon and I am just NOT comfortable taking him in yet for the MMR. There won't be any problems using the exemption even though he's had vaccines, right?

[springmum]

No problem, they didn't ask if my DS had none, some etc. I just filled out the form, they signed it, no questions asked. 

Once he's "caught up" you can always give the school that info for his files then.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by nicholeraine 

There won't be any problems using the exemption even though he's had vaccines, right?

I doubt it.  I am in Ontario and the exemption was easy-peasy.  Pm me if you need more info.

[prosciencemum]

I once signed an exemption form for a single vaccine (in ny) related to the different schedule in the uk versus what was required in the us.. Was not an issue.

I'm curious what will change your comfort level with getting MMR.

I would be concerned about extra risk of measles exposure with starting school......

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by prosciencemum 


I would be concerned about extra risk of measles exposure with starting school......

Measles is not common in Canada.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vpd-mev/measles-rougeole-eng.php

Edited by kathymuggle - 1/25/13 at 6:34am

[prosciencemum]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

Measles is not common in Canada.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/vpd-mev/measles-rougeole-eng.php

People travel internationally from places where it is common to Canada....

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by prosciencemum 

People travel internationally from places where it is common to Canada....

Oh, absolutely…if she intends to travel internationally, she needs to look at the places she intends to travel to before making her decision.  Personally, I would do that in the planning stages of travel, rather than in childhood "in case we travel there" but to each their own.

As per people bringing measles into Canada, of course they do, and those numbers are reflected in our yearly, low average.  (about 1/200 000 people get measles in Canada , average 2005-2011)

[springmum]

I always refer to our Ontario monthly reortable diseases report. It goes monthly for the year and compares that last 2 years' totals.

http://www.oahpp.ca/resources/documents/2012_12_PHO_Monthly_Report.pdf

We had 3 cases of measles in 2012 (up to Nov) 8, & 9 total in 2011, 2010. 

Just posting that link for anyone else looking for up to date current stat's of VPD's (and non-VPD's) in our province.

[kathymuggle]

Springmum - great find!

Thank you - and bookmarked it.

[prosciencemum]

Originally Posted by springmum 

We had 3 cases of measles in 2012 (up to Nov) 8, & 9 total in 2011, 2010. 

Huh. I had no idea it was so low in Canada. What a triumph for the vaccination programme in Canada. 

Rates are so much higher in the UK.....

I found the website below which shows that Jan-Sept 2012 there were 1389 confirmed cases, 1123 of which were in children (under 19). 

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1223019390211

[springmum]

Originally Posted by prosciencemum 

Huh. I had no idea it was so low in Canada. What a triumph for the vaccination programme in Canada. 

Rates are so much higher in the UK.....

I found the website below which shows that Jan-Sept 2012 there were 1389 confirmed cases, 1123 of which were in children (under 19). 

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1223019390211

That was just in Ontario (one province) I know Quebec (another province next to ours) had an "outbreak" last year or the year before, with higher numbers. At the time though they were questioning why fully vaxed kids were getting the measles http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/10/20/measles-quebec-vaccine-schedule.html

I'm not familiar with the UK schedule, is MMR not part of it? Are vaccination rates very low over there for MMR? I always assumed that the UK had a similar vaccine schedule and rate of vaccines - I wonder what the difference is? Genuinely curious :)

[prosciencemum]

Originally Posted by springmum 

That was just in Ontario (one province) I know Quebec (another province next to ours) had an "outbreak" last year or the year before, with higher numbers. At the time though they were questioning why fully vaxed kids were getting the measles http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/10/20/measles-quebec-vaccine-schedule.html

I'm not familiar with the UK schedule, is MMR not part of it? Are vaccination rates very low over there for MMR? I always assumed that the UK had a similar vaccine schedule and rate of vaccines - I wonder what the difference is? Genuinely curious :)

We all know protection from vaccination is not 100%, so vaccinated kids will get measles if there is enough of it circulating. 

In the UK MMR is recommended at 12-13 months, with a booster at preschool age (around about 3.5 yrs - that one coming up for my youngest!). http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/vaccinations/Pages/childvaccines.aspx

MMR uptake in the UK had a big set back following the press about the (no debunked and disproven) findings of Wakefield and the corresponding hit on parental confidence in the safety of MMR. So it did hit a low point a few years, ago but has been on the rise, and the article below said it was about 90% in 2011.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2011PressReleases/110624Measlesstatement/

From the same source in 2012

Quote:

The latest published data on the uptake of both doses of the MMR vaccination in England is 93 per cent for the first dose and 87 per cent for the second dose

http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2012PressReleases/120824measlesnumbersandmmrreminder/

This plot from evidence used in the UK parliament shows trends in measles notifications and MMR uptake since 1940 (page 2), and also a zoom in on trends in 1995-2009. To my eye it does look like the upswing in cases followed a dip in immunization rates in around 2003. 

Measles and MMR statistics - Parliament

So we may just be seeing a hangover of a period of lower immunization rates in the "mid noughties". I'm not really sure. It wasn't really that big of a dip, but if it clustered even small dips can have a big effect on the virus spreading.... 

There is also a chart showing international comparisons for 2006. It gives the uptake of MMR in Canada as 94% (in 2004) compared to 86% in the UK (in 2007). Not sure why the variety in dates - presumably just related to what they could find. For our US friends, they give 92%

Thie article says the WHO quote 95% uptake as the required level for herd immunity: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9705374/MMR-uptake-rates-finally-recovered-from-Wakefield-scandal-figures-show.html