What can you tell me about the rotavirus vaccine?

[MCKH]

I'm torn on this one. My DD didn't get it and I don't think it was even available. She hasn't had rotavirus as far as I know, although she did have a nasty stomach bug at 12 months which I guess could have been rota. Now I have a 7-week-old who is "supposed" to get the rota vax at his 2 month appt. and I need to make a decision.

We're a delayed/selective vaccine family. I tend to put a lot of weight on how likely it is that my child will encounter an illness in the real world, and apparently Rota is quite common and it is more of a "when" than an "if" that he will catch it. We don't do daycare situations but we do go to playgrounds, LLL, etc.

Anyone want to break down the pros and cons?

[attachedmamaof3]

con- it's for diarrhea (and only covers 2 serotypes)
it's a live virus and is well-known for shedding/cross contamination to other people
side effects are practically the same as the actual illness
rotavirus infection DOES convey natural immunity, most often after two natural infections (often without symptoms)
---in fact, the CDC says that 95% of children get rota before age 5 and that after just one natural infection 88% of them are protected from severe diarrhea

pro- can't think of any (can you tell I think this vaccine is ridiculous?)

[delphiniumpansy]

Pros - rotavirus can be very serious, even fatal. Your baby could be up for days with little sleep, vomitting and diarhea. It can last for 10 days until it starts to get better. It could lead to dehydration and can make life miserable for everyone. It could lead to hospitalization for dehydration. The vaccine can make it much less severe or not even noticeable. My baby had it twice in 3 mos and it was a horrendous experience for us both. 10 days each of nonstop nursing, vomitting, diarrhea, and very little sleep. A lot of laundry. I lost weight from not being able to eat enough as I was so busy taking care of a very sick baby. She would not take any other foods of liquids even though she was of age. It was terrible. Our second baby is getting this vax.

I have never heard of anyone in real life who has had a problem with shedding. Like any virus, it could be contracted through contact with feces. So, just like you probably do on a regular basis, wash your hands after changing dipes and follow good hygiene with regards to dipe changes.

Cons - it is a new vaccine but it has been tested for short term effects.

[Gitti]

Here is a post that leads to several threads -

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...96&postcount=2

[mamakay]

I guess the pro is that it might prevent a bad case of rotavirus.

What your dd had at 12 months was very possibly rota. Most kids have it before age 3.

My main beef with the vax is that it might be contaminated with weirdo cow viruses, since it's a live vaccine grown in monkey cells that are fed with fetal bovine serum.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ghlight=bovine

[tammyswanson]

Originally Posted by attachedmamaof3

con- it's for diarrhea (and only covers 2 serotypes)
it's a live virus and is well-known for shedding/cross contamination to other people

Hmm, maybe that's why all the kids are getting sick, because of the vaccinated kiddies, eh? They just walk around shedding the viruses, kids get sick, everyone gets scared about RSV so they get their kids vaccinated...(rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat). It's a win win situation for the vax manufacturers.

[attachedmamaof3]

Tammy- RSV is a respiratory disease...

Respiratory syncytial virus- common cause of bronchitis/pneumonia


I think you meant rota!

But yes, that's entirely possible.

[kate3]

rotavirus can be very serious, even fatal. Your baby could be up for days with little sleep, vomitting and diarhea. It can last for 10 days until it starts to get better. It could lead to dehydration and can make life miserable for everyone. It could lead to hospitalization for dehydration.

This was my experience almost exactly. I had 3 kids (5, 4, 1) all get rota during the same week. It was not a minor illness for us. All 3 were hospitalized, dehydrated, had severe electrolyte imablances and blood sugars so low they were unresponsive. They had abdominal cramping and diarrhea for weeks after they were stabalized and lost a huge percentage of body weight. The older two missed 3 weeks of preschool. I have a new appreciation as to why so many children without access to health care die from rotavirus.
My children were not vaccinated because the vaccine was not available at the time. After what we went through, this is a vaccine I would have given.

Good luck with your decision.

[carriebft]

I recently had to rethink not getting this vaccination. YOu can read a little here about that:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=820778

However, in the end, we are pretty much still thinking no on the rotavirus vaccine. But our minds might still change.

[Mirzam]

Seeing as people are posting anecdotal evidence, I will add my story. Two out of my three children have had rotavirus (that I know about), DD #1 was 9 months old and DD #2 was 18 months old. It was a minor illness for both, I did take DD #1 to the doctor because I was a nervous first time mom and the advice I got was so bad that I ignored it -- I was told to stop nursing her and give her congi (Chinese rice porridge). When DD #2 got it, I was quite able to handle it myself. I would never give my baby that vaccine.

[Blueena]

My son got a severe case of rotovirus (he wasn't vaccinated), ended up in the hospital, took him weeks to recover (due to loss of weight, exhaustion), I stayed in the hospital with him, nursing, feeding, it was horrible, it was rough. When my daughter was born, it was one of the few I gave her, to see your child that sick, its heartbreaking.

[mamakay]

ds was about 18 months when he had it. It was a pretty bad case, but we did intensive pedialyte "oral rehydration therapy" (one sip every 5 minutes or so to prevent him just puking it up) and avoided the ER. He slept through most of it.

It was pretty gross.
I washed a lot of blankets and towels that week.

[goodheartedmama]

Rotavirus is not a big deal at all. The biggest problem with rotavirus is dehydration, but proper care will take care of that.

Is it really worth it to inject your child with something which long term side effects are unknown just to possibly prevent a really nasty case of diarrhea?

[tammyswanson]

Originally Posted by attachedmamaof3

Tammy- RSV is a respiratory disease...

Respiratory syncytial virus- common cause of bronchitis/pneumonia


I think you meant rota!

But yes, that's entirely possible.

Ooops, yes!

[mountainsun]

No way would I even consider this vaccine.

I have 2 boys (4 and 19 mos) - neither have had the vax, neither have had rota.

This is a new vax and there have been SERIOUS side effects from this vaccine, including death.

Again, no WAY would I consider a vaccine for vomiting and diarrhea. Just not worth the risks (as small as they may be).

[mamadelbosque]

Not a chance would I even consider this vax. The last rotavirus vax was pulled due to Intussusception (sp??), which is twisting of the intestines as a side effect of the vaccine. In case your wondering, thats bad. I worked with horses for years, and thats what happens to them when the colic & roll - and then die.

Anyways. This vaccine has also been shown to have Intussusception occur as a side effect. It hasn't been pulled yet (obviously) cause' the cdc doesn't think its a big deal. Personally, I care to differ.

VAERS search for "Intussusception" in ROTHB5 vaccine

[delphiniumpansy]

Originally Posted by tammyswanson

Hmm, maybe that's why all the kids are getting sick, because of the vaccinated kiddies, eh? They just walk around shedding the viruses, kids get sick, everyone gets scared about RSV so they get their kids vaccinated...(rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat). It's a win win situation for the vax manufacturers.

All the kids I know who are getting it are unvaxed

[delphiniumpansy]

The new one, Rotateq, has been tested for Intussusception and has been shown to have no greater incidence of it than without the vax. In another words, you can get it even unvaxed and your chances are just as good as if you were vaxed with rotateq.

http://pediatrics.jwatch.org/cgi/con...ull/2007/228/1

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/...historical.htm

[delphiniumpansy]

Originally Posted by mountainsun

This is a new vax and there have been SERIOUS side effects from this vaccine, including death.

Again, no WAY would I consider a vaccine for vomiting and diarrhea. Just not worth the risks (as small as they may be).

Children die from the virus, too. There are always risks with vaxing and not vaxing.

[attachedmamaof3]

OP, less than 20 a year die due to rotavirus...out of the thousands who get it.

Unfortunately, we don't know the risks of this vaccine because it's just too new.

Additionally, here's some interesting info-

actual rotavirus infection:

diarrhea
dehydration
electrolyte imbalance (due to dehydration?)
metabolic acidosis

rotavirus vaccine:

diarrhea
vomiting
otitis media (ear infection)
nasopharyngitis
fever