Wikis related to Vaccines

Ultimately, the case for vaccination is that it saves lives. It has changed the face of medicine over the last few decades in this country.  There are risks to vaccines, as there are risks to all medical treatments and, for that matter, everything in life, but the risks of the vaccine are very very small and are less than the risk of the vaccine preventable disease.   Are Vaccines are effective?   Yes!   Death from chicken pox dractically reduced since vaccine has gained widespread use "During the 12 years of the mostly 1-dose US varicella vaccination program, the annual average...

  Mothering's Special Report on Vaccines showcases current and past Mothering articles and resources on the topic of vaccine safety and efficacy. Join the Discussion            • Peggy on Pregnancy & Vaccines • General Vaccine Forums • I'm Not Vaccinating • Selective & Delayed Vaccination  • Vaccinations Forum Archives • Ask Dr. Bob Sears Newest Vaccine Discussions   What the Doctor Isn’t Telling You about Pregnancy & the Flu Vaccine It is now standard practice to inoculate expectant women in America against influenza, but is it what's best for mom and...

    Vaccination. The topic is enough to make my stomach churn, because of the ugliness that so often follows.  I’ve read a million debates about breastfeeding and formula, circumcision, cry-it-out, carseats, and more.  Yet nothing gets so viciously attacked as the choice to refuse or even question vaccines.   Some people say it’s because non-vaccinators are putting others at risk, but since vaccinated people also contract and spread diseases, that can’t be accurate.  What I have found is that most people who get really heated over the topic haven’t thoroughly researched it, and are...

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that protection from whooping cough wanes quickly after the final dose of the vaccine is administered to children around age seven. Most children whose parents chose to follow the recommended schedule receive the vaccine in five doses beginning as an infant. Acellular pertussis is just one of the three vaccines contained in this DTaP series, which also includes diphtheria and tetanus. The new results showed a dramatic drop in continuing protection from the vaccine after the final dose is administered. “The odds of...

When I was pregnant with my first child, I spent most of the pregnancy worried about and trying to plan for a great natural birth.  All the “mothering” stuff after that I just didn’t even think about.  I read one baby book though, the Dr Sears classic, “The Baby Book” and thought briefly about vaccines and delayed vaccinations.  When I talked to my child’s pediatrician though she kind of brushed off the idea of splitting up the schedule and I ended up just going along with everything as recommended by the “experts.” I proceeded obediently according to schedule until my son was...

This giveaway has ended.  The winners are…(winners will be contacted by email to claim their prizes) Christine We all get lots of exercise/physical activity. I try to make healthy choices for my body and mind and love myself in the hope that my daughters will see that and love themselves, too. Rachel The biggest thing I do to keep my kiddo healthy is to be a good example of healthy habits. Monkey see, monkey do, right? I try to eat right and stay active and since he eats what I eat and comes along with me for all of my activities (because he’s still a baby), hopefully, he’ll...

Thank you to Dr. Bob Sears for this guest post. The California Legislature is currently considering a bill that would require parents to obtain their doctor’s signature on a government form prior to enrollment in public school if they wish to skip one or more vaccines for their child. Current law allows parents to decline vaccines by signing an exemption form at the school – no doctor’s signature needed. The new law would require “a written statement signed by a health care practitioner that indicates that the practitioner provided the parent with information regarding the...

I don’t usually wear make-up. If you don’t wear make-up you look washed out on TV. Last weekend a PBS film crew was in town shooting footage for a Frontline documentary about the vaccine debate. They have been talking to people around the country on both sides of the issue, including Paul Offit, Jenny McCarthy, Bob Sears, Barbara Loe Fisher, J. B. Handley, and more. They came to Ashland, Oregon because many parents here choose not to vaccinate at all, choose to selectively vaccinate, or choose to vaccinate fully but on a different schedule than the one recommended by the CDC. At...

SafeMinds deplores AAP support of the unlimited use of thimerosal in vaccines. WASHINGTON, DC – In a stunning statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has supported the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, be retained for use in the global vaccine supply.  Rather than supporting a ban or phase out, the AAP and WHO are arguing for unrestricted use of mercury in vaccines.  SafeMinds believes that children in developing countries deserve the same access to mercury-free vaccines that children have in developed...

You may not have heard about a study published in September in the Journal of Neurotoxicology about what happens to newborn rhesus macaques after they are given a single dose of a thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccine. Nine scientists co-authored the study. In the introduction, they explain that in 1991 Hepatitis B was recommended for all newborns, regardless of gestational age or birth weight, within twelve hours of life, even if their mothers test negative for Hepatitis B. “We were unable to identify pre-clinical or prospective neurotoxicity studies that assessed the safety...

Vaccine safety is back in the news today, because the FDA has asked doctors to temporarily suspend giving the newest incarnation of the vaccine against rotavirus, Rotarix. This vaccine is currently scheduled on CDC guidelines for infants in two doses between ages six weeks and 24 weeks. Independent researchers found the vaccine to be contaminated with fragments of a virus of pigs, porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1). There are several unfortunate things about today’s news: 1. Although the contamination was communicated to vaccine makers and the FDA in early February, the FDA has only...

Tomorrow (since I’m writing this at 9:30 p.m. after having spent all day on airplanes returning from New York City where I was at the American Society of Journalists and Authors meeting) the PBS show “Frontline” will air a full-hour investigative piece on the vaccine debate. A producer and a cameraman came to Ashland when Leone was just a few weeks old and spent hours interviewing me, following us around town, and taking B-roll of the kids. The press release makes me a little nervous. They’ve decided to call the show “The Vaccine War” and I wonder if–as a parent who choses to...

Hannah called just a few minutes after the PBS Frontline “Vaccine War” ended. “I can’t get the baby to stop crying,” she said. “I’ll be right home,” I cried, saying a hasty goodbye to my friends and jumping on my bicycle. Although I think the producers of “Vaccine War” did their best to present both sides, I was a little disappointed with the show. Here’s why: 1. Although you would not know it from the episode, I am pro vaccine and my children are selectively vaccinated. I think vaccines may be responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of lives. But I’m against the current...

My kids and I like to role play. Sometimes I pretend to be a bad guy and I drive by them in my “car,” slowing down and crying out, “Hey kids! Come with me! My dog had puppies and they’re really cute. I’ll take you to go see them. Get in…” Etani, who’s six, shouts “NO WAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!” and runs in the other direction. Saying no is a lot harder for Athena, who’s nine. She stops walking and politely declines, “No thank you, sir. I do not want to see a puppy right now, but thank you anyway for asking…” We teach our children to follow directions, to “be good,” and to do what...

In episode 2 of the Mothering podcast Mothering Editor and Publisher Peggy O’Mara interviews Dr. Andrew Wakefield; coauthor of a 1998 study that suggested a link between Crohn’s Disease and the Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine in some children. He has been accused of incorrectly linking the MMR vaccine with autism. In this special interview, Wakefield discusses the current controversy surrounding his research. Subscribe to the Mothering podcast. See the associated resource page for this episode. Download the Mothering Interview With Dr. Andrew Wakefield About Melanie...

by Jake Aryeh Marcus Find Sustainable Mothering on Facebook and Jake on Twitter. A recent episode of the PBS program Frontline was called “The War on Vaccines.” The title alone should have been the tip off that the producers’ goal was to inflame and incite – to assume this was an entirely adversarial discussion between diametrically opposed viewpoints. But I knew that my colleague Jennifer Margulis, Contributing Editor at Mothering where I am Politics Editor, was interviewed on the program so I felt obligated to watch. I knew also the show would feature pro-vaccine zealot Paul Offit –...

The Washington Post reported in early October that 28 pregnant women have died of the swine flu and the CDC specifies that pregnant women are at higher risk of death if they catch the swine flu, especially in the third trimester. An article in the November 3, 2009 British newspaper, the Telegraph, reiterates that pregnant women are at a proportionately high risk of having severe health problems from the swine flu. My father-in-law, who reads these kinds of mainstream newspapers and Web sites, has been so disturbed by the increased risk to pregnant women that he’s been calling my...

The debate in Vermont continues as the state considers ending the right to a philosophical vaccine exemption for families. The exemption currently allows parents to say no to vaccines for their children and still send them to public school or child care. Vermont is one of twenty states that allow such an option for parents. Vocal opponents of the exemption state that it  jeopardizes “herd immunity,” putting the community at risk.  Others see it as a vital right that allows families to make informed health decisions without excluding them from important resources. “I don’t think we...

By Sherri J. TenpennyIssue 120, September-October 2003 The time has finally arrived for the highly anticipated trip out of the country. The plans began long ago: airplane tickets, hotel reservations, rental car, sightseeing plans. The bags are being pulled from the attic to be packed, and the excitement mounts with each passing day. Everything is a go. But wait-what about vaccines? Is this one more preparation that needs to be added to the "To Do" list? Traveling out of the country can feel like a venture to another planet. Pictures of exotic destinations coupled with new, curious foods...

Issue 134 By Peggy O'Mara Mothering has been publishing articles on vaccination for 27 years. In 1979, our first article on vaccines was intended for the early Mothering readership of natural-living pioneers who questioned medical interventions in general. Newer generations question not only the general effects of vaccinations, but also specific vaccines and specific ingredients of vaccines. In 1982, for example, parents whose children were injured by the whole-cell pertussis vaccine formed the organization Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT) and lobbied for passage of the National...