How Do You Feel About Immunization?

Dr Sears' "The Vaccine Book"... It explains how each vaccine is made, the pros and cons of giving the shot to your child, and any other information you could ever want about vaccines. It even includes an excellent alternative vaccine schedule, which we used for my son. Instead of giving SO MANY shots at once and so young, its spreads the shots out over a longer period of time and has options for starting them later. My son didn't receive his first shot until he was 5 months old, as opposed to most babies receiving shots starting from the day they are born! I think the whole American Academy of Pediatrics system is CRAZY!

Hi! I just had my son "doubly" immunized. I feel very lucky he got the H1N1 shot. He didn't even cry from it or exhibit side effects from it (and this is 3 days later).
We intended on at least the usual flu shot (which is a liquid mist administered to each nostril) but got lucky they also had the H1N1 available.
Sure there is a lot of internet hoop-lah about it (and all vaccines), but really, this is a scary virus in that it can mutate and change rapidly.
Any help you can give your little one to potentially fight it off is so important!!!

My son had his Hepatitis and 1/2 of his flu shot last Tuesday. The entire week was a nightmare. Three days of a high fever, then a runny nose, then a full blown cold, and then last night, crying for two hours and he came to me and said, "mama, my ear." Another 3 hours in the emergency room and no antibiotics because it's really not needed to treat an ear infection. I am torn because my son was fine before the vaccinations, but I know that they are needed...I just wish I had more unbiased information across the board.

I think this is a personal question everyone has to decide for themselves. My husband and I feel immunizations are very important, so we immunized both our kids. Both just got their flu shots this week too (3.5 years old and 2 years old). I'm a scientist (though not at all a medical professional) and I feel the pros very much outweigh the cons. But like I said - you need to decide with your child's dad what feels best for your family. Read both points of view and then talk and decide. Good luck. Its so hard being a parent and making decisions like this!

Hi J.,

I have my concerns about immunizations, too. Yet, not to get them can be just as bad. The best idea is to do your research, talk to your doctor, ask for information on the pro's and con's and then make your choice based on what feels best and safest. Some things to remember, especially now with the flu vaccines, are that certain kinds (like the nasally administered flu vaccines) are "live viruses" which are far worse than the others. A live virus can actually cause the disease to set in when it wasn't there before.

I had the same concerns in regards to getting the Hepatitis B vaccine for my workplace. I have been immuno-depressed made me all the more worried, but after I read about it and talked to the medical personnel, I went through with it, and it seemed to help my health condition. So that was good news.

God Bless,
S.

Hi J.,

I agree that this is a very personal and difficult decision that you really must make in the most informed way possible. Personally, my husband and I have not had our 13 month old vaccinated. I did a LOT of research and this, coupled with the fact that she was not in day care and is still being breastfed, allowed me to feel confident in our decision. There are pros and cons to both vaccinating and not vaccinating so it comes down to what you can live with. There is also a middle ground whereby you can delay vaccinations for a year or two or vaccinate selectively for those diseases you feel are most worrisome. There are two great books I'd recommend (if you don't have them already) "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Bob Sears (and the accompanying website is great and constantly updated) and "Vaccinations: a thoughtful parents guide" by Aviva Jill Romm (this book is pretty dense, but well worth slogging through it!) Good luck - I know what a difficult decision it is to make!