Don't Wait to Vaccinate

By the age of 3, your child will need up to 26 shots. Here's why they're all important.
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To Vaccinate or Not?

Andrea McMaster, of Lincoln, Nebraska, thought she was just making casual conversation when she told her mommies group that the following day she was taking her daughter, Erin, to get her two-month vaccinations. Instead, the reaction stunned her. Of the 20 moms, 17 weren't immunizing their children. And they were urging her to do the same.

"I'd never thought twice about vaccinations, and suddenly I was confronted with, 'Are you sure you want to vaccinate your child?'" McMaster recalls. With her stomach in knots, she spent the rest of the day learning all she could about infant vaccinations. "I searched the Internet, called friends and relatives, and talked to my pediatrician. But the more research I did, the more I found out that it's even riskier not to immunize."

Vaccine Anxiety

Pediatricians consider childhood immunizations to be the foundation of a lifetime of good health, but some parents choose to delay vaccinations or avoid them altogether despite their decades-long track record of preventing dangerous childhood diseases.

It's natural to be a little anxious. No one likes needles, and today, by age 3, a fully immunized child can receive up to 26 shots to protect against 13 diseases, such as polio, mumps, and measles. If your pediatrician uses combination vaccines, such as Pediarix for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and hepatitis B, or Pro-Quad for measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, that can cut the number of shots down. Still, while the pain is fleeting, it's hard for parents to watch their kids become pincushions.

But parents usually decide not to vaccinate based on misinformation gleaned from the Internet or playground gossip. "There's a lot of bad information out there," says Paul Offit, MD, author of Vaccines: What You Should Know (Wiley). "When people talk about vaccine safety, they invariably discuss things such as learning disorders, behavior problems, autism, and other diseases, which numerous studies have shown have no relation to vaccines."

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Comments
Comments (33)
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momkkw wrote:

I feel like I am catching the flu bug from him also. He had not been sick in many, many months before this. Seems like every time I take to get him vaccinations, we deal with one illness or another in the weeks following. How do the vaccinations given now differ from the ones that we were given as children? Please include a reference if you can.

5/19/2011 09:18:56 PM Report Abuse
momkkw wrote:

We recently had him get his first chicken pox vaccine and he got shingles! The acyclovir gave him constipation that took a great deal to remedy. Now he is suffering from a slight ear infection likely caused by sinus drainage and probably also a stomach flu since he is having problems keeping food down.

5/19/2011 09:18:29 PM Report Abuse
momkkw wrote:

I was vaccinated as a child and so I went forth to vaccinate my child. I regret it. Now that I have already started I wonder what the ramifications are if I stop altogether.

5/19/2011 09:17:43 PM Report Abuse
tamalafranka wrote:

So when it's time to enroll your child in school what are ya'll going to do? Most schools require that children be up-to-date on their vacinations before they can set foot in the school. I guess more children are going to be home schooled because their parents are to afraid about the risks of vacinations. There are risks with everything we do, you just need to suck it up and get them done.

5/19/2011 12:41:29 PM Report Abuse
StephLaurenAlle wrote:

I think it is humorous that they make it sound like parents don't want to get their children vaccinated simply because they don't want their children to be "pincushions" and fail to mention that most parents choose not to vaccinate due to the plethora of unnecessary chemicals being injected into children too young to handle it.

5/19/2011 11:32:10 AM Report Abuse
anonymous wrote:

TRUST YOU GOD-GIVEN IMMUNITIES AND NOTHING ELSE. MY BROTHER IS A DOC BUT CLUELESS.

5/19/2011 11:12:03 AM Report Abuse
anonymous wrote:

But before ya'll go saying "whatever" back to me, think about it, stop believing everything the media outlets like the Internet and TELL-LIE-VISION portray. Stop being gullible, stop being brainwashed, use your own mind and think about it. They did not need vaccines many years ago, so why do we now? Are they proven, are they tested, do they really do more harm than good, I think and know so!!!

5/19/2011 11:10:28 AM Report Abuse
anonymous wrote:

Whatever!!! We all know that vaccines are NOT needed. It is just another ploy by big Pharma to pad the wallet of the medical field, of the global elitists, and at the same time to further push the agenda of 80% world de-population.

5/19/2011 11:10:17 AM Report Abuse
shanont2 wrote:

Paul Offitt is a liar who has a huge financial interest in vaccines. I am disappointed in Parents magazine for fear-mongering and pushing parents to vaccinate. Vaccines are a serious medical procedure that should not be taken lightly. All parents have the choice and the right to research and come to their own conlcusions without pediatricians bullying them into vaccinating.

5/19/2011 10:38:03 AM Report Abuse
hlsineath1990 wrote:

One sided? All of the sites people have given about anti-vaccinations are one sided!Please people you wonder why whooping cough is coming back?Well it might be because no one is vaccinating their childrenThey are more prevalent amongst communities that do not vaccinate.Get your facts straight people.You can't look at a couple of small surveys to get all of your information.It'll be a sad day when diseases like polio come back because people are too scared to get vaccinated.

5/19/2011 10:25:24 AM Report Abuse
kelliwill4 wrote:

So how are we suppose to know a 12 hour old infant is allergic to yeast? I ask my ped about the Hep B shot at birth. She said it was for record keeping!!!! I looked into it further and here nurse's were not giving the shot to the babies who were suppose to be getting it (mom had hep B) and I believe a few died. So they now they recommend all get it because of medical error! Not to mention Hep B shot doesn't have life long protection.

2/24/2011 10:42:04 AM Report Abuse
anonymous wrote:

vbeyer thinks the whooping cough outbreak is because some people don't vaccinate? 2/3 of the people who got whooping cough were vaccinated against it. Shouldn't you have been safe if you had the vaccine? Then why should the vaccinated be worried about anything? That's where people are missing the mark on this. The vaccinated are still getting the diseases they are vaccinated against. The stats are the same for the vaccinated and unvaccinated...which means that vaccines are ineffective.

10/28/2010 08:50:15 PM Report Abuse
anonymous wrote:

Thank you Treh for being so passionate about this and doing the research I thought I would vaccinate until my midwife urged me not to which lead me to do some research of my own. I'm so glad I have not vaccinated. My children are NEVER sick. I know how to treat them if they are. And vaccine's against chicken pox?! Doesn't that tell everybody what a hoax vaccines are? I've heard something about intravenous vitamin C therapy for I think polio? Has anyone heard anything about this?

10/28/2010 08:45:55 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Here is a MUST-listen interview. Dr. Mayer Eisenstein interviews Meryl Dorey of the Australia Vaccination Network: http://vactruth.com/forum/health-freedom/voodoo-children-by-meryl-dorey-of-the-australian-vaccine-network/ .

10/27/2010 11:30:32 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Isn't it great that so many parents are waking up? We have read the history and found out that - NO - the polio, measles, etc, vaccines did NOT stop any diseases. They were already in a HUGE free-fall before the vaccines hit the market. I highly suggest everyone start on these links to see the TRUE history: Whatever happened to Scarlet Fever? http://avn.org.au/nocompulsoryvaccination/?p=905 and Lies, damned lies and statistics: http://avn.org.au/nocompulsoryvaccination/?p=888

10/27/2010 10:51:43 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Everyone needs to research this subject FULLY...not just accept the photo copied flyer from the topical CDC "handout" from the peditritian promoting vaccines that is written on a 6th grade level, at best. Come on...we're smarter that that and we should DEMAND BETTER!

10/27/2010 09:26:13 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

In short, I found that most, if not all of the diseases ARE treatable and when treated, one gains full immunity and that most of the ingredints in vaccines ARE TOXIC.

10/27/2010 09:25:51 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

A few months later I became pregnant, shortly after that my mom passed and it was then that I spent the next 6 months researching vaccines. How could I be a responsible parent without understanding not only the vaccines and their ingredients, but the diseases themselves before blindly allowing my children to be injected with...WITH WHAT???

10/27/2010 09:25:22 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

WOW...lots of great info here! I never thought twice about vaccinations either until my mother was diagnosed with cancer. While researching possible clinical trials I continued to read about a possible links (cited by various drug companies) to certain cancers and vaccines. I scrached my head and continued on my research filing away this information about vaccines.

10/27/2010 09:24:28 PM Report Abuse
lilmommas5 wrote:

the CDC does experimental vaccines on Death Row prisoners: that should tell you something right there: the CDC took a perfectly healthy inmate and vaccinated him and he ended up being autistic and down syndrome and lost feeling in his limbs!: Perfectly healthy and within 6 mos couldnt remember the ABCs !

10/27/2010 08:32:05 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Research, research, research. Dr. Tenpenny has a great FB page. Read books. If there is even 1 whisper of a voice in you that hesitates on vaccinating, WAIT. You can always catch them up later - you can NEVER undo it.

10/27/2010 04:17:49 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

I have also compiled 23 pages of research on vaccine ingredients, recalls, pharmaceutical companies' impropriety, and statistics. What we are doing to our children without their consent is criminal. How can I allow something to be injected into my child when the drug co. willingly places this sentence in the vaccine package insert: "_____ has not been evaluated for its carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, or its potential to impair fertility."

10/27/2010 04:17:41 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Wow. I am amazed at how biased this article is - and to quote a Dr. who has made millions on a vaccine that was RECALLED. If anyone cares to see my research on vaccines and why I chose to STOP them as of last month, visit http://lifeonthefrancofarm.blogspot (dot) com/2010/09/dirty-truth-about-vaccines-and-big.html. Just put the dot in the right place and you're good to go.

10/27/2010 04:17:01 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

..continued from below:...KPBS examined data from San Diego County¿s Health and Human Services Agency. Of the 332 confirmed cases of whooping cough in the county so far this year, 197 of the people who got sick were up to date with their immunizations. That's nearly 2 out of 3 cases.

10/27/2010 04:06:50 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

2/3 Getting Whooping Cough FULLY Vaccinated: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/sep/07/vaccinated-people-getting-whooping-cough-sd/ Nearly two out of three people diagnosed with whooping cough in San Diego County this year, were fully immunized. ....continued...

10/27/2010 04:06:25 PM Report Abuse
vbeyer262 wrote:

I think it's frightening and sad to hear the comments here about anti-vaccinations. In the year 2010, children should NOT be dying from Whooping Cough! But because of these false fears and misinformation parents are not vaccinating their children and this outbreak is occuring...it's ridiculous.

10/27/2010 03:06:27 PM Report Abuse
drletirana7 wrote:

Treh, I agree with you hundred percent!!!!! But they can deceive only the uneducated/uninformed. You probably read Eleanor McBean"s book entitled "Poison Needle", and also a book by Eustace Mullins: "Medical Conspiracy Behind America". There are other books but these are all I can remember right now. And, you're right there's plenty in the internet.

10/27/2010 02:34:40 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

Parenting magazine special report with one quote from doc that created a vaccine...yeah that is legit and definitely not one sided! Give me a break!

10/27/2010 02:19:34 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

(quote): "But parents usually decide not to vaccinate based on misinformation gleaned from the Internet or playground gossip." LOL - excuse me, but isn't THIS article on the internet? So there can't be an opposing side to this issue? If someone says "DON'T LOOK OVER THERE" - you had better start looking 'over there' ASAP. Here's a good place to start - Dr. Tenpenny's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/vaccineinfo

10/27/2010 01:52:14 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

..from above.. USA 2008 Influenza (prenatal) Hep B (birth) Hep B (1) DTaP (2) Hib (2) IPV (2) PCV (2) Rotavrus (2) Hep B (4) DTaP (4) Hib (4) IPV (4) PCV (4) Rotavirus (4) Hep B (6) DTaP (6) Hib (6) IPV (6) PCV (6) Influenza (6) Rotavirus (6) Hib (12) MMR (12) Varicella (12) PCV (12) Hep A (12) DTaP (15) Hep A (18) Influenza (18) Influenza (30) Influenza (42) MMR (48) DTaP (48) IPV (48) Influenza (54) Influenza (66) .

10/27/2010 01:44:53 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

CDC Mandatory Vaccine Schedule - 1983 vs 2008 Comparison of CDC Mandatory Vaccine Schedule Children birth to six years (recommended month) USA 1983 DTP (2) OPV (2) DTP (4) OPV (4) DTP (6) MMR (15) DTP (18) OPV (18) DTP (48) OPV (48) ..........continued.... .

10/27/2010 01:44:10 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

I forgot to mention that your should NEVER get vaccinated while having a cold or any other illness as this article suggest you can. I know someone whos infant died after being vaccinated and had a cold. It was too much for his little heart and he died!

10/27/2010 01:31:16 PM Report Abuse
treh wrote:

This article is so one sided and disgusting. Its tragic to know that so many new mothers read this magazine and get these updates by email and take this garbage as the truth! I am so thankful that I am educated enough to know to do my own research and from that I have learned that vaccines are NOT safe and are not near the same as the ones we had growing up!

10/27/2010 01:28:46 PM Report Abuse
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