HELP! Rotarix, Prevenar, Infanrix Hexa!

Ruchel

Mon, Jan 30 2012, 1:47 pm

I write this here because I want both opinions, pro vax and not pro vax.

The ped wants Moyshele to get this in one month, all together the same day.

I like that he will be getting much fewer shots than Mati did (in her times, the most they did was 3 in one shot hence many shots). He would get two shots and one oral vax.
But I DONT like the idea of 14 diseases together. I probably wouldn't do it for myself!

My dh thinks it's nuts, no problem, ds is strong (bh true), why am I being anti progress and did I find this on Imamother. He says I'm being paranoid again (it's true that I am, I go crazy over a blood test).

No child around us had bad effects from vaccine, and I am pro vax, but not pro all vax and not pro all vax together. Anyone has experience with this protocol?

My ped already thinks I'm weird because I went epidural less by choice and am nursing without giving bottles at night, so she may not take my concerns over this seriously if I don't have the back up of dh who is science minded and the calm rational type.

I've been a mess all day!!

HindaRochel

Tue, Jan 31 2012, 12:29 am

I'd talk it over with my physician and ask why these, what the possible side effects could be.
Rotarix, at least in 2010, had an extraneous virus attached. You may want to ask the doctor if that has been cleared up.
Prevenar I would do.
There are risks...here you can see them as well as get more info on the vaccine.
http://is.gd/WvIyVA
Infanrix I have no problems with.

But if you want to break them up talk to your doctor about coming in twice that month or something similar.

irg2013

Tue, Jan 31 2012, 9:18 am

Ruchel--
Oysh this sounds stressful-- especially since you feel like you have to make this decision that others won't understand/agree with.

It might help you have a more productive conversation with your husband/pediatrician if you could tell them what exactly your concerns are about giving your baby all the vaccinations at once. Can you articulate your "worst nightmare?" Can you tell them what it is you fear might happen? It is sometimes hard to figure out what exactly makes us uncomfortable about a situation, but your doctor and husband can't help you make a decision you feel comfortable with unless they know what is making you uncomfortable in the first place.

FWIW-- the vaccines are very different and some of them (DTaP in particular) achieve a better effect being given together than being alone. The others are given together to avoid giving lots of shots and to assure that babies get all the vaccinations (not all parents are able to come back for multiple visits). The other issue to keep in mind is that some of these infections (H. Flu, Rota, pertussis, Strep Pneumo) are most dangerous for babies-- hence there is some urgency with regard to timing.

I hope that regardless of what you decide, you have a good conversation about this with your husband and doctor and come to a conclusion that makes you all feel comfortable.

shalhevet

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 8:18 am

I can only tell you my opinion. I have also read lots of the anti-vaccination threads/posts on imamother, and I am not convinced. I can't say I have researched the issue too much, but I believe if we started researching what possible side effects there are from paracetamol or the dust blowing in our homes, we'd avoid them too. Everything in life has risks.

In real life I don't know anyone who doesn't vaccinate as recommended on principle. I know mothers who don't vaccinate - but it is because they are lazy and ignorant, not because they are well informed.

I trust doctors/ the health ministry on this. I am sure they have vested interests. but I'm sure the natural/ anti-vaccine side has vested interests too. There probably are minute risks from some vaccines, but no one I know seems to have been harmed by it. And I think the risks of not being vaccinated are much bigger.

Everything I said is about the "traditional" vaccines for dangerous diseases. I don't feel the same about some of the newer vaccines - which sound to me more for convenience.

Hashkafically, I kind of feel that vaccines which are standard is hishtadlus, and "special" vaccines which not everyone gets are kind of outside the realm of regular hishtadlus. So I don't give chicken pox, flu etc.

I have to say this, even though I am as guilty as everyone else - we post about the things we feel passionately about. even if you start a poll "do you vaccinate X vaccine", you will get a high % of nos. Because the people who feel strongly will open up your thread/ poll. The silent majority of those who just vaccinate won't be interested in the thread.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 9:08 am

Shalhevet, when was the last time you vaccinated a young baby? The protcol has changed to stuff in as many vaccines all at once, so even if someone wants their children to be vaccinated for everything, many mothers are now questioning (like Ruchel) the wisdom in doing it all at once. 14 things she's talking about!

There is no rush for some of them (Hep B, polio, etc) are extremely unlikely for Ruchel's newborn to get. That's a good starting place if you want to stagger/delay.

Then I'd look at what is left and see what feels the most important to you vs not so crucial. (E.g. I personally see no reason to vaccinate my kids with the rotavirus vaccine since they nurse, are not exposed to contaminated water, and from looking at what the vaccine does, I did not feel that my children needed it.)

Etc. Make your way down the list and see what can be separated.

That's how I would do it if I were you.

bradybunch

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 9:40 am

I think getting the Rotarix and Prevnar are so important, you should absolutely get those. We see a lot of babies in the hospital due to dehydration from rotavirus (and for what it's worth, I've had friends with kids who were very ill from rotavirus in spite of living in clean environments and being breastfed). And the risks of pneumococcal disease are also extreme, and very real (again an anecdote, but I have a friend whose sister is profoundly disabled due to pneumococcal meningitis).

What is in the Infanrix Hexa? I'm not sure they give that combo here.

In general, our immune systems can process a huge number of insults each day. We get exposed to germs constantly, and we can mount responses to thousands or millions of different germs at the same time. Even young children are more than able to have an adequate immune response to this many immunizations at once.

That said, if you are concerned, what I would do is go in and get the Rotarix and Prevnar, and then go back about a month later and get the combo vax.

(Disclaimer: I'm a medical student, and so yes, perhaps biased towards being pro-vaccination. However, I've been in the natural parenting community longer than I've been a med student, and I even delayed/split up vaccines for my oldest son. Having read a lot of what is out there on both sides, I feel fairly comfortable recommending that people vaccinate on schedule or as close to schedule as they are comfortable with.)

amother

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:07 am

Infanrix is a vaccine to prevent Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis. The reason these vaccines, plus the Rotavirus and IPV (Polio) are given at such a young age, is because babies are so much more susceptible to these diseases then someone with a more developed immune system. I saw recently on yeshivaworld that 2 little babies in Lakewood had developed Pertussis (whooping cough) and were on ventilators in the ICU. So to those who think that these illnesses are eradicated -they're not. With the developed world allowing people from many different countries to come into contact with us, the risk remains of developing illnesses -even more so because there are mothers who don't vaccinate, and therefore take away the 'herd immunity' that we once had more of..

I would talk to the doctor about your concerns & see if you can split the vaccines & give them 2 weeks apart or something.. but just remember that most kids receive it this way and have no problems.

Good luck!

jelly belly

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:24 am

I break them up. There is really no emergency in most cases to have all these vaccines ASAP, they do it for convenience and to ensure compliance. I vastly prefer to go in more often and let the baby's immune system take a break between vaccines rather than being possibly overwhelmed. A strong baby doesn't mean he won't be affected.

In the kitchen

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:24 am

Herd immunity in reference to vaccinating is a lie. There is no such thing.

http://vaccineriskawareness.co.....attle

People who tout that claim are trying to guilt trip and scare people into vaccinating. If vaccines really were such miracle workers they could show us the science to convince us instead of scare tactics and pressure.

amother

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:46 am

to Hashem Yaazor:

Polio (poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under five years of age.
One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.
Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases then, to 1 349 reported cases in 2010. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease.

taken from the WHO website

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:55 am

Amother, what are you trying to tell me?
What conclusion have you drawn from that?

(My question was rhetorical in my previous post. Please find where polio exists now. What is the chance a 2 month old in a first world country will be exposed to it? Please describe the vaccine's urgency.)

bradybunch

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 10:59 am

In the kitchen wrote:

The problem isn't that we don't show you the science. We can show you science until we're blue in the face and you will just explain it away. I don't think charts and graphs of the decline in vaccine-preventable diseases following the start of vaccination can possibly be construed as "scare tactics."

How about people who are anti-vax stop linking only to incredibly biased websites devoted to their cause as "proof" of all their claims? I regularly have friends post (on Facebook) "articles" from these sites making patently false medical claims that have huge amounts of research and experience to prove them false.

I'm sorry, this isn't the place for this debate, and I dislike debating it in general because there seems to be no point. But I really draw the line at the claims that vaccine-induced herd immunity doesn't exist, because it's like saying that germ theory is a lie. It's just really hard to dispute reality.