It starts the day your baby is born…… vaccinations. The Hepatitis B shot is given at birth, then booster doses follow. Why do infants need this vaccine so soon in life? Isn’t Hep B an STD after all, most frequently transmitted through sexual contact or tainted needles? While I don’t disagree that the Hep B vaccine may good idea for general public health, does it really need to be administered to a 7 pound newborn?
The current vaccination schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics says that in addition to getting the Hep B vaccine, by 6 months of age, the typical American child will be vaccinated against seven diseases via 17 vaccines, including their boosters. In addition, it is recommended that children 6 months of age or older during the winter season also receive a flu shot. That strikes me as a bit much. Thankfully, as of 2002, mercury is no longer an ingredient in these vaccines (it is either no longer added, filtered out leaving minute traces, or still added only in the case of the influenza vaccine from certain manufacturers). However, the question of vaccine safety is far from over. Other controversial ingredients are still found in many vaccines, from the known carcinogen formaldehyde (used as a preservative) to aluminum (used to enhance the effectiveness of the vaccine, but it can cause neurological damage if the doses are high enough or the kidneys are unable to remove it from the body). And the sheer number of vaccines added to the schedule continues to grow. Already, my youngest son will be offered a vaccine (against Rotavirus) that his brother, born in 2005, never got.
Up until recently, there hasn’t been much solid information available to concerned parents. On one end of the spectrum are vaccine manufacturers, the FDA, and doctors all telling us that vaccines are perfectly safe. Of course, they claimed this when thimerosal was an ingredient in vaccines, causing children to receive doses of mercury above what was considered safe (worrisome especially because vaccine manufacturer Merck knew this was the case in 1991 but didn’t do anything about it). On the other end of the spectrum are websites and books filled with frightening information that leaves parents feeling like vaccines cause more harm than good.
Fortunately, as of Oct 2007, there is a great book available that contains unbiased, sound information about the pros and cons of all the vaccines recommended. The Vaccine Book, by Dr. Robert Sears, devotes a full chapter to each vaccine on the current vaccination schedule. Dr. Sears thoroughly examines each disease, how common it is, its severity, and how its treated. He then dives into the vaccine–how its made, who manufactures it, what the ingredients are, what side effects may occur, and the reasons to give, as well as not to give, the vaccine. He also has chapters on vaccine safety research, vaccine ingredients, and recommended schedules for parents interested in delaying or skipping certain vaccines. In addition, Dr. Sears has a website where he offers updates to his book. I’m currently reading the book and highly recommend it. A book like this is long overdue!
