Vaccine Choice And Delayed Vaccine Schedule

La recherche sur l'autisme encourages all parents to make informed, thoughtful decisions about healthcare choices and immunizations for their children.  We are not in any way against vaccines, but we would like to see a great improvement in the safety of administering vaccines in addition to the vaccines themselves. The foundation of this begins with parents understanding and being educated about vaccine choice.

• Making informed decisions about vaccine choice regarding routine check-ups and immunization increases the likelihood of your child not falling victim to adverse reactions from vaccines or severe vaccine injury. 

• Vaccine schedules have been created to keep children on track for their immunizations, however there are other factors that come into play when following this schedule, such as your child’s health.

Some Facts on a Delayed Vaccine Schedule

• By law, you do have the right to delay the schedule, follow an alternative schedule or refuse vaccination for religious and/or other personal reasons.

For the current CDC Recommended Immunization Schedule as well as Dr. Robert Sears's Alternative Vaccination Schedule, Click here.

Vaccine Safety

Your child should be healthy at the time of vaccination.

• We feel that if your child has a cold, ear ache, is recovering from an illness, or on antibiotics, your child should not be receiving a vaccination.

• It can be better to interrupt and delay the vaccination schedule until a different visit rather than vaccinate a sick child.

• We also know that it is possible to space out the vaccines of your children. There is no need to give multiple vaccines on a given day.

A parent should know what vaccinations their child is being given and why.

• We believe it is important that a parent is knowledgeable on vaccine choice by knowing which vaccines their child is being given and why.For a list of current mandated vaccines with explanations of the diseases they prevent,  Click here.

• A parent should take initiative to inquire about vaccines and ensure that their physician has informed them of the benefits and risks of the vaccine being given. To view Vaccine Information Statements from the CDC, Click here.

While the majority of children can receive vaccines and experience little or no discomfort, it is important to note that there are some children who may be susceptible to having adverse reactions.

• We have reason to believe these children may be predisposed to adverse vaccine reactions in the first place.

• There may not be a scientific reason for this predisposition as of yet, however it is necessary for parents to recognize that it is a possibility that their child may fall into this subset of children and could be more prone to an adverse reaction.  For more information about these possible subsets, Click here, to take a look first-hand at the PBS series, Autism Now with Robert MacNeil.

•  

Protect Vaccine Choice

You should know that it is your right to have an open line of communication with your child’s physician.

• Your physician should inform you of both the benefits and risks of vaccines.  If your physician is not willing to provide you with information regarding vaccine choice or vaccine safety, it is a possibility that they may not be the right doctor for your family.

Parents know their children best and will be the first to recognize an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

• Delay of vaccines is the best option to prevent an adverse reaction in the case of a child being sick beforehand.  If there is any sign of adverse reaction after the vaccine, it should not be ignored.

• Common adverse reactions include fever or lethargy after vaccination, however, either of the two in excess can suggest a further problem.

• Any adverse reaction should be reported whether a parent feels it is significant or not. By law, all adverse reactions are to be reported by physicians to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). To learn more about VAERS, Click here.

• Documentation of adverse reactions is necessary for any possible future problems down the road, both medically and legally.

Delayed Vaccine Schedule

(Thoughts From Dr. Oz)

An excerpt from YOU:  Having a Baby, The Owner's Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy by Michael F. Roizen, MD and Mehmet C. Oz, MD, Appendix 3: Vaccinations p.411

   “Oz family immunization regimen:  We gave no immunizations for six months, and most immunizations were given about a year after recommended, with the hope that the children’s immune systems would mature.  Yet at the same time we needed to complete the recommended immunizations before school started to avoid battles with the health department.  We gave no immunizations that we were not legally obliged to administer in New Jersey, and none of the kids got hepatitis B when they were babies.  On the positive side we agreed with most of the recommended immunizations in New Jersey.

     Lisa breast-fed all the kids, and none of the children were in day care, so we had two important risk factors on our side.  We had no genetic fears except that I probably have borderline ADHD.  We placed lots of emphasis on the child being healthy at the time of immunization, and we were careful about their diets, but we did administer vaccines in groups to reduce the children’s fears and visits to the pediatrician.”-Mehmet Oz, MD

"** The information presented or linked to here is NOT medical advice and cannot be relied on as a substitute for such advice.  No medical treatement should be avoided or attempted without prior consultation with a licensed physician. **"