Today, I'm putting up our personal vaccine schedule. As a bonus, you get to see my reading list.
Tomorrow, I'll put up an explanation for why we did what we did, with questions for you to consider as you make your own family vaccine schedule.
Then, on Friday, you'll be able to read (if you want) a detailed "paper" of sorts going in more technical/ medical detail. EDIT: this became my 3-part series on Keeper of the Home. I have uploaded the full Q & As on chicken-pox & polio, and abbreviated ones for all the possible shots.
That's the plan- short & sweet, then a "Questions to Ask" guide, then finally the full shebang which you are under NO obligation to read. :) It's written mainly for my own peace of mind (I actually like writing papers), but our family doctor will be getting a copy, and I *might* try to do more with it if I think it's good enough.
So, without further ado, here is what we will (most likely) do with our kids (DTaP 4 doses, Pc 2 doses, Hib 1 dose)-- could start 3 mos. earlier if desired:
12 mos--DTaP Dose 1 (can provide partial immunity against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough/pertussis)
15 mos-- Pc Dose 1 (can provide partial immunity against meningitis)
18 mos-- Hib sole dose (can provide partial immunity against meningitis)- no further doses needed if given after/at age 15 mos.
2 yrs- Pc Dose 2- no further doses needed if first dose given at/after age 12 mos.
3 yrs- DTaP Dose 3
4 years- DTaP Dose 4 (no further doses needed if given at/after age 4)
10 years- MMR & varicella vaccines, separated by at least 6 mos, only IF our kids don't get chicken pox (varicella), and rubella (German measles) naturally. We're hoping to catch the live versions, so if you have a kid down with any of those, invite us over!! :)
(We do not plan on getting flu, Hep B or A, rotavirus, HPV or IPV vaccines.)
**Edit September 2011- because of sickness, we have held off on several vaccines and will be even more delayed; I'd rather not further tax my daughter's immune system when it is already fighting off a virus, even if it's "just a little cold." I am also seriously considering completely skipping the DTaP completely with our next child(ren), due to the danger & relative uselessness (if the current epidemic is any indication) of the pertussis components (don't really care so much either way about the diptheria elements). However, because tetanus is a real danger and there are no vaccines available before age 2, I am making myself aware of which hospitals/treatment centers have TIG (tetanus immune globulin) on hand in the event of an accident before my children are old enough to get the single tetanus vax. Proper wound cleaning & care is the best defense against tetanus... and keeping an eye on my baby while at the park.
Reading list:
The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library)
-by Bob Sears (though he has an alternative schedule, he is fundamentally FOR vaccines)Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases
- by Paul Offit (essentially a biography of the man who made many of the vaccines still used today- gives a lot of insights into his world view, motives & motivations)Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know
-Paul Offit & Louis M. Bell (try not to let its oversimplified tone insult your intelligence so much that you throw it away after one chapter)CDC Vaccine Guide
Cautionary:
The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults
- by Randall NeustaedterThe Virus and the Vaccine: Contaminated Vaccine, Deadly Cancers, and Government Neglect
- by Debbie Bookchin & Jim SchumacherMake an Informed Vaccine Decision for the Health of Your Child: A Parent's Guide to Childhood Shots
- by Mayer Eisenstein"A User-Friendly Vaccination Schedule" by Donald W. Miller, Jr.
"The Danger of Excessive Vaccination During Brain Development" by Russel L. Blaylock
"The Challenge to Mass Vaccination" by Barbara Loe Fisher
"How We Are Making our Children Sick," by Sean Manning, in Pathways, issue 20
"A Personal Perspective on Vaccination,"by Jean McAulay in August/Sept 2008 of Today's Chiropractic Lifestyle
3 comments:
very excited about this!
I came over from Keeper of the Home.
I see that you are planning (or may have already gotten by now) MMR and Varicella. I'm curious about your feelings on the Rubella component and the chicken pox vaccine both having been made using aborted fetal cells. I noticed you had mentioned that in your post. THanks!
Hey Jessi! I'm guessing you're looking at a list like this one: http://www.rense.com/general59/vvac.htm
As far as my thoughts... I know this is a highly controversial aspect of an already touchy subject! Basically, I don't like the health factors of using human tissue at all, no matter the source. The fact that they are from aborted babies is very sad to me-- however, it doesn't make it or break it for me. While I'm vehemently opposed to abortion, these babies whose tissue was used were not conceived or aborted specifically to use for vaccines-- they were murdered, and then someone had the idea to use some of their cells in vaccines. Babies aren't being repeatedly killed in order to make these vaccines-- cultured cells that started out with tissue samples from aborted babies are used. So, I don't have a moral problem with it, necessarily, though I don't want any abortion to be done, ever. THAT's the disgusting tragedy to me-- that these babies were murdered at all, even years ago. What they used the tissue for is kind of moot to me. Anyway, those are my thoughts at the moment. Thanks for stopping by!
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