{"id":875,"date":"2007-10-17T00:43:17","date_gmt":"2007-10-17T04:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/ttc\/?p=875"},"modified":"2007-10-17T00:43:17","modified_gmt":"2007-10-17T04:43:17","slug":"vaccination-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/?p=875","title":{"rendered":"Vaccination Requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"

To kick off my vaccination research, first let’s look up the AAP’s recommendations, as that seems to be the golden standard here. After much searching on the AAP’s immunization site<\/a> (woo, “vaccines are good!” overdose there) I found this easy-to-read recommended schedule<\/a> for newborns through 6 years, as of 2007. That’s a lot of vaccines.
\n* Hep B
\n* Rotavirus
\n* Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP)
\n* Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
\n* Pneumococcal (PCV?)
\n* Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV)
\n* Influenza
\n* Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
\n* Varicella
\n* Hep A
\n* Meningococcal<\/p>\n

At this point, other than the Varicella, I’m not passing judgement on what is\/isn’t needed as I simply don’t know enough about the rest. Pretty sure the DTP and MMR are pretty darn useful, though. Just sayin’.<\/p>\n

Now let’s look up what the rules are for MA, shall we? Our kid will be going to public school as of 5 years old (but I’m not really intending for the kid to go to preschool… we shall see on that one).<\/p>\n

From the Mass Department of Public Health MA Laws Regarding Vaccinations<\/a>. Let’s summarize for Kindergarten entry:
\n* DTP\/DTaP (
\n* Polio (IPV) (3 or 4 doses, depending on age of kid)
\n* MMR (2 doses, 1 month apart)
\n* HepB (3 doses)
\n* Varicella (1 dose)<\/p>\n

Mass has only medical and religious excemptions, no philosophical excemption. The only one I’m pissed about is the Varicella. However, it states that a kid doesn’t have to get that vaccine if they have “laboratory evidence of immunity” or “a statement signed by a physician that the student has a history of chickenpox disease.” Ie, if my kid gets the chickenpox before<\/i> entering kindergarten they don’t have to get the vaccine. Hmmm, I see a chickenpox party in my future. (Thank goodness I’m immune… I’ve actually never had it.)<\/p>\n

Now the part about preschool is different.
\n“No student, as defined in 105 CMR 220.400, shall attend a preschool program without a certificate of immunization documenting that the child has been successfully immunized in accordance with current Department of Public Health (DPH) recommended schedules against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, varicella and other communicable diseases as specified from time to time by the Department …”<\/i>
\nSo it includes some that aren’t included for Kindergarten… namely the Hib vaccine. Interesting. I wonder why. Ahhh, found the answer<\/a>: “Haemophilus influenzae type b disease, also called Hib disease, is an illness that can cause a potentially fatal brain infection in young children.” Guess once you’re 5 years old it’s no longer an issue.<\/p>\n

(A – B) leaves us with vaccines that the AAP recommends but are not required for kindergarten (at this point in time, at least… light knows they’ll change it soon enough). Namely:
\n* Rotavirus
\n* Pneumococcal (PCV?)
\n* Influenza
\n* Hep A
\n* Meningococcal<\/p>\n

So those are the ones I’ll focus on in my research. Now of course I want to know about the others as well – I want to know what I’m putting in my child, what I’m protecting them from – but these are the ones I’ll need to make choices about.<\/p>\n

There are several things that concern me about vaccinations, especially the schedule laid out for small children.<\/p>\n

First, I’m concerned about what may be in the vaccine besides the dead\/live virus. Mercury is a hot topic, but there are others: aluminum, formaldehyde and monosodium glutamate (MSG) to name a few (from this<\/a> handout). Here’s a page from the CDC stating that as of 1999 the mercury was removed from vaccines excepting some flu vaccines<\/a>. And yet this site<\/a> – which is linked to by that CDC website!! – lists multiple vaccinations which still have mercury content, including the DT, Tetanus booster, and one of the Meningococcal vaccines. Many many others had “trace amounts” that “should be considered equivalent to thimerosal-free.” Is this not bothersome?<\/p>\n

Second, I’m concerned about the amount<\/i> of vaccines given in a short period of time. Look at the schedule – that’s a lot<\/i> of antibodies to be shaking up at one time!<\/p>\n

Third is not just a concern of over-vaccinating in general, but vaccinating with things that are unnecessary, like the Varicella and Influenza (I am not getting my Influenza vaccination while pregnant, as “recommended”). I also see that they’re now saying that girls aged 11-12 need to get the HPV vaccine!! (Now that one’s pissed me off ever since they started advertising it.) I really think the whole vaccination thing is getting out of hand, and yes, a nasty, pessimistic side of me wonders how much those drug companies have to do with it.<\/p>\n

And lastly, some sites for me to read regarding vaccines:
\nMassachusetts Citizens for Vaccination Choice<\/a>
\nVaccine Awakening<\/a> (Blog)
\nAAP Immunization Support<\/a><\/p>\n

Okay, enough research for one night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To kick off my vaccination research, first let’s look up the AAP’s recommendations, as that seems to be the golden standard here. After much searching on the AAP’s immunization site (woo, “vaccines are good!” overdose there) I found this easy-to-read recommended schedule for newborns through 6 years, as of 2007. That’s a lot of vaccines. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-vaccinations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lunardreams.net\/baby\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}