Vaccines

So, I have been reading about vaccines lately. Doing quite a bit of it, actually. I'm trying to figure out if I want to not vax this baby at all or do a selective/delayed vaccine schedule. So, here is a good bit of what I've found so far:

The Louisiana vaccination schedule recommends a vaccine for Hepatitus B at birth. Birth, people. This is a disease that is sexually transmitted or transmitted through IV drug use. I really don't think my infant is at risk for contracting this disease. The risks of the vaccine include fever and redness and swelling at site of injection. It has also recently been linked to Multiple Sclerosis, autism and death. It contains thimerserol and aluminum hydroxide. I don't want that stuff in my kid. The shot should be repeated at 2 and 6 months of age.

At 2 months of age, the list is longer. It is recommended to shoot your kid up with the DTaP (diptheria, tetanis, pertussis), Hib (haemophilus influenza type B), IPV (inactivated polio virus), HBV (hep B virus) PCV7 (seven valent pneumoccocal conjugate), and Rota (rotavirus) shots. These are all repeated at 4 months, except for hep B. Let's look into them. 

DTaP is the most controversial of the shots (in the information I have found). It "protects" against the most deadly of things, but also carries the highest risks for side effects. I don't have stats now, and probably won't update, since these are just my ramblings. It is mostly the Pertussis (or whooping cough) that is the trouble. They've changed the formula sometime in the last decade or so, and it's not as bad as it was, but it still carries a significant risk of soreness, swelling, fever, unusual high pitched cry (indicating brain damage), limpness and pallor, convulsions, severe and/or permanent brain damage, anaphylactic shock, residual seizure disorder, and death. The thing is, even when the numbers look small with these things, it's YOUR kid. When your kid is the 1 in whatever, suddenly the statistics for how small the chances were don't matter anymore. They became 100%! 

Now, whooping cough isn't something to mess around with. It can be deadly, especially in infant under 1 year of age. However, the vaccine doesn't actually protect you from whooping cough... it just takes the whoop out of the cough, so you're just dealing with what you think is a normal cold. Also, tons of people who have been vaxed have outbreaks with it. 

Tetanus and Diptheria can be deadly, too, but can pretty much be avoided by good hygeine. You know, wash your foot with soap and warm water when you step on a rusty nail. 

The other shots have similar risks, they are just somewhat smaller. They all contain heavy metals and animal proteins. The IPV shot is safer than the OPV vaccine (which is taken orally... hence the O) because it is dead polio vs. live polio. However, it is not as effective. When you take the OPV, you shed polio virus for up to 60 days, though, putting people whose vaxes have "expired" at risk. IPV doesn't do that. Polio sounds really scary, but something like 90% of people who come into contact w/ it develop immunity w/o even getting sick, especially if they are in good health. The crippling even goes away for some people who get it. I don't know much about the PCV7 and the Rota vaccines right now. Still looking.

At 6 months, the schedule is the same again, except add back in the Hep B shot and also flu shot.

Then you're done until 12-15 months old, when they want you to get more DTaP, Hib, and PCV7 as well as MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) Varicella (chicken pox) and HAV (Hep A). I haven't read up on Hep A yet, still working on that one, too. (I do know that it is made by using human diploid cells... aka grown in aborted fetus cells) But I'll rant about MMR and Varicella. First of all, why are we even promoting vaccinations against common childhood ailments? When exposed to these naturally, your body builds up natural immunity lasting a lifetime. Because these shots are an imitation of that, the immunity wears off. All of these are basically little more than an annoyance when encountered in childhood, but can be deadly when encountered in adulthood, or even the teen years. Vaccinating young children against them doesn't make sense. And now, if I want my child to develop natural immunity to these, I have to look for someone who has contracted them and deliberately expose my child. Also, the Rubella component of MMR and the Varicella are grown using human diploid cells as well. I'm morally opposed to those shots.

18-23 months is a HAV booster.

And then you're through until 4 yrs old when you get a booster for DTaP, IPV, MMR and Varicella. 

Then there are a few more at 11-12 years.

You may have noticed a heavy load at 2, 4 and 6 months. Is it a coincidence that SIDs rates are highest at these ages? Also, since vaccinations have become more common so have things like ADD and ADHD and autism. I read once that the link btwn autism and vaccines has to do with the use of tylenol combined with the vaccines. I don't know. I haven't looked into it a whole lot. I also don't want to discount the fact that ADD and ADHD rises have also coincided with the use of more processed foods (preservatives and artificial food colorings especially) and also video games and TV watching. We stay away from those things, too, in the Hogan house (as much as we can, anyway).

There are pros and cons to both sides of the fence. Vaccines can be deadly... so can disease. Which risk are you more willing to take? 

This was not meant to be scientific. It is just my ramblings and some of my information could be wrong. You want sources? Do your own research. 

Peace.