Vaccinations…a dilemma for some parents. Get some more answers from a doctor and a parent in the link below.
Here are some of the most common questions I encounter regarding vaccines and my answers. I’m writing this post, from a parent to a parent, because I want to equip you with accurate information to protect your children.
California Department of Public Health Celebrates Preteen Vaccination Week!
February 12-18, 2012!
The goal of 2012’s Preteen Vaccine Week campaign is raise awareness about California’s new Tdap requirement for incoming 7thgrade students, immunization recommendations for 11-and 12-year-olds, and promote the preteen doctor visit through multiple avenues such as schools, providers, and the media.ACIP currently recommends that 11- and 12-year-olds receive these vaccines:Tdap tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough:
For the 2012-13 school year and beyond, all students entering 7th grade will need proof of a
Tdap booster shot before starting school
Meningococcal
Annual flu vaccine
HPV human papillomavirus 3-shot series
A total of 2 vaccines against chickenpox varicella
via Preteen Vaccine Week.
Vaccinations are a hot topic…many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children for various concerns that are legitimate at least in their views at the time.
Since the 50’s when polio was essentially eradicated with the then controversial Salk vaccine, parents have been very vocal and anxious about vaccines given to their kids. In recent years, fears of a connection with the development of autism have fueled the vaccination controversy. Now, the news that a vaccine for the sexually transmitted HPV virus is recommended for young teens has stimulated another fear that this vaccination will in fact increase the numbers of teens engaging in sexual intercourse.
What ever side of this controversy you are on when it comes time for your kids to be vaccinated remember, they are innocent and are counting on you to protect them from harm.
If you feel that vaccinations should not be given to your child, for goodness sake, do all your homework and make sure you are totally aware of the consequences of some of the diseases that your child will be at risk for acquiring. Weigh the pros and cons, make sure that the risks are worth taking.
I am not a risk taker and I would not put my child at risk for these preventable childhood diseases…as a medical professional, I would do my homework and probably spread the recommended vaccinations out over a longer period of time. With my current knowledge, I would choose to have my child immunized.
My personal feeling is this, by not vaccinating my child against potentially fatal childhood diseases I may actually be neglecting my duties as a parent and my child could die because of my neglect…but that is just my opinion.
Today I heard a disturbing piece of news regarding children and vaccinations.
Apparently, an infant who was not old enough to receive the pertussis vaccine was exposed to pertussis in a pediatrician’s office. This baby wound up extremely sick and hospitalized due to his exposure to pertussis, a potentially fatal, contagious disease.
This situation poses a dilemma.
Some pediatricians are now refusing patients whose parents are not allowing them to be immunized .
Where is the balance here??? I am not quite sure.
Personally, I would not want my child exposed to these diseases because as a pediatric nurse I have seen how they can ravage a healthy child and in some cases steal their life.
I am also aware of and empathize with the parental fears that surround childhood vaccinations. These vaccinations have been associated with autism. Even though the evidence that at first supported these fears has been sited as flawed, the fear is still there.
So, how do we work with the parents and children who are not vaccinated against these childhood diseases and at the same time protect infants who are not yet vaccinated?
Is refusing to treat the unvaccinated the ethical way to approach this? I don’t think so.
Perhaps, there is a way to separate those who refuse to be vaccinated by making specific office hours when these children can be seen by the pediatrician…this would be expensive but could be an option.
What do you think as a parent…and how does this problem affect you?
Related links: No shot, no doc: Pediatricians refuse unvaccinated kids – TODAY Health – TODAY.com. http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/more-on-vaccines-and-autism-from-march-of-dimes/ http://parentingintheloop.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/a-century-of-vaccine-scares-nytimes-com/
