Special Contributor to Real Mama, Inc.
The Quick Facts: The use of vaccines has various benefits and risks. In order to make informed decisions, parents and caregivers should educate themselves about these benefits and risks before following the standard vaccination schedule.
Important Note: This article is not intended to give medical advice. You should consult your health care provider before implementing any suggestions found herein, and direct any health or vaccine-related questions to him or her.
Vaccines are biological products used to suppress or eradicate infectious diseases. Medical interventions like vaccination can have benefits and risks. Just as with any medical procedure or prescription drug, vaccines carry the risk of side effects, injury and death. Some people have a higher risk than others for having an adverse response to vaccination.
The National Vaccine Information Center at www.NVIC.org advocates for patient’s rights to be informed before consenting to vaccination and educates the public about how to reduce the risk of serious vaccine reactions. Being an informed health care consumer means becoming educated about the risks and complications of both infectious diseases and vaccines and speaking with one or more trusted health care professionals before making a vaccination decision for yourself or your child.
Be informed.
Doing research on the internet and finding out what is being said by different experts — from medical organizations and government health agencies to vaccine educated consumers — gives you the ability to access information about vaccination and infectious diseases that used to only be available in libraries or book stores. The more you look, the more you will find; Knowledge is power and an educated health care consumer is more likely to use knowledge wisely.
Review your state’s mandatory vaccination laws at http://www.nvic.org/state-site/state-exemptions.htm and understand the legal requirements and exemptions to vaccination available to you in your state. Don’t feel pressured into making a decision about vaccination before you are ready.
Get it in writing.
Document your child’s personal and family medical history. Provide your child’s doctor with a list of your child’s major illnesses, diseases, allergies, and medical conditions, especially previous adverse reactions to vaccinations. Tell your doctor about any family history of immune system or brain disorders. Ask for a copy of the doctor’s record on vaccinations given to your child to keep for your records. Your doctor is required by law to keep a permanent record of all vaccinations given, including the vaccine manufacturer’s name and lot number.
Ask questions.
Tell your doctor about any health conditions in your child’s medical history or your family that might put your child at risk for having a vaccine reaction, especially if the child has had a deterioration in health after vaccination in the past. A child who has had a previous vaccine reaction may have an increased risk for a more severe reaction. Be sure to tell your doctor if your child or anyone in your family is allergic to eggs, gelatin, mercury, aluminum, antibiotics or any other component that may be found in vaccines. If you are not satisfied with the answers you are given, get a second opinion from a trusted health care professional.
Request advance information.
Ask your doctor for printed information about the benefits and risks of the vaccines your child is scheduled to take, as well as any side effects that could occur. Take time to read it before your child is vaccinated. You may also ask your doctor to show you the information product insert provided by the drug company which manufactured the vaccine(s) your child is scheduled to receive. Vaccine manufacturer product inserts list ingredients and reported adverse events and describe some instances in which administration of a vaccine should be postponed or avoided. Your doctor is required by federal law to provide you with vaccine benefit/risk information materials before your child is vaccinated.
Consider Thimerosal-free flu vaccines.
Be aware that Thimerosal — a mercury preservative which has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in most childhood vaccines — has not been removed from most influenza shots administered to children. Thimerosal is a bactericide that is added to multi-dose vials to make them less expensive to administer. If you choose to have you or your child receive influenza vaccine, you may request single-dose Thimerosal-free influenza vaccines.
Consider an alternate vaccination schedule.
While the majority of doctors administer multiple shots combining two to five different vaccines to a child on a single day, others will agree to spread out the federally recommended vaccinations over a more extended period of time. You and your doctor may elect to administer fewer vaccines to your child on a single day. Some believe this is less challenging to a young child’s immune system. This approach may also make it easier for you and your doctor to determine which vaccine caused a vaccine reaction, should one occur.
Monitor for and Report Vaccine Reactions.
Whenever you choose to vaccinate, be on the lookout for adverse reactions. Monitor your child closely for at least 72 hours after vaccination for unusual symptoms or behavior changes, which may be signs that a vaccine reaction is occurring. Signs of vaccine reactions have been known to appear as long as four weeks after vaccination.
A vaccine reaction may include one or more of the following symptoms. If these symptoms appear and persist or any other symptom causes you concern, you should seek medical help right away:
- Rash, hives or severe itching
- Extreme swelling, redness and pain at the injection site
- High fever over 103°F
- Difficulty breathing or wheezing
- Rapid heart beat or chest pain
- Dizziness or sudden collapse/fainting
- Paleness or changes in skin or lip color
- Muscle weakness or limpness
- Excessive sleepiness or lack of responsiveness
- Loss of vision or speech
- Nausea and vomiting
- Severe diarrhea
- Unusual irritability or other behavior changes
- Prolonged crying (especially high-pitched screaming in infants)
- Seizures or convulsions (shaking, twitching, jerking)
- Joint and body pain
- Head pain
- Excessive bruising under the skin
- Numbness or tingling in hands, arms, feet
- Paralysis
If your child experiences serious health problems following vaccination, ask your doctor to report it to federal health authorities and write the symptoms down in your child’s permanent medical record. Your doctor is required by law to report serious health problems following vaccination within 30 days of vaccination and to record them in medical records. Your doctor, nurse or health department can report a serious health problem following vaccination by filling out of form with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). You may also report serious health problems following vaccination to the government yourself by filing a vaccine adverse event report at www.vaers.hhs.gov or by calling 1-800-822-7967. In addition, you can also make a report to NVIC’s Vaccine Reaction Registry, operated since 1982 at https://www.nvic.org/report/reaction.htm. If your child is injured, you may be entitled to compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
If You Vaccinate, Ask Eight Questions:
- Is my child sick right now?
- Has my child had a bad reaction to a vaccination before?
- Does my child have a personal or family history of:— Vaccine reactions
— Convulsions or neurological disorders
— Severe allergies
— Immune system disorders
- Do I know if my child is at high risk of reacting?
- Do I know how to identify a vaccine reaction?
- Do I know how to report a vaccine reaction?
- Do I know the vaccine manufacturer’s name and lot number?
- Do I know I have a choice?
Special Contributor to Real Mama, Inc., Barbara Loe Fisher is co-founder and president of the non-profit National Vaccine Information Center. She is co-author of the 1985 book DPT: A Shot in the Dark and author of a new book Vaccines, Autism & Chronic Inflammation: The New Epidemic. She has served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee; Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Forum; FDA Vaccines & Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Vaccine Policy Analysis Collaborative; and the Consumers United for Evidenced-Based Healthcare of the U.S. Cochrane Collaboration. She is the mother of three children and lives with her husband in Vienna, Virginia.
Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:
http://www.NVIC.org (NVIC’s website with information on infectious diseases & vaccines)
http://www.nvic.org/state-site/state-exemptions.htm (NVIC list of state vaccine laws & exemptions)
http://www.vaers.hhs.gov (Report a vaccine reaction to the government)
https://www.nvic.org/report/reaction.htm (Report a vaccine reaction to NVIC)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm (CDC Vaccine Contraindications & Precautions)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-1.pdf (CDC Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary)
