The questions surrounding the issue of vaccination are the hardest questions I face each day in my office. Vaccines work and opponents of immunizations who try to convince you that they don’t are not being honest.

I am very much opposed to the routine vaccination schedule in the U.S. There are too many vaccines given too early in a child’s life and not enough information given to parents.

Vaccines have side effects. Some rare severe problems, some common minor problems and constant speculation about hidden problems. Vaccine proponents who deny side effects are not being honest with you, either.

My strongest recommendation to you and anyone else considering alternatives to the standard vaccine regimen is to become very well informed and discuss these issues long and hard with your doctor. A doc who won’t hold these discussions is too busy and you may need to move on to another.

Inflammation and swelling at the site of injection are common and can last for days. Large or very tender swelling may represent a small abscess and has to be seen by your doctor.

Fevers and flu-like symptoms are also not rare and almost never last too long. Severe lethargy or a high fever mandate a phone call to the doctor.

Rashes occur with many shots and usually can just be observed for a little while unless they cause you to worry.

Seizures or “collapse syndromes” are quite rare and require immediate medical attention.

I personally would prefer to start vaccines after the first 6-12 months of life even though I know that this would slow the development of immunity to whooping cough which may come back any year.

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2 Responses to “Vaccination Schedule”

1. laurie beyer says:

   April 30, 2010 at 1:31 am

   hi there. my friend and fellow new mom referred me to your wonderful website, and recently sent me your email to kate, producer of the recent tv show on vaccinations.

   i have a 5 month old, premie by 6 weeks or so. he's small, only about 11 lbs. he's coming along great. but yes, i haven't started his vaccinations yet. the schedule they gave me at kaiser was insane in my eyes. why would i give a 6 lb baby all this crap??? he's way too little.. just makes common sense really. i've asked around a lot about it, to moms and others. i get all sortsa stories and reasons to vaccinate now, and to wait. clearly there's more to it than we're being led to believe.

   i so appreciate your opinions and honesty around all this. i used to live in the palisades, maybe i should move back there. i can't seem to find a pediatrician here with a decent, honest non-protocol slant to the issues around vaccines.

   any advice here? we're at kaiser, and ther'es no other pediatrician that's come recommended. in fact my friend had the one other there, and moved to a family doctor to deal with her baby.

   i've even had 2 psychics say to wait for the vaccines with my kiddo. that he's super sensitive, it will change him tremendously if i agree to all this vaccine scheduling stuff. i'm not working ,he's not in day care, and i often times don't even let people hold him unless i'm certain of them and where they've been. (people are so stupid around this.. it's been my biggest pepeave since having him)

   anyhow, would luv some advice around a schedule that would be reasonable for him, and which specific vaccines to get. i've heard to do for sure: hib, pneumococal, and dtap.

   can't wait to hear from you, from boulder, colorado.

   best , laurie
   • Cheryl Taylor says:

     May 1, 2010 at 3:25 pm

     It is impossible to give a new "schedule" that should be applied to all children because that is the very basis of the concern – there are different considerations to make for different children. You are making a wise decision to initially delay vaccines on a 5 mo. old preemie. This has obviously been carefully thought through. He has a very immature nervous system that could not react well to an assault to that system. Waiting until a year is an easy to support decision. In that time he will grow a lot and his system will mature remarkably. During those 7 months you can educate yourself further on all the vaccines and search for a Pediatrician or Family Practice Physician that you can have good discussions with about what the choices are and why and when.

     If you haven't located your local La Leche League International group I would do so post haste. They are typically a great group of local mothers from whom you can find out the pediatricians in the area that are breastfeeding knowledgeable and supportive of parents who are opting for other than the typical vaccine schedule adherence.

     Hope that helps.