Any DC pediatricians open to somewhat flexible vaccine schedule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vaccines are huge $$$ for pharmas. Their profit motive is too much for me to trust them. Why do they tell us that newborns must get their first vaccines before leaving the hospital?

Vaccines are not very profitable at all. The government has to work hard to get companies to produce many of them. I would question the motives of the people who write the books in Barnes and Noble. They make millions telling the public about the risks of vaccination. But not one of them would make a dime selling a book that said vaccines are safe.

The "vaccines are cash cows" argument does not work because for every company making money, there is a company losing money. Insurance companies for one, do not make $$ and lose $$ on vaccines. The vast majority of plans cover vaccines, and reimburse physicians for giving them, since it is the ultimate preventive service. As we all know, insurance companies typically just don't throw money around - they scrutinize the thing they pay for and would deny us at every turn if the science doesn't support it.

I would say Dr. Sears earned the most money on this vaccine debate. Did anyone actually read the book? We are sticking to the AAP schedule as I pretty much devoured every study I could find once I got pregnant. And I have a PhD in a health related field so I feel fairly confident I understand the science.

I bought Dr. Sears book and seriously, it is a joke. I read it cover to cover and was appalled. I did not find any science in there. It was interesting to read what is in the vaccines and a brief history of the diseases, but he does nothing to help guide parents along because he knows the science isn't there and he can get sued. The book is a blatant money maker.

I will continue to read the studies as new vaccines come out. I don't think every parent should just blindly give every child every recommended vaccine, but the AAP schedule worked for us - we have had no problems and we are well past all the controversial ones. But I also think you really need to understand and have reasons for doing an alternate schedule. If you have those reasons, fine. But I personally think because Dr. Sears said so is not a great reason. Just my opinion though.

Thank you for posting these very interesting and cogent points. I have always disliked Dr. Sears and blew off the vaccine book totally. He just always rubbed me the wrong way--too many opinions, not enough meat. I'm glad that someone with a science background confirmed this.

[Anonymous]

What about the aluminum in the vaccines?

What about the idea that the immune system would be stronger (develop natural immunity) if it were allowed to experience some of these illnesses? In Germany, a large percentage skips the measles vaccine because measles isn't such a terrible experience, like the chicken pox.

Why not slow down the vaccine schedule to one at time in order to watch for negative reactions? If you are a responsible parent who doesn't skip well-child visits, it's a reasonable decision.

I appreciate the loud-mouth vaccine critics because they force big pharma to make improvements.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Weiner with the Pediatric Care Center in Bethesda is open to alternative vaccine schedules. And to the poster who said that doctors are afraid to have their names posted (or something to that effect) I disagree and think that in fact, the doctors who support alternative vaccine schedules are happy to have people know about it. As a PP said, there is nothing wrong or illegal about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We vaccinate on an altered schedule (we don't vaccinate at all) and the "autism link" issue doesn't influence our decision. You might consider skipping that portion of the discussion when talking to drs. Our concerns are that there so many new vaxes being added- 4 or so since my DS was born, maybe more, honestly, I can barely keep up; increase in autoimmune illness/concern about autoimmune issues, no long term studies on vaccine safety, no studies on combo vaxes, in what combo they're given, health of the child at the time given, etc etc. IOW, just too many unknown, unstudied factors, the human immune system is barely understood- especially that of an infant/young child (though your ped will claim otherwise, just ask any dr that's working heavily on trying to create an effective HIV vaccine), too many general safety issues, too much money changing hands, questionable relationships between the drs performing studies and the medical industry funding the studies- the same companies that will reap financial benefits from vaccines (but I wouldn't recommend bringing tho last few concerns up to any potential dr).

If you discuss the autism issue, almost any dr will dismiss your concerns. Period. So save yourself the time and skip it.

I'd recommend my dr, but we're military so see a military dr. GL.

You don't vaccinate at all? I hope your kids are not allowed in public schools with my kids.

Believe me, I sincerely hope my kids are not sitting next to yours in class. So good luck to us both!

On to more cerebral comments, Re: Dr Sears's book, ITA that it's fluff. I'm not anti or pro vax, and I agree that not every thing is right for every child, but it's so funny that you (Ms. Health Sciences Background ) interpreted his book as anti vax, and I'm suprised that his book is generally regarded as anti vax. When I read it, it seemed very pro vax to me. His arguements- or lack thereof- were weak and his statistics and information made an arguement for ....nothing, and they were incomplete. In any case, I guess he made his money off of both of us (though I must admit, I checked it out from the library and I'd wager that you did, as well).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the aluminum in the vaccines?

What about the idea that the immune system would be stronger (develop natural immunity) if it were allowed to experience some of these illnesses? In Germany, a large percentage skips the measles vaccine because measles isn't such a terrible experience, like the chicken pox.

Why not slow down the vaccine schedule to one at time in order to watch for negative reactions? If you are a responsible parent who doesn't skip well-child visits, it's a reasonable decision.

I appreciate the loud-mouth vaccine critics because they force big pharma to make improvements.

You could say "what about" with anything. Dr. Sears is to blame for the aluminum scare, and it's just this year's Thimerosal. Dr. Sears is passing off his what-if's as real science. It is not. He is fear-mongering, and it sells his books.

[Anonymous]

OP: I understand your concerns. They were mine, too. In the end, I decided to stay with the AAP recommendations. I do think that doctors for the most part are ethical and have their patient's best interests at heart, so I gave a little up to God in the sense of trusting them and hoping for the best.

One thing to note: A close friend of mine's twin nephews were diagnosed with severe autism around age 2, and they also had very high levels of lead. I don't know all of the facts, but the doctors felt this condition was tied to the autism. One thing I am opting for at our one year check up is a lead test, for this reason.

[Anonymous]

OP, i hear your concerns about the MMR but you'll find a raft of posts on DCUM about moms trying to find the individual doses. It is very difficult to separate the MMR these days. If you really want to separate, you have to consider whether you're cool with letting your DC go unvaccinated for ... what is it, Rubella? I forget ... vaccine, for at least 2 years. No judgment either way, just something to consider.

[Anonymous]

has anyone had any experience with an alternative vaccination schedule at pullman & ariza? not sure what their position is on it and it may be faster to talk to other moms & dads about it than wait for them to call me back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What about the idea that the immune system would be stronger (develop natural immunity) if it were allowed to experience some of these illnesses? In Germany, a large percentage skips the measles vaccine because measles isn't such a terrible experience, like the chicken pox.

200,000 kids die from measles per year, which is down significantly over the past 10 years due to the Red Cross' measles initiative. Seems like a pretty "terrible experience" to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We vaccinate on an altered schedule (we don't vaccinate at all) and the "autism link" issue doesn't influence our decision. You might consider skipping that portion of the discussion when talking to drs. Our concerns are that there so many new vaxes being added- 4 or so since my DS was born, maybe more, honestly, I can barely keep up; increase in autoimmune illness/concern about autoimmune issues, no long term studies on vaccine safety, no studies on combo vaxes, in what combo they're given, health of the child at the time given, etc etc. IOW, just too many unknown, unstudied factors, the human immune system is barely understood- especially that of an infant/young child (though your ped will claim otherwise, just ask any dr that's working heavily on trying to create an effective HIV vaccine), too many general safety issues, too much money changing hands, questionable relationships between the drs performing studies and the medical industry funding the studies- the same companies that will reap financial benefits from vaccines (but I wouldn't recommend bringing tho last few concerns up to any potential dr).

If you discuss the autism issue, almost any dr will dismiss your concerns. Period. So save yourself the time and skip it.

I'd recommend my dr, but we're military so see a military dr. GL.

You don't vaccinate at all? I hope your kids are not allowed in public schools with my kids.

Believe me, I sincerely hope my kids are not sitting next to yours in class. So good luck to us both!

On to more cerebral comments, Re: Dr Sears's book, ITA that it's fluff. I'm not anti or pro vax, and I agree that not every thing is right for every child, but it's so funny that you (Ms. Health Sciences Background ) interpreted his book as anti vax, and I'm suprised that his book is generally regarded as anti vax. When I read it, it seemed very pro vax to me. His arguements- or lack thereof- were weak and his statistics and information made an arguement for ....nothing, and they were incomplete. In any case, I guess he made his money off of both of us (though I must admit, I checked it out from the library and I'd wager that you did, as well).

I'm the health sciences person - and I realize that Dr. Sears is not anti-vax, but I couldn't see the reasons to space out or go to an alternate schedule. For me, I just don't see the science behind spacing them out. It would feel weird to take my child to the dr. every three months for years to get a shot, which is what you would have to do if you want all or most vaccines. What does THAT do to the immune system? I just don't see why parents are so quick to do it when we don't know the long term effects of continually challenging the immune system like that. I'm not saying there are ill effects, I'm just saying I don't think the science is there yet.

And no, I'm the chump who bought the vaccine book - I didn't go to the library. Like I said, I devoured whatever I could find. I was terrified of vaccines. Not skeptical, truly scared. I read everything and thought the Dr. Sears book would really explain everything to me and that I would want to use it as a reference. So my fault on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What about the idea that the immune system would be stronger (develop natural immunity) if it were allowed to experience some of these illnesses? In Germany, a large percentage skips the measles vaccine because measles isn't such a terrible experience, like the chicken pox.

200,000 kids die from measles per year, which is down significantly over the past 10 years due to the Red Cross' measles initiative. Seems like a pretty "terrible experience" to me.

200,000 kids in 3rd world countries die from diarrhea and/or dehydration as a result of measles. Those are really easy to treat in modern hospitals, if need be. I am totally pro-vax but it is important that we understand the reality of these diseases. Yes, they are killers in places where there is lack of good medical care, but in our country they are simply not THAT dangerous to otherwise healthy children.

[Anonymous]

Just putting aside the questions of detrimental additives in vaccines and etc. -- before we lived in DC we had a lovely 70-something pediatrician. She's lived through the huge increase in new vaccines. Her position was: why would I consider dosing a baby with more than one or two vaccines at a time? If he or she has a reaction, I won't know what it was from. This, I felt, was an extremely reasonable point of view and one more argument for doing all of the vaccines but not on the schedule that demands up to 5 shots per well baby visit.

Our current doctor here in DC, Necole Washington, was very nice about the fact that we were not caught up with the traditional schedule, and she said that she works with many patients who request delays in vaccination. We've only had good experiences with her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's fine if you spread the vaccines out a bit. But as for the study data, there is no longer any study data left that supports the MMR-autism link. The original UK study was debunked recently in part when his raw data was found to be faulty (he misrepresented the date of onset for autism). But in the intervening years, a slew of studies have been done to test the possible link as well as to analyze all the proposed mechanisms. Every one of them reached the same conclusion. Now that doesn't make anyone money at Barnes and Noble, but this is what the science says.

OP here. Yes, you are correct the study is debunked and we know that. However, there are still other studies that question it so in my opinion, why take a chance when the alternative is as simple as 2 extra visits to your doctor?. And, it is very very hard to find a hospital to get the parts of MMR in separate doses. So my question is this, why are the schedules dictated by what's cheaper for the pharmaceutical companies to make? And second, logistically speaking, as an adult, would you voluntarily go to your doctor to get 3 vaccines at one time knowing that spreading them out would give you less side affects; as a full grown adult with a working immune system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:has anyone had any experience with an alternative vaccination schedule at pullman & ariza? not sure what their position is on it and it may be faster to talk to other moms & dads about it than wait for them to call me back

i called them to set up an interview as we are expecting in a month. They wont take any preliminary chats. Only pedi so far that wouldnt allow an interview. We wanted to ask them about a staggered schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our 6-month-old sees Dr. Fusner at Kensington Pediatrics, on Connecticut Ave. She is fantastic. We are doing the Sears schedule. I understand the PP who said there's no science in his book, but there are some common sense conclusions and we figured it couldn't hurt. He's still getting all his vaccines, but about two at a time rather than 4 at a time. Yes, we have to to pay the $20 co-pay every month rather than every other month, but we're okay with that. I highly recommend Dr. Fusner if you want a dr. who's open to an alternative schedule and who has a holistic approach in general. As far as the MMR, I asked one of the nurses about it, even though we don't have to worry about it for a while, and she said Merck isn't making the separate vaccine anymore. You can still get it at GW and Dr. Fusner will write you a prescription if that's what you want to do. But it's not available at drs' offices.

OP here. Fantastic post, Thanks. We called, asked a few questions, they are in our plan and we have a meeting with them next week.