Immunizations for 2 month old

Hello everyone,

I am at a dilemma. I personally dont want to vaccinate my baby. It is so hard to think of injecting my baby with aluminum, antifreeze and other harmful things for vaccines that may or may not work OR may even make you sick or worse. What did you all do? I dont want to vaccinate my baby. Please share what you think I should do and why. Thanks

Vaccines are not bad, some are definitely good. What vaccine are you talking about giving to the little one?

-P.

Some vaccines that contain no additives can be special ordered. I would suggest talking to the doctor about this. I too am alarmed by the sheer number of vaccines given to young children. There has never been one single study on the cumulative effects of combining vaccines. Doctors want to ensure us they are safe, but they can't produce any evidence to prove it, and discount every instance when the safety of vaccines are called into question. However, because thals do have compromised immune systems, there are vaccines that are normally given.

These are the recommendations given in the Standards of Care Guidelines for Thalassemia. The guidelines can be seen in whole attached tto the post at http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php/topic,1762.msg14639.html#msg14639  These are the guidelines that should also be followed at Cornell.

17 Vaccinations
Optimal immunization is critical for all patients with thalassemia,
especially transfused patients and individuals who have been
splenectomized. Prior to splenectomy patients should receive the
meningococcal conjugate vaccine and should be up to date for Hib
and pneumococcal vaccines.
Routine pediatric immunizations should be current and
vaccination records should be checked annually. Beginning at
two months of age, patients should be given 7-valent conjugate
pneumococcal vaccine as recommended. A booster with 23-valent
vaccine should be administered at 24 months. Pnuemovax
boosters should be considered every five to ten years. Check
the pneumococcal titers following immunization. Severe local
reactions can indicate high titer.
Patients need to be immunized against hepatitis A and B,
especially patients on chronic transfusions. Annual monitoring
of titers and booster immunizations, when indicated, will ensure
patients are well protected. Individuals who are HIV positive or
undergoing treatment for hepatitis C should not receive live virus
vaccines. An annual influenza vaccination and annual PPD should
also be administered. Particular attention should be given to the
H1N1 virus, as this pathogen may cause more severe symptoms in
patients with thalassemia.

we stayed away from vaccines with Thimerosal (mercury based). there are mercury free vaccines. ALso try to split the vaccination schedule so as not to give all of them at once.

Annual flu shots are recommended for thal patients (as is true for all children!)
We too try to avoid thimerisol (my spelling is off I know!). My boys now get the nasal mist for the flu vaccine (active/live virus) which has no preservatives. When my bio. son was younger there was a preservative free flu shot for children 2 and under (or maybe 3 and under) and we used that.
Nicole

I was told the mist has a semi live virus. Also weren't you all scared of all the sideeffects from vaccines such as seizures, death etc... I mean we know it happens but are we to risk that? I am just so worried on how to deal with this. I am avoiding her appointments because of the shots.

BabyI,
I personally think you should not avoid immunizations. They are necessary for our children. However we had concerns giving them together so we did spread out the immunizations to make sure things were not lumped up togather and the vaccines were mercury free. Mercury in vaccines were thought to cause seizers etc.

So far I haven't given any. Still scared too. But now that my baby is transfusing I don't see the point. She has to get new blood, so why immunize when she can't keep anything in her system?

I personally feel that people should not shy away from immunising their babies. While not every baby would fall prey to one or the other form or infection, to me it is too much of a risk to take if people are not immunising their child. Some of the side effects of immmunisation could but not necessarily be fever for a day or two but it is worth having a fever for a day than falling prey to one of these life threatening ailments.

While the number of vaccines to be given can be as many as 35-40 in the first five years, not all vaccines have been deemed mandatory. The vaccines which have been deemed mandatory by health ministry in India are - BCG, OPV, DPT, MMR and Typhoid.

Other vaccines, to name a few,  Rota virus vaccines, Pneumococcal vaccines, influenza  vaccines etc. have been classified as optional vaccines. Some of the vaccines are oral vaccines while others are intramuscular injections.
 
One of the vaccines which doesnot fall into the mandatory category as per the classification but is a must for every Thal is Hepatitis B vaccine which is to prevent liver infection.

I must say that it is the awareness for immunisation/ vaccinations that we do not have any more cases for Polio in India and the infant mortality rate has come down significantly. It is every child's right to get immunnised.

The mandatory immunization schedule varies from country to country. There are some, such as Hep B that definitely should be taken by anyone who regularly must transfuse. There are a group that are essential, but many of the newer vaccines should be considered optional at early ages. 

So far I haven't given any. Still scared too. But now that my baby is transfusing I don't see the point. She has to get new blood, so why immunize when she can't keep anything in her system?

Suggest you find out about the mandatory vaccinations in your country and go for immunisation of your child. Blood transfusion does not impact immunity in any way. Once immunisation is done, the immunity doesn't go down with declining HB.  As result of immunisation the body develops antibodies to fight against specific infections and that has nothing to do with RBCs in the body. Your child will be able to keep the immunity in the system despite regular transfusions.

Thank you for the information. I will take it into consideration.

Andy... I know there is a phamphlet on recommended shots for thals but I wanted to ask your personal opinion on the matter. Besides Hep B. which other shots do you think thals MUST get to stay healthy and not get problems from transfusions? Thanks.

These are the recommendations from The Standards of Care Guidelines for Thalassemia.

17 Vaccinations
Optimal immunization is critical for all patients with thalassemia,
especially transfused patients and individuals who have been
splenectomized. Prior to splenectomy patients should receive the
meningococcal conjugate vaccine and should be up to date for Hib
and pneumococcal vaccines.
Routine pediatric immunizations should be current and
vaccination records should be checked annually. Beginning at
two months of age, patients should be given 7-valent conjugate
pneumococcal vaccine as recommended. A booster with 23-valent
vaccine should be administered at 24 months. Pnuemovax
boosters should be considered every five to ten years. Check
the pneumococcal titers following immunization. Severe local
reactions can indicate high titer.
Patients need to be immunized against hepatitis A and B,
especially patients on chronic transfusions. Annual monitoring
of titers and booster immunizations, when indicated, will ensure
patients are well protected. Individuals who are HIV positive or
undergoing treatment for hepatitis C should not receive live virus
vaccines. An annual influenza vaccination and annual PPD should
also be administered. Particular attention should be given to the
H1N1 virus, as this pathogen may cause more severe symptoms in
patients with thalassemia.

I was just starting to research the harmful effects of vaccines as well so I'm glad I found this thread. 

Andy,  Is the flu shot okay for thals? 

The SOC Guidelines do require a flu vaccination annually. My advice is ask for the shot with no preservatives, so no mercury is used.