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1 in 10 Parents Choose Alternative Vaccine Schedule for Children
Some parents have chosen not to follow the regular immunization schedule.
A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan concludes that one in ten parents are following an alternative vaccination schedule for their children, forgoing the one recommended by such groups as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control.
The study, published today in Pediatrics, found that parents who prefer not to follow the established schedule for giving children vaccines are primarily either refusing certain vaccines (53%) or delaying certain vaccines until the child is older (55%). A minority (17%) are choosing to skip the shots altogether. Flu shots were the most likely to be delayed or skipped.
The Associated Press reports that even parents who follow the regular schedule are still considering switching to an alternative one:
“Worries about vaccine safety were common even among parents whose kids were fully vaccinated: 1 in 5 among that group said they think delaying shots is safer than the recommended schedule.”
Child health advocates are concerned that those who choose an alternative schedule are putting others at risk. In an interview with USA Today, Douglas Diekema, a doctor and bioethicist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, outlined some of those concerns, explaining, “Children whose parents opt out of one or more vaccines are 22 times more likely to contract measles and nearly six times more likely to contract whooping cough, according to background research cited in the study. Unvaccinated babies are particulary vulnerable, because newborns are at greater risk of complications from many infections.”
Just last month, the Centers for Disease Control announced that early childhood vaccinations are on the rise. They reported that, “Compared with the previous year, vaccine coverage increased for many vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella, rotavirus, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis A, and Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib).” Yet the alternative vaccine schedule, promoted by such well-known physicians as Dr. Robert Sears, has gained popularity.
To learn more about childhood vaccines, visit the CDC or check out USA Today Health reporter Liz Szabo’s piece on 6 myths about vaccines.
Photo credit: Stockxchng/pzado
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44 Comments
Little Frogs commented on Oct 03 11 at 12:50 pmFrom the Mott Press release:
““Small decreases in vaccine coverage are known to lead to dramatic increases in the risk of vaccine preventable disease outbreaks,” says Amanda Dempsey, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the department of pediatrics and communicable diseases and a member of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “Not following the recommended schedule leaves kids at risk for these diseases unnecessarily.”
Following a vaccination schedule that deviates from those recommended by recognized groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics leads to under-immunization. Under-immunization has been shown to significantly increase the risk of contracting and spreading vaccine preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough,” Dempsey adds.”
B. commented on Oct 03 11 at 1:28 pm30 vaccines before the age of 2 ?????…most of them totally unnecessary at such a young age! (like hep-b that they give the babies as soon as they are born even though it is a sexually transmitted disease!!!!!! I VERY selectively vaccinated my daughter and i can tell you one thing…from the time she was 4 month old people ask me ALL THE TIME: how old is your child? wow she is so bright, intelligent so on and so fort..- Now as much as i would lOVE to take credit for it i KNOW deep down inside that not poisoning her with 30 vaccines made a HUGE difference in her development- let me also say that we have not seen the pediatrician since her 2 year well visit (she will be 3 in a week)- most of her friends are there almost every other month…….-
she seems so ALIVE compare to a lot of other children- WE (PARENTS) NEED TO WAKE UP!!! SOON!!!!! We just believe everything that the DR.’S tell is !!! look at Europe how come they do half the vaccines that they do here..and theIR kids are waaaay healthier then the kids here in America
Samantha at ShesNotBroken commented on Oct 03 11 at 2:33 pmWasn’t there something in the news recently that part of the whooping cough outbreak had to do with previously vaccinated people who’d lost their immunity and didn’t realize they needed a booster? Also, if I skip, say, the rotavirus vaccine, but have had DTaP and MMR, how exactly does that put my kid at a higher risk for measles? The press release is misleading and alarmist. (And I say all this as an under-vaccinated adult, due to allergies, who is one of those people who benefits from herd immunity.)
Little frogs commented on Oct 03 11 at 3:37 pmB,
Clearly, her liveliness and intelligence MUST be inherited from you since you were able to create the perfect vaccination schedule without training. In fact, you must be a bloody genius given that your vaccination schedule is so much better than the one created by doctors and scientists through painstaking research and data analysis. In fact, given that you were able to create this perfect schedule by just reading a few pseudoscientific journals on the net, you must be the smartest person ever.
After reading your post, I am convinced that simply not vaccinating children will make them gifted and my poor boys, whom have been vaccinated according to schedule, are doomed to a lifetime of stupidity and torpidity. Oh the humanity.
goddess commented on Oct 03 11 at 4:54 pmYeah- technically my kids may be under-vaccinated due to the fact that’s there’s no way in Hades we are touching Gardasil.
Yet, I am up to date on the newer TDaP that was approved for adults.
I wonder what the vax rate is for adults and per5tussis?
B. commented on Oct 03 11 at 5:20 pmWell i am aware that i am a minority here…. i was just SHARING my experience here.. am i the only one who sees the number 3o as outrageous for a little infant the only one that does not understand the reason for hep b…..am i the only one who actually BOUGHT 4 different books before my daughter was born and opted for an alternative way??? it worked for me and i know it worked for others i just read an article about a mother with 3 children 1 fully 1 partially 1 not at all vaccinated she says that the difference is IMMENSE- THESE are just our experiences i don’t really understand why you have to put me down… i guess it just makes you feel better..or maybe because you are CLEARLY closed minded….- I AMALL FOR CLEAND SAFE VACCINE I AM NOT AGAINST VACCINES I AM AGAINST OVER-VACCINATING AT A VERY YOUNG AGE…….would love to talk to you about hep b
Katy E commented on Oct 03 11 at 7:55 pmB.,
I think it’s just that you may have broken the cardinal rule of parenting… “Don’t congratulate yourself on superior parenting when it’s your first kid”. It’s in the same vein as “Don’t brag about your newborn sleeping through the night at 3 weeks old to the haggard, exhausted mom with a 9 month old who has never slept longer than 2 hours ever”. It’s kind of snooty and wrong on so many levels. It also perpetuates the mommy wars. Plus, this is babble and that’s how the comments tend to roll.
Good luck! I hope your future children are just as bright and bubbly. Our toddler climbs and talks and sings and dances and tries to ride the dogs. He’s also broken out of every single child-proof device we’ve brought home. Our toddler has been vaccinated on schedule and he’s a social butterfly and smart as a whip. It could be the sesame street, the 30+ minutes of reading, the breastfeeding until 16 months old, or the preschool but honestly, I think we just got lucky.
Little Frogs commented on Oct 03 11 at 8:05 pmB,
You don’t know that it worked for you. Your child is only 3. What happens when she goes to school? You don’t even have a complete sample of 1.
You don’t know that it works for others and telling people that it works is quite frankly dishonest and dangerous. You are not a doctor, you have not done any studies. Reading three books written for the layman does not qualify you as an expert.
Consider for a moment if someone made the exact same statement you made about the Polio vaccine. We would still be fighting polio. Children would still be dying. Of course, kids are still dying from these illnesses needlessly because people think they know enough about vaccinations to be able to say that they KNOW their child is so darn perfect because they didn’t vaccinate as normal.
B. commented on Oct 03 11 at 9:44 pm-you all miss my point : i am not promoting it i am only saying what has worked for me…
-she is in preschool by the way….
-now i do believe breast feeding helps – i did the same
-also if you read my entry you would see/know that i am not bragging i even said i wish i could claim it….but i dont think i can…….!!!!!!! – she is also 3 so it is not like she is 1 and i cant say that i see a huge difference in dr visits and in other areas….-i didnt say that your child will be dumb an unable to do anything if you vaccinate , now i do believe that it may cause issues later on in life but thats another story…i
And for the record… my daughter started vaccines when she was 8 months old and yes she only got 2 vaccines (the full set) those were 2 the Dr has recommended…..
I hope even though i do have a different opinion from yours i still get to say how i feel and you wont bully me further more…..
-telling people to do it all of them is dangerous as well if we want to be fair….
- i wanted the least toxins for my daughter so she wont have to deal with unwanted illnesses later on in life- i would be curious to know how many vaccines have you all got when you were young i would bet a lot of money that it was not 30….it was more like 12-15 …
- would still love to know what you all think about the heb b vaccine that is given the day your child is born…????? given in Europe at age 14 ( not mandatory) due to the fact that it is a sexually transmitted disease ……
_I VACCINATED MY DAUGHTER AGAINST ALL THE ILLNESSES THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE LIFE THREATENING….THATS HOW SHE GOT THE 2 (WELL REALLY 8 BECAUSE OF THE SERIES) – BUT I WAITED 8 MONTHS BECAUSE THATS WHAT WAS THE BEST DECISION FOR ME AND MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!
-AND for the record neither of you are addressing any of the real issues you are just saying go for it because thats what the DRS tell us…thats not good enough for me….i wont just do something because somebody tells me too…..
B. commented on Oct 03 11 at 9:57 pmthe saddest thing about all this is that during the last 3 years i NEVER AND I REPEAT NEVER once talked about the fact that my daughter is not fully vaccinated …..and i am glad i didnt because now i am able to see what i would have gotten if i did….. i guess i will just keep to myself…. i just wanted to show a different perspective,,,and a valid one…..a really valid one…. sad that it is not possible here…..
Gib commented on Oct 03 11 at 11:50 pmB, don’t keep it to yourself. Yell it from the rooftops that you child isn’t properly vaccinated.
So everyone knows to keep a wide berth from your child.
Tell me, what are the diseases your child wasn’t vaccinated against, that you in your medical opinion have decided aren’t potentially life threatening? Have you also decided that they’re not life threatening to another child that has a disease that compromises their immune system, who might catch the disease from your child?
And Hep B isn’t just sexually transmitted. It can be transmitted from mother to daughter during birth (have you been tested?), and through needle stick injuries from your child playing in a sandpit that a junkie threw their needle into. It may not be the priority vaccine, but it’s useful generally and saves lives.
If you want the “least toxins” for your daughter, then get her vaccinated. The amount of toxin in the needles is negligible to the amount of toxins she’ll get if she catches the actual disease.
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Oct 04 11 at 1:32 am@B, OMG, you read four whole books! You clearly have no idea how ridiculous you sound… Here’s a little hint for you: Every parent thinks their kid is the best and brightest.
Katy E commented on Oct 04 11 at 8:12 amB,
What makes you think all mothers who choose to vaccinate on schedule didn’t research and are just going for it because that’s what the doctors tell us to do? How do you know that we didn’t read the same 4 books as you, then considered the source and came about a different conclusion? Nobody is bullying you. We’re just giving you a different perspective and holding up a mirror to explain why your initial comment was less than well-received.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 8:42 amalright alright there is clearly no reason for me to argue with people who are not open to anything other then their good old opinion. – I at least see your point and i am not against vaccinating you on the other hand can not see AnNY OF my point!!- have a great day!!! Oh and Linda: I am actually not obnoxious enough to think that my kid is so bright etc…other people do….-
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 8:43 amyes i did read 4 books on vaccines that explained everything that is in them (ingredients) and all about them….how many did you read about vaccines LINDA???????
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 8:59 amB.,
Obviously your science teacher was remiss in instructing you on the basics of the scientific method and causality. You cannot know (as you claimed) that your child is so bright and lively because she didn’t get the full vaccination schedule.
I have two boys both of whom have had the same vaccination schedule recommended by my doctor. My oldest has had significant delays with speech, OT, and PT despite the fact that he is quite smart. My youngest is advanced in language and gross motor. I could, I suppose, have blamed my eldest’s troubles on his vaccination schedule but there would be no evidence to support such a claim. And now that my youngest is so advanced, I clearly can’t blame the vaccination schedule, I have evidence AGAINST the crappy hypothesis.
Quite frankly, all one need do to disprove your hypothesis is to find a ‘lively and bright’ child (of course, those are unquantifiable) who had the normal vaccination schedule. My youngest, who will be three this winter, appears to fit the bill.
Making accusations about closed-mindedness is silly given the poor analysis you have put forth.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 9:26 amwow you guys sure pick on the fact that i said she is bright…how about the fact that she has basically never been sick..how come nobody is picking on that….
- and see if you did your research you would know that assuming that we are all the same and we will all react to the vaccine in the same exact way is WRONG…when you already have an issue (minor/major ) and you do all these vaccines on top of them it can only make that problem worse!! You children might be the perfect example to that. As i said before and i will say it again getting the vaccines will not make your child dumb.!!!!!!!!!! Just like not EVERY child who gets a certain vaccine will develop AUTISM. It is a combination of their pre- existing condition paired with all the toxins from the vaccines……
Being bright does not mean that you have not been vaccinated- is it really that hard to understand???????
I was simply stating facts that i see different from MOST (READ NOT ALL) other kids…….
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 9:29 amand also i could post countless numbers of scientific research studies over here if you want me to so you stop picking on me……
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 9:39 amhttp://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2007/07/chronic-illness-epidemic-unvaccinated.html
Katherine Stone commented on Oct 04 11 at 9:47 amThere are clearly very differing opinions on this issue. I don’t think a child’s brightness or health has anything to do with vaccinations, personally. Both of my children were vaccinated and are very bright and extremely healthy.
You can always find research that will validate whatever claim you believe in, and since none of us are research scientists or pediatric health specialists, I don’t think any of us can speak with much authority on the data. I will say that the preponderance of pediatric health experts believe vaccines are important to child health. Each parent, however, can make their own decision.
Katy E commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:04 amI’m actually a pediatric nurse. My specialty is hematology/oncology. Many of my patient population are unable to receive vaccines and are particularly susceptible to many of these seemingly harmless diseases we currently vaccinate for. These seemingly harmless diseases that we “over-vaccinate” for can kill a child immunocompromised from chemo. I’ve also had the tragic misfortune of caring for children who have actually caught some of the more terrible diseases we vaccinate for due to “holes” in the herd immunity. I’ve read the same anti-vaccine literature but I’ve also read sound, thorough scientific studies. Couple that with my individual professional experience, my kids get fully vaccinated. I’m not willing to depend on everyone else to provide the herd immunity.
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:15 amI find it amusing that a woman who made such asinine statements is asking me why is it so hard to understand.
The problem with your new hypothesis (that the toxins in vaccines exacerbate problems children already have) is that we can still prove it false. Yes, my oldest child has significant problems; we suspect that these have been inherited from his father and are considering genetic testing to determine what exactly is going one. However, as his father belonged to a generation with less vaccination, if you hypothesis were true, one would expect that our son would have greater difficulties; he does not. Similar problems, similar severity.
Of course, every body reacts different to vaccination. The problem is that YOU have no way of knowing if there will be an adverse reaction in a given child. The likelihood of adverse reaction is very small and baring a family history (which you have not described) or a personal history (which you have not described) of adverse reaction the consequences of not vaccinating are far riskier. Because you see, every body responds to viruses differently as well. What will make one child sick for a few days might kill another child. It was not all that long ago that 1 in 5 children did not live to see the age of five. Vaccines have played a significant role in protecting our children. Compromising the vaccination schedule and the herd protections that come with it is foolish when you don’t have an explicit NEED to do so.
Katy E commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:28 am@ littlefrogs,
Amen
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:34 amlets just say you did what was right for you and i did what was right for me and CLEARLY we are both /all very happy about our decisions…i will quit arguing for my side as there is no chance i will convince anybody/ nor do i want to!!!
it was lovely to talk to all of you ……all the statement that i made were purely MY OWN i did not claim anything i simply wrote about my experience.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:38 ami guess there is absolutely no reason to look at the fact that American children are the sickest…have the highest rate of autisim/adhd ,childhood mortality….so on and so forth AND YES YOU GUESSED IT :GET THE MOST AMOUNT OF VACCINES!!!!! it is purely just a coincident i guess
Whatevs commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:51 amI wish people who didn’t understand how scientific studies or scientific theories work would stop talking about SCIENCE!! as if they understood it. It demeans science.
Gib commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:56 amThere have been many anecdotal opinions here, about how vaccinated or non-vaccinated kids have turned out, as reported by the children’s parents.
Anecdotes of this sort are ridiculous to use for any sort of decision making. You have an extremely small data set, making it statistically insignificant. You are also reporting subjectively, without any control group, in a non-blinded fashion.
Thankfully, there is a better way than all these non-blinded, subjective, anecdotes. It’s called a scientific study. These have been done, and don’t show significant problems, beyond those reported as side-effects in the medical literature.
You may think as a Mum, you have some special knowledge about your child. That’s almost certain, for particular areas. But it does not give you any special knowledge about the sort of statistics you need to understand cause and effect with regards to rare medical side-effects. Your Mummy-instinct has its place. But this isn’t such a place. This is the place for medical science, supported by studies.
michelle commented on Oct 04 11 at 10:57 amYes B, it is a coincidence (this is the correct spelling of the word, by the way). Unless you can show the causality rather than merely the correlation, that is.
Gib commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:04 amB, I’d like you to present the evidence that American children are the sickest, that they have the highest rate of autism and childhood mortality, and get the most vaccines. For a start, I doubt a lot that America has a larger childhood mortality than any African country.
Then I’d like you to consider that even if true, it may not be a coincidence, but also doesn’t mean one causes the other. That’s what you expect from a country that values its children (vaccinating them as required), and has a good diagnostic system for detecting ill-health in children.
There are plenty of countries with bad medical systems, which don’t vaccinate their kids because they’re not rich or organised enough, and who can’t diagnose many medical problems because parents dont’ go to the doctor as much, and the doctors aren’t as good.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:12 amno sorry i will not waste any more time here and for you Miss Michelle….english is my second language….thank you very much and forgive me for my mistake..i am sure your always use correct grammar when you write in your second language….
there are numerous studies out there..to prove that the highest rate of adhd/ autisim is in this country just GOOGLE it …and you will be flooded with valuable information
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:14 ami was shocked that it was only 1 out of 10 parents that even consider alternative vaccination schedule..but after this ride i can see that must be the case….
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:16 amwell you know what feast your eyes on this:
http://www.rescuepost.com/files/gr-autism_and_vaccines_world_special_report1.pdf
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:29 amB,
Autism rates have actually been found to be consistent throughout the world when evaluated using the same criteria.
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:34 amhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/health/research/09autism.html
Here is just one story.. from a reliable source. Rescuepost appears to be part of Jennifer McCarthy’s group. Not science, not reliable.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:34 amand thats coming from what study/ using what criteria??? i am originally from Europe and i would have NEVER questioned anything if the schedule would have been the same here but when i saw that i am facing double the amount of vaccines (that i would have back at home) i was naturally curious… and started doing my research …
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:50 amli am sitting here thinking ; is this what is wrong with our whole word/society , the fact that we are so entitled to our beliefs/opinions , we are so blind to the “other “side of the story, so unwilling to even peak…. we have 0 compassion to people who think/believe/act etc differently…. republicans/democrats..israelis/palestinians.. muslims/christians… everybody wants to think that they are right but that will only lead to conflict…lets all agree to disagree and try at least a little bit to be more compassionate and understanding….
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:53 amStart with wikipedia’s article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_autism
Keep in mind that diagnostic criteria and access to diagnosticians are different in every nation. Note Japan’s report of 161 in10,000 is greater than the US report of 9 in 1000… and that was after Japan virtually stopped the MMR vaccine.
England (http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx)
“Autism is much more common than most people think. There are over half a million people in the UK with autism – that’s around 1 in 100 people. “
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 11:55 amB.,
This is what is wrong with our society: people believe that if there are two sides to an argument both must be valid. Unfortunately, it leads people to value belief over evidence.
The science just doesn’t support what you are saying. You’ve thrown out a lot of junk science. None of it is supported.
B. commented on Oct 04 11 at 12:02 pmSee you are still pressing your point….
thats what you say thats what YOU believe…. it is junk to you it is not junk to me ….
Little Frogs commented on Oct 04 11 at 12:15 pmJunk science is not junk science because I don’t like what it says.
Junk science is junk because it fails to follow basic scientific principles, it has no evidence to support it and ignores the evidence against it.
It’s not belief.
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Oct 04 11 at 2:48 pm“I wish people who didn’t understand how scientific studies or scientific theories work would stop talking about SCIENCE!! as if they understood it. It demeans science.” Hear, hear!
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Oct 04 11 at 2:50 pm“This is what is wrong with our society: people believe that if there are two sides to an argument both must be valid. Unfortunately, it leads people to value belief over evidence.” Yes ~ and this.
Christina commented on Oct 05 11 at 1:15 pmIt bothers me that blogs and wikipedia are being cited here as factual information. I actually work at CDC as a scientist, and I could go on for hours about hard it is to even get a study published. The scientific clearance process takes months, even years in some cases. We don’t just throw out data, recommendations or findings without going through this process. Anything you find on the internet: blogs, wikipedia postings, even some news articles (looking for headlines not facts), do not go through this process. Books written by single authors do not go through this process. See my point here? Do not try to compare information you have found anywhere on the interwebs to recommendations from the CDC. There is no comparison. These schedules exist because years and years of research from accredited institutions like CDC have proven certain vaccines are most effective at certain times. I respect every parent’s right to choose what’s best for your child, but at least try to be aware of where you are getting your information before making that decision.
Little Frogs commented on Oct 05 11 at 7:02 pmChristine,
Point taken. I used the Wikipedia link about instances of autism in Japan because I couldn’t find any similiar data elsewhere quickly. I suppose I should have checked the link supporting it.
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