Child Vaccination Part 2: General Population Versus Family

Initially posted on Mighty Munchkin Maintenance.

I hope you’re ready for more scintillating discussion of childhood vaccines! Yesterday I tossed out some questions regarding vaccination, the first being should we simply trust our government organizations to make the “right” choices. To have faith that someone else is going to understand what is best for your individual child is a dangerous gamble. I’m not big on conspiracy theories (although if I were this might be a more interesting read), but I’m also not naïve. The CDC has an enormous responsibility to protect the general population as a whole. This is a daunting responsibility (one I’m glad not to have). The fact remains, however, what might be best for the general population is not necessary best for my family.

Take chickenpox as an example. Highly contagious, rarely fatal, and you have to experience it only once to have lifetime immunity in most cases. Chickenpox becomes more problematic for adults. Presently the guideline is to vaccinate children at one year. You might be thinking, well so what? Now my little munchkin doesn’t have to suffer needlessly. That might be great if the vaccine provided immunity for life, but it doesn’t. If you’re little cutie doesn’t experience chickenpox as a child, they will need the chickenpox vaccine every five to eight years for the rest of their life. I question why the vaccine is scheduled so early. Would it make more sense to schedule such a vaccine much later, giving your child an opportunity to obtain the disease and gain natural immunity for life? The CDC prefers to try and vaccinate everyone. The thought is if everyone is vaccinated over the next 20 years then the disease will be eradicated and vaccinating will no longer be necessary, but is that realistic? The MMR vaccine was introduced in the 1970’s (nearly 40 years ago) and we’re still using it!

You might think the simple solution, for you and child, is to delay the vaccine; except some states require the vaccine before a child can enter school. Given that the vaccine is relatively new (introduced in 1995), we can expect more states to start adopting similar laws. This can be frustrating for parents. Some of us worry about our munchkins needing a booster every five years (especially given the disease is so much worse the older you are). What if there’s ever a shortage, or what if as adults our little ones forget?

Tomorrow we’ll dive into the wonderful world of MMR, which seems to be one of the more controversial vaccines. Eventually, we’ll meander onto the topic of vaccine schedules, keeping in mind that the “right” schedule will ultimately depend on your family.

All this chickenpox talk launched me back to the fifth grade (the dreadful year I experienced it). Yeah, I cried when I found out I had the chicken pox, and in a total state of denial blurted out: “but I can’t miss a whole week of school!” Oh, my poor mother!