Child Vaccination Part 3: MMR

Initially posted on Mighty Munchkin Maintenance.

Getting to the crux of the debate (without any jibber jabber) there are groups of people (researchers, doctors, and parents) that believe the MMR vaccine is the straw that breaks the camel’s back in our vaccination schedule. What does that mean, you ask? There are approximately 24 vaccines scheduled before a baby’s first birthday (that’s quite a load to place on your baby’s immune system). In comes that first year physical, which includes the MMR vaccine. MMR is not administered prior to a year due to the fact that each virus contained in the vaccine is live. The controversy thrives on those who believe we overload a child’s immune system during a sensitive time in their development, making them more susceptible to disorders such as autism, and then tip the scale with MMR. The CDC claims that there is no evidence to support this claim, but some researchers have found trends linking the MMR shot with the increase in autism. Of course, other researchers have claimed that no link can be found. Aside from researchers, parents have claimed that their child was developing normally until they received the MMR vaccine when suddenly they took a turn for the worst, and were eventually diagnosed with autism.

One argument that vaccine advocates push is that there is a 20 percent regression rate in autism cases regardless of being vaccinated, meaning a child will be developing normally then they revert backwards losing skills they had previously mastered (this usually occurring around one year of age). The bottom line being that it’s possible some children might have regressed even without the MMR vaccine. The issue I take with this argument is with the vaccine schedule. The CDC could easily disprove the link the between autism and the MMR vaccine (if it doesn’t exist) by delaying it. Most children with autism are diagnosed by the age of three. The schedule could be shifted such that the vaccine was administered at the age of three or slightly later.

Taking a step backward for a moment: MMR stands for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, as you might have guessed MMR is three vaccines in one shot. All three vaccines contain live viruses making them more severe than most other vaccines. Although most side effects are rare, when they do occur they can be potent. Approximately ten percent of recipients contract a fever and in rare cases some actually catch the diseases. As a result, people question why all three vaccines are combined. Why not split the vaccine into three and separate them over some span of time, allowing the child to deal with one live virus vaccine at a time? I have not been able to find a satisfactory answer to this question (other than the CDC stating the vaccine is perfectly safe).

Take a deep breath, because yes, the controversy continues…people also take issue with the method in which the vaccine is produced. To mature the viruses into vaccine form human blood protein, cow fetus serum, and chick embryo proteins are used. Now that sounds disagreeable (and just plain yucky)! Honestly though, the manner in which the MMR is produced bothers me less than the other areas of controversy mentioned above.

Perhaps there isn’t scientific evidence to support a link between the MMR and the slew of other administered vaccines and autism, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an issue. The fact remains that in 1983 there were only 10 vaccines administered to children in five years, while our current vaccine schedule calls for 36 vaccines within in two years. Does this really make sense? Is it really so difficult to believe that perhaps so many vaccines in such a short duration of time may cause issues for some children? It seems to defy common sense to give such a young child so many vaccines, including some live virus ones, so quickly. I can’t help but think that a lot of the vaccine schedule is driven by profits for the drug companies.

Where do we go from here? You probably need to evaluate what makes sense for your family. In the next post, I’ll share some links that include the “official” vaccine schedule and some alternatives, but in the end it really depends on your family. For example, if the little tyke participates in daycare, you may want to use the official schedule; one because most daycares require it and two because they’ll be exposed to lots of other little tykes.