I wanna know a few things :D Please....

[~ Mylitta ~]

I tried to gather some info while the kids slept Unfortunately I've found that my access to the Uni's journal database is no longer active (I guess I should feel lucky it took them this long since being a student to remove my access, lol), so I've tried to put in sources as often as possible, but don't shoot me for the bits and pieces that don't have sources. I wish I could have put in more actual journal articles (I'm kicking myself for not saving them while I had access to them!).

I tried to give you a bit of info about all the vaccines in our National Vaccination Program. It would have been more but kidlets are now awake



National Vaccination Program (from 0-4years) include:
5 x Hep B
4 x Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough (acellular pertussis) (DTPa)
4 x Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
4 x Polio (inactivated poliomyelitis IPV)
3 x Pneumococcal conjugate (7vPCV)
3 x Rotavirus
2 x Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
Meningococcal C (MenCCV)
Chickenpox (varicella) (VZV)

That's at least 27 vaccines by the time a child is 4.

Hep B
- Hep B is generally found amongst young adults who are sexually active or IV drug users.
- A survey of 600 doctors in the UK revealed that 50% of them refused the vaccine for themselves despite being in a high risk group. The cited reasons included a lack of trust in the vaccine and doubt of it's benefits. (Australian Vaccine Network. Vaccination Roulette: Experiences, Risks and Alternatives. Bangalow: Australia Vaccination Network; 1998).
- The French government stopped their school-based Heb B vaccination program due to multiple schlerosis and MS-like illnesses associated with the Hep B vaccines. (Herroelen L. et al. Central Nervous System Demylination after immunisation with Recumbent Hepatitis B vaccine. Lancet. 1991;338:1174-1175.) (Tourbal A. Gout O. et al. Encephalitis after Hapatitis B vaccination; Recurrent Disseminated Encephalitis or MS? Neuro. 1999;53:396-401).

Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough (acellular pertussis) (DTPa)
- An Australian Doctor monitored infants before and after DPT shots in the 1980s and found that there was a significant change in both the depth and frequency of breathing. Some babies even required CPR after they stopped breathing. The respiratory changes would last for weeks, the subside, then return with subsequent DPT vaccines. (Scheibner V PhD. Vaccination; 100 years of Orthodox Medicine shows that vaccines Represent a Medical Assault on the Immune System. Santa Fe: New Atlantean Press; 1994).
- Tetanus is extremely rare in infants and is a disease of adults. Wounds that may contain tetanus spores are generally well cleaned and tended in infants and children, and the majority of cases of tetanus are seen in males in their late teens and early 20's. This is possibly because at this age males like to seem "tough" and a wound may be left not properly cleaned and treated.
- Diphtheria is extremely rare.
- There is currently no way to get the whooping cough vaccine without getting the other vaccines along with it.
- Whilst there have been recent whooping cough outbreaks, many of the patients have been fully vaccinated. This is because the whooping cough vaccine does not cover all strains of whooping cough and one of the most common strains seen currently is not protected against by the vaccine.


Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Nasty, but rare. This vaccine is icluded in the DTPa-hepB-IPV-Hib 6in1 and the so can't be omitted by choice if you want to give the rest of the vaccines in the 6in1.


Polio (inactivated poliomyelitis IPV)
- Polio is eradicated in Australia. While there is a small risk of someone in Australia getting Polio, it is statistically less than 0%.
- The majority of Polio cases today are caused by the vaccine itself.
EDIT: Just wanted to add a note here that the injection vaccine used in Australia in not live and can not cause polio. The live oral vaccine that is still used in other countries is the one that is still causing some cases of polio)


Pneumococcal conjugate (7vPCV)
- Has a higher than average rate of seizures and other standard side effects.


Rotavirus
- This is a pretty new vaccine and has had a pretty high rate of side effects.


Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Measles is extremely rare and in most cases relatively harmless.
- Mumps and rubella are both mild and rare.
- The main concern with this vaccine remains it's potential link to autism. Whilst it was believed that the link between the two had been disproven, two recent studies have once again potentially linked the two.


Meningococcal C (MenCCV)
- Meningitis is serious, but extremely rare.
- Overall risk for all meningococcal strain is about 1:30,000. For C strain, 1:135,000. Risk of death from C strain is under 1:1,000,000 based on 2002 Australian figures.
- Meningococcal C vaccine offers no protection from other strains. In Australia, serogroups B and C occur most frequently.
- There are 13 strains of Meningococcal C bacteria, but only 3 are contained in the vaccine. (Meningococcal C. Vaccination Information South Australia Newsletter. Cited in: Informed Choice: August; Vol 2(3) 2004.)
- Studies have shown that targeting C strain has led to an increase in B strain (of which there is no effective vaccine) and that while the prevalence of C strain may have decreased, the overall rate of bacterial meningitis has increased exponentially. (Meningococcal C. Vaccination Information South Australia Newsletter. Cited in: Informed Choice: August; Vol 2(3) 2004.)
- The meningococcal vaccine has had more reported adverse reactions than any other vaccine in 37 years based on 2003 figures. (South Australian Commission Disease Control Branch. Cited in: Informed Choice: August; Vol 2(3) 2004).


Chickenpox (varicella) (VZV)
- Chickenpox, whilst annoying, in children it is generally harmless.
- It's a good idea to vaccinate after 11 years of age in males (if a blood test shows no immunity) as it can cause sterility).
- The chickenpox vaccine has been shown to wear off, and while the incidence of chickenpox in children has declined, the incidence in adolescents and adults has increased. So the vaccine seems to be wearing off when the disease is most dangerous.
- Catching chickenpox naturally almost always gives lifelong protection.