vac questions

hi all;

Well for ages dh and i have not felt comfortable in giving dd her 12month vacs. she is now 15months (well she will be on the 20th) and she still hasnt had anything...
She has had all her vacs since birth but this particular time round we just havent felt comfortable giving her the jabs.
On top of all that, everytime we have asked at our gp questions about the vac hing, she says, dotn worry the gov wouldnt advise it if it wasnt safe (much the same as the usual stuff everyone else seems to be getting). At our gps there are teo nurses who give the jabs, the first one sticks to the rules and well gets angry at you if you are more than a week overdue for the vac. The second one is more laid back, but she still sticks to what the gov says word for word...
We have decided to have selective immunisation, and this time round we just arent sure what to give her. Given this we had an appointment with one of the nurses today but DH cancellled it at the last moment.... To be honest i was rather happy that he did cancel as I really cannot stand the gps or the nurses! (our normal gp has left the practice, and we couldnt follow her :( )
He said the reason why he cancelled was that he wanted to talk to our friends mum who is a gp about it all first; which i think is a good idea, but i am left wondering how long i will be before this actually happens. (DH is the kind of guy that does something, the day it is due, he gets the pressie on the day, and so on!)

Is there a time frame for the vaccinations?
How much does it matter if they are late?

We are so confused and really have no idea where to take this decision!

Cheers

Justine

Which vaccinations, exactly?

The MMR, the first one, can be up to the age of 2 under the current time-scales.

DS has delayed vaccinations and I suppose selective vaccinations as I don't get as many as you Aussies get. I am quite picky about what he gets and when - but I can chat about it to the nurses and doctors at my surgery.

Can you organise chatting to your mate's mum? Might be the best option.

Best of luck, well done for doing what you feel is the best thing even when others are pushing something else.

You can delay vaxxes for pretty much as long as you want to, if you want to delay and still get the immunisation allowance (about $230) you will need to get a Conscientious Objectors form (can download off the internet) and get it signed by a health care provider, then send it into medicare where they will note it on your records.

It also takes the pressure off if you want to simply dig your heels in and stop vaxxing and do loads of research before you make a further decision on it. Don't ever feel rushed into it, or pressured, it is a CHOICE in Australia to vax, you can delay for as long as you wish, but if you have the shots done without being 100% happy with it, they are not something you can take back IYKWIM...

The nurse at your local clinic who is uptight about it is REALLY out of line. She needs to be reminded that vaxxing is a VOLUNTARY choice by the PARENTS, she actually has NO say in your decision making, and as such, should stick to her job, which is administering the shots to people who want them, not bullying parents...sheesh!! Not on.

If you want to have the CO form signed, it may pay to ask around and find a GP who is sympathetic to delayed vaxxing in your area, otherwise you can cop a bit of flack, depending on the GP you talk to...which is also out of line in my mind, but does happen unfortunately.

Take your time though...read widely about it, make an informed choice :)

Have you read Stephanie Caves book? It may be a good place to start.

All the best :)

Hi
I used to be of the same thought as your GP. "The Gov wouldn't give us something if it was dangerous". That was before I did my own research.
The Gov can only act on what info they have at the time and alot of the info regarding the safety of vaccs that they recieve is given to them by the companies that manufacture the product. (see a conflict of interest here!!)
Thalidamide (sic) used to be considered safe as did X-rays during pregnancy. These have since been proven to be disasterous.
Do lots of research first. Have a look at the belly belly files, I am sure there is something on the risks of vaccs. There has also been alot of discussion recently on another vaccination thread.
The Dr's and Nurses are only acting on what they believe to be in the best interest of your child (not that it's OK to harrass you though), as were the Dr's and Nurses that gave the Thalidamide and x-rays, probably reasuring the mothers at the time that it was perfectly safe.

Certain vaccinations have a time frame. The rotavirus vaccine is not offered to children older than six months of age, because after six months rotavirus is not as dangerous. The pneumococcal vaccine is not given after the age of 2 because after this age the risks of pneumococcal sepsis reduces considerably. Before the age of 4-5, most of the vaccines need to be given as courses of 2-4 doses to achieve a good immune response, because the immune system is immature; giving vaccines after this age may mean that only one dose needs to be given to achieve a good immune response.

In a previous thread, I posted my "ideal" immunisation schedule: you can find it here. Doing your own research is really important, though; you may find you have different priorities or concerns than my own. I think every parent needs to make their own informed decision about immunisation, and that decision should be respected.

I agree - it is an incredibly difficult decision to make, and the only way a parent can feel 100% confident in their vaccination decision is to fully research both sides of this issue. There are many options for immunisation, and one size definitely doesn't fit every single child in Australia! Parents know their children far better than any doctor or pharmaceutical company, and their decision should be respected completely.

So do your research, keep an eye on these wonderful forums, talk to your Naturopath/Homeopath, Doctor etc, and make an informed decision that you can confidently defend. Unfortunately, no matter which choice you make, you are likely to be criticised at some point - so make sure you have faith in the choice you have made for your individual child.

Much of the negative information regarding conventional vaccination is fairly well hidden, so dig deep! Check out books by Isaac Golden for some 25 year studies on homeopathic immunisation (homeoprophilaxis) - really impressive results.

All the best for making this difficult decision.

xxx

hey all;
thank you so much; and sorry for how long it took to reply but as we all know xmas is a pretty busy time of and its been ages since i even got close to a computer!

We havent seen our friends mum yet but are going to in the next couple of weeks once shes back from xmas holidays! I also think we are going to get a form to sign just to cover ourselves and also so we dont get harassed by medicare and what not.
Also we have decided to leave our current medical practive and find a new one which we can trust.

justine