Alternative Vaccine Schedules

Hello all!   I've had so many people asking for alternative vaccination schedules, so I'm posting a couple of them.   These are both pretty "middle of the road" - not mainstream, but not drastically different, either.   

I would personally lean toward Dr. Cave's version (since that's what Tom's doc in Florida recommended), over Dr. Sears', but either one is more sensible than the AAP one.

Click here for Dr. Stephanie Cave's recommended schedule, and

Click here for Dr. Robert Sears' recommended schedule.

I know, I know... it's that crazy mom again - but there is plenty of real science questioning the safety of our vaccine schedule (despite what Amanda Peet says!) and really, except for the inconvenience, there's no harm.   They still get vaccinated by school age.

If your child is on an alternative vaccine schedule, or if you're not vaccinating until the child is older, you may need the exemption/waiver form for preschools, day cares or elementary schools.  Public schools are required to accept the waivers, and I've submitted these to three different private schools and no one's ever even mentioned it to me.

Here's the link: Vaccine Exemption Form .    See how easy that is?

AACK! Flu Shot Fever!

Okay, so here goes the crazy mom again.   Give me a second to hop up on my soap box.

Now...

My (not) favorite person, Julie Geberding, CDC Director, was quoted as saying she "has a smile on her face this year because we are looking at a wonderful supply of flu vaccine this year."

I just read that the CDC is recommending not just one (mercury and aluminum-laden) flu shot for babies, but TWO flu shots, only one month apart, for the youngest children.

The CDC states that 86 children died from the flu last year.  That is a tragedy.

There are approximately 1.5 million children in the U.S. with autism.  That is a national crisis.

If you feel you MUST get a flu shot this year, for you or your child, please request the Thimerosal free version.   This is the one without the mercury, though it still contains aluminum, another known neurotoxin.

And if you are pregnant, please please please - choose the Thimerosal free version.  Wish I had.  I'm not saying the flu shot in my first trimester caused Big T's autism, but it certainly can't help.   Plus, when there's an option, why take the risk?

Okay, off my soapbox now.  By the way, if you have a chance to read Jenny McCarthy's new book Warrior Mothers, you'll be glad you did.  It's filled with autism recovery stories!

Gardasil - Risky Business

Haven't posted a lot lately... the summer's been crazy!   I'm actually glad school will be starting for my little one next week and we'll all be back to our routines.

For now, I wanted to share with y'all that none other than the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine came out with an article criticizing the lack of safety and efficacy research on Gardasil, which the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends for young girls.   Sad that the NEJM is more concerned than the AAP.

One of my favorite autism blogs, Age of Autism, has pulled out a few choice parts from the article:

"Despite great expectations and promising results of clinical trials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccine against cervical cancer. Several strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, and two vaccines directed against the currently most important oncogenic strains (i.e., the HPV-16 and HPV-18 serotypes) have been developed. That is the good news. The bad news is that the overall effect of the vaccines on cervical cancer remains unknown. 

How will the vaccine affect preadolescent girls, given that the only trials conducted in this cohort have been on the immune response?  

Vaccinated women may feel protected from cervical cancer and may be less likely than unvaccinated women to pursue screening.

How will the vaccine affect other oncogenic strains of HPV? If HPV-16 and HPV-18 are effectively suppressed, will there be selective pressure on the remaining strains of HPV? Other strains may emerge as significant oncogenic serotypes." 

For the full text of the article in the NEJM, click here.