Comments for Shot of Prevention

Comment on Protecting Infants Through the Concept of “Cocooning” by christinevara

christinevara — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:38:03 +0000

Corinna,

It sounds as though you are very concerned, and with the persistent symptoms you described, I can understand why.

I forwarded your comments to Dr. Brown and she responded as follows: “Adults and parents, and the baby can be tested for pertussis. The people who have had a persistent cough can be treated pending the test results if there is a concern. The baby could have additional blood work and a chest xray to evaluate for pertussis. But if the cough has been going on for more than 10-14 days it is worth pursuing the evaluation.”

Inquire with your doctor if they can administer a Tdap booster to protect you (and thereby help protect your grandaughter) from pertussis. There is no evidence to show any harm in receiving the vaccine even if you were to later be diagnosed. If they don’t have the vaccine available, and can’t or won’t order it, you can check with your local pharmacy, as they typically have the vaccine and can also administer it.

In regards to Maddie’s care, I would be persistent in requesting further evaluation from her doctor to ensure that this is not a case of pertussis. As Dr. Brown suggested, there are specific tests that can be run and it’s better to be cautious when it comes to the health of an infant.

It is also recommended that any family member, caregiver or friend who spends time with Maddie be vaccinated to protect her during these crucial months before she receives full immunity from the complete series of shots.

We would love to hear back from you to ensure that everyone is healthy, and we are interested in hearing how the doctors handled your care, as well as Maddie’s.

We appreciate you reaching out to us and wish you all the best.

Comment on Protecting Infants Through the Concept of “Cocooning” by Corinna

Corinna — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:09:26 +0000

My grandaughter is 41/2 months old. I’m 49 and have had a persistent irritation in the back of my throat with a dry cough for about 5 or 6 months. Maddie has had a little cough and ocassional sneeze for about a month. She had her 2 month and 4 month shots, but obviously not her 6 month shots. We recently saw an ad on TV about pertussis and I became worried. We asked her pediatrician about it and they said she didn’t have pertussis (but they didn’t really do any tests). We’re going to ask them again – but my question is: should I (and the rest of my family) get the vaccine now – not knowing if I have it or if Maddie has it? I’m worried about our precious little one. Answers…anyone? Thank you …

Comment on Autism and Vaccines: An Unhealthy Association by christinevara

christinevara — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:20:44 +0000

Liz, Thank you for referring me to the article “How I Know Vaccines Didn’t Cause My Daughter’s Autism” (http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-i-know-vaccines-didnt-cause-my.html)
It was refreshing for me, as a vaccine supporter, to hear her story. The author is clearly commited to the wellbeing of her child and I admire her courage to speak so confidently about vaccines within the autism community. The evidence she has within her daughter’s early life to support her conviction that her daughter’s vaccinations did not contribute to her autism diagnosis is relevant to all parents, whether they have autistic children or not. I sincerely hope that others will read this story and choose to protect their children from life threatening diseases through vaccinations.

Comment on Autism and Vaccines: An Unhealthy Association by Liz Ditz

Liz Ditz — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:37:25 +0000

There are plenty of autism parents who do NOT believe in that vaccines are causal in autism. They're just not organized as the "vaccine injury" parents are. The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism has published How I Know Vaccines Didn't Cause My Daughter's Autism. I'm hoping that in the next few years, online and traditional media will get away from the false "balance" model, and cease to mention vaccines in stories on autism. After all, stories on geography don't mention the theory that the earth is flat.

Comment on Autism and Vaccines: An Unhealthy Association by autism custody battles

autism custody battles — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:45:30 +0000

If anybody wants to do a case study they can start right away with my kids. My first one was vaccinated and my second one was not, and both were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I strongly believe they both had all the systems even in utero, it just came out with a bang much more so after the vaccinations. In family courts and matters of divorce, that the courts will be biased to a mother who keeps stressing how much she has done for the child. The more occupied you are with that, the more chances that they will TAKE AWAY your parental rights, due to being ‘harmful’ to your child! This is happening to mothers across the world where Autism is involved in the custody case. I wrote about this on my blog http://autismcustodybattles.wordpress.com/ and I urge you to read it carefully before asking the courts for anything for your child. You may be saying all the right things, but shooting yourself in the foot.

Comment on Autism and Vaccines: An Unhealthy Association by autismsciencefoundation

autismsciencefoundation — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:13:47 +0000

Thanks for the support!! We are honored to work with the wonderful advocates who support this great blog and who are so dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of children. http://www.autismsciencefoundation.org
–Alison

Comment on If Vaccinations Didn’t Hurt, Would More People Get Them? by amy pisani

amy pisani — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:40:42 +0000

I can see how parents dread the vaccine visits. my five year old asks me several times a year if he’s all done with his shots. I don’t have the heart to tell him the complete truth about boosters – I saw a great piece in my pediatrician’s office on Monday from the Children’s Hospital of Philly on helping to lessen the pain of shots by either blowing out the pain, blowing on the opposite arm which has had alcohol rubbed on it to make it feel cooler – I found the document finally and how timely it is for today’s post! http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-schedule/lessening-the-pain-of-vaccines.html

Comment on Three Times is a Charm Against Whooping Cough. by Carol J. Baker, MD

Carol J. Baker, MD — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:41:15 +0000

Until three doses of pertussis pertussis at age 6 months, a baby is not protected from whooping cough. That is why it has been recommended since 2008 that everyone who will have contact with an infant less than 6 months of age (parents, grandparents, baby sitters, etc.) received the adolescent/adult booster vaccine, Tdap. Every parent needs to know this, but little information has been disseminated to date.

Comment on Three Times is a Charm Against Whooping Cough. by amy pisani - every child by two

amy pisani - every child by two — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:34:03 +0000

well put. It is a complicated concept to get across and can so easily be interpreted as a vaccine not being 100% effective. Of course they are not 100% effective, but that is why we need to have herd immunity so that our odds of infecting one another are drastically reduced if in fact we are within that percentage range.

Comment on Week in Review: Pertussis cases in California by Marlene

Marlene — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:32:34 +0000

I have done a lot of research on this and they are noticing now that some strands of the Pertussis bacteria are resistant to the vaccine… Vaccines are not always the Holy Water to everything, when we overdo things bacterias get stronger and more agressive… I am not saying don’t vaccine or do, I think we just have to be careful because over-vaccinating can backslash later on, just like it happened with antibiotics… Chances are the strand that is causing this come back of the disease is the one that is already resistant to the vaccine, otherwise it wouldn’t be thriving in vaccinated populations…