Alternative Vaccine Schedule and Pros and Cons

Alternative Vaccine Schedule: What Is It?

In his book, The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, pediatrician Robert Sears, MD, outlines two alternatives to the traditional vaccine schedule. The "Selective Vaccine Schedule" omits certain vaccines, while the "Alternative Vaccine Schedule" stretches out the traditional one.

Through his book and Web site, Dr. Sears addresses questions about vaccines, the overall number, the combinations of vaccines given in a single dose, and the preservatives in some vaccines, which contain mercury and aluminum. Some parent groups have pointed to the increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism and autoimmune diseases as a possible consequence of these vaccines. In a recent case, however, the U.S. Court of Claims ruled that the evidence overwhelmingly contradicted parents' claims that MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine) was to blame for their children's development of autism. We carry this book at Papoose and are also having a FREE movie night on May 28th on Vaccines. Call 889-2323 to register for the movie.

Alternative Vaccine Schedule: The Pros and Cons. Here, we take a look at several selective and alternate vaccine schedules and discuss the pros and cons of each.

Decline live-virus vaccinations and eliminate vaccinations for less serious diseases.
Pro: Proponents believe live-virus vaccines are unsafe and that it's better for children to get diseases like chicken pox than the vaccine to prevent it.
Con: It takes only one case of polio coming into the United States for the disease to come back here, states the AAP; there have already been outbreaks of measles in some parts of the country because kids weren't given these shots.

Separate combined vaccines such as the MMR so that children get only one live vaccine at a time.
Pro: Giving only one live-virus vaccine at a time may allow the baby's immune system to better handle live viruses.
Con: The AAP says that babies are exposed to and fight off thousands of germs, or antigens, every day, far more than the few that are in any combination vaccine.

Spread out vaccines so that no more than two vaccines are given at one time.
Pro: This may decrease side effects and, if there is a reaction, make it easier to pinpoint which vaccine caused it.
Con: A longer schedule leaves babies at risk longer than necessary. In some cases, kids won't get a measles vaccine until age 3 or a flu shot until age 5, yet thousands of kids over age 4 are hospitalized every year because of flu complications. Spacing out the shots and limiting them to two per visit also means 12 visits to the doctor by age 2 and 7 more between ages 2 and 6.

Avoid some booster shots by doing a blood test to see if the shot is really needed.
Pro: This may make booster shots unnecessary if the vaccine is still active.
Con: Tests that check for immunity to certain diseases do not work well in young children, says the AAP.

Sears feels the slower pace will encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated, while the AAP believes it will lead to a decline in immunization rates because of the extra visits and co-pays.

It's up to every family to decide how best to proceed with their vaccine schedule and to find a Doctor that is willing to work with your vaccine preferences. This blog is not the opinion of anyone at Papoose, it is purely informational as we often receive many questions on the subject. Amy has gone the traditional vaccination route and Holly has done a modified vaccination schedule with Sam.