AskDrSears - The Vaccine Book: October 2007

How to talk to your doctor about following an Alternative Vaccine Schedule

Monday, October 29, 2007

Many parents today are looking for a different approach to vaccines. But most doctors feel that the standard vaccine schedule is so important that they are unwilling to work with such parents. Well, I have good news. Times are changing. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that doctors work with parents who have questions and concerns and want to do things a little differently. The new AAP guidelines are listed in the 2006 Red Book of Infectious Diseases – a manual that almost every pediatrician owns. In the Book, the AAP suggests:

A non-judgmental approach is best. Listen carefully and respectfully to the parent’s concerns.
Inform the parents of the risks and benefits of each vaccine as well as the risks of each disease.
For parents who are concerned about multiple vaccines at one visit, develop a schedule that spreads the vaccines out.
Continued refusal to vaccinate after adequate discussion should be respected (unless the child is at significant risk of serious harm during an epidemic).
In general, pediatricians should avoid dismissing patients from their practice solely because of refusal to vaccinate.

But parents who have concerns and extra questions about vaccines need to understand the best way to talk to their doctor. You can’t wait until your baby’s two-month appointment, wait until your doctor is done examining the baby, then suddenly hit the doctor with a dozen questions. It takes a good 15 to 30 minutes to discuss vaccine concerns and options in detail. Us doctors don’t have the time to do this within the normal amount of time allotted to a regular checkup. You have to schedule a separate appointment, preferable well before your baby’s first shots are due. That way you and your doctor have a nice chunk of time directly devoted to discussing vaccines, without having to go over all the other questions and concerns of a normal checkup.
What can you do if your doctor won’t work with you? Find another doctor. I know it isn’t easy, and my Vaccine Friendly Doctor database (see the home page) will hopefully grow bigger and bigger over the years so patients all over the U.S. can find a doctor near them who will happily discuss vaccine options. You can help it grow by asking any vaccine-friendly doctor you know to contact me through the website

Labels: Alternative Vaccine Schedule

Is there a link between vaccines and autism?

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Let me start off by saying up front that I'm not going to answer this question. And now I'm going to take 5 paragraphs to explain why.

Autism is the main worry that is on every parent's mind when it comes to deciding about vaccines. On one side we have 99% of the medical community and worldwide researchers reassuring us that vaccines have no link to autism. On the other side are tens of thousands of parents who have watched their children regress into autism between age 1 and 2. And these parents are becoming more and more vocal, like Jenny McCarthy.

What research are worried parents basing their beliefs on? Some research has shown that the measles virus in the MMR vaccine, which is given at age 1, may be one of the "triggers" that begins the cascade of intestinal inflammation that leads to brain inflammation and autism. In addition, environmental chemical exposures like pollution in air, food and water (and possibly the various chemicals in vaccines), as well as genetic susceptibilities and immune problems, may also play a role in autism.

The problem is, no mainstream researcher has yet to PROVE that vaccines are a contributor to autism. And because vaccines play an important role in preventing disease, we will need some pretty solid proof that vaccines contribute to autism before some will be taken off the market. Right now the Centers for Disease Control's official statement (paraphrased) is that autism is clearly on the rise, that there is not enough evidence to prove a link between autism and vaccines, and that further research is being done on the matter.

Honestly, I've read ALL the research, and both sides present good data and good arguments. I'm not sure who is right at this point. Until I see enough evidence that shows vaccines are linked to autism, I certainly am not going to tell anyone that vaccines contribute to autism. But at the same time I can't say for sure that vaccines absolutely do NOT play any role at all in contributing to autism.

So what should parents do in the meantime while this issue continues to be investigated? You have two choices. Either you continue vaccinating so your child has disease protection while this issue is studied, which will probably take at least a few years, OR you stop vaccinating (or be more choosy about vaccines) until further research gives us answers one way or the other. I can't tell you what to do because I don"t know. I encourage everyone to read all the research and educate themselves about vaccines and diseases and make their own decision.

Labels: Vaccines and Autism