To vaccinate newborn or not

Also, whether or not one believes or is worried that covid vaccine had enough time in development, we KNOW that these childhood vaccines have been around and constantly researched and refined for around 50 odd years! They simply cannot be compared to covid vaccine worries at all...

Most of us with young children all had those vaccines when we were small and all through school age...

The scientists etc have that job and qualifications for a reason, we cannot all be google scientists.

If a person goes to hairdresser to dye their hair do they question the quantity and mixture and chemical content that the hairdresser is using? Do they stop dying their hair even when they don't know 'what is in it'? Hardly if at all! Yet the scientists behind these medicines are much more qualified and with a bigger body of research than that...

The most selfish thing about anti vaxxers is that 1, they confuse normal people and lead them up disastrous paths, and 2, while they risk their own children's lives, they also risk other children's lives, by spreading the illness. If it only affected you then so be it, but the fact that you then spread it to someone else without caring of those consequences, just shows how rubbish this whole situation is.

People talk about how we don't have polio and measles, its is only this way in 2023 because of vaccines wiping most of it out. Yet now that people are not 99% taking up the vaccines, these frankly medieval diseases are coming back. Check out photos of how this looked in the early 1900s, pox all over the place, deaths, loss of limb use, brain swelling issues, all sorts. It is too late to want the vaccine when something bad has already happened.

Hi Op, I haven't read the entire thread so apologies if this is repetitive but I am a health care professional with lots of experience in vaccination. The Oxford Vaccine Knowledge project is a fantastic resource for those that want information but isn't the NHS or government pages. I have had very good feedback from patients who have looked at it to make informed decisions. There are also some videos explaining what the diseases are that we are protecting against. The important thing to remember with vaccines is that sometimes they work so well that we become very complacent because we don't see these diseases day to day therefore the potential side effects can seem scarier. A really important example is how in war torn countries, previously unseen diseases like diphtheria are making a come back because routine vaccination isn't happening. I hope you have had some useful info on here and I will also say that the best professionals to discuss with are the GP practice nurses. Health visitors have limited vaccine training and gps hardly any. Nurses are supposed to attend annual updates. Hope this helps!

As the parent of a kid who almost died of a virus that is often mild, for which no vaccine is widely available yet, i'll sign up for any vaccine going. Vaccines are amazing.

Omg please vaccinate your baby.

Please

Many truly don’t understand how ill dc can be with measles and the ongoing issues which can be deadly. We need 95% vaccinated to protect everyone. Some dc cannot be vaccinated and they are very much at risk. Why can parents not see this? In Haringey in London it’s 50% who are vaccinated so many are vulnerable now. No wonder the nhs is on its knees! We simply don’t care about preventing illness. It’s not good enough but parents are anti vax, believe twaddle on the internet and believe that idiot that wrote about vaccinations causing autism! We had eradicated measles and now we haven’t. It’s not acceptable to deliberately puts children at risk.

My bad.
Kids do get a lot of bugs and illnesses when tbey start though, unvaccinated I can imagine they will get more ill, so still worth considering on a school point of view.

Yet another news article about the spread of measles
BBC News - Get measles jab to avoid rapid spread, says UK health boss
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68028530

@CharlieCoCo I think OP is in the UK, where that is certainly not the case.

another thing to consider is what will happen in the furture. some nurseries and schools wont take a child if their vaccinations arent up to date. are you planning to home school?

You don't have to vaccinate all of your children, just the ones you definitely want to keep.

Please remember that vaccination is not just a personal issue. We need a high percentage vaccinated to protect those who cannot be vaccinated. It’s what we do for society, it’s not just about the individual,

In the news this morning: 200 cases of measles in the West Midlands. Fears for others areas. So please vaccinate. There is no good reason not to. Save lives.

@triballeader Thank you so much for explaining. I am so sorry for your husband and hope he can stay safe and his health improves.

"To vaccinate newborn or not"

My answer to that would be a simple yes, because vaccines save lives

He defiantly caught it twice.

This was confirmed by the regional isolation unit consultant. Measles is a notifiable disease so tracing from Health Protection teams become involved. Thankfully I had already worked out DD had measles and taken steps to reduce risks for others before the HPT confirmed she defiantly had it. DH had measles as a toddler. For most catching measles does give enduring immunity BUT, and this is an important but, it does not for everyone. Hence the NHS comment of if you do have measles you are unlikely to catch it twice. This means that for a few who have had measles then you might catch it twice. His last test showed he still has not full immunity to rubeola [measles) even after he had the MMR. Please note he is in a very tiny group of people who fail to develop full immunity and like our DD also has to rely on herd immunity. Thankfully DD has developed immunity.

@triballeader Can I ask if the doctors thought your husband had measles twice, or if he may have been wrongly diagnosed the first time? I'm of the generation where we all had measles as children, and we all thought that meant life time immunity, so doctors told us. Of course, no need for you to reply if you don't want to. I'm just confused now.

I don’t even think people think their child will be fine because of her immunity, they just don’t think measles is around anymore and don’t stop to think about why they don’t know anyone who has lost a child to measles.

I see that measles is making a comeback in the UK thanks to low vaccination rates. This always happens when too many people think they can skip the jab and rely on herd immunity from others doing the right thing.

https://news.sky.com/story/measles-cases-surge-in-england-and-wales-fuelled-by-vaccine-hesitancy-over-mmr-jab-13047335

I know from first hand experience that IF there is a good medical reason to suspect a child would or even could experience a serious consequences from any particular vaccine then it is not given.

DD has not been able to have HPV. There is a whole slew of vaccines she has not been able to medically have. In our current society few have a close experience of what some of the illnesses vaccines aim to give some protection from can really do. Vaccines aim to reduce the risks of a person catching a preventable viral illnesses. Mostly such illnesses come with a very real potential to cause life long injury and even kill. Even the healthy, whilst perhaps having more resilience, are not immune from developing complications associated with such.

For every story I'm reading on here of 'this child didn't have the vaccine and died/lost a leg/became deaf' etc, there is a story of a baby having an MMR and dying days later, or a young girl having the HPV vaccine and developing major problems. Re the HPV one, have a read of this poor girl's story.

If you look at actual statistics, as opposed to anecdotal evidence, you will see that there is no equivalence. There is simply no doubt that vaccines have saved millions of children from the risk of serious illness, disability and death; there is no evidence that they have caused those in anything remotely like comparable numbers.

The fact that someone can see vaccines as optional for diseases like polio, meningitis, measles shows what a privileged society we live in today. My parents grew up in a developing nation outside EU and their generation saw so many children die due to unavailability of vaccines. The more children go vaccinated, the less rampant these diseases were.. and the society got safer..as a result today for some people vaccines are optional and something to be feared due to side effects.

Anyway so many of you have pointed this out already to OP and makes me feel glad that there is still sanity and the majority understand and appreciate the privilege of having access to life saving vaccines and medicines.

I really hope those that have been blasé about not vaccinating their children read this and think about the consequences of not vaccinating if you medically can.

Thank you for sharing.

What an awful experience.
Your poor husband and daughter.
I wish your husband makes more progress.
Hugs to you
Thank you for sharing.

Just seen this. This is why I just think people who don't vaccinate their DC are making it worse for the rest of society

BBC News - Further measles outbreaks expected in England as cases rise - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw0d7rpr6ndo

I think part of a the problem lies in the fact that we have to make a positive choice to vaccinate our children. There is a world of a difference between a child randomly becoming ill which can be seen as an act of God (thanks for that!) and choosing to take on a risk on behalf of your child .... even though we know the chances of a problem arising are millions to one against. It is that act of choice that some parents find hard. It is understandable, but they can be reassured by the facts.
I share the exasperation of some posters at those who crow that their children have not been vaccinated and have been "just fine" .... they are if course fine because the rest of us have been sensible enough to vaccinate our children.
Well done to the OP for making a good choice.