Anxious about 1 year vaccinations

[Concernedkay]

Baby is due to have his 1 year vaccinations next month. The 4 in 1 mmr, menC and boosters of the previous jabs. Very anxious because of the controversy and having so many in one day. Can anyone share their experiences? How was your baby after? Thank you

I understand you are anxious, but there has been masses of research / studies into the effectiveness of vaccines, and the risk to your baby of not having them is greater than the risk of having them.

Individual anecdotes do not make proper data. If you need to, please discuss with your health visitor.

My Mum's elder sister, that she never knew, died of meningitis aged ~18months in the 30s. My DGM had to live with that sadness for a further 75 years.

All my kids and grandchildren had theirs bang on time, no concerns whatsoever. The illnesses themselves are much, much, MUCH more dangerous. I only wish the UK would add in chickenpox vaccine at 12 months.

All science and history says the vaccines (and ages given) work and are far more beneficial than than the infinitesimally small risk of side effects/negative effects. Usually some fever and crying associated with the vaccines but other than that nothing.

Thank you, I definitely want him vaccinated my concern is mostly about having so many in one day.

It's literally 30 seconds if that of them being upset then it's all forgotten. The bonus at that age is they have no clue what's coming so it's only the very short time of flipping them over for the ones in the other side that is unpleasant. Neither of my 2 children had any after effects.

The doses are tiny; they are also timed to give the best immune response. Turn it on its head and tell yourself how bloody amazing it is that he'll be protected from so many illnesses in one go! We don't know how lucky we are; these are killer illnesses, some of which could destroy a future unborn granchild (rubella) or cause deafness (measles) or infertility (mumps).

Hasn't your baby had the previous ones? 6 in one is the first one isnt it?

That's when they're little. If you didn't worry then, why are you worrying now?

Is it just because of the upset over the MMR that was squashed you're worried about?

You're right! Now am I being paranoid to be worried about our 9-12 month appointment this morning. They asked me to get him to play on a mat with toys and I saw something on the cube so it didn't look washed and now I'm worried about measles as I read it can stay on surfaces 😩

Also do they have to be done on the same day? Can I get the mmr done and then the menC, menB etc for two weeks later? The receptionist said no but other mums have said they have

Don't do this; all you'll do is leave your baby vulnerable to illness for longer.

I've been told its possible but not easy to coordinate and there is no value in doing so. The body is switched on to make anti-bodies whether it is for one illness or many so why spread it out? Makes no sense as you are just repeating the process unnecessarily for the poor dear.

Just get it over and done with - don't extend the discomfort for your baby, and get them protected ASAP. I have a 15 mo, and the 1 year vaccinations were much easier on my little girl than I expected. She had minor side effects that passed in a few days.

Not sure what the point would be? The reaction to the measles bit can be a week afterwards, the mumps 3 weeks. So you’d just be prolonging it all. There is no controversy whatsoever, just 1 idiot ex doctor from the 1990s that faked research for attention and conspiracy theorists.

Is this just me being paranoid or an actual risk?

Measles from a grubby toy?! That sounds a paranoid (sorry!). Thankfully most people take up the vaccine so it’s very rare. If you said stomach bug or cold then I’d see your point although they have to get exposed to germs at some point, the world isn’t sterile, so I still wouldn’t get too hung up about it.

I really wouldn't do this, all the injections are literally over in seconds. All you would be doing is prolonging the period of having to look out for reactions, also baby might remember if you go back in 2 weeks, far better to get them all done at once IMO

@FlounderingFruitcake

I know it's just he put his hands in his mouth afterwards and I read about measles droplets on surfaces so it's just made me worry a bit

There were like 800 measles cases total in 2019 there isn’t more recent data but let’s assume it’s about the same now- the chances of one of those 800 being the baby that saw the HV right before you? If you go in for odds like that then I hope you play the lottery!

If I were doing it again with my kids I would be very selective with which jabs they got.
I think spreading them out seems wise. You are the parent, go with your instincts.

WHY?

You need to address your anxieties I think.

You can most definitely ask for a different schedule if that's what you want. My kids had them on the standard UK timeline as I was happy for them to, but you have other options OP.
With my second I skipped the second dose of the Rotavirus vax as she had a bad reaction to it first time around. I just told them at the appointment she would not be having it and nobody batted an eye. It's an oral one so quite easy to skip, I reckon some of the others are prepared together so they'd need some warning beforehand. You might have to pay for some of the jabs yourself if you wish to split them but you can definitely do it.

Measles is quite rare, so so catch it from a cube would be very unusual. Babies do stick things in their mouths at this point. I have 4 sons and I got rid of choking hazards and let them get on with it.

re the 1 year vaccinations, they are designed to be given together. You can split them if you really want to but I feel getting them all over and and done with as they know when they come back why they are there, is better, It’s only upsetting once instead of twice, it also means they are protected earlier. There are some you can’t have after 2 so the nurse will advise which ones to get done first. You can go to the appointment speak to the nurse and they will chat to you about it. No judgment we want parents to have as much information to make an informed decision as possible.

The problem is that what to a lay person 'seems wise' presumably makes no sense to the immunologists and NHS experts who agree the vaccine schedules.

I have a rule of thumb not to attempt to second guess experts, when the expert view will have been made from data and various levels of review.

One individual expert may well be wrong, but I don't presume to think I know better than NICE review panels etc.

On top of that, your child is exposed to dozens of antigens every day just by breathing and coming in contact with things. You can't "overwhelm" the immune system with a few jabs containing micrograms of the active ingredient.

My mum never got around to getting me my measles jab. I have a permanent 30% hearing loss in both ears due to a bad case of measles. Thanks, mum.