Preschool booster help! Are they necessary?

[Jakeyblueblue]

Hi all,
Two boys, one is seven and fully vaccinated. Other one is three and fully vaccinated so far, but due pre school boosters.
Have recently started to live a more natural lifestyle and read more and more about vaccinations.
My eldest has dyspraxia, he's not autistic but does have some of the same difficulties as you would expect to see in autism. In hindsight, he was developing perfectly normally until around the same time as the mmr. Had lots of speech and then just stopped for months amongst other things. I didn't know what I know now and didn't link the two but am now suspicious.
I'm pretty sure that I will decline my youngests mmr booster in view of the fact I know it's not a true booster, just a repeat to catch the children who did not gain immunity the first time, and he's likely to be immune anyway. There seems to be lots of info around about this. But I'm struggling to make a decision regarding the 4-1? There seems to be very little info regarding why they have a booster and how effective it is??
Can anyone point me in the right direction or share any thoughts?
I must also add that I am not anti vax but have just started to question the necessity of some of these vaccines. There are some that I would still defo consent to as I feel benefit outweighs risk but I'm not sure these are one of them??
Please help!

The short answer is yes, they are necessary. You seem to have got a few facts wrong so I don't know what you've been reading but the Oxford Vaccine Group is an independent project and a reliable resource: vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/mmr-vaccine

What facts have I got wrong?

If you mean that I am wrong about it not being a true booster then I think you need to read up.
The initial MMR that is given, is thought to only be effective in 90 -95 % of children, so they repeat it at 3 yrs 4 months in the hopes this 'catches' that 5-10%. This is common knowledge.
Surely if my child was in that 95% who were immune from the first dose, I would unnecessarily be giving another mmr vaccine.

Good for you loving a more natural lifestyle and I’m sorry that your child has struggled with dyspraxia.

However, vaccinations (full programme) are compulsory for the benefit of your child and other children (herd immunity) for good reasons - the vast majority of medical and scientific experts agree. Going by the logic you’ve presented (which I’m not commenting on the accuracy of), even if your child were in the 95% that were immune (which you don’t know), if everyone had this approach then the herd immunity would be impacted.

There is a way of telling, You can have a scratch test to see if your child is indeed in the 95 %. Funnily enough this isn't available on the NHS.
It's also worth noting that the booster was only added at a later date. Most of us wouldn't have had the booster. Only the initial dose.

Personally I would never not vaccinate, even boosters. Also there is no evidence that the mmr causes autism or anything similar

I do agree that the evidence seems to suggest that there is no link but personally I feel that the mmr did affect my son and there are thousands of others in the same boat. Of course we may all be wrong, may be a coincidence, but as a mum, sometimes the best thing we have is our gut instinct. Thus my struggle.

Where there is clear evidence, our 'gut instinct' shouldn't override that. My son is autistic and, while he'd always been a bit different, it became more obvious around the age of 3. That's because he'd started preschool and was struggling to cope, as well as it being an age where other children start to develop their social skills so the gap between him and his peers became more evident. Nothing to do with the MMR. But I'm going to disengage now because I suspect you're not actually looking for help in deciding. If I'm wrong about that, the link I've given you is all the information you need.

No evidence of a link between mmr and autism and the Dr who said there was has been struck off. Get him the vaccinations, measles is spreading again because of all these myths.

Wasn’t aware of scratch test. Does this test check for immunity against everything the MMR vaccinates against? How reliable is it? Are you proposing to pay to have it done and then make a decision?

The mmr did not affect your sons autism at all or cause it .

Yes it's necessary. 100 per cent

Yes the boosters are necessary.

Yes since the 2nd WW we have always given 5 doses of tetanus and polio, and 4 doses of pertussis and diphtheria, and 2 doses of MMR since 1989 by the age of 16.

I'm a practice nurse and get weekly emails from the HPA reporting disease prevalence. There have been massive spikes in incidence of measles in the last 6-12 months across the UK.

I understand your concerns but there is no proven link between MMR vaccine and autism. None. There is however a strong correlation between cases of measles and unvaccinated children. You're right in that the 'booster' is to catch the unvaccinated 5% but without titre testing you won't know if your son is one of the 5%.

Just took my 3yo DC with ASD for their pre school boosters - ALL of them. Vaccines do not cause autism, or dyspraxia, and to suggest they do is incredibly irresponsible. My child is happy and, most importantly, healthy. Thanks TK vaccines.

The booster is necessary all have said not just for your child but to protect in herd immunity where a child cannot have the vaccination for medical( allergy reasons).

Age 2-3 is when children develop more noticeable asd traits anyway; even those children who go on to be NT show ASD traits it’s part of development.

I’m sure you’ve made your mind up anyway but I think you should reconsider and vaccinate.

You might find the babyjabs website useful for the type of info you’re after

Baby jabs website is not a credible source: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/babyjabscouk-to-remove-mmr-autism-claim-8021806.html

So OP any further thoughts regarding your decision?

I will say this for the hundredth time: the NHS is struggling MASSIVELY. Why would they be giving out free injections if they weren’t absolutely necessary?!

Would you really rather have a seriously ill or dead child over a child with autism ?

Either way there is no real evidence that vaccines cause autism and the man who made the idea popular was a quack who had his medical license revoked.

Of course they're bloody necessary! How do you think we've eradicated so many diseases in this country.

I will never, ever understand how you could put your child in harms way for a 'natural lifestyle'.

If your child doesn't have the boosters then all the other vaccines he's previously had will be pointless. He won't be protected, he's at risk of catching a deadly disease, aswell as passing it onto those who can't be vaccinated for health reasons. He also has to have a final diptheria, tetanus and polio booster when he's about 14 to protect him for the rest of his life. The NHS, as you already know, has no money. So the fact that they fund these vaccines so we can have them for free shows just how vital they are. It's your duty as a parent to protect your child, there should be no question about whether it's necessary.
Also, re: the MMR thing, purely a coincidence about your other son showing difficulties around that time. The age which the MMR is given is a big age for development of a baby and it's when difficulties are likely to show themselves anyway. If it was the MMR that caused it then 95% of the country would have problems.
I don't know how much you know about measles but there is absolutely nothing on this earth that would make me put my daughter at risk of deafness or death due to measles. Please let your son have all the vaccines offered to him. Stop googling and pay attention to the NHS guidelines. You'll never know for certain what caused your older sons problems, but god forbid your youngest gets measles because you have chosen not to vaccinate him, then you'll never forgive yourself.

Hi Jakeyblueblue - I know this is an old thread but I was wondering what you have decided to do about the mmr booster? My 3.5 year old experienced a febrile seizure 10 days after, which is likely due to the measles part. It may be coincidence but it is the only one she has ever had and I feel it is related, especially as it is noted in the Green book. For this reason I was thinking of a similar approach to you to check that she is immune by a blood test to avoid the booster if it is not necessary. Then we will not be putting her at risk of another febrile seizure which is a horrible thing to go through but are also reassured she is immune.

We have also recently adopted a more natural lifestyle and find it so hard to make the best decisions for our children.

Came here to say what TeddyisaHe posted. The NHS is in huge trouble financially, and they recommend and provide these vaccinations. Therefore, I feel safe in saying yes they are necessary.

Oh bollocks, zombie thread 😡

Kittylikesmagic - yes in general necessary but I am not asking that. Kids also need to be treated individually and if they have had a reaction then checking they are immune and avoiding another reaction is better, with the option of giving the booster when they are a bit older if needed. Checking they are immune now ensures child is protected so this is not 'against vaccinations being necessary', it's about also protecting our child from a reaction that can be avoided