Tied in knots about baby jabs

[Tentoes21]

Hi all,

Please be gentle with me - I am not anti vaccination but in need of some more objective input.

My baby is 6 months and has had just one round of NHS jabs (as standard at 8 weeks)

After meeting someone who’s sister had a debilitating reaction I started to look into the vaccinations before going with the second lot.

Unfortunately I got stuck in a google hole and now feel very anxious about what I’ve read (high aluminium, polysorbate 80, etc)

I spoke to Dr Halvorsen at babyjabs private clinic who wrote a low aluminium schedule to vaccinate for everything apart from polio and Hep B.

It would use a DTaP (daptacel) rather than the 6-in-1 (infanrix)
And all others remain the same as NHS.

I still haven’t started this vax schedule either though.
I feel paralysed with overthinking about possible outcomes - now I’m
Worried that switching brands like this might not work, and missing polio is a big risk.

Does anyone have any experience with Dr Richard Halvorsen, or of using American vaccinations in the uk? (specifically Daptacel DTaP)

Thanks and no harsh words please- I’m just a caring mum who’s done way too much research with a bad case of analysis paralysis....

God it's horrible isn't it, you just don't know who to believe. On one had you have the NHS saying no problem www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/vaccine-ingredients/ and on the other there are anecdotes of terrible life changing outcomes. I would go with the weight of evidence because so many babies have the vaccination that if there was a big risk there would be many more incidents. I would want to know what's in it for people who advise against something as well. The NHS doesn't have anything to gain by saying there is a problem, if you think about it if they were causing problems it would be a rod for their own backs as they would have to treat that ill child for life. Does the private clinic have something to gain?

At risk of drawing parallels to British politics "no (deal) vaccinations" are not better than the two options you have, so pick one and go with it! On the balance of evidence I would (have) use NHS vaccines.

The american vaccinations may be just as good as UK vaccinations, but more expensive. American doctors often recommend more expensive treatment rather than similar cheaper treatment. They are after all a business.

There are plenty of severe side effects reported for Daptacel, too, as for every vaccine. When I googled it the first link took me to a page for reporting vaccine injury by Daptacel. The point is that these side effects are much less severe and less common than the diseases they protect against.
Personally I would rather trust the decisions of the NHS than the profit-orientated US healthcare system. But you could always pick a couple of other countries that seem to have it together healthcare-wise and see which they use. The other European countries I have lived in use Infanrix.

Your DC did not react to the jabs on NHS schedule.

The likelihood of adverse reactions to the rest of the course has plummeted for your DC.

Changing to a different jab puts you right back in the 'unknown risk' category. I really can't see the logic to adding extra uncertainty. Whapy are you even considering swooping to,an unknown, rather than sticking with the one you know your DC is OK with?

This is an excellent website run from vaccine researchers at Oxford University, with good quality research and good analysis. They are independent and don't receive any funding from pharmaceutical companies.

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/

There's a good section here on the safety of aluminium (as well as all the other ingredients) in vaccines that might be helpful to read:

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vaccine-ingredients#aluminium

Thanks muchly ladies for your posts and links too. The oxford research group very handy.

To answer why I’m considering swapping- DC had quite bad eczema suddenly and about 2 weeks after the NHS jabs.
A little Eczema may be no big deal but I read that it’s a sign of the toxins working their way out of the skin when the kidney is overloaded.
Call me anxious, but it spooked me.

Also, at the time DC had chronic colic and cried all day and night anyway - so I felt I couldn’t have spotted any reaction with that going on. And I felt guilty for giving him more to deal with when he was already in such distress.

Daptacel cotains less aluminium and no polysorbate 80, in short. Felt it’d be less ‘toxic’ overall .

Hard to know what to do as I’m not good with risks or rationalising.
Probably should’ve thought of hat before becoming a mum!!

I know it's so difficult to read through all the stuff on the internet but what's important is that you make sure it's from a reputable source. There's a reason why vaccines are recommended by the NHS and WHO. The diseases they prevent are much much worse than the very small chance of an adverse reaction.

Don’t beat yourself up! I also did a lot of reading and was happy with a plan until they introduced the Hep B vaccine and now I don’t know what to do either. You should be proud of yourself for researching and trying to come to an informed decision. You can’t protect against everything, your baby is going to come into contact with other toxins and potential immune triggers in life, not just in vaccines. I found Dr halverson’s book very helpful if you haven’t read it? Whilst it’s true he has a financial interest in private vaccines I thought the book was as unbiased as possible in how it presented the facts. Best of luck with your choice and just trust that you can only do your best to act in the best interests of your child, you can never control all the variables.

The “colic” probably had other causes, for example it could have been reflux and/or CMPA. Sometimes the rotavirus vaccine can cause babies to react but that is rare.

I suggest you read the OU website the PP linked to but then STEP AWAY FROM THE INTERNET.

If your anxiety is really overwhelming maybe consider CBT (you can self refer in many areas)

Hopefully this link below will work.

I feel so strongly about vaccinating and can't help but get infuriated by parents who make ill informed decisions - who have became seemingly more qualified than doctors because they have access to an internet search engine. (Not referring to you OP, people I know in real life).

Vaccines protect against the worst diseases in the world which are now making a come back because of anti vaccinators and putting those who cant be vaccinated due to immune problems at higher risk.

thenib.com/vaccines-work-here-are-the-facts-5de3d0f9ffd0

Deep breath, step away from the internet and call the gp surgery and get baby booked in for vaccinations.

Just vaccinate your baby, please.

I'm going to say something which sounds condescending but I hope it's not. At this stage you've still got so many hormones raging through you / the guilt and anxiety I felt about everything when mine was that age!

Honestly I would vaccinate. The evidence strongly suggests doing so

Thank you all posters....
And moreismore for kind words - I have been feeling pretty lousy about it so I appreciate your post!

It’s tricky to proceed when you know someone first hand who had a bad reaction.

I’ll make the best decision I can. I am Considering that delaying polio ain’t a good idea esp. in London.

Gah, got to do it all again at 12
Months too...

Not sure how this post will go down but:

Being a new mum is a hugely anxiety inducing time.

You generally get to control/choose everything for your baby based on the evidence you can assimilate from your daily life experiences eg car seats are a good idea and there is very limited risk to using one and these risks, eg same position for too long can be easily prevented.

The science around immunisations is complex and often not well presented. Very few individuals have the scientific skills and training, understanding of disease and statistics, to make a decision that is genuinely informed by their own knowledge of why the UK has the inns schedule it has.

This means that, for probably the first time, you have having to completely trust the judgements of others,of experts. This feels scary, you feel like you have no/limited control and so become paralysed by your natural anxiety. You focus on the tiny cases where children may have had adverse reactions to vaccines rather than thinking of the millions that haven’t. Please trust the NHS. They (and lots of researchers) have done all of the work for you in developing the UK schedule. They have no vested interest in giving your child an immunisation that may harm them rather than protect them. Please immunise your child as soon as possible. They are tiny and vulnerable. You wouldn’t drive on the motorway without them in a car seat.

Vacinnate your baby. I don’t hold the immunity from the MMR. I don’t know if my DD will hold immunity. I want her to have that immunity and for us it may well be we are relying on herd immunity to protect us.

My argument for those who are against jabs is you risk a reaction to anything put in your body you cannot single that out to a vaccination that millions use every day with no ill effect.

Imagine how you will feel if your child gets the debilitating illness instead of the vaccine..... that to me is far worse. Thousands of children are vaccinated every year and are fine. It's not vaccinating children that is causing the reoccurrence of diseases completely unnecessarily. Vaccinate your child and see someone for professional help with the anxiety.

It's tough isn't it? My daughter is 1 now & ready for her next set. She had all of the ones as a baby & I didn't notice any reactions (although she did have some eczema I can't remember if it started after the vaccines or some months later though you've made me question that?) I'm now terrified of giving her this next lot... 3 at once to 😩 I am also inclined to believe the NHS guidelines & dont think I could risk her getting a serious illness I could of vaccinated against but didn't with limited knowledge. But it doesn't make it any less scary... I'm already dreading them jabbing her, wish I could have them for her 😢