Vaccines, yet and still

Although there have been a multitude of studies that suggest that vaccines are safe, among many parents of children with autism, the jury is still out. And now with the H1N1 virus and concerns of this public health crisis causing a possible pandemic, parents are being advised to add yet another vaccine to the many already given their children.  Parents are encouraged to give their children the flu vaccine at 6 months of age and then annually until five years of age. But do we know yet if these vaccines are safe, let alone effective?

Children are now routinely given 48 doses of 14 vaccines by the time they are in kindergarten, almost double what was given 25 years ago. In fact, newborn babies are given their first vaccine, the Hepatitis B shot while still in the hospital. Do we have any idea if more vaccines are better, safe and effective? Is it possible that this increase in the number of vaccines administered could account for the increase in the diagnosis of autism? 

If I had a young child today, I'm not sure what I would do regarding vaccines. While I understand the needs of the greater public, I also am very suspicious that children with autism have compromised immune systems, which very likely would not be apparent until well after their first birthday and maybe not even until three or four years.  With all the toxins in our environment, it would certainly be close to impossible to pinpoint a particular culprit, not to mention the genetic susceptibility involved. But why not eliminate or reduce the chances of some of the known toxins? Are we trading the chance of some infectious diseases in early childhood for chronic disability for a lifetime with a minority of children?

With the pressures young parents have today to get back into the workplace and the use of daycare, every child is exposed to many more things than children in the past. And so the risks increase that infectious diseases will spread and the need for vaccines remain important. But maybe the double and quadrupling of doses at one time could be eliminated, and the time lines could be reviewed to lessen the impact. Maybe just a shot in the dark, but something should be considered.