moms who opted out of some vaccines: I NEED HELP!

poochie

I live in MA. My dd is in preschool and has been vaccinated for everything except HepB and varicella. her school called me today and said that i need to write a letter that they can submit to the state claiming a religious exemption to the vaccines (MA does not allow a philosophical one.) I'm looking for help with the wording of this letter, especially since I vaccinated her against other diseases. Can you point me to samples on the web? did you write a statement yourself?

here's my reasoning: HepB I opted out because it's pretty much a sexually transmitted disease and since we don't live in a 3rd world nation I'm not too worried about it. Varicella is better to GET as a child so I don't want to vaccinate her in the hopes that she gets the disease. PLUS the vaccine is hardly a guarantee that she won't get it in fact if she does get it, she may get it again because she is likely to get a very mild case.

any help would be appreciated. thanks. 

MrsCorbin

We are skipping the HepB for the same reason.  DD and DS aren't old enough for me to have had a problem yet.  What does the preschool look at?  Do they just look at that shot book?  I always forget DD and DS's shot books at their appts and the pedi told me to fill in their shots.  I know it isn't right but can you say they've had them?  Otherwise I would just give a vague religious reason.  I don't think they would probe into your religious views.

ridesbuttons

I can't help you with your campaign, but I will make a couple comments that you can do with as you please.

 

HepB is something I got vaccinated against as an adult.  If your daughter ever plans to travel she will want to have the vaccines.  In addition, you can contract HepB through contaminated salon tools (think pedi gone bad).  I am not even sure what Varicella is, but they also vaccinate against chicken pox now.  Virtually every disease is better to get as a child, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to avoid it.

 

That's all. 

Littlejen22

I am sorry but I will jump on Rides bandwagon - it is not better to get chicken pox than to get the vaccine, it is better to have the disease as a child than an adult but while pretty rare chicken pox can be extremely dangerous and so many people feel the way you do which is why it is still around.  If kids in the US were not dying from complications (staph infections, etc) every year than they would not require it.

poochie

ridesbuttons:

I can't help you with your campaign, but I will make a couple comments that you can do with as you please.

 

HepB is something I got vaccinated against as an adult.  If your daughter ever plans to travel she will want to have the vaccines.  In addition, you can contract HepB through contaminated salon tools (think pedi gone bad).  I am not even sure what Varicella is, but they also vaccinate against chicken pox now.  Virtually every disease is better to get as a child, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to avoid it.

 

That's all. 

just because you got vaccinated against something as an adult does not mean I should pump a baby full of more chemicals on top of the others she already was receiving. If it comes down to her traveling in the future I will of course let her know that she is NOT vaccinated against HepB and go from there. Varicella is Chicken pox. My own ped told me it was optional and that it would be better for her to get it as a child. it is PROVEN that when an adult gets the chicken pox, it is a much more serious disease and I for one would like her to get the disease as a child, thereby granting her lifetime immunity. plus there have been several outbreaks in my area in the last few years of chicken pox and most of the kids who contracted it were in fact immunized. It's a very new vaccine and not a guarantee of not getting the disease so why bother? so she doesn't itch for a few weeks? This post was for moms who opted out not for moms who want to add their 2 cents where they aren't wanted. 

poochie

MrsCorbin:

We are skipping the HepB for the same reason.  DD and DS aren't old enough for me to have had a problem yet.  What does the preschool look at?  Do they just look at that shot book?  I always forget DD and DS's shot books at their appts and the pedi told me to fill in their shots.  I know it isn't right but can you say they've had them?  Otherwise I would just give a vague religious reason.  I don't think they would probe into your religious views.

my doc prints out a chart with all of them filled in so they can see by that what they have had and not had so i can't claim the book record unfortuantely. I found some religious exemption things online, I just didn't know if there were other moms in a similar situation as mine out there who could point me to something more concrete.

Brideofranken

have you been to mothering.com? they have entire anti-vaccination boards.

My pedi actually doesn't allow the newborns she delivers to be given the hep b in the hospital...that just confirmed my beliefs against it ( for an infant.) The history of why they now vaccinate with it so early is also not a compelling one. ( when offered to sex industry workers and addicts, the response was low, so they lobbied to get it mandated at birth-huh...)

Good luck to you- I wish it were simpler to have your own medical convictions in this country.)

SportsMama

Check Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's website she tells you how to go about exemptions.  My preschool age son is fully vaxed but my baby won't be fully vaxed,so I haven't crossed that bridge yet.  I have heard they are very easy to write.  Can I ask are you at a private preschool or public?  I think it is encouraging that they told you to fill out the exemption.  Good Luck!

hopefulmom

Poochie:  I can "almost" guarantee your DC will not get chicken pox as a child.  There are too many people immunizing their children against it.  It is NOT always better to get it as a disease.  Neither of my two older DC's got the vaccine since it wasn't offered at the time.  My oldest DD got chicken pox when she was 16 and missed 3 weeks of school because she got a staph infection with it.  It was NOT a good thing and she was extremely ill.  My DS did not get it at the same time as my DD...but a few years later...he was 14 and even though he did not get a staph infection he was very ill and out of school for 2 weeks.  I'm sorry...but your logic about them getting the disease instead of the vaccine is ridiculous.  Why did you bother getting the DPT...would't it be better for your DC to get diptheria or whooping cough?  As for the HepB...it is not just sexually transmitted...but it will be on your concious if your DC gets either illness so it is your decision.  Sorry...can't help you with your bogus regilous reasons.

marrymemylove

Just so you know, it ISN'T better to get varicella. Because once you have varicella you are at risk of herpes zooster (shingles) and would rely on getting a shingles vaccine one day. The shingles vaccine is much much newer and less proven than varicella, and not likely to be approved for the under 60s any time soon. But if you GET shingles, and some young people do, it can literally last a lifetime. You never get rid of it you just get bouts of it FOREVER.

My grandmother has been getting shingles since she was about 40 (so even the current shingles vaccine wouldn't have helped) and it is PAINFUL. Also now she is old she basically has shingles constantly, the weeks she doesn't have symptoms are rare.

I had varicella as a child because there was no vaccine. I now have medical issues (unrelated) which would make shingles extremely dangerous, but I only know about them by chance. I could easily be in the position of being highly at risk in the event I got shingles but not knowing to get the vaccine and ending up debilitated FOR LIFE with it. So because I'm lucky and happen to know of my risk factor I'm getting the shingles vaccine as a special case. Some people out there are not that lucky.

BTW Hep B is not just and STD, I know of dentists who have transmitted it. But I agree it is of a different order to varicella.?

?

poochie

hopefulmom:

Poochie:  I can "almost" guarantee your DC will not get chicken pox as a child.  There are too many people immunizing their children against it.  It is NOT always better to get it as a disease.  Neither of my two older DC's got the vaccine since it wasn't offered at the time.  My oldest DD got chicken pox when she was 16 and missed 3 weeks of school because she got a staph infection with it.  It was NOT a good thing and she was extremely ill.  My DS did not get it at the same time as my DD...but a few years later...he was 14 and even though he did not get a staph infection he was very ill and out of school for 2 weeks.  I'm sorry...but your logic about them getting the disease instead of the vaccine is ridiculous.  Why did you bother getting the DPT...would't it be better for your DC to get diptheria or whooping cough?  As for the HepB...it is not just sexually transmitted...but it will be on your concious if your DC gets either illness so it is your decision.  Sorry...can't help you with your bogus regilous reasons.

Gee thanks for your non-judgemental response, it was helpful, really. When I say get it as a child I mean I want her to get it when she is 10 or under.  If she hasn't gotten the disease by then, I will reconsider and then perhaps get her vaccinated. I am aware of the shingles risk. As I said I have already discussed this with her doctor as well as my parents who are both doctors and ALL OF THEM AGREE it is better to get it as a child because the disease affects children to a lesser degree than adults--or teenagers for that matter. They also all agree that with the vaccine there is still a risk of contracting the disease only because you are vaccinated, it ends up being a much milder version. when you get a very mild case of chicken pox you don't end up with full immunity and can actually get the disease a second time. And no the same does not hold true for diptheria and whooping cough. Since this is my decision I will thank you to keep your bogus opinions to yourself.

Just because a vaccine is available doesn't mean you should automatically get it. Why do you think they pulled the rotovirus off the market. Methinks there were a few too many dead babies...

doreo3

This is a little late, but we're on a delayed schedule for ds and we're opting out of some altogether. My ped said as far as the varicella is concerned, some of the main reasons for the shot are to protect the mother and father from contracting it in case they didn't have it as children (especially if the mother is still going to have more children. Chicken pox and pregnancy= bad) as well as to try and prevent the child from getting staph. We were still going to omit this vaccine but then we discussed it further with the ped (who is very supportive of vaccine delays and omissions) and since my husband is in the medical field and in operating rooms all day, he could potentially bring staph home on his clothes, hands, etc. Also, my step dad is prone to staph infections and we see him often. The ped said children rarely die from chicken pox, but they can die from staph, so for that reason, we'll vaccinate when he's 2.?

Just something to think about...?

ridesbuttons

poochie:

ridesbuttons:

I can't help you with your campaign, but I will make a couple comments that you can do with as you please.

 

HepB is something I got vaccinated against as an adult.  If your daughter ever plans to travel she will want to have the vaccines.  In addition, you can contract HepB through contaminated salon tools (think pedi gone bad).  I am not even sure what Varicella is, but they also vaccinate against chicken pox now.  Virtually every disease is better to get as a child, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to avoid it.

 

That's all. 

just because you got vaccinated against something as an adult does not mean I should pump a baby full of more chemicals on top of the others she already was receiving. If it comes down to her traveling in the future I will of course let her know that she is NOT vaccinated against HepB and go from there. Varicella is Chicken pox. My own ped told me it was optional and that it would be better for her to get it as a child. it is PROVEN that when an adult gets the chicken pox, it is a much more serious disease and I for one would like her to get the disease as a child, thereby granting her lifetime immunity. plus there have been several outbreaks in my area in the last few years of chicken pox and most of the kids who contracted it were in fact immunized. It's a very new vaccine and not a guarantee of not getting the disease so why bother? so she doesn't itch for a few weeks? This post was for moms who opted out not for moms who want to add their 2 cents where they aren't wanted. 

 

Without getting into a debate, getting the chicken pox as a child does not make you immune to them as an adult.  You can totally get the chicken pox more than once.  My doc has not seen a case of the chicken pox in years in a child.  Again, that's all.

poochie

ridesbuttons:

poochie:

ridesbuttons:

I can't help you with your campaign, but I will make a couple comments that you can do with as you please.

 

HepB is something I got vaccinated against as an adult.  If your daughter ever plans to travel she will want to have the vaccines.  In addition, you can contract HepB through contaminated salon tools (think pedi gone bad).  I am not even sure what Varicella is, but they also vaccinate against chicken pox now.  Virtually every disease is better to get as a child, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to avoid it.

 

That's all. 

just because you got vaccinated against something as an adult does not mean I should pump a baby full of more chemicals on top of the others she already was receiving. If it comes down to her traveling in the future I will of course let her know that she is NOT vaccinated against HepB and go from there. Varicella is Chicken pox. My own ped told me it was optional and that it would be better for her to get it as a child. it is PROVEN that when an adult gets the chicken pox, it is a much more serious disease and I for one would like her to get the disease as a child, thereby granting her lifetime immunity. plus there have been several outbreaks in my area in the last few years of chicken pox and most of the kids who contracted it were in fact immunized. It's a very new vaccine and not a guarantee of not getting the disease so why bother? so she doesn't itch for a few weeks? This post was for moms who opted out not for moms who want to add their 2 cents where they aren't wanted. 

 

Without getting into a debate, getting the chicken pox as a child does not make you immune to them as an adult.  You can totally get the chicken pox more than once.  My doc has not seen a case of the chicken pox in years in a child.  Again, that's all.

I know it's possible. BUT it's very very rare to get the disease twice. If you have had a mild case of the disease then yes you have not built up enough of the anitbody in your system and it's those instances where you may have someone getting the disease twice. However

poochie

poochie:

ridesbuttons:

poochie:

ridesbuttons:

I can't help you with your campaign, but I will make a couple comments that you can do with as you please.

 

HepB is something I got vaccinated against as an adult.  If your daughter ever plans to travel she will want to have the vaccines.  In addition, you can contract HepB through contaminated salon tools (think pedi gone bad).  I am not even sure what Varicella is, but they also vaccinate against chicken pox now.  Virtually every disease is better to get as a child, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to avoid it.

 

That's all. 

just because you got vaccinated against something as an adult does not mean I should pump a baby full of more chemicals on top of the others she already was receiving. If it comes down to her traveling in the future I will of course let her know that she is NOT vaccinated against HepB and go from there. Varicella is Chicken pox. My own ped told me it was optional and that it would be better for her to get it as a child. it is PROVEN that when an adult gets the chicken pox, it is a much more serious disease and I for one would like her to get the disease as a child, thereby granting her lifetime immunity. plus there have been several outbreaks in my area in the last few years of chicken pox and most of the kids who contracted it were in fact immunized. It's a very new vaccine and not a guarantee of not getting the disease so why bother? so she doesn't itch for a few weeks? This post was for moms who opted out not for moms who want to add their 2 cents where they aren't wanted. 

 

Without getting into a debate, getting the chicken pox as a child does not make you immune to them as an adult.  You can totally get the chicken pox more than once.  My doc has not seen a case of the chicken pox in years in a child.  Again, that's all.

I know it's possible. BUT it's very very rare to get the disease twice. If you have had a mild case of the disease then yes you have not built up enough of the anitbody in your system and it's those instances where you may have someone getting the disease twice. However

I hate that it posts sometimes before I finish...

Anyway, if you have a traditional case of chicken pox the chances of getting it again are VERY slim. 

marrymemylove

I think anyone not getting varicella vaccine is nuts. I admit that.

But is it just me or does this quote within a quote within a quote just confuse the issue?

Write the damn letter already. I don't care if your kid suffers 30 years of shingles.?