Hi S.,
First of all, you should understand that vaccines not not contain live viruses or bacteria. If they did, you would be giving your child the actual disease. Vaccines are created from either the whole killed organism, or from proteins isolated from the bacterial outer membrane or viral envelope or capsid that are the recognized by the immune system.
The immune system works in two primary ways. When a pathogenic organism is recognized by the immune system, the body first produces B-cells that make IgM. These immunoglobulins are responsible for the first response to the disease. As the disease progresses, a new colony of B-cells is made that produce IgG. This is the type of immunoglobulin/cell that creates immunological memory of a disease. If the organism invades again, the presence of IgG-bearing B-cells allows the body to recognize and kill the invading organism much sooner than the first time around so that, in most cases, active disease never breaks out. The role of vaccines is to prime the body to make IgG-bearing B-cells, so that if you're every exposed to the pathogen itself you will not get sick.
Every pathogen stimulates the production of a specific clone of B-cells, so every immune response is, in a way, unique. The body is perfectly capable of fighting many invading organisms at a time (it does so constantly and we're rarely aware of it) and the response is not necessarily additive. In general, there's no reason to spread vaccinations apart that are usually grouped together. However, everyone is different and some kids really do have a stronger inflammation response (most of what you're seeing) than others do and might feel a bit sicker than others when receiving multiple vaccines. Talk to your doctor and trust your instincts and previous observations.
Because I feel very strongly about the risks people are exposing their children and the rest of the population to by NOT vaccinating, what follows is a repost of something I posted to a similar question last week:
There has been an ongoing movement by some to avoid vaccination in their children because of concerns of autism disorder, particularly surrounding the measles-mumps-rubella immunization (MMR). As a medical writing professional specializing in infectious disease, I can tell you that this attitude causes considerable alarm and concern within the medical community. These diseases are NOT innocuous. Before the development of these and other vaccines, tens of thousands of children would suffer grave consequences or die from these illnesses every year (far, far more that the less than 1/1000th% who react unfavorably to the vaccines). Complications of measles can include pneumonia, encephalitis, meningitis, blindness, hearing loss and even death. Complications of mumps include pancreatitis, encephalitis, meningitis, and hearing loss.
Rubella is mild in children, but if a nonimmune pregnant women comes in contact with a contagious child, particularly in the first trimester, 100% of fetuses will be infected and can suffer severe birth defects that include heart and central nervous system damage, cataracts, deafness, and miscarriage (about 20% of the cases). Of these infected individuals, only 1/3 will be able to lead independent adult lives. Another 1/3 will live with their parents and another 1/3 will be so severely disabled that they will require institutionalizaion. The pregnant woman may or may not develop the disease herself, so she may not even know that her child is at risk. Approximately 5 - 10% of pregant women in this country do not have immunity against rubella.
One of the reasons we rarely see the misery that these and other diseases for which we immunize can cause is because their incidence is now very low because of universal immunization programs. This is why developing countries are working so hard to develop cost-effective universal programs to counter high rates of infant and childhood mortality. Both the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and the WHO (World Health Organization) emphasize the importance of childhood vaccination programs and adult vaccinations for those who either did not receive vaccinations in childhood, in whom the vaccination didn't "take", or in whom immunity has waned (this is more common with those who have been vaccinated than have become naturally immune).
In addition to the protection vaccinations offer directly, there is also what we call the "herd effect" of vaccination. If the vaccinated percentage of the population is high enough (usually > 90%), this is protective for those individuals who are not or cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, such as those who have had bad reactions to a first vaccine, have childhood cancers, are immune-suppressed (such as patients with HIV and bone marrow or solid organ transplant patients), or are pregnant. As an example, the incidence of Rubella has dropped so low because of successful immunization programs in the US that it was been declared by the CDC in 2005 to no longer be a health threat (see http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r050321.htm). There is a goal in the americas of eradicating rubella through immunization by 2010. In 2007, we had reached > 95% immunization in the US, BUT if that trend reverses we run the risk of Rubella resurgence.
Finally, as to the concern about vaccinations themselves, I would urge people to not take their information from popular magazines but to get it from reputable sources. I know that most people who are not in the science fields are less likely to be familiar with these resources, but good information can be found on easy to access websites such as emedicine.com, WebMD.com, and even Wikipedia.com. Look for sites that carry the HonCode seal. This indicates that the website meets the standards of the Health on the Net organization. This is a committee composed of 60 health professionals from 11 countries and includes such notables as heart surgeon Michael DeBakey (the doctor who developed the artificial heart). You can learn more about the organization at http://www.hon.ch/Global/. In a search of PubMed, which is the database for the library at the National Institutes of Health, I found the following abstract of an article published in 2006 in the Candian Journal of Neurological Science:
Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature.
Doja A, Roberts W.
Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Because of a temporal correlation between the first notable signs and symptoms of autism and the routine childhood vaccination schedule, many parents have become increasingly concerned regarding the possible etiologic role vaccines may play in the development of autism. In particular, some have suggested an association between the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine and autism. Our literature review found very few studies supporting this theory, with the overwhelming majority showing no causal association between the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine and autism. The vaccine preservative thimerosal has alternatively been hypothesized to have a possible causal role in autism. Again, no convincing evidence was found to support this claim, nor for the use of chelation therapy in autism. With decreasing uptake of immunizations in children and the inevitable occurrence of measles outbreaks, it is important that clinicians be aware of the literature concerning vaccinations and autism so that they may have informed discussions with parents and caregivers.
PMID: 17168158 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
I would love to think that this might put this issue to bed, at least on this website, but I'm not that naive. There will be many who will scorn it as being a statement from someone who is entrenched in the evil medical establishment that exists only to support the pharmaceutical companies. To this I would answer, 1. I don't work for a pharma company, and 2. Before modern medicine, medications and vaccinations, up to one out of every three children died before they were 5 years old, the average life expectancy was 35 years old, debillitating birth defects were common, simple injuries could result in loss of limbs or death, and people suffered through serious diseases for months or years with little or nothing to ease their suffering and that of those who were responsible for their care.
Finally, to those who would argue that they have not vaccinated their children and they are perfectly healthy, this is to be expected, especially in this country where infectious disease prevalence is relatively low. BUT, be aware of the risk you are exposing your children to if they every travel outside the US to most developing nations – even just to Mexico or large parts of the Caribbean. This risk will be life-long for them. Also, be aware that your child will NOT be protected if there is an outbreak of any of the diseases we vaccinate for. It does still happen – several years ago there was an outbreak of Measles in several areas of the US and a number of unvaccinated children died. Vaccines do not make people healthier, only safer. You wouldn’t let your child ride in a car without a seatbelt, would you?
Best regards to all,
R. Levy, MS
Medical Writer (I work for a leading medical diagnostics company and one of my specialty areas is infectious disease)
