Hello-
Has anyone chosen to give the MMR in seperate vaccines? If so who was your DR and where were they able to find the split doses from the Pharmecy compnaies?
If you have chosen not get MMR how does the school handle this for your child entry?
Thanks
This page has exemption information specific to Illinois: http://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Laws/state-vaccine-requiremen... .
The MMR is currently not available in seperate doses. I did read online, however, that starting next year Merk is going to start production on a seperate vaccine due to the current demand for it. I have chosen to not give that vaccine to my daughter. She is up to date on all the other shots, but not that particular one. If it does actually become available in seperate doses, I will go ahead and let her get the shots. If not, my plan is to wait until she is closer to 5 years old to get the shot. That is what Dr. Sears recommended in the Vaccine Book, so thats my plan. Good luck to you.
I don't think anyone should just sign a religious waiver to get them out of the immunization requirements. The requirements are there to protect our kids. A child that is not immunized puts other kids at risk...those that couldn't get the shot do to some health condition or was too yound to receive it yet. That is how these diseases make their return and cause complications. I understand that some religions may have a belief that prevents immunizations (and I won't pretend to know about them because I don't) but some people will sign the waiver just because!
You can not get is in three doses anymore;( But all you need is a religion exception letter and you will have no problems.
The MMR is no longer available in the U.S. in separate doses. The company that made the separate vaccines (Merck) ceased production either last year or the year before (I cannot recall). Laws about vaccine refusal vary from state to state. In my state, you must sign a religious waver stating that vaccines are against your religion in order to send an unvaccinated child to school. You might be able to talk to your pediatrician about what steps you will need to take to enroll a child who is not entirely vaccinated.
MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine): What it's for: Protects (immunizes) individuals 12 months of age and older against measles, mumps, and rubella. Measles is a respiratory infection that causes skin rash and flu-like symptoms. It can cause severe disease leading to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures, and brain damage. Mumps causes fever, headache and swollen glands, especially salivary glands. It can also lead to deafness, meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord covering), and painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries. Rubella, also called German Measles, is an infection of the skin and lymph nodes and can cause arthritis. Rubella infection during pregnancy can lead to birth defects.
My personal experiences with some of these diseases:
Mumps - I had it at 16 yrs old. Not a fun disease. Very painful. The skin on my throat stretched so tight the slightest movement of my head caused extreme pain.
Rubella - My sister had it a 3 yrs old. She almost died. She had a very high fever that would NOT go down for days and my Mom was beside herself trying to get it down. Cool bathes, alcohol rubs, aspirin wasn't working (Tylenol hadn't been invented yet and Ryes syndrome hadn't been discovered yet.).
We survived, but we easily could have died. In my mind, there is nothing so bad in the shots that is worse than the diseases they prevent. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
There is also a test that can be given to your child to determine if your child is not susceptible to the disease. I have been trying to get information on how and where to get that done but if your child proves to not be susceptible that could be added to the child school records and your child would still be in compliance.
I have chosen not to. I have used the Religious Exemption Letter for private and public schools and it has never been a problem. More people do this than you realize.
