Pediatrician Forgot to Record MMR Vaccination and Now Wants to Give Another One

Faye is right. See her post. My understanding is the only exception are preschools that are run by City Parks and Rec departments. The Daycare should let her sign the waiver no matter what but in this case it would give her the time to get things in order.

I would insist on the blood test. With so much conflicting info out there on vaccines in general, and the MMR in particular, I would be VERY leery of an extra dose--especially at that age.

That said, whether a daycare is "government funded" or not is a matter of definition. Chances are that most daycares fall into that category. Why? While the gov't does not directly fund most daycares (except those in such places as public schools), most do receive government funding from at least two places--the lunch program, funding for which comes through USDA, and government (state level) pays daycare tuition for individual kids through the welfare system.

OMG, I would not do it. I was so scared to give my son the MMR because of the autism controversy, but I did. He's fine, but I was so worried for a long time and thought if anything were to happen, I would blame myself. She needs to get the blood test and also start a different pediatrician. That is just ridiculous!!!
I hope she doesn't have to get another MMR.

Since Senya put her two cents in - I will too, although I realize it will not make any difference.

The reason a percentage of the population can get away with not vaccinating their children (thereby exposing them to a number of potentially lethal illnesses) is because of something called "herd immunity."

This essentially means that when a high enough percent of a population is vaccinated, the rest of the population is thereby immune, because they do not come into contact with the disease.

If you were in Mexico City right now, and a vaccine for the deadly swine flu were available (which it's not), would you take it? Would you give it to your child? You'd be a fool not to.

But yes, a record of the MMR should be somewhere, so there will be no need to re-vaccinate.

Your friend can have her child's immunizations placed in an immunization registry. This is a free electronic registry that stores a child's vaccines. If there is a natural disaster or your doctor gets flooded and looses the vaccine info (ugh!) then the records are stored. It's also easier for schools to see who is vaccinated and unvaccinated in case of an outbreak. See www.cairweb.org

There is a small risk of reaction to the vaccines, but consider the source of your info about the risks of vaccines. Do you really want to get information from someone like Jenny McCarthy (who also swears by Botox and dangerous bioidentical hormones, by the way).

There was a measles outbreak last year in San Diego. There was also a whooping cough outbreak in Contra Costa last year. Both these outbreaks were started by unvaccinated children.

Love your children. Protect them. Immunize them...for the sake of all of us. Please. We don't need to go back to outbreaks of polio, dyptheria, measles...and other deadly diseases. Every unvaccinated child brings us one person closer to the next outbreak.

She can get the record from her insurance provider that they paid the bill for the vaccine. She needs to call them. Or maybe the doctor's office can call the insurance to verify.
Don't revaccinate!

I would not revaccinate for anything, especially the MMR!

They should have a record with the insurance that can be recovered. This seems like gross negligence to me. The vaccine should be part of the child's medical record regardless of the mom's vaccination record. I would basically tell the pediatrician's office to fix this issue without having to revax and at their own cost.

OMG! that sucks! i'm so sorry, how frustrating! did the Dr give some kind of aftercare 'card' with it written down that they gave it. or did the nurses give them a hand out on MMR that would prove they gave it. it's not even charted in the baby's chart? What about speaking with the nurses that worked that day? would the nurse be able to vouch for them? i hope this works out without having to have another MMR! good luck!

I have a licensed family child care home. We are licensed by the State of California Community Care Licensing. We have the blue card like schools do. On the back a parent can sign that she does not want her child to have any shots or any one shot. This is the law period and a licensed facility, home day care or center, must accept the parent or parents decidion. As long as the card for the child is signed on the back, the day care is in complicance with
licensing.
F.

I am in accounting and have done medical billing in the past. Every service the doctor performs has a code. If your friend's son got the MMR vaccination then the accounting staff charged her for it. How can they say they don't know? There are IC9 codes for these things and they either charged her and did it, or didn't charge her and did not do it. Not only do they use a specific IC9 Code but they have to explain the procedure in short detail. Tell them to check their financial records and tell her in detail what she and what her insurance paid for on that specific date of service
Sounds like she might consider a more organized medical office. They should have given her a temporary card if she forgot her official one. GOOD LUCK

Whenever we go to the ped, they write down the child's height, weight, allergies, meds taken, and vaccines given and then give it to us (Their vaccine records are online). Ask her if she has something like that... and I agree with the other posters that it SHOULD BE in the record regardless of the yellow card.

My son had to have a blood draw around that age and it was AWFUL! I would suggest a second dose before a blood draw- unless they can get enough blood from the finger prick, which is not too big a deal.

Edit; PS Here's a link to several studies finding no link between MMR and Autism or other disorders, for what it's worth to your research on the topic. The latest study was published in February of this year.

Ask for a blood test to verify the MMR was given. It is done all the time for individuals who are required to have MMR for their job (health care industry) and no longer have their yellow card.

I am a volunteer at a hospital and I had to have my immunizations updated since I didn't have my childhood shot record. They did a blood test to check for the MMR antibodies, so I know there is one. It should be able to tell you if the MMR shot had been given. I also agree with the other posts that the doctor should have it in their records. They are required to list the vaccine along with the lot number, etc. in case of a recall or any other problems that arise from a vaccine. I would call and talk to a nurse or doctor about it- the receptionist may not understand the question. By the way, I get a print out every time from my ped with the shots given, etc. and they never fill out my yellow card- I do it later at home with the info from their print out.

I totally agree. I think a second vaccination, in any case, is the wrong decision, but especially with the controversy surrounding the MMR. I chose not to vaccinate my children and I am thankful to have a daycare provider that shares my perspective. But at the very least, if every other child at the daycare has vaccination, they would not be at risk anyway, right? I mean, isn't that what the hype is all about? If your child is vaccinated they can't possibly catch anything they were vaccinated for (playing Devil's advocate)?

I say definitley put some pressure on the doctor's office and insurance company...how else would they get paid if the went around not recording all the vaccinations they were dispensing??...and let's face it, in terms of billing, Doctor's/Medical Insurance do get it wrong, but it is rarely in favour of the patient!

Best of luck and your friend is lucky to have you ; )

I don't know in this instance how the childcare waiver could be handled, since she apparently wants the immunizations, but just doesn't want to repeat one that's already been given, but not recorded. However, I'm also not aware that, as a childcare provider, I have any option to refuse a parent's waiver. I would check into that a little more thoroughly. A phone number for the licensing facility that oversees her child's daycare should be posted for the parents, and she could call them to inquire if she feels she isn't getting correct information from the daycare personel. If she doesn't see that information posted, she should ask for it, because it's a requirement of licensing that it be posted. Often, the daycare people are confused about what they can and cannot do in those centers so she shouldn't assume that they are just trying to be difficult.
But, I think that she really needs to follow up more with the Dr. and press the issue that they did not put her child's immunization into their records so they can update her child's personal immunization record. As long as she's positive he got the initial dose, I think I'd insist on the blood test, before agreeing to another dose of the vaccine. It sounds like she may have to give in to getting the second vaccination, but my personal opinion is that if the Dr. messed up on the records, I'd at least make it inconvenient enough to cause them to try to be more careful in the future.

As far as I know the doctors do make notes in the childs medical chart even if it is not on the "Shot Record". I think she should take the "Shot Record" to the doctors. Have them check the medical records for the date she knows the shots were given. The doctor should then be able to complete the "Shot Record" with the information from the medical records. I have done this before with my childrens records when I did not have the Shot Record with me at the time the Shots were given.

I've heard there are tests to determine if there is already immunity in the body. Perhaps if the test determines he has the mmr in his system, he can get a note to forgo the shot.

Good luck!
L.

What did they write as the purpose of the visit in the medical record at the doctor's? There has to be something. It is a serious legal issue if they are not accurately documenting what happens during a visit. . . request copies of the clinic records or demand they do an inventory of doses to establish if they are missing a dose. Their records need to accurately document use of prescribed drugs. I find it hard to believe they gave a shot and didn't record it anywhere or that it didn't need to be logged out of the drug dispensary. . . most daycares accept a waiver anyway. I don't know of any that recheck immunizations after initial enrollment, or if they do , it is very sporadic not like they ask you every week. There are windows for the vaccinations and most daycares are amenable to alternative schedules.
I personally wouldn't double up IF I am sure the shot happened.

So it sounds as if it was not recorded by the doctor in their records? I once forgot to take my yellow card and I wrote it in myself. The information should be retained by the doctor, if only for insurance. Good-luck.

I agree with Gail. Insurance had to have paid for the last MMR. I would also get a little aggresive with the pediatricians office about their record keeping! They keep an inventory, there must be record somewhere that the MMR was given. Maybe a different desk receptionist will be more helpful than the one she questioned the last time.
Keeping that little, yellow, shot record card updated and not misplaced was always a pain in the neck.... I sure remember those days!

Wow... what an bad situation...

Since the test is available... I'd have that done. To see if the shot was already given. I'd also have it done at a new pedi's office. The fact that he/she can't help figure out a solution, and just feels that "hey don't worry" even if it was done indicates a Dr. that graduated at the bottom of his/her class.

I'm surprised to hear anyone say they think it's criminal not to vaccinate. Probably comes from a person who has been lucky enough not to have any problems with this sort of thing.

I personally was FORCED to have a slew of shots when I was in the 8th grade. Shots that my mother KNEW I had rec'd at a younger age. But my Dr. records were written in Dr's hand writing.. When the school did a review of my file they couldn't make heads or tales out of it. My Dr. had also fled the state of CA to practice in another as he had been sued and his license revoked (seems the gov't does see fit to protect us all the way across our borders).I had some pretty bad problems following...

In my opinion. TORTURED do to law (parents couldn't sign off back then is my understanding)...

Same Dr. had also prescribed me tetracycline. A WELL KNOWN drug to Dr's and Pharms that children under the age of 5 should NEVER have, as there is perm. damage to teeth. (boy aren't the cosmetic dentists raking it in now!!!)... My parents generation didn't have access to the internet to do a quick search on the drug I was given to read the side effects (guaranteed side effects mind you) (my cosmetic dentist is amazed I have this problem... I'm one of his youngest patients... ONLY IDIOT Dr's would have prescribed in my age group... they ALL KNEW! It's blind faith in a Dr. that caused this sort of thing.

I myself lean toward a conservative approach to shots. My children only get 2 at a time at most. I don't care about driving back and forth. I want them protected. But their immune systems do not need to be attacked at mock speed. That's what triggers auto immune if it's there... Shots are designed to trigger anti bodies... If auto immune is underlying... look out!

I also ended up in ER with my SON two seperate times do to a reaction to his DPaT Shot... before he was even 2 years old he had to be put under so that a CT could be run on his brain to look for possible brain damage. Now... WHY would they do that if it wasn't a possiblity. Is it common? No... but possible. That is the herd mentality. Most of the herd will be fine... For those that aren't... well when you're talking about a cow... Big Deal. Right? But we're talking about people! Not criminals btw!

There are daycares that accept the waver. I go to one and love it. Another option is to play dumb. It is not the most honest approach, but if you like the daycare and don't want the MMR redone.... Don't turn in the immunization to the daycare until you absolutely have to. I think they only ask for proof once a year.

Wow, what a complicated situation.
And, you are right, vaccinating is very much a personal decision. I vaccinated my children with no ill affects and no regrets, but I will tell you that with going through my divorce and moving, I misplaced their immunization records. I also lost my health insurance so I took them to get their shots and exams through the CDHP program. (Child Health and Disability Prevention). Their services were free and they obtained the records from from pediatricians in both Sacramento and Humboldt County.
I agree with other moms that you need to speak to the actual nurse at the pediatrician's office for further investigating. The shot surely must be recorded somewhere. And, if it was paid for by insurance, or even a state funded program, there has to be a record of it. Some people choose not to immunize their children, and if that were the case, there would be something in the medical records indicating that a certain vaccine was refused. That's not the case. So, rather than putting the kid through more, the doctor's office needs to step up and get it straightened out. They can't falsify records, but they need to come right out and admit whether or not the shot was given. "We're not sure" doesn't really cut it.
I would be honest with the daycare people and tell them the situation. Come right out and ask if they will require putting the child through a blood test or double immunization while the doctor office sorts it out. It's my guess they wouldn't expect that and that would be the perfect opportunity to ask if they can accept a waiver in the meantime. That will give your friend an idea of what her options are as far as daycare.
Tell her to hang in there. I hope she gets it worked out.

They are required to have the parent sign when they give a vaccination. Just because she didn't remember to bring in his yellow card AND they forgot to record it on that days visit doesn't mean there's no record of it. In fact, if there isn't the office could potentially be held liable. There should be another sheet in the child's chart where the nurse records the information from the vaccine (ie: bacth number/vial number, date given, etc... ) they sign it and then they have the parent sign it.

Have the office look for that sheet. It's happened to me before when our pediatrician moved to the new computerized medical records. Whoever inputted the records did so from each visit... not from the signed vaccination page and they missed one. So I got the same thing - them telling me my daughter didn't get her chicken pox vaccine when I know she did. They looked at the date of the visit and it didn't show she was given it. Then they looked at the signed vaccination sheet and saw that it was given.

I'm am pretty sure the sheet where they record the vaccinations and have the parent sign is something that is required by law to keep track of all vaccines that are issued to offices/clinics but I'm not 100% sure on that. Maybe something for your friend to check in on.

Hope this helps - and good luck.

Hi L.,

I have a 3 year old son in pre-school with partial vaccinations as well as an almost 5 month old girl at home. I’m delaying some, and some I’m declining all together. I signed the waiver for my son and have had no issues. But to get clear, call your local daycare/preschool agency that monitor these type businesses as well as provide licenses to find out what they can legally do. This is a state law regardless of funding and I’m not sure if they can decline admittance?

Now, as far as another MMR, I wouldn’t do it. 1) He’s already had one and 2) He’s already had one! However, if she wants to be considerate and get a blood test to see if the antibodies are in his system, I would only check to see if he has the antibodies…..doesn’t matter if they’re high or low, it proves that he has received the MMR. I say this because my pediatrician told me that these tests are merely a snapshot of how it looks today, that you cannot determine how long it will last and the reason we have booster shots….but there’s no science to it in regards to the mandated schedule.

Finally, if your friend wants to get another MMR, I would evaluate the aluminum content. This is my big issue as there is no research on this and it could be the new Thimerosal. I just know that most vaccines have aluminum content that exceeds the recommended amount….by A LOT!

RIGHT or WRONG: to vaccinate or not to vaccinate is a heated debate and a personal choice that is not made lightly by mothers. We all want the best for our children, and we make the best choices with the knowledge we have….right?

Good Luck!

S.

Hi L.,

If you have a bill or insurance record of when you took your child for the shot or if the office billed the insurance company...they could back track from there, because trust me, those doctors bill for EVERY little thing they do right down to the Q-tip.

Let us know how it turns out.

Blessings.....