Why delay vaccines

Why parents delay vaccines Children receiving delayed vaccinations tend to fall into one of two groups: those whose parents intentionally delay vaccines and those whose families have difficulty getting vaccines on time. Hambidge points out that misinformation on the Internet often frightens parents away from following the CDC schedule.

In a separate study, even among parents who did vaccinate on time, more than a quarter believed delaying would be safer than following the CDC schedule. Delaying vaccines has other drawbacks, too, Saporito says. No benefit to waiting to vaccinate No evidence to date reveals any benefits to delaying vaccines. A study in showed that children who received delayed vaccinations performed no better at ages seven to 10 on behavioral and cognitive assessments than children who received their vaccines on time.

He notes that delaying vaccines leaves children at risk for disease longer, and that many parents have little firsthand experience with those diseases. A measles outbreak currently underway in Ohio , for example, is now the largest state outbreak since , keeping the U.

Universities in Wisconsin , Ohio , Illinois and Virginia have had recent mumps outbreaks, and pertussis , or whooping cough, has been increasing for several years.

For some diseases, one case is enough to cause concern in a community. Such as measles one of the most contagious diseases. This disease and others spread quickly among people who are not immune. In most cases, there is no way to know beforehand if a child will get a mild or serious life-threating case. Children do not receive any known benefits from delaying vaccines or skipping vaccines. CHOP declined to comment on what Offit's share was. Parents who are concerned about mercury, aluminum or other vaccine ingredients should avoid information shared on social media, which can be misleading.

If your child has a condition you fear might be incompatible with vaccinations, discuss it with your pediatrician. The CDC gives very specific guidelines on who should not receive vaccines, including kids who have immune system deficiencies or are getting chemotherapy or taking certain medications. If your children are not among them, vaccinate them. That will help prevent outbreaks, protecting those who, for medical reasons, have not received the shots.

When parents resist, Pannaraj says, she emphasizes that the potential harm from infections is far more severe than the risks of the vaccines. She notes, for example, that the risk of getting encephalitis from the measles is about 1, times greater than from the vaccine.

Still, side effects do occur. Most are mild, but severe cases — though rare — are not unheard of. To learn about the potential side effects of vaccines, look on the CDC website or discuss it with your pediatrician. Emily Lawrence Mendoza, 35, says that after her second child, Elsie, got her first measles, mumps and rubella MMR shot at 12 months of age, she spiked a fever and developed a full body rash that looked like a mild version of the disease.

It took three visits to urgent care before a doctor acknowledged that Elsie, now almost 5, could have had a mild reaction to the vaccine. After that, Mendoza, of Orange, Calif. If your child is running a fever of or higher, talk to your doctor about whether you should delay a vaccine, advises Dr. That's not because the shot will hurt the child, but the fever could make it hard to tell if he is also having an adverse reaction to the vaccine. That could put your child at risk for reactions to future shots.

If you postpone a vaccination because of a fever, remember to reschedule. Kids with asthma and other lung conditions should be first in line for getting a flu shot each year, because the flu can spell big trouble for those with breathing difficulties.

But you should avoid nasal versions of the flu vaccine. They contain live, weakened viruses, unlike the shot, which is a dead virus. Kids without asthma or lung conditions who are older than 2 years and do not have egg allergies shouldn't have a problem with any of the flu vaccine options, he adds.

If your child is taking high-dose corticosteroids which quell overactive immune reactions , you should avoid live-virus vaccines, including nasal flu vaccines, rotavirus, MMR measles, mumps, rubella , varicella chicken pox , and zoster shingles , until a couple of weeks after he stops taking the steroids. High-dose steroids are usually taken orally for relatively short periods of time to treat asthma or other conditions. These drugs can decrease the activity of immune cells that fight off viral infections, says Dr.

But low-dose steroids, which are inhaled, aren't a problem in terms of vaccination.