"Advice on MMR Shots in Washington State"

I had a severe reaction to the MMR as a kid so when it came time for a booster my doctor advised me against it however, I wanted to travel so I was required to either get the booster or prove immunity.

To prove immunity I had a titer drawn for each (measles, mumps, and rubella). I found that I was immune to Measles and Mumps but not Rubella. I called around and found one Kaiser office (by the Kaiser Sunnyside hospital just south of Portland Oregon) that offered the Rubella vaccination only.

Keep calling different offices it's possible they may still have some that are not expired and be willing to travel to a location or you may need to sign a personal exemption for her school in order to prevent a delay starting school. Measles outbreaks still happen fairly often in the northwest (WA & OR) but I haven't heard of any problems with Mumps or Rubella in the last few years so she may be fine if you sign an exemption form and file it with her school.

I'd like to add a little different perspective to the vaccine question, regarding whether or not children really need to be vaccinated or not. I totall respect parents decisions to vaccinate or not and it sounds like you've made some sound decisions based on your needs, but let me tell you a story that happened to a family at my church.

Several years ago, I was teaching the 4 year old Sunday School class, when one Sunday one of the boys came in with a high fever. During the service, we got his mom, and she took him home. Later in the week, it was discovered that the boy had a severe case of measles, and wound up in the hospital as a result. He gave the measles to his infant sister, who was only 3 months old. Sadly, the baby died. the little boy, as a result of the illness, is now profoundly deaf. The family, as it turns out, had not vaccinated the boy against any disease. They have since vaccinated him completely.

My point it, I would really encourage youto think twice before not vaccinating against a certain disease or using an alternative schedule...these diseases are still out there and active, and can potentially be life threatening. We can never predict when there will be an outbreak of a particular disease, and then there is nothing we can do to protect our children.

Something else to think about. There are people like myself who have serious autoimmune diseases for whom vaccinations provide little to no protection. We rely on others to be vaccinated to help us remain protected. I have been fully vaccinated, and have had whooping cough twice, both times I caught it during known outbreaks in the community. I do everything I can do remain healthy, but there are time that my best is not good enough, and I must rely on the community to help protect those of us that cannot always protect ourselves.

I'm sorry if I have offended, because that was not my intent, but I really just wanted to show another side to the vaccine debate that is not usally heard from or talked about.

Thanks.

Wow! This is news to me. We also selectively vaccinate and my daughter had the measles shot at her 2-yr appt. She has her 3-yr checkup this Friday and I had planned on her having her rubella shot. I will be very curious to see if they have it. We're in Portland and there are lots of people who break up the vaccine, so I hope they stocked up. That kind of makes me mad, though, because I had planned on doing the same thing for my son, who won't even start the series for another year. I had wanted him to at least have mumps vax, but I may forgo the entire thing if I can't get them separately.....ah, I hate having to make more decisions about it!

As far as the debate goes, I just wanted to say that we all make the best decisions that we can with the information we have. One could say "how would you feel if you don't vax and then your child gets sick and dies?" of course, as a parent, I'd feel horrible and guilty and blame myself, etc. However, one could just as easily say "how would you feel if you vax and then your child has a serious reaction and dies?" Just the same, I'd feel horrible and guilty and blame myself. So, since statisticly, the chances of my child dying from the disease is about the same as my child dying from a reaction to the vaccine, its more about what's right for my family. For me, adding the fact that my children are extended nursers (my daughter just turned 3 and still nurses and my 14-month-old son is going strong!) and I stay at home, so there's no daycare situation to concern us with, I know that my children's risks are that much less.

Anyway, I'll hope over to Dr. Sears site to see what he has to say, but I agree with the advice to call around to other clinics....see if you can find it before getting the combo vax. For girls, rubella is more important than mumps. Rubella could cause problems if she were to get it while pregnant and mumps is more worrisome for boys. (My awesome pediatrician provided me with some of this info...I love that she's so supportive of my decisions!) Good luck to you!

(added this part after checking out askdrsears.com) According to askdrsears.com, they did temporarily stop making the vaccine individually, but they have since resumed production. Not sure which manufacturer your Dr. gave you the number for, but apparently it is still available through Merck.

I am so sorry that you have to go through this. The system in which vaccinations are produced (in this country and throughout the world) is really messed up and in my opinion contributes to people being concerned about vax.
You can try calling around, especially natural medicine clinics, who may have stocked up on the vaccine before they stopped producing it. You can also try Canada and international pharmacies, since other countries hold stockpiles. They also may have additional manufacturers, like HDC Merieux from Sanofi-Pasteur, a rubella vaccine produced and used in Europe.
Now, common medical opinion is that it is not any more harmful and not more likely to cause side effects if you continue with the MMR combination, after starting off with the Measles monovalent vaccine - however since you have had doubts about the use of the MMR shot before, it is up to you to make up your mind about this.
You can sign a waiver for any vax in WA for philosphical/personal reasons (you do not have to claim/prove a religious exemption) so it should not be problem for starting K.

I really don't mean to add insult to injury, but you do ask, how they could allow you to put your daughter through this... because that was the decision that YOU made and asked for.
When we make decisions for us or our children, we must be ready to live with the consequences. It is not your doctor's office's fault that the producer decides to stop the production of a product, it is not their responibility to do the research and let you know about this.
I can fully understand and respect your decision, we also vaccinate on an alternative schedule. But I do believe that this is what right for my family and I have to be ready to accept the consequences.

Good luck.

call around to different clinics to se if they have any but if you have to do the triple shot don't worry about it. I had to give my daughter a double dose of the mmr shot before she turned two and she is perfectly fine and very intelligent.

Take a look at the new July/Aug Mothering magazine, it has a great article on the vaccine debate. It made me rethink even getting any shots. Take a look.

-- the reason why could have something to do with a reluctance on the part of medical people to have their authority questioned -- I don't mean they put you through this deliberately - but they didn't go the extra mile- and shame on them. I am quite positive there would be no ill effects to having an MMR which would '''double up'' on the measels vaccine---( but would suggest you ask your pharmacist - they know all KINDS of things ) as well as your physician. And shame on them.

Blessings,
J. - aka- Old Mom

Blessings,
J.

Two people you may want to try when calling around...Dr. David Ramaley ND and Dr. Tiffany Dietrich ND...good luck!

It is safe to give the MMR shot after you've already given the measles shot. Here is Dr. Sears' opinion on this subject: http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/archives/2009_01...
I am in the same boat. I've given my son the Mumps shot, now we have to do the whole MMR since Measles & Rubella are not available separately.

Due to medical reaction to my daughter at 6 months with one of her shots we have been very cautious as to what she gets and when. Along with our son who is younger. we have chosen to split up her "preschool" shots to one every 6 months and was leaving the MMR till last since I have yet to be able to research getting it separated. This is good to know. Now my thoughts would be since you give the shot twice (MMR) that you could do the next round as a while MMR and then (hopefully the others will be available in a few years) and get the other two separated later that way you are not tripling up on the Measles. I hope this makes sense. that way you are still doing them during the time duration needed and not getting to much of one.

So Measles now, next round the full MMR and then Mumps and Rubella after that.

This is just my thought but I would also talk to a pediatrician about the options. You are not a bad mom for having this happen and it is not your fault that this happened they don't make it easy for parents to research and make a good strong decision about the options on vaccines. I am personally not against all vaccines just a few and admittedly I probably wouldn't have done this research if my daughter had not severely reacted to the Heb B shot at 6 months. It really made me think "are all of these shots really going to harm her or the nation if she doesn't get them"

I thought this was a good article from a reputable source:

http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/01/separate...

We also have our son on an alterate schedule (not too alternate, I just don't want to give him more than 2 at a time) and had wanted to seperate out the MMR. I read a year ago that they were going to stop making the MMR seperately, so I knew then that it wouldn't be an option. I read The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears and I think it was in one of the updates on his website for the book, but I can't remember.
Main stream doctors don't often have many patients asking for these seperations and I know that I have had to create my own schedule and ask for certain brands from our doctor. She has been helpful when I had to make changes due to the national HIB shortage, but this has really been my and my husband's decision. I don't know how often offices call patients to tell them of changes in vaccine availablity.
I am not a doctor, but it seems like if your daughter had no reaction to her first MMR, then she should be fine getting it again. I would just consider seperating out the ther pre-K shots so that she is getting the MMR by itself with nothing else.
I know that a year ago the Snohomish County health district did carry the MMR as individual shots. You might try your health district first. I think they spend more time "catching" people up on missed shots then a regular doctor's office. I had to go there to get my own Varicells shot before I got pregnant because I had never had Chicken Pox. It was the only place that had it for adults.
Good Luck.