Alternative Vaccine Schedule Worries Doctors

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?

For many parents, especially in Ontario, the choice isn’t theirs to make. A complete immunization record is a requirement for entry into public schools and the same applies in New Brunswick and Manitoba. The legislation notes that exceptions are permitted for medical or religious grounds and reasons of conscience.

One US doctor wants to put an end to the regularly scheduled needles and encourages parents to space out the doses given to kids.

The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, by Dr Robert Sears, was published in October 2007.

In January, a scathing criticism of the tome appeared in the American medical journal Pediatrics.

“Pediatricians now confront many parents who insist that their children receive vaccines according to Sears’ schedule, rather than that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Family Physicians,” writes Paul A. Offit, MD and Charlotte A. Moser, BS.

Sears wrote that vaccines should be optional and hinted that collusion between pharmaceutical companies and the CDC was behind many forced immunizations, allegations that Offit and Moser refute.

“[Sears] believes that parents’ fears should be indulged by offering alternative schedules, not countered by scientific studies, and he fails to explain that good science is the only way to determine whether a vaccine causes a particular adverse event.”

So what’s best for your child?

Toronto pediatrician Dr Mickey Lester admits there’s still room for debate, but he believes in vaccinations.  

“There’s no other way to prevent these illnesses without the vaccines.

“Is he (Sears) right?  No one really knows.  Obviously he’s a very devoted pediatrician, he gives lots of correct facts, but he gives some things that just don’t add up.”

Toronto’s recommended vaccination schedule. Click here.

Read the journal article here.

File photo.

What vaccines do your kids need before starting school? Ontario requires proof for:

• diphtheria
• tetanus
• polio
• measles
• mumps
• rubella

Information courtesy: Public Health Canada

Requiring proof of immunization for school entrance serves two main purposes. First, parents who have forgotten to have their children properly immunized will be reminded and can rectify the situation. Second, parents who do not wish to have their children immunized must actively refuse and sign documents attesting to that fact.