I can't be the only mom who heaved a giant sigh of relief after her kid's 4-year check-up with the pediatrician. Aside from the yearly flu shot, we were looking at no more vaccines for a good long while, and she was safe from all sorts of nasty diseases. And then the CDC had to go ahead and release a vaccination report today that makes me want to run straight into my daughter's first grade classroom, throw a surgical mask on her, and run out with her in my arms.
Turns out pediatricians' offices aren't necessarily storing vaccines correctly. So ... there goes all my faith that showing up at every well child visit was enough to keep my kid safe. How about yours?
The problem is, they put out this scary report, but they don't really give parents solid answers.
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So here's the skinny: when the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General reviewed 45 different healthcare offices back in 2010, they found as much as 76 percent of them were storing the vaccines at the wrong temperature -- either too high or too cold. Thirteen of those offices (about 29 percent) even had expired vaccines mixed in with the good stuff.
I should point out their sample size was pretty small. Just 45 offices. And the investigation focused specifically on clinicians in its special Vaccines for Children program, a project that provides funding to give low-income kids their shots for free.
We're not talking an epidemic here. Buuuuuuuuuut, they're using the data to warn all healthcare offices about proper storage because of what it means for kids.
Exposure to inappropriate temperatures can reduce vaccine potency and efficacy, increasing the risk that children are not provided with maximum protection against preventable diseases.
It's the nebulous words they use that freak me out here. "Risk." "Reduce." "Maximum."
If they could just tell us "yup, your vaccinated kid is really unvaccinated," we'd know exactly what to do. But it's a whole bunch of maybes and possibilities. And parents don't even know how many offices are screwing up. Is this report indicative of what most of them do? Or is it a drop in the bucket?
If there was an easier way to tell than, say, waiting around until the kid comes down with a case of measles that I thought she'd been protected from, maybe this would stress me out less. My original pediatrician retired, so I can't even go check out his office fridge to see if he keeps the temperature in line.
You can ask your pediatrician to do what's called a titer, a blood test to determine if they have antibodies in their system. But that means another needle being poked into your kid's arm. And we don't even know that OUR kid's vaccine was one of the bad ones.
So we just get to wait. And wonder. And worry. Which is pretty much why we took the kid in to get a vaccine in the first place!
Are you worried that your vaccinated kid could be at risk?
Image via Andres Rueda/Flickr
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Comments 56
I have done research by others than Jenny McCarthy, the vaccine did NOT erradicate the disease, it was already on the way out by the time it was introduced, and YES i believe the RISKS of the vaccine are so not worth protecting from the disease.
NEVER vaccinate against chicken pox. As a child, its usually mild and inconvienent, but not serious. the vaccine wears off in the teen years, and chicken pox as an adult is serious. Just because your afraid because the government told you should be, doesn't mean you should judge those who actually have an open mind. Go ahead and vaccinate if it makes you feel better, I however feel more uncomfortable with injecting my kids with mercury and perservatives than risking getting itchy bumps, or a severe cold.
your wrong kathleen, children with weak immune systems are at far more risk of getting sick from a vaccinated child. Vaccines shed.
Please change "either too high or too cold" to
"either too high or to low"
or
"either too hot or too cold"
THANK YOU!
yep my son is fine he dont need no flu shot to get even more sicker! i always thought there was a catch to these flu shots! smh i will refuse to get let a nurse vaccinate my son again!
Gotta love the vaccine debate. I don't vaccinate my child-I was never vaccinated as a child (and i've never had anything beyond strept throat one time), and it's all about what you know/how you feel..I could care less if you vaccinate your child or not........I think vaccines are great for families that cannot afford healthier foods or don't have enough education on how to keep an unvaccinated child healthy. Vaccines are great for countries suffering from poverty. But vaccines in my family are not welcome.
Uhh before you all start ranting about vaccines eliminating Polio you need to do some research on Polio and DDT. It was not an infectious disease. And fact is, vaccines kill thousands of children a year. Not made up, fact. Go to VAERS and give it a looksie. Governement run even!
Oh and this: http://genesgreenbook.com/content/proof-vaccines-didnt-save-us
First of all there is no such thing as a scarlet fever vaccine, second getting the chicken pox vaccine itself can give you shingles and give it to you earlier then if you went ahead and contracted the wild chicken pox, And third, just because a child or adult is unvaccinated does not mean they are a disease carrier. When someone gets sick they will show signs of illness, intelligent people stay home and/or keep their sick child home when ill. So please before you make statements and accusations, do your research and know what you are talking about. Most people who have chosen not to vax have done hours and hours and evens months and years of research and continue to do so even after deciding not to vax. We make sure to know all about the illnesses and how to take care of them and what the dangers are to getting them. I guarentee you that non of the vaccinating parents can say this. I don't think they would even know the signs of most of those illnesses and many have no problem sending their child to school with a runny nose, cough, etc. which will most certainly spread illness.