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Dr Shapiro completed his undergraduate education at UC San Diego earning a B S in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and a B A in Political Science He furthered his education at UCLA where he earned a Masters Degree in Public…
FAST FACTS
A response I typically get from parents when wanting to delay vaccines is their plan to have their children return when they are older. Good intentions I know but always something I have been very uncomfortable with as I'm not always confident the child will return as planned. And now I have the results from a large study just published in Pediatrics to support my concern...that our adolescents don't always come back for their vaccinations.
With nearly 24,000 children aged 11 - 17 years of age included in the study, I share some of the more interesting and insightful results:
- Of the nearly 350,000 outpatient visits, less than ¼ of these appointments were specifically for well child care or simply vaccine-only visits implying the remaining visits were probably not thought of as visits where immunizations could be given, and therefore, missed opportunities.
- By 10 years of age, only 3% of the entire study population had received the full tetanus series, 20% had received the entire Hepatitis B series (3 separate inoculations) and just about ¼ had received both MMR vaccines (which I find shocking).
- By 13 years of age, these numbers increased to 72% for the tetanus series (a nice improvement but still a ¼ of the population remain), 67% for the Hepatitis B series and only an increase to 1/3 of the study population for the MMR series (still something I find shocking).
- Tetanus booster vaccination (Td) was missed at nearly 85% of all health care visits.
And please bear in mind, since 2004 (the last year for enrollment in this study), there have been many additional ‘tween and teen vaccinations added to the mix...including ones for the whooping cough (a booster), meningitis, and HPV.
So my take home message this time around is quite clear...please remember to make your adolescents' well child care exams on a yearly basis...not only for any vaccinations which may be needed but also to ensure our youth are both physically and mentally sound. And for the teens who may be reading this, don't forget to remind your parents...we really do want to see you in the office.
Dr. Jeremy
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Got a Question?
So you have someone in your office who raises the costs of doc visits. Isn't that just great for those of us who can just make ends meet! How the heck are we supposed to afford the darn shots while you charge for extra billable services so you can afford someone to review charts? WHy don't you take the time to do the doctoring yourself? This is the problem with doctors today, you don't take time with your patients.
If Thimerisol is concidered the "link" to increased Autism rates, why is the MMR shot concidered the "autism shot"? (being that the MMR has never contained thimerosal)
Also, If your concern is that the kids won't return for their delayed shots (also mentioning that they have added numerous boosters to the adolescent schedule) why do you make no mention of the millions of kids who grew up without those now required boosters (those who were adults by the time it was realized the vaccine efficacy was not what was originally thought?) Wouldn't a majority of the current population who were vaccinated without the boosters be concidered "at risk"? Why is there not some outcry to give adults their boosters (I am specifically refering to the MMR here) being that VPD's are far more severe when they are contracted in adulthood?
I can tell you (like 98.6% of peds) are very pro-vax, but what do you tell your parents who are refusing or delaying vaccines?
Great to hear from you and just wanted to clarify one concern you have. Thimerosal as a preservative has been removed from nearly all of the vaccinations young children receive (except the flu vacc, but one can still request the thimerosal free flu vaccine if wanted).
I did submit a rather lenghty answer which I requested
be forwarded to this site. Basically, it questioned the advisability
of children receiving all these shots in view of the rise of autism
which has been linked to the use of thimerosal in vaccines. Other
toxic substances such as mercery have been listed as preservatives.
It raised the question of why the CDC recently defunded a study of
the link between thimerosal and autism.?..the implication being
that it only
fueled suspicions of a cover up by the CDC...when the question could
have been answered once and for all.
There are many discussion groups that have focesed on these
topics especially in the Bay Area...namely, to vaccinate or not? I
was therefore rather shocked to see that you were promoting these
vaccines without question. Especially, on a site where people have
many problems related to compromised immune systems...some people
believe that these vaccines can be a contributing factor to
compromised immune systems...in particular the flu shot...and the
prevalence of mercury in some shots. Sincerely, Rosa Q.
Eventhough I am now elevated to status of grandma, your articles are always informative and timely. You are providing an important service to your readers. Maryls