Delaying and separating vaccines – what’s the point?

# Delaying vaccines – It’s not that the child does not get his vaccines. It’s just that the vaccines are postponed to a later appointment. Some parents like to say that they prefer to wait for their child’s immune system to ripen, as if it were a pear.

# Separating vaccines that were supposed to be administered on the same day – for example, some parents allow for the administration of only one of the vaccines at the 2 months visit and return for the remainder vaccine at a later date.

Sometimes a vaccine that contains 4 ingredients (like the quadrivalent vaccine that contains measles, mumps, rubella and varicella zoster), is separated into 2. The first three are administered together at the age of 1, and varicella zoster is administered separately at a later date. So, what’s the deal?
If there is a 5% chance of developing side effects after receiving the pentavalent vaccination; i.e if up to 5% of children will normally develop irritability or fever in the 24 hours following the vaccine, and if the chance of developing side effects following the Prevnar vaccine is also 5%, then this means that out of all the children who receive both injections on the same day, about 10% will develop irritability and mild fever. Take the same two injections and separate them – the chances of developing irritability and fever after each injection remains 5% (or 10% altogether).
So, I really don’t get what we did here.

It’s true that there is a study that has shown a lower prevalence of side effects after the quadrivalent vaccine (usually administered at 1 year of age) when this vaccine is split into 2. But in my opinion, the reduction is minor, and I think the disadvantage of having to visit the nurse / doctor twice and giving the child two injections outweighs the advantages.

A few more points for those considering delaying vaccines or separating them:
1. The vaccine schedule is important. Take pertussis for example, the first 2 doses of this vaccine are purposely given at the age of 2 months and 4 months because only after the second dose does the child develop a certain level of immunity (still insufficient, but it does provide the child with protection against severe disease) for a disease which is a very unpleasant and dangerous illness for a child at this age. So why postpone this vaccine and prevent your child from receiving protection at an age when he is most vulnerable? How does that make any sense? It’s full of baloney.
2. Separating vaccines means postponing them – even if you promise to bring your child back for a visit in 2 weeks, who knows how the child will feel in 2 weeks? What if he is unwell and you are obliged to postpone the visit? I think separating vaccines is unnecessary. You’re at the nurse’s office already – just vaccinate them right there and then.
3. Messy – to visit a nurse again just to get another injection and have to go through everything again? I think it’s completely unnecessary.
4. Postponing eventually leads to missing vaccines. I’m not going to interfere with your desire to postpone vaccines, it’s up to you to make these decisions. Just remember that there is no such thing as an “immune system that isn’t mature enough”, it’s a completely made-up concept. Delaying vaccines poses your child at a risk, one that is small and difficult to quantify but still a risk, of getting an infection that the vaccine could have prevented.

So, what is my advice regarding delaying and separating vaccines?

Generally speaking, there is no real reason that justifies delaying or postponing vaccines. If you have concerns about or fears from a specific vaccine or vaccines in general, consult an infectious disease specialist, a pediatrician, a nurse or refer to online groups that discuss vaccines (those that base their discussions on knowledge and science). Learn from those who specialize in the field, and not from random people who pretend to know what they’re talking about.
If you are worried about your little baby and think they may be too weak and vulnerable to handle vaccines, I suggest you switch your line of thought. If he/she is precious to you and you think they are vulnerable – then they need the vaccine even more so! They should get their vaccines in time so that they are protected from the relevant illnesses.
And just as a side note, I too vaccinated all my children on time, according to the national vaccine schedule.

So, what did we have in this chapter? A pear and some baloney.

Good luck.