FDA approves infant vaccine for diarrhea virus

Published

A new vaccine that protects infants from rotavirus, which causes diarrhea and dehydration and leads to hundreds of thousands of deaths a year in developing countries, received federal approval Friday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11165427/from/RS.4/

I am happy to see a vaccine like this in the works... My daughter had rotavirus a year ago and it was absolutely terrifying. She was extremely ill and I would feel a lot of relief if there was a vaccine I could give both of my children so they would never have to go through anything like that again. I, too, believe that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. There are so many nasty, deadly diseases out there--especially to children--and these vaccines are meant as protection, not as a threat. I don't mean to discount those who have had adverse reactions, but this is how I feel. Also, I don't feel that autism is in any way related to vaccine administration. Autism is commonly a hereditary disorder. My son, whom my husband and I adopted, is autistic. His biological mother was a drug addict, but developmental disorders also ran in her side of the family. Our pediatrician and neurologist both agreed that the hereditary link outweighed any other possibility as to why our little guy has to experience this. He has had issues since birth--far before he ever got a vaccine. I encourage everyone to look at both sides of the spectrum and read up on autism before they immediately point the finger at vaccinations.

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How many vaccines do children need? How many of them are actually needed? Plus there is the issue of vaccines and autism. My ped doesn't agree with the hep b vaccine so we wait until our children are required to have it for school. He doesn't also agree with the chicken pox vaccine. I am hoping my kids will get it on their own like their older siblings did.

This in interesting...I am currently a pediatric nurse in the clinic setting and I administer vaccines frequently. Hepatitis B is given in the nursery before discharge in case the parent is positive for Hep B. I am not certain why it is required to have 3 Hep B's, other than Hep B is more prevalent today than it has ever been. Varicella or the chicken pox vaccine are helpful for parents who both work, which means not having to take off of work when kids are sick. Also, chicken pox can leave scarring. It is also dangerous to get chicken pox as an adolescent or an adult. These are a few reasons to get the vaccine. I also wanted my son to get chicken pox on his own, but at the age of 14 years old, he still didnt getthe virus. His pediatrician recommended the vaccine explaining why it is important for him. The CDC has information on each vaccine and disease which may be helpful. It is good to look at this from different points of view. Hope this is helpful.

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The new chicken pox vaccine made by Merck Frosst Pharmaceuticals is grown on the MRC-5 cell line derived from the normal lung tissue of a 14-week-old male fetus aborted "for psychiatric reasons." So are the polio and hepatitis A vaccines. The rubella virus in the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) three-in-one shot is grown on the WI-38 cell line-developed in 1961 from an aborted three-month-old female fetus...quote

i heard about this. in my state you can only get a religious and medical exemption. someone was considering getting a religious one due to religious beliefs against abortion and yes there is aborted tissue but no one at the peds office lets you see this info. i think its horrible.

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Actually, it isn't mandatory. That is a myth. Parents can sign waivers for school, although unvaccinated children will not be allowed to attend during a breakout in which they are not vaccinated against. I did alot of research when my first was born about the pros/cons of vaccinating and talked to my doctor about it. He told me I could not be forced to vaccinate my children in order to have them attend school. The only exception is daycare, as that is not mandatory.

I wasn't worried so much about the autism link but it boggles my mind how we can shoot tiny babies full of so much stuff. Their immune systems are still developing, as are many other systems. Top it off with the fact that they just went through such a traumatic event. From nice warm cocoon to big, cold world. I think we need to let them adjust to such a big change for at least 6 months.

they are mandatory to attend schools in many states you can only get out of having them with a religious or medical exemption in some states. now some states let you have a personal exemption but i do not live in one of those states.

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to Wincha: I hope your children do not get chicken pox. I watched an otherwise healthy 3 year old die from renal failure secondary to Chicken Pox. There are HUNDREDS of diseases out there. The vaccines are intended to fight the deadliest ones. Please research the autism connection. I do not believe there is evidence to connect vaccines to autism.

my teenagers have already had the chicken pox. i do hope my younger children do get it. you might not believe there is enough evidence to link autism to vaccines many would disagree especially those children who have regressed after vaccines. there are most likely many links to autism and it is growing in the number of children who are in spectrum. i am not antivaccine. i do not believe my younger children should have hep b when they are children because they do not have sex or share needles. but it is mandatory in my state for school. so my ped waits until the child is preschool or school age and then vaccinates and never gives these to a newborn. many hospitals will tell you the baby has to have these in the hospital after delivery. i believe we should have a choice but it appears when there is a new vaccine pretty quick the cdc requires it for public school. i'm sorry for those who had bad cases of chicken pox. i know my aunt and uncle died young of measles (they were older than my mom and she is 70). i don't disagree with the basic vaccines however the mercury should not be in them. in my state they passed a law for mercury free but the lobbyist complained so they lowered the age limit for this law i think to 2 and younger.

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actually, i do believe that most (if not all) vaccines still do contain small (trace?) amounts of mercury. i'd have to go look it up again.

even so, mercury is not the only concern w/vaccines.

hello from minnesota!

i am currently a pediatric nurse in a clinic setting. i administer vaccines allll day long and i can give you the scoop on them. the only vaccines that have thymerasol or mercury are the multi-dose vials. obviously to preserve the vaccine. most of our vaccines are thymerasol free. the only ones that are not are the pediatric adult tetorifice and the influenza vaccines. all of our other shots are one dose vials or some even come pre-drawn up now. all mercury free! any of the pediatricians i work for will tell you that the thymerasol in the vaccines will not hurt children. unless of course there is an allergy to it. as a matter of fact, if you eat a can of tuna, you get more mercury from the tuna than from getting all vaccines combined! i would also like to add something. there is absolutely no medical evidence suggesting that mmr and dyslexia are connected. it used to be if you typed in mmr on a google search, the first thing that would come up would be how mmr is the cause of this disease. *** i think the new rotavirus is a great idea! i keep thinking of all the babies who get severe gastroenteritis and end up in the hospital on iv's because of dehydration. think of the outcomes! less hospital expenses for our insurance, which means lower insurance rates. less stress on the baby and the family. there is nothing harder than seeing your child sick and in the hospital. maybe if the rotavirus vaccine would have been available during the tsunami lots of lives would have been saved. also in the hurricane katrina areas! i am pro vaccines and i have the most respect for those who also do. medical technology has come a long way in the last fifty years and i am proud to say that i am part of it.

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This in interesting...I am currently a pediatric nurse in the clinic setting and I administer vaccines frequently. Hepatitis B is given in the nursery before discharge in case the parent is positive for Hep B. I am not certain why it is required to have 3 Hep B's, other than Hep B is more prevalent today than it has ever been. Varicella or the chicken pox vaccine are helpful for parents who both work, which means not having to take off of work when kids are sick. Also, chicken pox can leave scarring. It is also dangerous to get chicken pox as an adolescent or an adult. These are a few reasons to get the vaccine. I also wanted my son to get chicken pox on his own, but at the age of 14 years old, he still didnt getthe virus. His pediatrician recommended the vaccine explaining why it is important for him. The CDC has information on each vaccine and disease which may be helpful. It is good to look at this from different points of view. Hope this is helpful.

I did not have my babies vaccinated in the hospital. I don't want to base my childrens health decisions on if I can't miss work or not either. I will get my children vaccinated I think it has been mentioned in the office some time after the age of 10. we are not there yet so i will be checking back. i have 2 teens who had the chicken pox without ill effects. my ped now has to give the cp vaccine due to its mandatory but he wrote a medical waiver for my younger son(who just is the age who has to get it) so he would not have to get it. i'm a peds nurse also.

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The new chicken pox vaccine made by Merck Frosst Pharmaceuticals is grown on the MRC-5 cell line derived from the normal lung tissue of a 14-week-old male fetus aborted "for psychiatric reasons." So are the polio and hepatitis A vaccines. The rubella virus in the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) three-in-one shot is grown on the WI-38 cell line-developed in 1961 from an aborted three-month-old female fetus...quote

i heard about this. in my state you can only get a religious and medical exemption. someone was considering getting a religious one due to religious beliefs against abortion and yes there is aborted tissue but no one at the peds office lets you see this info. i think its horrible.

Yes it is not so pleasant the way these vaccines are produced! But think of the lives that have been saved as a result! I am NEVER pro abortion, but God has a reason for everything and his reason for this unborn child was to prevent disease for others. :saint:

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I did not have my babies vaccinated in the hospital. I don't want to base my childrens health decisions on if I can't miss work or not either. I will get my children vaccinated I think it has been mentioned in the office some time after the age of 10. we are not there yet so i will be checking back. i have 2 teens who had the chicken pox without ill effects. my ped now has to give the cp vaccine due to its mandatory but he wrote a medical waiver for my younger son(who just is the age who has to get it) so he would not have to get it. i'm a peds nurse also.

:wink2: Cool that you are a peds nurse also. I love working with kids and I hope to always be in this area. I respect your decisions. Your children are lucky they have not had ill effects from Chicken pox. I am not basing getting the vaccine on having to stay home with your children, I was just pointing out one of the positives. There are MANY positives to getting vaccinated. The negatives are there too...Always are you taking the chance of having a severe allergic reaction. But the positives outweigh the negatives for the most part when it comes to vaccines. It is important for people to get the right facts about the vaccines before they make their decisions. Some people base their decisions on what they hear from others. It is important to get this information from medical journals and not off the internet of from word of mouth.:idea:

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Yes it is not so pleasant the way these vaccines are produced! But think of the lives that have been saved as a result! I am NEVER pro abortion, but God has a reason for everything and his reason for this unborn child was to prevent disease for others. :saint:

What a debate. Things do happen without God having a reason. Not everyone would agree i about the aborted fetus in vaccines. Not many actually know its not something they have on that immunization form you know. I don't like that statement God has a reason at all. There are many things that happen that there is no reason for it.

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Scientists at MIT (and many other places) are working hard on finding out what causes autism and all evidence points to genetics.

http://web.mit.edu/giving/spectrum/spring05/medical_progress.html

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2004/07/20/fragile_promise/

I did immunize all my kids - except the chicken pox vaccine was not available when my older kids were young and all 3 got it at the same time. I have a photo of them all, ages 7, 5 and 1, in an oatmeal bath and they are covered in red spots.

My 4 year old did not have the vaccine - I just don't see the point to vaccinate against something we all have had - chicken pox. The serious complications are rare.

steph

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
I checked out the pages you listed, the first two pages are biased and not good sites to source scientific research. Their pages are filled with a lot of misinformation, and not enough facts. As for understanding the information, it takes patients and an open mind(years of chemistry helps as well).

I am a scientist at heart and I need unbiased facts, so not only did I go to the pages you listed and checked out the ingredients. I also got the MSDS sheets of the most common brands of antifreeze with ethylene glycol(chemically listed as 2-ETHANEDIOL and 2'-OXYBIS) as the active ingredient. After doing comparisons and talking with a chemist and a chemical engineer(yes, I have been busy tonight) it is evident to me that 2-phenoxyethanol(that is in vaccines) is not that same chemical as the two I listed above in antifreeze. I could not find the chemicals I listed in any of the ingredient listings for the vaccines. I could find the one you listed but it is not used to manufacture any commercial antifreeze products it is a preservative used in health and beauty products, veterinary medicine, as well as many of the foods we eat everyday.

The link you provided for ethylene glycol ethers is to a general category of chemicals solvents not a specific chemical, as we know from medicine many drugs can sound alike but do very different things.

I do feel it is very important to be fully informed in our decisions as consumers, but we need factual, not anecdotal sources for our information. If you like I could provide the links to the MSDS sheets and the information pages for the chemicals listed. I hope this helps.

Actually I appreciate you posting this! Since this discussing I have been kinda looking into this a bit more myself these past two days and have came to the same conclusion myself.

God, let me tell you I try to find unbiased sources, that is not easy to do with this issue at all sometimes. Or maybe I think I am looking at a fairly unbiased source and it turns out not to be.

Anyways, thanks again. I DO NOT want to be spreading false information to anyone or dupe myself.

Anyways, I am not anti-vaccine but I *do* worry about some of the ingredients used in vaccines with children (not as much myself because my body is bigger and can handle some of this better).

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