by Claire Dwoskin
Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute

Free Immunization Journal Provides Essential Tool for Parents

In 1953, the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) recommended 16 doses of four vaccines for children. By 1983, those numbers had increased to 23 doses of seven vaccines. Today, states mandate as many as 69 doses of 16 vaccines for children before the age of 18. But the CDC has yet to conduct comprehensive studies on the effect of so many and so many combinations of vaccines given simultaneously or within the recommended period of years.

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, “the number, frequency, timing, order and age of administration of vaccines had not been systematically examined in research studies.” This is why it is absolutely vital that parents closely observe and record a number of variables surrounding their children’s vaccinations and all reactions to them. 

But more importantly, this is why parents need to be fully educated on the ingredients in vaccines and the potential reactions to them that are listed in the drug inserts by the drug manufacturers, themselves.  This information is very rarely distributed by pediatricians – and now, by pharmacists – either before or after vaccines are administered.

An individual or combination of vaccines can cause severe adverse reactions and/or lifelong injuries to your child, but little is known about what vaccines or ingredients are to blame.  Without highly detailed records, discovering the cause may prove difficult and proving it in the Vaccine Court may be impossible.

(Note: A federal law passed in 1986 provides 100% legal immunity to both vaccine makers and physicians in the event of a vaccine injury.  However, there exists a federal “Vaccine Court” that has paid out to over $3 billion to more than 4,000 victims of vaccine related injury since it was established.)

The most reliable way to ensure your child’s safety is to keep your own records. That is why CMSRI created the Immunization Journal, which provides an organized record to track your child’s immunizations, including the date and site of injections, the vaccine manufacturer and lot number, the administrator of the vaccines and more.

In addition to the vaccine record, the Immunization Journalprovides a host of other invaluable information for parents, such as:

• An FAQ about vaccinations
• Important safety precautions about when NOT to vaccinate
• A list of ingredients in vaccines
• Special precautions for expectant mothers
• Flu vaccine information
• And more.

The most important protection for any child is a fully educated parent.  We hope the Immunization Journal will be widely distributed to help inform and arm parents with an important tool as they consider whether or not to vaccinate their children.

Download Vaccine Guide & Journal here.

Read the full article at CMSRI.org.