[Nora]

Thanks for flagging me. I am amazed at the number of people who see vaccines as either a sacrament or witchcraft. Looking at the CDC numbers, it seems to me pretty clear that it is perfectly safe to delay a HepB vaccine for at least a couple of years, unless Mom is HepB positive. At 3 or 4 (or 16 wanting a driver's license) a kid can articulate what is wrong if they are having some sort of reaction to a vaccine. Anybody who has ever held a crying newborn knows that it is impossible to always accurately interpret the wails (maternal or pediatric).

Parents ultimately have to decide - and take the consequences if they are wrong - but a great deal of misery all around would be prevented by linking the vaccine schedule to the time at which the disease becomes problematic.

[bonesmccoy]

Delaying Hep B vaccination for that long is ridiculous.

You use Comvax by Merck to vaccinate at 2 months, 4 months, and one year of age. The HepB is combo'd with the H. Flu immunization.

Delays in vaccination coverage are not acceptable. It is a combination of child abuse and rude behavior. Your family's failure to immunize your child causes the entire community to be at heightened risk of disease.

One month ago, people on this board were complaining about the lack of small pox vaccine. Now, with Hepatitis B threatening to permanently infect America (the Communist Chinese have not controlled Hep.B. in the epidemic maternal-fetal transmission in China), you are choosing to keep your family at risk.

I hope your child does not end up requiring emergency surgery with a tainted blood transfusion. While the risk is low of such an occurance, the risk is still known and present. You would alleviate that risk by simply immunizing your child with a TOTALLY SAFE vaccine at the recommended time.

[Kryptonite]

I agree about scheduling the vaccines as the risk of contracting the disease increases. My wife, a former medical malpractice attorney who defended doctors and hospitals, has seen many questionable cases where children suffer terrible, permanent, debilitating injuries from adverse effects of vaccines. While these cases usually come down to informed consent as opposed to malpractice issues, the fact remains that there are numerous unanswered questions about the adverse health effects of vaccines on some children. There are known risks associated with potential adverse reactions. What the medical community cannot tell parents is the chance of contracting hepatitis at 1-day, 1-month, 1-year vs. the chance of an adverse reaction to the vaccine at the same age. So it truly is a crapshoot, and parents owe it to their children to ask questions, diligently research the risks, and make an informed decision about when their children will be injected.

My wife is also a breast-feeding advocate who has been published in a national magazine. She wanted our babies to develop immunities and strength before being injected with vaccines, and I recall in particular that both of our children were not vaccinated with hep. b until age 3, and with merely a fever at that time. Our kids were never in a day care or school or anything else that might increase the risk of contracting the disease, however. In retrospect, with our daughter suffering a fever seizure at a 103 degree temp. a year later, I believe we did the absolute right thing in waiting so as to avoid a potentially more devastating result at 1 year, 6 months, or God-forbid, as a newborn.

The comments in the reply to your post are wholly unwarranted. Parents should make the most informed decisions they can make regarding vaccines. It certainly is never the doctor's decision.