Perky74

Hi All

Lots of posts from me at the moment - you can tell our move is just a few weeks away!!

So my kids new school in the US is asking for the final doses of MMR, polio AND tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis to be administered after their 4th birthday. We have had the correct number of shots for the NJ system but in the UK we administer our last dose before they start school so aged 3. I rang the UK GP surgery today to ask if they can have an extra shot of the above since they are now 6 and 8 and the surgery said it wouldn't be ethical to vaccinate a child who has immunity and already has had the correct (same) number of doses as required. In essence they would be vaccinating an already vaccinated child. When I've started to think about it, I don't want my children to have more doses than they need....do I have a case to argue (will I be successful?)

I know we have to have hep B as we don't vaccinate children against that in the UK so that is already booked in.

Any advice/ experience please!

Thanks so much!

Rete

Don't understand where ethics comes into this but if your children have had all the required immunizations required to start school in New Jersey, even though at a different age from when normally given to US children, have your doctor's office substantiate their immunization records to be given to the school's office when you are in the US and register the children.

I believe the UK does not vaccinate against chicken pox either. They will require this vaccination, as well.

Perky74

Hi there

It was the GPs surgery in the UK that said it wouldn't be ethical to immunise a child who had already been immunised, regardless of the age that they had the last booster....but the school Nurse in the US when I was there last week seemed adamant they would need another dose since they had their last dose before they were 4. The required age is very specifically marked on their vaccination requirements sheet.I had a blood test done in the UK to prove that they were immune to Chicken Pox as they both had a massive dose when they were 6 months and 18 months old so the school has already seen these records.

I have to admit I feel it would be wrong to give them another dose when they don't need it!!

Rete

Personally, I don't know know that immunizations lose their effectiveness over time but assume that this is not true. Outside of having a US physician verify that your children are up-to-date on their immunizations for school attendance, you could try using the approach that some US parents have used in the past and are still using, to the detriment of child and other unimmunized children (IMHO), opt out of the immunizations altogether. Schools still have to let your child attend if you sign the documentation for this.

Rete

Found this:

http://vaccines.procon.org/view.reso...ourceID=003597

http://vaccines.procon.org/sourcefil...accine_law.pdf

N.J. Stat. § 18A:61D-4 (2007)
§ 18A:61D-4. Contraindication
A student who submits to the institution a written statement that an immunization is
medically contraindicated shall submit a valid immunization record of other administered
immunizations in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department.
N.J.

Perky74

That's helpful thanks - so I could stand my ground with a doctors note. I'm with you - I strongly believe in vaccinating your children (my SIL has not and its a point of contention for us!) If I felt they weren't vaccinated then I would do it for sure but it just seems to be a date issue. In the UK we have our next boosters at 12....maybe I would just need to do the next set then. I have friend who is a GP so I'm going to discuss it more with her.

petitefrancaise

You can get them tested for antibody levels at the doctor's in the US and if they are ok then the dr can testify that they've have had everything necessary.

However, do be careful that you are comparing the right vaccines because there are tdap and dtap and that they have been "translated" properly from one country to another. The vaccination history is going to come up other places too - if you go for green cards, boarding camps etc. I think that you might as well just get everything done and then you won't spend the next few years explaining the differences and hoping it won't be an issue.

Giving them an extra shot is not going to be a big deal either. I can't imagine your US doctor is going to be concerned about it.

Englishmum

In NJ you don't need to have your children inoculated for Hepatitis B until they are about to begin High school. My son attended Middle school for three years when we moved here and then had the Hep B in the Summer before going to the local High school.

I wasn't very happy about it (and we had moved directly from South East Asia to the US); Heptatitis B is contracted via blood (for example if a child is born to an infected mother, via infected blood after an injury, bite or scratch, unclean needles eg. If having a tattoo. It can also be transmitted from an infected person via sexual fluids.) - hepBsmart.com | Home

I don't think many young children are likely to receive Hepatitis B. Neither my spouse or myself have had Hep B jabs (although I had Hep A when I went on a trip to India). You don't need it if you decide to apply for green cards.

mrken30

There is also a difference between TDaP and TDap . P is for Polio, given in the UK. p stands for pertussis, given in the US. Just adds to the complication.

You could get a titer test. This is what I did for my work medical instead of getting the complete set of vaccines. Unfortunately it still involved needles.

md95065

I suspect that the "wouldn't be ethical" remark from the UK doctor's office probably translates, at least in part, into - "is not medically necessary and would, therefore, not be ethical to spend NHS funds on".