KANSAS PARENTS have something to add to the back-to-school shopping lists this year — more vaccinations.
Getting children ready for school is more than a matter of buying clothes and crayons. They also must be equipped with protection against the diseases that target children.
This week, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s immunization program announced that more shots are going to be required for children returning to school next fall.
The big change will be for students in the sixth through ninth grades. The state is extending its requirement for hepatitis B vaccinations, previously required only for children in kindergarten through the fifth grade. Now older children will also get three of those shots.
The state is also increasing chickenpox protection for students. Kindergartners will get two doses of vaccine instead of one and sixth-graders will get one dose instead of none.
The state says the new immunization rules are a response to outbreaks of hepatitis B and chickenpox around the state. The old vaccination schedule apparently did not protect children long enough.
What this means for parents is a few more trips to a doctor’s office or the Flint Hills Community Health Center. It will also mean extra expense for families without insurance and those who don’t qualify for low-priced or free shots. The hepatitis B vaccine costs about $30 a dose; the chickenpox vaccine costs almost $100.
Is it worth it? The hepatitis vaccine qualifies as a bargain. The price of the chickenpox vaccine seems steep, but considered as the cost of avoiding an epidemic among Kansas children, it is not that bad. Chickenpox was once a common childhood disease. With good treatment, it was not considered dangerous. But now we know that the virus that causes chickenpox can linger in the body for decades, popping up again in middle age or later as shingles — a long-lasting and painful ailment.
The state’s new immunization rules are based on the best current medical advice from the Centers for Disease Control. The rules should be followed.
By announcing the changes this early in the year, the health department has given parents time to deal with the added cost.
And none of the vaccines costs as much as one pair of designer athletic shoes.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
madpoet (anonymous) says...
The chickenpox vaccine does not prevent chickenpox, though. Kids can still get it but they will have a milder case of it. BUT kids can get shingles too. A friend's two little girls had the shots, had chickenpox then last summer got shingles too. So $100 doesn't sound like a bargain to me. Just a heads up to parents if their vaccinated kids show signs of chickenpox OR shingles, get them to the dr. asap.
March 10, 2009 at 2:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
All of my kids got the Chicken Pox vacs and ALL of them got it. One was a mild case,one medium and one really bad. I believe that it needs to be done in a 3 part series like other vaccs or not at all.
March 10, 2009 at 3:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
It's actually a 2-shot series. Not to encourage noncompliance, but usually 1 injection is sufficient, although you should really get both.
If you let your kid get full-blown chickenpox, you are risking infections, encephalitis, pneumonia, and possibly death. People forget that you can die from varicella.
Varicella is followed by shingles later in life, 10-20% of the time. Shingles risks neurological damage and death.
The cost of NOT vaccinating your kids is much higher--calculate staying home from work for a couple weeks, keeping your kid out of school, maybe hiring a sitter, going to the doctor, possible hospital costs, etc.
The vaccine itself is 99% effective. And that doesn't count if you let all your kids' friends get chickenpox before you decide to take yours in to get the shots. The vaccine is NOT treatment--it's only preventative.
As for hep B, 3 shots are required, but you see around the same levels of efficacy.
Please get your kids vaccinated. It's so so important.
March 10, 2009 at 7:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beinformed (anonymous) says...
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website, in 2007 incidents for chickenpox and Hepatitis B are:
586 cases of chickenpox were reported with the majority falling in the 5-14 age-group. No deaths reported. Kansas has a population of about 2.7 million. Do the math and you will find that 0.0002% of the population contracted the chickenpox.
9 cases of acute hepatitis B were reported with all being in the age-group between 27-87.
1 case of perinatal hepatitis B was reported--the first since 2004.
My children have all been vaccinated, but there simply isn't enough evidence for me to continue to do so. I'm sick of government intervention and being held hostage by the school district. Kansas needs to add another exemption: philosophical, to the two they already accept (medical and religious).
I want off the vaccination merry-go-round!
March 11, 2009 at 5:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SFIns (anonymous) says...
beinformed,
the reason for such a low percentage of the population getting sick is because the majority of people do get the vaccine. Your numbers only prove that the vaccines are working and should be continued.
March 11, 2009 at 7:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
I had the chicken pox, my brothers had the chicken pox, my kids have had the chicken pox, most every body I know has had the chicken pox. It was right of passage and bragging as I remember. "I got the chicken I don't have to go to school naa nanny booboo." Or counting the spots and bragging who had more. Anyway my point is..... 586 cases "reported." How many parents don't freak out and take their kids to doctor for every little thing? We never went to the doc. for chicken pox. Mom, covered us in calamine lotion and told us not to scratch. Really she threatened us with in an inch of our lives if we scratched. lol I know several people that have had their kids get the shot and guess what???? They got the chicken pox anyway. OOPS! I say if the gov. wants all these extra shots for our kids they need to be shelling out the extra money for it. JMHO
March 11, 2009 at 8:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I agree with vaccinating kids but have little faith in the chicken pox vaccine. The herpes virus that causes chicken pox, like all herpes viruses, is a wily thing that stays in your system forever. Most parents I've talked to say the chicken pox shots are not very effective.
If a majority of people are vaccinated, it stops the spread of disease as it runs out of individuals it can infect. That is why they push the flu shots every fall. It's called "herd immunity" or something to that effect.
I think the required vaccines should all be covered by insurance or government subsidies. I elected to get my son the hepatitus A shots due to the high number of foreign immigrants in Emporia. I expected to pay extra for it but was pleasantly surprised that BCBS picked up the tab. When he goes off to college, he'll get the menigitus (sp) shot, too.
March 11, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
No, scoffing here Mrwho. I am very proud to have been born in the USA. I have never even been to another country for that matter. I don't really care if I ever do. So I will admit freely that I haven't had any experience with other countries and their issues. I was just stating what I have seen in my life. I don't think I know anyone that hasn't had the chicken pox is where I was going with my last post. I am truely sorry about your friends kid. I do have a hard time believing about the kids passing right and left because of chicken pox though. Maybe small pox or something along those lines. Unless children in Panama are less immune for some reason. I don't know. I'm not calling you a lier just hard to fathom. This is coming from a life long resident of the USA mind you. Hell, if ya must know this is coming from from life long Emporia, KS resident. I don't have a problem with vaccines. They are a good thing. There is nothing wrong getting vaccinated but I do think they take some of them to far.
Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with vaccinating kids but have little faith in the chicken pox vaccine. The herpes virus that causes chicken pox, like all herpes viruses, is a wily thing that stays in your system forever. Most parents I've talked to say the chicken pox shots are not very effective.
I totally agree with you on the chicken pox vaccine. Especially with what it costs. I think if its going to be manditory then they should pick up most if not all of the bill.
March 11, 2009 at 10:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
I googled chicken pox related deaths and I found these sights. There are more but I am outta time. They are just sights with info on pox and shingles.
http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/art...
http://health.howstuffworks.com/chick...
March 11, 2009 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
I personally am against vaccinating kids with all the new stuff they have came out with for the past few years. No one here has mentioned the possibility of autism in connection with immunizations. Autism has more then tripled in the last 10 years. Will physicians or any of the pharmacy companies ever admit that there may be a connection? Heck no! Think of the lawsuits and the money it would cost them. And, think of the money they are making off of it now. I am not totally against all immunizations. If it's been around for 50 years then I'm all for it. Doctor's offices also do not tell you that you do not have to give all these shots to your children. They tell you that it is "recommended". My question is "By who?" You also have the right to enroll your children in school without all these shots by simply signing a form saying that it is against your religion. I feel that people are too shot happy these days. I was livid when my daughter was born and the nurses at Newman gave her a hepititis shot the day she was born. Newborn babies have little if no immunity. Shoot them up with a bunch of viruses? I think NOT!
March 11, 2009 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
By the way Mr. Kelley......What does one case of autism cost?
March 11, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Happiness09, I totally agree on newborn shots! I had my son at Coffey County Hospital in Burlington. They do NOT give newborns anything but a vitamin K shot. The drs there say to get the first hepititus b shot with the first round of shots. I got his shots at the Health Dept. in Emporia and they were a little startled but did it. I just had to make a special trip for the next shot, is all. And my son has been a very healthy kid compared to most kids his age I know. I suspect some autism cases are a result of an immune response to the vaccinations. With so much other immune problems cropping up like allergies and asthma in kids, that would make sense if autism could be a case of the body attacking itself. Hardly any kids had food allergies when I was in school. Now they have to ban peanut butter or have "peanut free" tables. I'm not sure what the deal is but something weird is going on.
March 11, 2009 at 11:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
barefootin (anonymous) says...
I came from a very large family, we all had chicken pox without a problem. Now thirty years later we are being scared into believing chicken pox causes encephalitis, shingles and death? Sounds like lame scare tactics to me. There must be a connection to shots and autism. The kids are required to have more and more shots and I don't think it's good for them to have their bodies overloaded with vaccines.
March 11, 2009 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Chicken pox does cause shingles but since the vaccine doesn't prevent you getting chicken pox, what is the point? I'll do it since I have to but am not too happy about it.
March 11, 2009 at 2:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
A pretty big question I have is....
If you get the shot and don't get chicken pox as kid but it wears off or wasn't the reason you were lucky as a child and you get it (chicken pox) as an adult? Sorry I don't know how to word it to sound right. Like madpoet said "What is the point?" You have NO way of knowing if the shot prevented it or not. I would much rather have had it as a child when more times than not it is just an itchy pain in the rear than as adult. When you get it as an adult you are MUCH more likely to have the serious complications from chicken pox. I personally would much rather my child have a couple weeks of low grade fever and itching then later on go their funeral at 20-40ish years old because the vaccine didn't really work.
Happiness I have been reading about the vaccines and autism also. Its pretty scarey stuff.
March 11, 2009 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
Oh yeah, My last post wasn't directed at any one person. Its just an open question to whom ever may have a viable answer.
March 11, 2009 at 2:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
Weltha,
Thank you for those links earlier. I usually go along with this kind of thing, although like madpoet, I refused consent to give my kids the hep B shot at birth. My kids are up to date, but they had to be in proven good health first before I would take them in. Before having kids I did a lot of looking into the immunizations and autism thing and I couldn't find enough of a direct correlation between them to scare me away from them. What I did find was also like what madpoet said--many childhood illnesses are on the rise in our industrialized societies that we haven't figured the direct correlation to. I wouldn't say that there is no vaccination that has caused autism, but I wouldn't say that it is a primary cause--I think it could be one of many including chemicals in everyday food we eat before and during pregnancies.
Anyway, back to Weltha's links, I was distraught to find that the vaccine is causing a rise in occurrence of shingles in children (which is more fatal in kids than it is in adults) and we could be delaying chicken pox in our kids until adulthood (which is more fatal in adults than in children). This vaccine has very little known about it--the children getting it right now ARE the drug trial. I think we will opt out of this one (we've already consented to one, but no more) and not feel any worse about it than we did about holding off on the hep B vac.
March 11, 2009 at 3:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beinformed (anonymous) says...
To SFIns:
The point of my earlier posting demonstrates that if children are exposed to chicken pox they have LIFE-LONG immunity. Now our children face a LIFETIME OF IMMUNIZATIONS. Secondly, ADULTS who engage in risky behavior typically contract hepatitis and can then pass it along to their children. Shouldn't we then be mandating ALL adults to be routinely immunized against HEP B regardless of their profession???? And let's add routine immunization for chicken pox. Can you imagine the out-cry!!! Soooo, let's just continue injecting our CHILDREN with something we wouldn't be thrilled to have to COMPLY with!
At what age should a parent allow the CHILD TO MAKE THE DECISION about what is put in THIER BODY??? After all, they are the ones who have to live with the life-long consequences, right?? The government knows that they have the upper-hand when it comes to children---just threaten expulsion from school.
March 11, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
I will repeat for those who may have missed it. You can get your children into school without all these immunizations by telling the school that you need the form to sign stating that it is against your religion for child to have all these "required" immunizations.
March 11, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
I have at times wondered if my son's emotional disorders could be from the vaccs. He is borderline autistic. I hope they will some day be able to know who was affected by vaccs and who was not. Far fetched but they make strides all the time.
March 11, 2009 at 6:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
I had an awful case of chicken pox when I was five. Now I'm in my thirties and guess what? About a year ago, I got shingles--caused by the varicella virus but can be brought on by stress or some other illness. It truly was the most awful illness I've ever gone through. It took me a good month to really get over it.
I did vax my two kids. Even the CP vax. One kid still got it and the other didn't. The one who got it, well, it was nothing like what I had. Maybe 10 spots over his whole body. It was a piece of cake compared to what my mom went through with her kids.
I really have no opinion about the new law, but I do agree that it should be the choice of the parent, not the gov't....but on the other hand, I really don't want people relying on my vaxed kids to keep their kids healthy. And I REALLY don't want someone with Hep B or mumps or any other nasty disease to be in the same vicinity as me, even though I'm vaxed, because then we will end up with epidemics and pandemics of these diseases. All for pretending to have a religion that disallows them.
Melissa
March 11, 2009 at 6:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
1) It's true that the best way to be immunized against an illness is to GET the illness. That's nice, but it's also necessary to SURVIVE the illness in order to benefit from any of that immunity. It does not matter that people are skeptical about varicella's ability to kill people--it is a very real risk. Furthermore, if you get your kids vaccinated, you're not just protecting your own kids, you're protecting everyone around them. Someone mentioned the concept of herd immunity earlier, but I'd like to emphasize it here. Not only do you stop the spread, but since the chickenpox vaccine is a live virus, you shed it from your skin and vaccinate other people through contact and through the air. It's pretty neat.
2) Vaccines do not cause autism. Period. There is zero evidence to support that absolutely absurd claim. It has no basis whatsoever in fact. End of conversation.
3) For those of you worried about shingles: yes, it's true that many people may still get shingles later in life. But that's simply because your memory cells in your body slowly die off--just like the tetanus vaccine, for example. Later in life, boosters are recommended. This is not a reason to intentionally allow your kids to get a disease.
4) Any resistance to vaccines is just more of the science-hating, strange phobia that is so prevalent in Kansas. Vaccines are one of the most amazing breakthroughs of modern science--of science, period, to be honest. Vaccines ELIMINATED smallpox from the face of the earth, and are close to being able to eliminate polio. Surely some of you are old enough to remember what it was like living through the polio epidemic in the 50s. Not enough people remember the terror of that kind of situation. We are talking about preventing fatal illnesses in your children, and yet you are resistant because you know a few stories about people who were "just fine" after getting those illnesses. Yeah, maybe your kid can get chickenpox and survive it, but you are nonetheless risking death or very serious complications. And you are okay taking that risk with your child? There is no reason to oppose vaccinations--science is not on your side. I would hope that you'd care about your kids more than that.
March 11, 2009 at 7:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
"The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine was licensed for use in Japan and Korea in 1988 and in the United States in 1995." found from multiple sources
My parents and grandparents were never immunized against chicken pox--this is the first generation that it is being pushed widely in. My parents and grandparents were immunized against smallpox which was a frightening killer--enough of a killer to gamble the vaccination risk.
It seems that znasr has some kind of traditional medical training which in this day and age is so full of pharmaceutical training and indoctrinating that I find it hard to trust blindly. Yes, I am aware of the breakdown of credit hours devoted to those studies for both doctors and nurses whose livelihood is greatly affected by the pharmaceutical companies. I prefer to get my info from a variety of qualified sources, but tend to believe the ones who are more neutral because they have nothing at stake in it. I find sufficient neutral info with this one, not to panic, but to say, "No, thank you."
I haven't heard of just a few cases of chickenpox---nearly every single person I have ever known has had it. The reported risk of complications from childhood shingles or adult chickenpox outweigh the chance of complications from childhood chickenpox for me, so I will not put my kids at greater risk no matter what Merck says.
March 12, 2009 at 12:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
znasr: Autism is a lifelong serious complication. There has already been one vaccine taken off the market due to the perservative (thermisol) that was being used in the MMR. Granted that wasn't the virus itself, BUT it was still a part of the vaccine. MMR is still available but not with that perservative. I still prefer NOT to have the children I care about used for clinic drug trials.
March 12, 2009 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
And znasr: I can tell by the way you talk that you are a nurse or some sort of medical professional. Of course you are going to support "compliance"
March 12, 2009 at 11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
Actually, I'm not a nurse or a doctor. I'm a student.
I'm a little alarmed that when I am perceived to be a medical professional, the immediate response is that I must be biased, NOT that I would know what I'm talking about better than would the average layperson. That is ludicrous. If anything, medical professionals tend to have more knowledge on this subject.
And I'm not fabricating information, so you can't really say I'm biased anyway. Nothing I'm saying is a matter of opinion--that's why scientific evidence is so useful. It's objective. Which is why it's so detrimental to many of the anti-vaccinationist claims.
Thimerosal does not cause autism. Thimerosal doesn't even POSSIBLY cause autism. Thimerosal isn't even used in vaccines anymore, except for some versions of the flu shot. There is not a single component in vaccines that causes autism, nor is there any study to support such a claim. The science simply is not there.
Nobody is running clinical trials on your kids. The process of getting a vaccine approved is exhaustive and lengthy. FDA approval can be held up by something as simple as instability of the vaccine. Not anything harmful, just that the vaccine doesn't have a long shelf-life. Vaccines used today have undergone extensive trials to ensure that they are safe, and they are. We can eliminate diseases with vaccines--why wouldn't everyone support that?
There is no reason to be afraid of science. The rampant distrust of healthcare profession is all well and good until you need your prescription filled or your grandparents' Alzheimer's treated or your kid's broken arm re-set. The science that works to ensure that your pain pills ease your headache or your child's cough syrup soothes his/her cold symptoms is the same science that ensures the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
And I have nothing to gain from these claims, other than the health of society at large.
March 12, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sg (anonymous) says...
For those interested in learning more, I would recommend The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. Here's more information.
http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccineb...
March 12, 2009 at 3:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
sg: Thank you for the link. It was very informative.
March 12, 2009 at 4:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
znasr: There are also a lot of things that science has not yet been able to figure out which is the point here.
March 12, 2009 at 5:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
But science HAS been able to figure out that vaccines are efficacious and can ELIMINATE entire diseases.
Science has also been able to figure out that vaccines do not cause autism.
While I will concede that the cause(s) of autism is/are unknown, we do know that the culprit is not vaccination. Children who haven't been vaccinated get autism, and the rise of autism does not coincide with the use of vaccines. When thimerosal was eliminated from vaccines, we did not see a decrease in cases of autism, which SHOULD have happened if the purported connection existed. Thimerosal was only removed to eliminate the possibility for the public to claim that it was dangerous. Multiple class action lawsuits have seen court time, and all were dismissed. No one can prove the connection between vaccines and autism.
Also, I'm not really sure why there is so much fear around the MMR vaccine, and so little fear around the others. Infants and children can receive up to something like 11 vaccines SIMULTANEOUSLY and not even spike a fever. There's no reason to be alarmed about combination vaccines or live-virus vaccines. They've been used for YEARS.
Failure to vaccinate your kids leads to pockets of epidemics that can be devastatingly fatal. If you don't believe me, search around for the various news stories about fundamentalist religious communities that ROUTINELY are hit hard by 100% PREVENTABLE diseases. The risk to your kids is too great not to vaccinate.
March 12, 2009 at 6:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
Several years ago I talked with a lady who son was autistic, and she believed that it was because at the time he was given his shots, he was getting over a cold, and was running a slight fever. The nurse said it wasn't a problem, and gave the child his shots. He had ill effects from the shots, and as I said, mom thinks that is cause of autism.
When a child is at all ill, he should not be given any of these shots, unless okayed by the doc.
March 12, 2009 at 7:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
Actually, only serious illnesses are contraindications for vaccines.
And, as tragic as autism can be, vaccines do not cause it, no matter what parents think. The problem is, since the cause is unknown, parents are anxious to find something--ANYTHING--to blame. Unfortunately, in this case, what people are blaming is something that actually saves lives.
March 12, 2009 at 9:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
barefootin (anonymous) says...
Here's an interesting site on vaccines. I have heard that the Gardasil shot was only tested for two years before it began being used for the public, does anyone know how to find out how long it was tested?
http://www.hrsa.gov/Vaccinecompensation/
March 12, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
znasr (anonymous) says...
Five years.
March 13, 2009 at 6:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )