Wednesday, May 21st, 2014
Though many parents choose to delay vaccines, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics is linking waiting until after 15 months of age to give kids the measles vaccine might put them at higher risk of developing seizures. More from CNN:
There are many myths about vaccinations floating around the Internet, says Dr. Simon Hambidge. One – that giving vaccinations too close together is unhealthy – has prompted some parents to request that their children receive vaccines on an alternate schedule, Hambidge told CNN in an e-mail.
Hambidge, an expert in pediatric vaccination with Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Health Research Colorado, is lead author of a new study that examines the association between vaccine timing and seizures.
His team found that in the first year of life, there is no relationship between the recommended vaccine schedule and seizures. But delaying the measles vaccine until after a child is 15 months old may raise his or her seizure risk. The study results were published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
“A number of people have claimed that a young child’s immune system is not robust enough to be given multiple vaccines, and that it is safer to ‘spread out’ vaccination,” Hambidge said. “There is no scientific evidence for this, and there is evidence that it is safe and effective to follow the current recommended schedule.”
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