Should My Family Be Immunized?

“IT’S time for baby shots,” says the doctor. That is perhaps an ominous statement for a small child to hear, but it has generally resulted in a reassuring smile and a knowing nod from the parents.

Recently, however, questions have arisen regarding commonly accepted practices of immunization of children and of adults. Which shots are really necessary? What about side effects? Is blood in any way involved in the production of a vaccine?

These are good questions for a concerned Christian family to consider. The answers can have a direct bearing on your children’s health and future as well as on your own.

The Background

In the 1950’s an effective vaccine was introduced that virtually put an end to the fear of polio in most lands. By 1980 the scourge of smallpox was declared eradicated from the whole world, the result of effective vaccination programs. This seemed to bear out the words of Benjamin Franklin: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Today, immunization programs have been generally effective in controlling many diseases​—tetanus, polio, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough), to name a few. Furthermore, it has been shown that when immunization has for some reason become lax, the disease has returned. In one country that happened with whooping cough.

What do these immunizations do? Basically, in one of two ways, they shore up the body’s defenses against the invasion of infectious agents called pathogens, which include germs and viruses. The first way is called active immunization. In this case the shot contains a weakened or killed pathogen (or its poison) modified in such a way that it is not dangerous to the body. The body’s own defense mechanisms begin to form killer molecules called antibodies that can fight the real disease agent, should it come along. If the immunizing shot contains an extract of the pathogen’s poison (toxin), it is called a toxoid. If it is made from live weakened (attenuated) pathogens or from killed organisms, it is called a vaccine.

As you can imagine, these shots do not create immediate immunity. It takes a period of time for the body to make protective antibodies. These active immunizations include all the baby shots and the injections that are commonly considered as vaccinations. With one exception (discussed later), these do not involve the use of blood in any step of production.

The other procedure is called passive immunization. This is usually reserved for situations in which a person has been exposed to a serious disease, such as rabies. In that case, there is no time for the body to build its own immunity. So someone else’s antibodies, already made, can be injected to fight the pathogens in the individual who has been exposed. Gamma globulin, antitoxin, and hyperimmune serum are other names for shots produced from extracts of the blood of immune humans or animals. These borrowed, or passive, immunizations are intended to give the body immediate, but only temporary, help to fight off the invader. The borrowed antibodies are soon eliminated from the body as foreign protein.

Should My Child Get Shots?

Given this background, some may still wonder, ‘Which immunizations should my child receive?’ In most parts of the world where childhood shots are readily available, routine immunizations have resulted in dramatic declines in the incidence of targeted childhood diseases.

For several years the American Academy of Pediatrics, in general agreement with similar bodies around the world, has recommended routine immunization for the following diseases: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. The three are usually combined and given as one shot​—DPT—​with three booster (reinforcement) DPT shots given at intervals of at least two months. Separate from that, immunization for measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles) is given as one shot​—MMR—​to children after one year of age. Also, four doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) are administered on a schedule similar to DPT.a

In many places this routine series is mandatory, though the number of boosters required may vary. Recently, as a result of several measles outbreaks, additional boosters of measles vaccines have been recommended under some circumstances. You may need to consult a doctor in your area for details.

In addition to these, there is a pneumonia vaccine (Pneumovax). This appears to provide lifetime immunity for children and adults who, for some reason, are susceptible to certain kinds of pneumonia.

Another vaccine for children is called Hib vaccine. It is given to protect against a common pathogen of childhood, Hemophilus influenza. This germ causes several diseases in babies, most notably a severe form of meningitis. The vaccine has proved generally safe, and it is increasingly being recommended as part of the series of baby shots.

Incidentally, there is as yet no routine immunization for chicken pox. And vaccination for smallpox is no longer available because, as mentioned earlier, a worldwide program of vaccination has wiped out this deadly disease.

What About Side Effects?

What about the issue of immunization side effects? With most of the shots, beyond the usual sudden cry and momentary tears of the child, the side effects are usually limited and temporary​—at the most a day or so of fever. Yet, many parents have anxieties about the risks of these shots. One medical study surveyed parents’ concerns about the health of their children and found that 57 percent of the surveyed parents worried about reaction to immunizations.

Recently, great concern has been publicized regarding one component of DPT, namely, the pertussis, or whooping cough, part. The success of this vaccine has resulted in remarkable decline of a formerly feared disease​—from 200,000 cases per year in one country alone before the vaccine to 2,000 per year following the widespread use of the vaccine. Nevertheless, serious side effects​—seizures and even brain damage—​have occurred in about 1 in 100,000 doses given.

While this reaction is very rare, it causes some anxiety on the part of many parents who find they have little choice but to allow their child to receive the shot in order to qualify for school. Because the disease pertussis, though uncommon, is so devastating when it strikes a community, experts have concluded that for the average child, “the vaccine is far safer than catching the disease.” Such experts advise that the immunization be given except “when a previous dose resulted in a convulsion, encephalitis, focal neurologic signs, or collapse. Nor should infants who experience ‘excessive somnolence, excessive screaming (persistent crying or screaming for 3 or more hours duration), or temperature more than 105° F (40.5° C)’ receive additional doses of vaccine.”b

In many lands the real solution to the problem is an acellular vaccine, such as is presently being administered in Japan with very hopeful prospects. This new and apparently safer vaccine is becoming available in other countries as well.

Other routine baby shots have been proved time and again to be effective and relatively safe.

What About Adult Immunizations?

Once a person reaches adulthood, there are just a few active immunizations he should keep in mind. Ideally, all adults should already have immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella as a result of exposure or immunization in childhood. Should a question about such immunity arise, a doctor might recommend an MMR shot for an adult.

A shot of tetanus toxoid every ten years or so is considered a good idea as a preventive against lockjaw. Older persons and those with a chronic disease may want to check with their doctor about yearly influenza immunizations. Those traveling to certain parts of the world should consider immunization against such things as yellow fever, cholera, anthrax, typhoid, or plague if such diseases are endemic where they are going.

One other active immunization deserves attention because it is the only active immunization made from blood. It is a hepatitis-B vaccine called Heptavax-B. This immunization is intended for some individuals, such as health workers, who might accidentally be exposed to blood products from patients infected with hepatitis B. Though hailed as a major advance, the vaccine caused concern to many because of its method of production.

Basically, the blood of selected hepatitis-B-virus carriers is pooled and treated to kill any viruses, and a certain hepatitis-B antigen is harvested. This refined, inactivated antigen can be injected as a vaccine. Many people refuse to take the vaccine, however, fearing the risk of taking in blood products from infected people, such as those who are sexually promiscuous. Furthermore, some conscientious Christians objected to the vaccine on the ground that it is derived from the blood of another person.c

Such objections to hepatitis vaccine have been effectively removed by the release of a different but equally potent hepatitis-B vaccine. This one is made by means of genetic technology in which the vaccine is produced in yeast cells, with no involvement of human blood. If you work in the health-care field or are for some other reason considered a candidate for hepatitis-B vaccine, you may want to discuss this matter with your physician.

Blood in the Production of Vaccines

This raises an important point for Christians, who are concerned with the Bible’s prohibition on misuse of blood. (Acts 15:28, 29) Are any other vaccines made from blood?

As a general rule, with the exception of Heptavax-B, active immunizations are not produced from blood. This includes all baby shots, for example.

The opposite is true of passive immunization. One can assume that when one is advised to have a shot after likely exposure, such as after stepping on a rusty nail or after being bitten by a dog, the shots (unless they are just routine boosters) are hyperimmune serum and have been made using blood. This is also true of Rh immune globulin (Rhogam), which is often recommended for Rh-negative mothers who for some reason are exposed to Rh-positive blood, as at the birth of an Rh-positive baby.

Since these passive immunizations are those of concern regarding the issue of blood, what stand would be taken by the conscientious Christian? Previous articles in this journal and its companion, The Watchtower, have presented a consistent position: It would be up to the Bible-trained conscience of the individual Christian as to whether he would accept this treatment for himself and his family.d

Should My Family Get Immunized?

Christians have great respect for life and sincerely desire to do the best for their family’s health. Whether you conscientiously decide to have your family immunized is your personal decision to make.​—Galatians 6:5.

One expert has summarized the situation well: “Parents should be informed about each medical intervention for their child. They are more than just legal guardians of their child. They are responsible for the well-being and protection of their offspring during that period of life in which the offspring is dependent.” In this matter of immunization, as well as in all other medical matters, Jehovah’s Witnesses take that responsibility very seriously.​—Contributed by a physician.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 24]

Immunizations Not Derived From Blood

Baby shots (DPT, OPV, MMR)

Hib vaccine

Pneumovax

Toxoids

Flu shots

Recombivax-HB

Immunizations Derived From Blood

Heptavax-B

Rhogam

Antitoxins

Antivenins (for snake and spider venom)

Immune globulins (for various diseases)

Gamma globulin

Hyperimmune serum preparations (antirabies serum, for example)