Adverse Vaccine Reaction
May 1, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under health of the baby, how to, medication
My baby is sick. Possibly sick from the vaccine intended to protect her from illness. And I am sick at heart. You see, I took her in for her 9-month well baby visit three days ago. At that time, she received two vaccinations: DTaP and Rotavirus. Those of you really savvy about vaccinations might see the problem already. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the rotavirus vaccine is not recommended after the baby reaches the age of 32 weeks (about 8 months).
RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine
Two days after my baby received the vaccine, she started having mild diarrhea. I didn’t think much of it, until 12 hours later when she threw up (and I earned a Mommy Medal by catching it in my hand, thankyouverymuch!) The next day, she spiked a fever of over 102. I am not worried for her. She is generally content and just a bit sleepy. Thank goodness for breastfeeding, which keeps her both hydrated and happy!
I am not “pro-vaccine” or “anti-vaccine.” I am all about the informed decision. I fully recognize that my daughter might not actually have rotavirus, or that she might have rotavirus but have contracted it from a source other than the live vaccine. I do feel though that this diarrhea, vomiting, and fever constitute a potential adverse reaction to the vaccine.
I called the pediatrician to ask her to report my daughter’s reaction to the FDA and CDC using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Anyone can report to the VAERS but the site suggests asking the doctor for help. At any rate I wanted to mention to the family practitioner what I had learned about the timing of the vaccine. Unfortunately, the call did not go well. I would love it if all doctors would practice the following three phrases:
I don’t know.
I will find out.
I am sorry.
I was not upset; I used a nice voice. When the doctor insisted that only the first dose of the vaccine needs to be given before 32 weeks, I gently reiterated my understanding that it’s actually the last dose that needs to be given before 32 weeks.
No one is perfect. I made a mistake. The pediatrician made a mistake. Let’s learn from our mistakes. In fact, let’s write a blog post about it so others can learn from our mistakes.
Your Thoughts
Has your child ever had a potential adverse reaction to a vaccine? Do you vaccinate fully, not at all, or on a delayed and selective basis?
I tend to vaccinate by the book, but my DD was miserable after her first Hep B vaccination at 36 hours. She cried for hours on end. I hesitated about giving it to her then, expressing my intention to do so later (in the sure and solemn knowledge that my neonate was unlikely to be doing intravenous drugs or having unprotected sex in the first few months of life), but in retrospect really felt I was pushed into vaccinating her RIGHT THEN.
I understand the public health advantage of vaccinating newborns for hep B, but in our case it was a bad decision on my part to vaccinate her at birth.
I’m sorry to hear that! We followed the full vaccination schedule but thankfully have not had any advers reactions. Our daughter is 13 months old.
According to CDC, the maximum age for the final dose is 8 months. I do not think you were wrong.
Other than delaying the Hep B vaccination, we follow the schedule. My husband, my mother in law and myelf, are not infected, and I was certian my newborn was not going to be engaging in any risky behavior during the first 6 weeks of life. I also felt pressure to have it done in the hospital, and even got dirty looks from a few nurses, but I refused to cave.
I think with every major decision we have to make as parents we will have moments of second guessing ourselfs and possibly guilt for the decisions we’ve made.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!
We vaccinate on schedule, and have never had reactions outside the range of ‘normal’. Although we haven’t vaccinated against rotavirus, perhaps it’s just not part of the schedule here in Canada.
What I find off-putting is the lack of objective information about vaccines. Either you’re going to kill your child if you get them, or you’re going to kill your child if you don’t. Where’s the middle ground?
So sorry to hear she’s sick! I vaccinate on schedule, and my daughter recieved her Hep B shot in the hospital, with no reaction. In fact, she slept thru it! However, we did have the same reaction to the rotavirus vaccine. She had horrible diarrhea but no vomiting and a high fever (104F). Her doctor said it was possible that she did pick something up, but that the most likely cause was the vaccine, which can have diarrhea as a side effect. That was one of the sickest I have ever seen her. I hope she gets better soon!
We don’t vax at all right now. At first we went right by the schedule (of our pro-vax pediatrician). The only reaction my daughter had was to the first dose of flu shot (she had cold-like symptoms and was very fussy) so we didn’t get the second dose. One day when she was in for a checkup at 9 months or so, I mentioned I was a little concerned over possible side effects of her one-year shots. I said the word ‘autism’ and the doctor got kind of wound up about it and I decided to do a little of my own research. I read Dr. Sears’ Vaccine Book, which is NOT anti-vax but actually quite levelheaded and fair. He recommends several vaccines personally, but I decided to say no altogether. Our daughter stays with my parents while I work, and I plan to homeschool. Therefore, she is low risk. I will be a stay-at-home mom starting in August when I have our second baby, so we aren’t too worried about vaccinating our kids. If they were starting public school, or if we were considering international travel to certain destinations, it might be a different story. We will cross that bridge when and if we get to it.
Hi- VERY sorry to hear that your LO is sick… I have a baby about one month younger. If you get a chance in between caring for your sick baby (HA!) could you clarify what you think caused the problem? Waiting til 9 months to give the final Rhotovirus vaccine? Do they commonly wait until the 9 month visit to administer? I am concerned that I might need to request my guy’s last dose this week since he is rapidly coming up on that 8 month mark.
Again, I am sorry to hear about your little one’s reaction, and also your doctor’s- that is a shame! I hope that she is feeling better soon.
Thanks everyone! My daughter is feeling better now, thankfully, after two days of illness. She’s just a little cranky today but she has been able to keep some solid food down.
Jamie, yes I think it was waiting until 9 months to give the last dose that was the problem. Here’s some info I read at Baby Center:
“The U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises against starting the vaccine series in babies over 12 weeks old. If your baby hasn’t gotten a first dose by then, talk to your doctor about whether it makes sense to try to catch up.
The vaccine isn’t recommended for babies once they turn 8 months old, because there’s not enough evidence to show how well it works in older babies and some evidence that they’re more likely to suffer adverse reactions, like fever.”
http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-rotavirus-vaccine_1494687.bc
Don’t blame yourself for this. You couldn’t have prevented your daughter’s reaction with the information you had at the time, and there is no harm done to your daughter other than a brief illness (which she could have just as easily gotten from the real Rotavirus). A fever and diarrhea are known and accepted possible reactions to the vaccine, and unfortunately it just happened that your daughter was one of the few to get it.
It doesn’t mean that the vaccine is a bad idea, since overall it ends up saving more kids from Rotavirus.
I do agree that your physician and his or her office should have been more on the ball and discussed whether or not you wanted the vaccine given the delay. I’m very sorry that your doctor resisted reporting to the VAERS. I hope that you do, anyway!
Thanks Amy! The doctor resisted, but I insisted
She agreed to file the report.
DD got the chix pox after the vaccination. I was very upset, but it was mild, thankfully. We always follow the schedule, although I an always worried and a little heartbroken over it. I am not anti-vaccine, just mistrustful thereof. We did get the hep b vaccine in the hosp for DS, but only bc I felt like I’d have to listen to them ask over & over like they did about my decision to not have DS’s penis surgically altered. I admit, I don’t like being pestered, so we settled on vaccine now instead of later and leaving his boy parts as god intended. No adverse reactions, thankfully.
I just want to say that my 8 week old granddaughter has had the rota vaccine and 2 days later has a fever of 104 and is living on tylenol (doctors request) she has a fever still and it is now 6 days later she is getting dehydrated and lethargic , the wmergency room says they are concerned but sent her home . we are sitting here worried sick . is it the vaccine ?? I dont know but this is scary she is not vomiting but has severe severe diarrea. any one??
Sandy, I’m so sorry your granddaughter is that sick. Please trust your instincts and take her back to the emergency room or another doctor if she is truly lethargic. You and her parents know her best and if she is not herself and is not responsive then she needs help. At this point I think it’s irrelevant whether or not it’s the vaccine. Regardless of the cause you have to deal with the symptoms of the illness. Later on you and her parents can consider whether you want to report the potential adverse reaction. If you get a chance, please let me know how your granddaughter is doing. If she is breastfed then she should absolutely continue to receive breast milk — it’s the best thing for her. Of course the doctors might also recommend IV fluids or other things for her dehydration. Best wishes.
My daughter had her first rota vaccine last Wed night, at 10 weeks. Friday I noticed her spitting up, which she never does but I dismissed it as typical baby spit up. On Sat the liquid stools started and by Sunday she had both going on. Here we are on Tuesday night and it is still going on. The doc is pretty sure it’s from the vaccine. No fever but it is hard keeping her hydrated. She gets sick on formula and can only tolerate Pedialyte (and only sometimes) at this point. I have never had a child this sick before. I do vax my kids on schedule but after this reaction she will not be getting doses 2 and 3 of this vaccine. My son is 5 and they didn’t have this vaccine when he was small and he is a happy and healthy 5 year old.
At four mos. my daughter recieved the Rotavirus vaccine. One day later she developed a fever of 101, the day after that the watery stools and the vomiting started. I took her back to the doctor, when I undressed her we noticed little dots on her belly forming. By that night she was covered head to toe in hives! I took her to the emergency room. I was told, and I quote, “I don’t know what I’m treating but I’m going to give her antibiotics anyway” by the doc on call! I do not agree with medicating unless absolutly necessary. I waited to see her regular doc before giving her the meds. The ped agreed and told me to hold off. She took a lot of blood tests to see what it could be, she still won’t admit it was the vaccine, but the results showed no signs of infection at the time of the blood work or prior, there was no change in environment or formula, and the only new vaccine that was given to her was the Rota. Process of elimination, my guess is the Rota vaccine, right!? My daughter, thankfully is doing wonderful and she is now almost 9 mos. My dilema now is because she had such a reaction to the Rota vaccine, should I try my chances with the H1N1? Both her Grandmothers work in the school and see her all the time, and are not getting the H1N1 vaccine due to their own meds. Any comments on what to do?