Childhood vaccincations in Japan

[wakarang]

Does anybody have any specific information on vaccinations here in Japan. My daugther is nearly two months old and will be dues for some soon. I am particularly interested in whether they use the acellular Pertussis vaccine here or the older whole cell variety, but any information or experience would be appreciated. I am worried enough about injecting my baby with these poisons but the lack of english language info is excruciating.
Thanks for any help.

[Nyororin]

Japan has very strict rules in regards to the quality of vaccines, and has been using the acellular Pertussis vaccine since 1980.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella are also split into individual vaccines, given with recovery time between. If I recall correctly, they ask that you give 6 weeks between all vaccinations.

Everyone outside Japan seems to say that "Japan still uses vaccines with mercury in them!" - but our doctor and health center says that they were phased out around the same time they split the MMR vaccine, and that they haven`t seen one with Thimerosal for years. They were all happy to show me all of their vaccines while still in package, and none listed it as an ingredient.

I wouldn`t be worried about the quality of the vaccinations here... But if you just don`t like vaccines to begin with - remember, they`re pretty much optional in Japan. You can opt out of any of them. The first you`re going to be encouraged to have done is the BCG, which my family opted out of. To this date, my 3 year old son has only had one dose of DPaT.

[wakarang]

Thank you Nyororin. That information is a wonderful help. On all the vaccination schedules I've seen it is reffered to simply as DPT so I was beginning to wonder.
I am weary of vaccinations generally but also don't wish to risk my daughters health. It is difficult to know especially living in a foreign country where I don't know how to access info about incidence rates and so forth. I would like to make an informed on an individual vaccine by vaccine basis (as it appears you have). So, two questions:
1.On what basis did you opt out of BCG. (and have you opted out of any others)
2. Do you know of any resources I can use to educated myself about these issues (vaccines generally and Japan specifically) - books websites, etc.

I really appreciate your help. Cheers

[hypnotic]

fear

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by wakarang

Thank you Nyororin. That information is a wonderful help. On all the vaccination schedules I've seen it is reffered to simply as DPT so I was beginning to wonder.

I understand. All of the basic vaccine info is in Japanese, where it isn`t referred to by DPT at all. You should be able to get an in depth guide to the vaccines from your local health office - I`ve heard that in some places they have English versions, but I`ve never asked so can`t be sure.

1.On what basis did you opt out of BCG. (and have you opted out of any others)

You don`t have to "opt out". You just don`t have it done. Japan isn`t like the US (I`m not sure where you`re from, but the US is the country I`m most familiar with when it comes to things like this). No one will do anything other than say that they encourage you to have the vaccinations done. The vaccinations are generally available for free on certain dates at a health center (Not a clinic or hospital, but the local health office). If you don`t plan on getting a certain vaccination, you just don`t go. That`s it - no paperwork, no inquiries, no real problems. The worst is that you`ll be asked about it at the doctor`s, but all you have to do is say that you aren`t going to do that vaccination.

2. Do you know of any resources I can use to educated myself about these issues (vaccines generally and Japan specifically) - books websites, etc.

If you search around, you`ll find literally thousands of pages shouting about conspiracy theories, etc etc, and an equal number accusing parents who don`t vaccinate of insanity and abuse. To be honest, it`s really a waste of time to drudge through them. I don`t believe that either side is correct.

I say that rather than researching the vaccines themselves, to research the illnesses they are designed to prevent. Obviously, no one wants their child to be ill... But if you are worried about the risks of vaccination, it is best to weigh all the possibilities. Without the vaccination, there is a small risk of contracting the illness. With the vaccine, there is the small risk of complications. Weigh those against each other, and make your decisions based on that.

In our case, my son has very weak lungs, so the risk of death from Pertussis outweighed the risk of complications due to the vaccine. So while we waited until he was 2, we did have the vaccination and plan to continue with the boosters for it. By waiting until he was 2, I could also assure myself that any disability he had was natural and not due to vaccinations, as it would have already shown itself by that point.

So basically we`ve taken the middle road. In my son`s case though, I also had the peace of mind that he would be seen by the finest doctors should he show signs of any illness - as essentially we can call on then 24/7. (My son was born at just over 400g, so we have quite a medical team and are a bit more careful than the average parent.)

In the end, it all comes down to whether the benefit outweighs the risk. You can get cancer from x-ray radiation, but the benefits outweigh the risk in most cases.