The FDA approved a new 5-in-1 vaccine, Pentacel. I’m not sure if it’s good news yet, but it seems to be a step in the right direction towards reducing an infants exposure to vaccine preservatives such as aluminum. The current immunization schedule provides for 23 vaccines administered during the first 18 months. This will reduce that number of shots to 16 for children under 18 months. Pentacel is the first combination vaccine to protect children against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections. According to studies done on more than 5,000 children in the United States and Canada, the vaccine appears to be safe and effective. However, as with any medical breakthrough, only time will tell.
More information on this new vaccine can be found at WebMD in their article “New Children’s Vaccine Means Fewer Shots”
Previous posts related to Vaccines can be found here.
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Fewer preservatives is always a good thing, but the big question with these combo shots is, what does it do to the body, especially the immune system and nervous system to give have the immune response to so many diseases at the same time. There are those who feel that it is this unnatural immune response that is the cause of increasing levels of autoimmune and other diseases as well as possible CNS side effects, such as autism, etc.
Also a study size of 5000 seems big, but it can take millions of “experiments” to determine what rare reactions may occur with susceptible individuals.