Background and Aims

CDC and AAP recommend a standard immunization schedule for all children. Variations in the schedule due to concurrent illness, parental preference or immune dysregulation are discouraged. We hypothesize that children are healthier when they are not subjected to “one size fits all” vaccine policies.

Methods

Comprehensive data on 2,590 patients from a pediatric practice allowing modified vaccine schedules were analyzed for multiple outcomes with regards to immunization status. Patients defined as “inborn” were seen by our practice during the first 28 days of life. Real-world data include all sources of variability affecting disease rates, which clinical trials do not.

Results

Inborn patients received vaccines on a modified schedule that recommended hepatitis B vaccine at age 3 or above (unless mom positive), and MMR vaccine at age 2 for most children (3 for African American children). We did not recommend rotavirus or Gardasil vaccines. Inborn patients received fewer vaccines simultaneously (1 or 2 injections) than outborn patients.

Likelihood of developing autism was statistically significantly higher for outborn (6.3%) than for inborn patients following a modified schedule (0.52%). CDC surveillance autism rates were 1-3% during study period.

Likelihood of developing asthma was statistically significantly higher for outborn (6.3%) than for inborn patients (0.1%).

Conclusions

Patients given an alternative vaccine schedule since birth demonstrated significantly lower incidences of autism and asthma, providing evidence for re-evaluation of temporal association between vaccines and important chronic illnesses. Similar results are being analyzed on a cohort of more than 20,000 patients.