# US versus EURO style immunizations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119 "2015-07-03T05:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/1 "2015-07-03T05:39:15Z")
My son’s pediatrician asked us whether we wanted US or EURO style immunizations for our son, then she said when we asked why the difference if I was from the US and planned to go back we should go with the US ones because some schools in the US refuse euro style ones.:dubious: We ended up going with the euro style because it was much less injections and cheaper, all the immunizations where combined in a single ampule instead of around 6! different ampules and injections. But why on earth would it matter whether the immunizations were given separate or all in one to a school? I find it odd that every child immunized in EU is refused by US schools. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/2 "2015-07-03T08:10:20Z")
I wonder if that was anything to do with the combined MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine controversy? It was suggest that there was a link between this and childhood autism. It raged for a few years with high profile medical researchers debating each others statistics and politicians and vocal parents pointing fingers at each other until it was finally settled. For a time, these multiple inoculations were out of fashion and individual were preferred…at the risk of them not being completed. I guess there are still schools that are worried about being sued. > **[MMR vaccine and autism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy)** > > Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism have been extensively investigated and found to be false. The link was first suggested in the early 1990s and came to public notice largely as a result of the 1998 Lancet MMR autism fraud, characterised as "perhaps the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years". The fraudulent research paper authored by Andrew Wakefield and published in The Lancet claimed to link the vaccine to colitis and autism spectrum disorders. The paper was re Th... ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/3 "2015-07-03T09:33:36Z")
[This article states](http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizationschedule/a/immunization_schedules_statistics.htm) that the most common difference is that many countries don’t include the chicken pox vaccine. Could it be that some states require that vaccine to consider a child fully immunized? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/4 "2015-07-03T09:59:43Z")
The UK doesn’t do chicken pox vaccinations, which seems to be the main difference for young children, and I’ve seen no signs that they’re likely to start. They do, however, provide the HPV vaccine for young girls (IIRC at age 14), and may expand coverage to others at some point. Also: Andrew Wakefield should burn in hell for what he’s wrought. But that’s a different thread topic. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/5 "2015-07-03T16:32:21Z")
Interesting… It says the US equivalent of the MMR vaccine is called MMRV, which includes Chickenpox and suggests it is excluded in the UK because Chickenpox exposure is thought to protect against Shingles in adults. I guess that is another controversy. > **[What’s the real reason Britons aren't offered the chickenpox vaccine? | Jenny...](https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2014/may/15/real-reason-british-public-chickenpox-vaccine-shingles)** > > Jenny Rohn: A safe, effective prevention for this nasty virus is withheld for surprising reasons Wikipedia lists the vaccination schedules of various countries. Seems to be a preference in Europe for combined vaccinations. > **[Vaccination schedule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination_schedule)** > > A vaccination schedule is a series of vaccinations, including the timing of all doses, which may be either recommended or compulsory, depending on the country of residence. > A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to a disease, in order to prevent or reduce the effects of infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen. > Many vaccines require multiple doses for maximum effectiveness, either to produce sufficient initial immune response or to boost response that fades over... ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/6 "2015-07-03T18:56:40Z")
The preference for the MMR here in the UK is based on avoiding the repeated visits to get the separate vaccinations. The MMR is free on the NHS but if you want them separately you have to pay. And yes Wakefield deserves an unpleasant and premature end. I have not seen any estimates of the number of children who died or suffered permanent disability due to his faked research but I am sure that there are many. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/7 "2015-07-04T14:34:44Z")
There may also be a special place in hell for the editor of the Lancet, who’s urbane defense (long before the official apology) of the decision to publish was that The Lancet was in competition for readers. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/8 "2015-07-04T15:20:11Z")
One difference between US and Canadian vaccine scheduled is that infants in the US get Hep B vaccinations but not in Canada, apparently because of a greater prevalence of Hep B in the US. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/9 "2015-07-04T16:18:53Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > One difference between US and Canadian vaccine scheduled is that infants in the US get Hep B vaccinations but not in Canada, apparently because of a greater prevalence of Hep B in the US. It’s available to high risk adults and kids here, but not part of the regular programme. I looked up the schedule and was surprised to see how many vaccinations kids get these days. > [@](#): > > This is just the first 12 months: > > 2 months > > 5-in-1 (DTaP/IPV/Hib) vaccine – this single jab contains vaccines to protect against five separate diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (known as Hib – a bacterial infection that can cause severe pneumonia or meningitis in young children) > Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine > Rotavirus vaccine > Men B vaccine (from September 1 2015) > 3 months > > 5-in-1 (DTaP/IPV/Hib) vaccine, second dose > Men C vaccine > Rotavirus vaccine, second dose > 4 months > > 5-in-1 (DTaP/IPV/Hib) vaccine, third dose > Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine, second dose > Men B vaccine second dose (from September 1 2015) > 12-13 months > > Hib/Men C booster, given as a single jab containing meningitis C (second dose) and Hib (fourth dose) > Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, given as a single jab > Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine, third dose > Men B vaccine third dose (from September 1 2015) ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/10 "2015-07-04T16:35:50Z")
Just to clarify: In the United States, separate vaccines for mumps, measles, and rubella [are no longer available](http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/experts_mmr.asp). You need to get all three at once or none at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/11 "2015-07-04T17:33:00Z")
I would like to know where in Europe/the E.U. all childhood vaccines are given in a single dose/injection. That certainly is not the case in the U.K.: > **[Vaccinations](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/)** > > Find out which vaccinations are offered on the NHS, what age you should ideally have them, and why they are safe and important. It would also be interesting to know which American schools supposedly reject children vaccinated according to European schedules, and how difficult a catchup plan for any missed vaccines might be. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/12 "2015-07-04T17:40:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I would like to know where in Europe/the E.U. all childhood vaccines are given in a single dose/injection. That certainly is not the case in the U.K.: > > [http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/vaccination-schedule-age-checklist.aspx](http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/vaccination-schedule-age-checklist.aspx) > > It would also be interesting to know which American schools supposedly reject children vaccinated according to European schedules, and how difficult a catchup plan for any missed vaccines might be. You are misunderstanding. The controversy/difference is solely for the MMR - Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination. This is given as a single dose in the UK and, apparently, in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/13 "2015-07-04T17:47:52Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > You are misunderstanding. The controversy/difference is solely for the MMR - Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccination. This is given as a single dose in the UK and, apparently, in the US. I was responding to this: > [@grude](#): > > We ended up going with the euro style because it was much less injections and cheaper, all the immunizations where combined in a single ampule instead of around 6! different ampules and injections. Since **grude** has not qualified this statement as just referring to the MMR (which would make doubtful contextual sense anyway) I’m not sure where you are getting the “misunderstanding” from. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-versus-euro-style-immunizations/724119/14 "2015-07-05T17:24:36Z")
> [@naita](#): > > [This article states](http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizationschedule/a/immunization_schedules_statistics.htm) that the most common difference is that many countries don’t include the chicken pox vaccine. Could it be that some states require that vaccine to consider a child fully immunized? Most states require proof of immunity for school admittance, which could be from the vaccine or the disease itself.