Today, Fingerling got expelled for the first time.
From the garderie.
I got a phone call at 17h telling me that the doctor had reviewed her vaccination list and she did not have sufficient protection to remain in collective childcare and therefore, as of now, she was out the garderie until I could provide sufficient proof of protection.
So, you might be thinking 'genuine mistake'; 'easily solution' right?
Nope, nope, nope.
Since 2014 there has been a 'rupture de stock' of the Diptheria, Polio, Tetanus, Influenza + whooping cough vaccine (Pentavac) as the two companies making the vaccine have declared 'supply chain problems'. No problems though in making the 50% more expensive Infanrix vaccine (all the above plus Hepatitis B).
Some people object to using this vaccine because they see no reason to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B which is transmitted via bodily fluids, or because the solution used to inject the vaccine is full of all sorts of nasty things (aluminim hydroxide, bovine extract, formaldehyde, asparagine and such like), or because it is not a legal requirement for daycare in France.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against vaccinating your kids.
But as we took the homebirth route, we've also come into contact with a number of natural and homeopathic healthcare professionals. Our new pediatrician suggested that as Fingerling wasn't entering a crèche until almost a year old, we wait to begin vaccinating her until she was slightly older (the vaccination programme in France starts at the age of 2 months, mostly because a high percentage of women go back to work around 12 weeks after giving birth). I agreed, but then the question was, which vaccine should we give?
As we were unable to get hold of the vaccine without hepatitis B, but equally didn't want to give the Infanrix vaccine, the pediatrician came up with a bit of mix and match, and Fingerling got her first vaccinations at 10 months.
And it's that combinations of vaccinations (which covers Diptheria, Polio, Tetanus, Influenza + whooping cough) that does not appear on the French protocol list for admission to the garderie, and so, according to them, Fingerling is likely to be insufficiently protected. Even though the doctor at the garderie understood that it was impossible to get hold of the Pentavac vaccine, and was empathetic about my right to choose Pentavac rather than Infanrix, and even agreed that two doses of the mix and match combination possibly met the dosage requirements to be protected for entry to the garderie, AND even was sorry that she will likely now be very much overvaccinated for these viruses, it still was not on the protocol list, and therefore Fingerling was kindly invited to not attend the rest of her adaptation until she had received at least the first injection of Pentavac or Infanrix.
And that can't happen until Monday afternoon at the earliest, as that's the first appointment I could find with a doctor (which just happens to be the homeopathic one). All parents who have chosen to not give Infanrix have found themselves in the same position and the pharmacy is full of people trying to find vaccine combinations that meet the legal requirements.
At the end of the day it's about having ticked the right box, and hopefully next week Fingerling will be back with her new friends and Small Fry's old teachers. In the meantime, some unexpected extra time with her: time to call up some vaccinated playdate chums.
