Will you get your kids vaccinated for the swine flu?
Health officials in Baltimore appeared before the press today to urge residents to get vaccinated for the swine flu. They wanted to make it clear that the vaccine is perfectly safe and they say that's especially important for children and pregnant women.
Vaccinating children is scary enough, but pregnant women? It is kind of a wake up call when you read that of all the people who landed in the hospital because of the flu, half of them were children. I know that part of the reason they're pushing this is to stop the spread. We've overcome epidemics in the past and wiped some diseases off the map thanks to efforts like these but still, it's a tough decision.
What are your thoughts? Will you get your kids vaccinated? And if you're pregnant, what does your doctor say about you getting vaccinated?
If you want more information, here's a link to the Center for Disease Control, they have a huge section of the website devoted to swine flu.
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22 Answers
I must say I've always been skeptical about flu shots in general. I know doctors say the prevention is necessary, and that getting very sick and needing to be hospitalized is much worse than any possible side effects from the shots. But I can't help but feel that we should be letting our immune systems do the job they're meant to do. I also feel that people should be staying home more when they're sick. Our work culture often doesn't support that kind of thinking, but going to work (or sending your kids to school) when you're sick is exactly what spreads these illnesses.
That said (sigh) I am pregnant, and my ob/gyn did recommend getting the swine flu shot when it becomes available, as well as the regular flu shot. I'm not happy about it, but I'll do it.
My daughter has had as few flu shots as I could manage (none since before she turned three), but I'll consider getting her vaccinated as well if she's in the recommended age group. With her, I worry about her getting sick because she has very bad allergies, which does make one more susceptible.
I'm still concerned that the swine flu is being over-hyped, but I'm not a doctor and the information has been persistent. At some point we need to take a leap of faith, I guess.
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
Be sure to take the poll too!
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
No...I have a three year old. The only children that are at risk is babies. It's just like any other flu shot...you can still get it just a different strain. It's just the flu but with a few more respitory problems. If a child is healthy they can fight it just like any other flu. Besides they have to get two pokes which is injectingthem with the virus itself twice. And they will not feel good for awhile after each one. It's not worth putting a healthy child through it.
Our Doctor told us she's not giveing her childen the shots and she Won't give ours the shots. She is worried about how fast they made the vaccine and that she feels there is not enought research in small childen. I trust our doctor se we will not be getting her the H1N1 shot. Plus she is not in a daycare so she wont be exposed to children that our sick. It all comes down to how you feel.
We are getting our kids vacinated - we have a grandparent with terminal cancer who will probably be doing more chemo so want to keep her exposure to things like this as low as possible. I have heard from dr friends that they think that this h1n1 strain is not that strong and there are likely to be worse strains in future years so she is not thinking she will vaccinate her child. I had not heard that idea before but it makes sense! I think there is some question if a vaccination gives you the same or lesser immunity than actually getting sick. Does anyone know the answer to that?
I may. My husband is still working in the medical field and he will get vaccinated . If he tolerates the nasal spray well, we may get it for our oldest ( 2.5 y/o) . I am very good about hand cleaning and not touching my face at ALL when I go out. Kids , are not good about this type of thing .
As far as some of the comments and questions . For Adults , the injection is usually better for the flu but not for Swine flu . The nasal spray has LIVE virus , and the nasal spray can give you a mild case of the flu. The injection does not give you a mild case of the flu., though you can get a fever , headache etc..
There is ONLY 1 strain of swine flu , H1N1. It may develop into a new strain but by getting the H1N1 vaccination , even if it does mutate you'll have some immunity.
Immunity is simply the body's ability to recognize a pathogen . Developing Cell Mediated immunity by actually getting sick does provide the best , life long immunity. All immunity falls off as we age , sort of like our memories , and booster shots are required for many illnesses.
Hope everyone stays well , but this flu Season's probably going to be a doosey . I read something like 33-40% will get ill , 10% of those will be hospitalized and of those 10% , 1% will probably die. Scary :(
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I am still debating. My 13 year old just got a bunch of booster shots about five months ago and I also need to get her a Prevnar shot as she is susceptible to pneumonia. I have gotten the seasonal flu shots for my kids in the past as they are asthmatic. The end result is that sometimes the flu shots have been effective in warding off the flu, and sometimes not. The H1N1 shot is not available yet, although confirmed cases of H1N1 have already been identified in my neighborhood, so we'll see what happens with that. If you suspect or are worried that you or the kids may have the H1N1 Swine Flu, a response center just debuted today that has a handy online flu assessment test and it also offers a lot of recommendations. There are quite a few websites out there right now, but this one is the first I've seen that has the assessment quiz. https://h1n1.cloudapp.net/default.aspx?cid=34
I just wanted to share with everyone what a friend who is a nurse and midwife told me: pregnant women should not get the nasal mist but should wait for the injection. Also, be sure to double-check the ages. The age recommendations for H1N1 are not the usual ages for the flu shot: for this it's everyone aged 6 months to 24 years, plus pregnant women and a couple of other high-risk groups such as health care providers. The group from 24 to 65 is second priority because it hasn't been affecting that group as much. Here is the exact link to the recommendations page: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
parents need to give thier kids full support to see to thier good health. get more informations here:
http://www.tinyurl.com/ylkzm9l
http://brianleerandone-parentingandkids.blogspot.com
I'm on the fence with this issue. My 3 yr-old son is healthy and it seems uncessary to take a vaccine when I'd rather have his immune system act as the natural defense. On the other hand, not sure how bad it's going to become if kids in school start getting the flu. I'm researching for more opinions and information online, but think I'm going to trust my gut on this. My skeptiscm isn't helped by the government 'ordering' people to get vaccinated with something that's so new with very little testing. I don' t want my child to be a guinea pig. He's been sick before and Mother Nature took care of it.