Does anyone else have no idea whether to have their kid get flu vaccines or not? And then we also have to decide if Brandon and I need vaccines so we don't increase the chance of Calvin getting sick.
My doctor says it's a good idea, and I tend to trust his opinion. He's a smart, educated guy. So many people I've talked to though seem to think doctors are part of some government conspiracy and they just tell people it's safe and a good idea when it's really not?
I've talked to so many people about it and read lots of things online, but I still feel like no one has a perfect answer. It seems like a guessing game, whether Calvin would catch either flu and how bad would it be? Or, are the vaccines as safe as they claim - or would Calvin be affected by it, either now, or down the road sometime?
Are people afraid of the vaccine giving their kid autism, a poor immune system when they're 20, being paralyzed, or just getting the flu from the shot? Those are all the things I've heard so far. (some for the seasonal flu shot and others for the swine flu)
If you have an opinion and some more info, I'm all ears.
19 comments:
AMEN Karen!!
I am heather's friend and sometimes read your blog from hers...and I don't know if that worries you but...I am a public health major (but not an expert)..and thought I could share some things I've learned this semester in infectious diseases.
First, the seasonal flu vaccine is quite safe and you and your husband definitely should be vaccinated because calvin is young, he can have higher complications from the flu than you two.
There are a few reasons not to be vaccinated, and that is in regards to allergies or if he's under 6 months (which he's not).
Here is a link to the CDC website
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/fluvaccine.htm
and I think you can trust them.
The flu shot would most likely only help his immune system, it is so unlikely (one in a million) that he'd get any effects years later.
Autism from the MMR vaccine (the vaccine people most often claim gave their kids autism) is completely false. There is no scientific evidence for it (you'll find plenty of "information" on the internet, but there isn't any concrete proof -- but that is another story. Immunizations are not released until they have 80% minimum efficacy and 1 in 100,000 adverse reactions.
Pregnant women are actually encouraged to get the (dead) flu vaccine because their immune system is down
All in all, it depends on how bad you gauge the consequences of the flu to be. If you only want to immunize one person, immunize calvin. If you don't want to immunize calvin, you two should be immunized. I think if your doctor thinks it's fine, it's be good.
Maybe that helped but I hope it's okay that I commented.
wait, i thought they were encouraging pregnant girls to get the swineflu shot? Anyway, I personally haven't gotten vaccinated, mostly because I just haven't gotten around to it. But vaccinations are usually just a mini (but slightly dead) dose of the actual virus (hence, sometimes you come down with symptoms.) I will probably end up getting it since I work in a school, mike goes to school and I have a little one. The swine flu is just another version of the seasonal flu so it's just as bad for a wee one to get one or the other and my chances of bringing something home is pretty good since i'm surrounded by snotty kids all day.
And as far as vaccinations causing autism. I think that's a boat load of crap.
the end.
Bec, I have been wondering the same thing! I don't really know what to do about it yet either. I'd love to hear what you think about it too and what you decide to do, since I'm still trying to figure it all out.
The risks involved in getting a flu shot are very low - a lot lower than a lot of other risks we accept in life. The comment from Amanda and Dave is right on.
Whether or not the flu vaccine will end up actually helping you in any way is another question, but it (probably) won't hurt you. It's far more likely to help you than hurt you.
Read this: http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/PROFESSIONALS/VACCINATION/effectivenessqa.htm
The flu vaccines are grounded in good science, and the idea that other vaccines can make your kid autistic is completely made up.
For me...
I got the swine flu nasal spray vaccine (1) because it was free (2) because I need to stay healthy so I can take care of everyone that does get sick. I did not get the seasonal flu shot because I never have gotten it and haven't gotten the flu since I was in middle school. I have decided to not vaccinate Alex with either flu shot for now. I may change my mind later. Neither one is very easy to find right now anyway. My doctor said he is encouraging flu vaccines but when I said I didn't know if I wanted to, he said that it was fine if I didn't. He said the chances of Alex getting dangerously sick are very small and that if he does get sick it might help his immune system more than the vaccine would. I might have Cole get the swine flu vaccine if more become available because he is the one at school around all the germs. Good luck with your decision!
We normally get the flu shot. We have so many family gatherings and school and church stuff going on through the winter and holidays that we are bound to catch the flu somewhere. Also, Nate works with sick patients all day and so they order in for the office employees and I usually just get my shot from there. The girls get flu shots through the Ped and I really have loved and trusted our Ped. He was the same Ped that my siblings and Nate's family went to... so we totally trust him. I was just asking about the flu shot vs swine flu shot and if both were necessary. He said that with the swine flu shot there is no worry... and that if we get the regular flu shot there is no reason to not get the swine flu shot. And he thinks we should all get both of them.
Now it's the injection vs the mist that has me concerned. We just got our brand new little guy out of the NICU and over and over we were told not to be around anyone who had had the mist vaccine as it is the live virus and we don't want to expose him. In fact the nurses in the NICU have to take 2 weeks unpaid time off if they get the mist vaccine. Nate's little brother and sister got the mist vaccine and they were totally sick for a few days. His other younger sister got the injection and was fine. I think for sure we'll be going for the mist! I just wish it was easier to get our hands on. We've been watching the three ring circus that is going on outside the county building. It's like the Fourth of July traffic came to town! :o)
-Jessica
Hey-
A few things...
You can't get swine flu from the shot. You CAN get it from the nasal mist- Calvin is not old enough to get it.
My uncle is a microbiologist and he tested the shots. So really the worry about autism has to do with the way some vaccines are preserved. Some use mercury to preserve them which cannot CAUSE autism, but it can trigger kids who already have a genetic predisposition to develop autism.
So my uncle's recommendation is this:
If you can, get the nasal mist. I got this and I did not get sick (although it is a possibility). It did however, give me a headache as well as some other people I've heard of. SO- take some ibuprofen beforehand to try and prevent it.
There are two types of shots you can get: single dose vial and multi dose vial. My uncle says he feels the single dose vial has a safe amount of mercury in it. (And his grandson has autism so he is a pretty picky guy.) The multidose vial, however, he says has a lot more mercury in it and he doesn't think people should get it if it is from a multidose.
If you have more questions, call me. :)
Oh and P.S. the swine flu vaccine is made the same way all other flu vaccines are made, so it should be as safe as getting any other flu vaccine. The side effects wouldn't be anything more than the regular flu.
They don't let pregnant women get the nasal mist regular flu vaccine either-same as the swine flu. A pregnant woman CAN get the shot which is NOT a live virus.
Yeah, they encourage pregnant women to get the dead vaccine, which is made up of dead virus parts, but NOT the mist, which is a very weak live virus.
you can get symptoms because your body reacts to the vaccine like it really got infected. so, it makes sense that sometimes symptoms can appear, but they should be totally mild. people react differently, though, so there isn't way to guarantee.
Ooh, I'm going to TRY to make this short(ish).
I'm going to talk primarily about the swine flu shot, as that's what's really got people up in arms. I never hear anyone gripe about the regular flu shot.
I got flu shots and swine flu shots for my entire family, except of course the baby, who can't get one yet. For me it, especially with the swine flu, it was primarily to protect the baby. For him, it could be life and death, as there is no treatment for infants. Cal would fare better than Zach if he got swine flu, and probably would end up just fine, but why risk it? Watch this clip on H1N1 that was on 60 minutes on Sunday. I think you'll find it informative.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?cid=60%20Minutes/60%20Minutes%20Full%20Episodes&pid=zJk351Hn_jpdbpiQcMjuEYaO5fVnxaib&play=true
As to the risks of the vaccine: The swine flu vaccine is and isn't new. The strain of flu is new, but the method for making the vaccine (it's made the same way as the regular flu shot) has been shown to be safe, except for fluke reactions that are exceptionally rare. I've seen videos on Facebook lately where people post about a tragic one-in-a-million reaction, and I want to scream! Every good medical procedure has fluke effects. A woman in my ward lost her sister-in-law to childbirth. Childbirth! People still die from it, but does that mean that everyone stops having children? No. Yet someone mentions a bad side effect (not even death, mind you) from vaccines and people run screaming from what could, in the case of swine flu, save a young child's life. Frankly, it infuriates me.
Vaccines and autism: You can debate about it all day, but here's the bottom line for me, which I read somewhere. The supposed culprit was thimerisol (which contains mercury), used in vaccines. It was taken out of pretty much all vaccines by 2001. Had that been the culprit, autism rates should have dropped. Instead, they've gone up.
I think it is ridiculous that people think there is a huge conspiracy regarding vaccines and autism. I think we can all agree that pediatricians, by and large, are noble. They love our kids, and want them to be well. They are not being pushed around to cover something up. My dad is a psychiatrist. People think that's the kind of doctor who lays people on couches and asks them about their past, but that's untrue. That's a psychologist (who are not doctors). Psychiatrists deal with brain disorders. Autism is one of those. I have asked my dad, and he has assured me that he has never once in his entire career found one shred of evidence that would make him believe that vaccines have anything at all to do with autism. I trust that implicitly.
Anyway, I know this is a hot-button topic, and I hope I haven't set off anyone's buttons. It's late, and I'm of course sleep deprived. :o)
Becca you are so awesome, I am so glad you posted this blog!! Thank you everyone for all the great info. I agree with most of the comments. I have decided to have my 9 months old and 4 year old get the swine vaccination and maybe even me and Kevin. I will NOT get the mist. I don't like the idea of having the live virus in me. If you have the live virus in you doesn't that mean that you are contagious?? I don't know for sure but it seems like you would be and I don't want to be contagious nor do I want to be around others who are.
Woah, Becca...who knew flu shots were so controversial?? Looks like you already have enough profound advice, so my observation is that most medical professionals would encourage the shots while some nutcases in Utah County can't get enough of their government conspiracy theories. :)
Brett & I got the seasonal shot a couple weeks ago with no side effects. Unless you're allergic to chicken eggs I wouldn't worry about vaccinations being a 'risky' activity.
i hope doctors aren't part of government conspiracy! that could be bad news for me in the future!
as for the flu shot, chris and i both got the regular one, and chris will most likely be getting h1n1 as a requirement for school since he is around patients. i don't know much about the flu shot (either one) but i do know that most docs are there to recommend what is best for you as the patient. they wouldn't pass something out in MILLIONS of doses if it wasn't helpful and a good precautionary measure for children and adults alike. health insurance people are the ones who you need to worry about being shady! :) good luck with your decision
Wow, lots of info.
Aaron and I got the flu mist and Reuben got the flu shot. We plan to get the swine flu shot as soon as it becomes available. And we vaccinate.
I feel like not vaccinating is really selfish. People who don't vaccinate are relying on all the people that DO vaccinate to avoid getting sick.
People talk a lot about the danger of vaccinating BUT it's dangerous NOT to vaccinate. In the last couple years, communities overseas, fueled by conspiracy theories, stepped away from vaccinating. The result? Outbreaks of Polio in countries that had ERADICATED the disease. Here's two articles:
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-04/2009-04-08-voa39.cfm?CFID=306694639&CFTOKEN=60837920&jsessionid=0030fc70ae21d1adee8b30f20b31264a1f54
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21glob.html
Mini-outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases like polio, whooping cough, etc are starting to happen in the US too.
AND not vaccinating is EXTREMELY dangerous to kids who are truly ill and immunosupressed. This is a great article "http://www.doublex.com/section/kids-parenting/your-unvaccinated-child-could-kill-my-son
I think people in our generation have not grown up around these terrible diseases thanks to excellent vaccination efforts. So they forget that the disease not vaccination side effects are the REAL threat.
So when I weigh getting vaccinated I put the danger of the disease on the other side of the scale.
PS Recent studies are saying Pregnant women are hit HARDEST by swine flu. 28 have died. Here's another two articles:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-swine-flu2-2009oct02,0,1799550.story
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/159260.php
Katy's right, pregnant women are at the front of the line for receiving the H1N1 vaccine--their mortality rate from the this strain of flu is >6%--so if you are pregnant this season, get the shot! I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and I encourage folks to get vaccinated--the disease is worse than the injection.
I don't like to get the flu shots for me and my kids because I believe in letting my body do what it is supposed to. We are not in any high risk group so I would rather strendthen our immune systems . We have never had one of the shots and the flu never is not severe and it rarely lasts longer than a couple of days. I also think the autism from imuunization is bunk. We get all of those. I think we are built to fight the flu. I'm not big on medicines unless necessary. I let fevers burn until a certain point, I use other remedies for coughs and headaches. Drinking salt water and listerine and warm drinks are great ideas to protect from getting sick.
Being a middle school band teacher, I come into contact with millions of germs everyday I'm sure. I'm constantly touching mouthpieces, hands, instruments, and then there's the whole lot of all the other germs that EVERYONE at a school comes into contact with. In 8 years, I've never once had the shot and I've never once had the flu. Everyone I work with who has gotten one has gotten sick - not from the flu but from all the other by-products in it. I know for a fact that at least one of these by-products is mercury. Yes, it's supposedly a small enough amount that you're not supposed to get sick from it, but why put those toxins in your body on purpose anyway??? All the other vaccines I totally support, but the flu shot isn't necessary.
But that's my opinion. :)
Here is my 2 bits about the shots. If he is in the nursery at church you are probably better off getting the shots and avoiding all the sickness that all the others bring with them.. Bryan's whole family except for Stephanie got the swine flu from Maddie who got it at church. 10 kids in there nursery got it. Not a fun virus. My kids all got the swine flu the begining of Oct and I could not send them to school for 7 days, not a fun time. I do the shots just to be on the safe side.
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