athena1277 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Would you vaccinate your kids for the H1N1 virus? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31424271/ns/us_news-msnbc_wire_services/ My kids are totally up to date on their shots. They even get flu shots. But for some reason, this one makes me nervous. I guess because it is new and the side-effects are unknown. What do think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We're getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The vaccine may be new but as long as the process that made it was tried and tested I'd be fine with it. Afterall, every yearly flu shot is essentially a different and new shot in terms of the strains it contains. If it's available here we may get it. My kids get all their shots but I generally let them choose whether they want a flu shot. This year however my MIL is going through chemotherapy so, barring staying away from her, none of us has a choice and we will all be getting flu shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Yes, b/c I have asthma and am also allergic to ingredients in the flu shot, so I can't get any flu shots. I make sure my dh and kids get them, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 No, we won't use this vaccine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 No, but then we don't do any flu shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Nope. We do not get any flu vaccines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty Social Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We usually skip flu shots, but I think we'll get this one. A 15 yo just died from swine flu the next county over from us - the county in which my dh works. He was in school one day, and dead three days later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am not interested in that vax. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The number of documented cases in my county was 79 last I knew. They were telling people to not even bother going to the doctors if you were mildly ill. Once they had 1 confirmed case in a school they said they weren't going to look for any others. I don't see this flu being any different than any other flu and we don't vaccinate the children for those either. My children have no chronic illnesses. I might answer differently if they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We do selective/delayed vaxing. If the H1N1 flu was turning up to be more virulent than your average seasonal flu, I'd consider it despite DD's mild egg allergy. Since it isn't, we won't. I haven't gotten a flu shot myself since I got out of the military; DD hasn't gotten one ever. I think we've each had the flu like once in her lifetime (unless maybe we've had mild cases indistinguishable from a cold, or unless this bug I'm just now getting over was the flu--fever, mild sore throat, achey, miserable. Could be. Go to doc today, now that I'm on the mend.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We will definitely NOT be getting an H1N1 vax. Someone just remarked to me recently they thought more people died from the swine flu vac in 1976 than the swine flu itself but I have not had time to research that. Also, I would be very curious to see a side-by-side comparison of # of deaths from swine flu vs. # of deaths from influenza A during the same time period. I think flu A would be much higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am leery on that one. Yes, a few kids have died, but that happened the same year that my oldest ds was 4 - kids were dying of the same strain he had. He got it, was horrifyingly sick, but did not die (was not even hospitalized). So, just because someone dies from it doesn't mean another person the same age or even with the same medical conditions prior will die too. Soph the Vet - you are right. 1 person died of swine flu in 1976. The vaccine killed 20 or so people and gave some 200 or so Guillian-Barre syndrome. So I am on the fence. We usually do the flu shot. I am not so sure with the Swine flu vaccine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am still undecided. We have a son with cancer, so we generally all get flu shots. Swine flu however responds to tamiflu, and if one of us gets this flu we will all be put on tamiflu to help prevent my son from getting it. The vaccine may not do any good for us though as our cases of swine flu in this county have doubled in the last few days, so we are likely to get it before the vaccine gets here anyway if we are going to get it. *sigh* it is always something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We selectively vaccinate, and won't be getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I hope Perry reads this thread! I'm concerned this virus could mutate before fall like the Spanish Flu (1918) did. If so, I think this flu vaccine is for the current strain of swine flu anyway. This strain has been pretty mild overall - so I would like to wait for a vaccine for the more lethal swine flu mutation if and when that happens. But, I think if it mutates, there won't be a vaccine ready. Is my thinking off base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We will definitely NOT be getting an H1N1 vax. Someone just remarked to me recently they thought more people died from the swine flu vac in 1976 than the swine flu itself but I have not had time to research that.Also, I would be very curious to see a side-by-side comparison of # of deaths from swine flu vs. # of deaths from influenza A during the same time period. I think flu A would be much higher. According to the CDC as of 6/7/09 there had been 17,855 confirmed or probable cases of H1N1 in the US and 44 deaths. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm. According to the WHO there have been 36.000 cases in 75 countries with 163 deaths. Influenza A that we see every year causes an estimated 36,000 deaths a year in the US alone. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm. There are obvious problems with some of the data. The number of cases of H1N1 is likely much much higher than reported as testing was not done in most people. Deaths from Influenza are not reportable so may be higher than the number given. Etc. My understanding is that although H1N1 right now appears to be fairly mild, with a low mortality rate, the concern is that in past pandemics the virus starts out mild and then mutates to cause more severe disease with a higher mortality rate. I think this is the main reason the experts are so concerned about H1N1 even though right now it appears to be mild. There were serious problems with the swine flu vaccine in the 1970's. I believe I read there were 30 deaths associated with the vaccine. I have to admit that as a huge vaccine advocate and supporter and as someone who gets the flu vaccine every year...I'm not sure what I'll do with the H1N1 vaccine. I'm skeptical about how fast it's being developed and whether or not it's really going to be an illness that is severe enough to warrant the risk. I was talking about this with people in my office and most of us were of the thought that as of now we would not choose to give the vaccine to our own kids, barring a change in the information out there. We might get it ourselves since health care workers are both high risk to be infected and we see people who are high risk so are likely to pass it on to someone who might be at risk of more severe illness (newborns, asthmatics, kids with chronic disease, etc.). I'm kind of glad I'll be on maternity leave at the beginning of the flu vaccination season. :001_huh: I'm only sort of kidding about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Aren't all flu shots new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGin Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 (edited) Yes, we did flu shots last year for the first time and we will again this year. We all got nailed with a very nasty flu winter before last and I DO not want to go there again, so if there is even a small chance of avoiding it then for me, it's worth it. Edited June 18, 2009 by JustGin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Probably not, but we don't do flu shots in other years, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohsmom23 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 No, we wouldn't get it, but we don't get regular flu shots either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in FL Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I hope Perry reads this thread! I'm concerned this virus could mutate before fall like the Spanish Flu (1918) did. If so, I think this flu vaccine is for the current strain of swine flu anyway. This strain has been pretty mild overall - so I would like to wait for a vaccine for the more lethal swine flu mutation if and when that happens. But, I think if it mutates, there won't be a vaccine ready. Is my thinking off base? It has already mutated at least once: http://medheadlines.com/2009/06/18/new-h1n1-swine-flu-viral-strain-discovered-in-brazilian-patient/ We're going to wait and see. My fear is that the swine flu vaccine won't work on a mutated strain. It will really depend on how bad the new strain that comes back in the fall is. I would prefer not to get it, but I will if I see it as protecting my family. Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 There once WAS a swine flu vaccine. People still have side effects to this day......... We selectively vaccinate. My children aren't in a high risk category for dying from the swine flu. As I see it the risks of this vaccine far outweigh the risks from the actual disease. This is how we gauge all vaccines - it's choosing between two evils - the vaccine or the disease. Some disease risks far outweigh the vaccine, and so we vaccinate. Others are risky vaccines considering the diseases. It scares me when people don't do the research and don't vaccinate. It scares me when people don't do the research and do vaccinate. Each person has to decide what they're willing to risk for their own children as they are the ones that have to live with the consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 No, probably not. We do not get flu shots either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Yes, I have triple risk for dying from flu (I have asthma, Sjogren's Syndrome and am on immunosuppressants). With that, everyone in my household is required to get flu shots every year. DH would be required anyway since he is military. Youngest is at risk herself since she only gets asthmatic problems with viruses and wasp stings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 No and we don't do regular flu shots either. We do some other vaccinations (tetanus, etc). My family tends to be healthy - seldom even getting colds. If we get the disease, we do, but I'd rather take my chances with that than with the vaccine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Would you vaccinate your kids for the H1N1 virus? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31424271/ns/us_news-msnbc_wire_services/ My kids are totally up to date on their shots. They even get flu shots. But for some reason, this one makes me nervous. I guess because it is new and the side-effects are unknown. What do think? We vaccinate, but we don't use vaccines that have been out only a short time. That's how we avoided the rotovirus vaccine problems, fortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Wait and see here. My dd has immunity problems so we usually take the regular flu shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 My ds rarely gets the flu shot. He's gets them if for some reason I can't get mine or if there is a more dangerous than normal flu bug. Dh and I always get ours -- dh because of habit from working with the military and I have cancer. For those of you with cancer patients in your family. Why is it that everyone in your family needs a flu shot? My doctors see no need for my family to get their flu shots as long as I can get mine in the early part of the flu season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I wouldn't, but I don't have my kids get the flu shot either. I would definitely consider it if my children had health issues, but (knock on wood) neither of them do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.