fivetails Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 The kids and I are supposed to go in for seasonal flu shots this morning.. this is something we've never done. Dh has had it, once, through his work. He says it didn't make him sick or anything, far as he remembers. I'm still apprehensive though. Could we turn up allergic? Could we end up with some bizarre side effects? Any side effects would be unwelcome today, as dd12 and I have a long choir workshop to attend ~ we can't feel icky. I hear conflicting stories - some people *swear* that the shot GAVE them the flu. Others say that's impossible - that they must have already have been exposed and it's just coincidental timing. Argh. I hate unknowns. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 :grouphug: I'm sure it will be fine. Let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 My kids get them every year and never have problems. They will be ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 *sigh* Okay, I'm back on the fence. Just did some googling and several provinces *are* DELAYING the seasonal vaccine because of the study that supposedly shows that having the seasonal shot can *increase* your risk of catching the H1N1 later. Our province was going to delay, but they didn't - the nurse I spoke with briefly (when finding out the times for this) said Alberta chose NOT to delay because the study was "not for sure" and "not looked at by enough people yet" .... The provinces that ARE delaying it are saying they are doing so because a) the possibilities from that study and b) that H1N1 is expected to be the "widely circulating strain" Provinces have been reviewing their vaccination plans since Canadian researchers announced this week that preliminary results of a study suggest people who had received the seasonal flu vaccine in the past were twice as likely to get the H1N1 virus. The research has not yet been peer reviewed or published. *note: "this week" - the article is from Sept 25th British Columbia will join four other provinces and delay part of its seasonal flu shot program this year until after the swine flu shots have been rolled out. Perry Kendall, the province's chief medical officer of health, says the decision is in part due to concerns raised by an unpublished study suggesting people who got a seasonal shot last year were more likely to catch swine flu this year. * article is from Sept 29th Prince Edward Island has joined a growing list of provinces that will delay part of their seasonal flu shot programs this year, a decisions that is partially fuelled by concerns raised by controversial and unpublished Canadian research. The study, by scientists in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario, suggests people who got a flu shot last year were twice as likely to catch swine flu this year as people who didn’t get the seasonal flu shot. The research is being analyzed by a medical journal and by an independent panel set up at the behest of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Researchers in the U.S., Australia and Britain have looked for and haven’t seen the same effect. * Sept 29th Besides P.E.I., B.C. Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan have announced they will only give seasonal flu vaccine early in the fall to people 65 and older and residents of long-term care facilities. The rationale is that older adults don’t appear to be at much risk of catching swine flu, but they are susceptible to seasonal flu viruses. The research - led by Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and Dr. Gaston De Serres of Laval University - is being analyzed by a medical journal and by an independent panel set up at the behest of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Researchers in the U.S., Australia and Britain have looked for and haven't seen the same effect. I hate this. If I take them in and we do this, I might very well be increasing their chances of catching H1N1. However, we may have HAD that, back in late March. Or not. I really don't feel okay with doing it this morning. The clinics are being offered for a few weeks at the very least and just recently began, so... I think I will put this off until I can look at it a bit more. We don't have a family doctor to chat with about it, so all I can really do is search out the info myself at this point.. I'm gonna tell dh that we're not going *today* and that I'm gonna take a second look at this. It just.. doesn't feel okay. Y'know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 They are not talking about this year's flu shot, they are talking about LAST year's flu shot. They have no data on this year's shot because it hasn't been out for very long. The data is unpublished, hasn't been proven in other areas, and may or may not be accurate. Even if it IS accurate, what does that mean? Twice as likely to catch it doesn't mean that it won't be mild for those people who had the flu shot in the past. I don't know. We don't have a choice - my kids were vaccinated for the last 5 eyars and have been this year as well. They do not have H1N1 as of yet and what we did have a month ago, IF it was H1N1, was VERY mild in comparison to typical flu. Best of luck with your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 The data is unpublished, hasn't been proven in other areas, and may or may not be accurate. Yeah I know it hasn't been and may or may not be - but it seems that it's enough to make the 'big decision' folks in half of our provinces decide that the safest thing to do is delay .... if we were still living back east (we moved last Winter) we wouldn't even have the option because PEI is delaying. Alberta *was* going to delay (it had been said on the news) but has chosen to go ahead... "Twice as likely to catch it" concerns me because I worry about one of us being a 'worst case scenario' (what with such a large number of people who have died from H1N1 being perfectly healthy people) and "twice" the chance of catching means twice the risk of being one of those very unlucky (understatement) people... know what I mean? Doubling our chances of having someone critically ill or... .... {and even pertaining to 'underlying conditions' - a person can have something that could put them at higher risk and not even know it.} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I definiely know what you are saying - I just don't see where they get their information. It would be really tough to prove that you are twice as likely to get it BECAUSE you had the vaccine in previous years. I mean, HOW do they know that? Maybe those who had the shot did so because they were high risk which, in turn, makes them more succeptible to ANY flu. I don't know...just sounds like a mess to me. FWIW, I really hope they are "right" because delaying vaccines like that could really come back to bite them if they are wrong. Can you imagine when/if seasonal flu takes hold and then folks get it, their immune systems go down, and swine flu sneaks in on top of it? *That* could get ugly. Tough decision you have there in Canada. According to the study, we were screwed either way - we have had the seasonal shots all along, so one more didn't make or break it, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyrooch Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 The kids and I are supposed to go in for seasonal flu shots this morning.. this is something we've never done. Dh has had it, once, through his work. He says it didn't make him sick or anything, far as he remembers. I'm still apprehensive though. Could we turn up allergic? Could we end up with some bizarre side effects? Any side effects would be unwelcome today, as dd12 and I have a long choir workshop to attend ~ we can't feel icky. I hear conflicting stories - some people *swear* that the shot GAVE them the flu. Others say that's impossible - that they must have already have been exposed and it's just coincidental timing. Argh. I hate unknowns. :confused1: My son is a Leukemia survivor so he is considered "high risk" for all flu's. His Oncologists require him (as well as us) to get the flu shot to protect him. There were times when he was SEVERELY immunocompromised and he was still required to get it. The "shot" form of the vaccines contain killed virus and they cannot give you the flu. If they could then the medical community would not push for the weakest and "highest risk" groups to get them. They are trying to protect them from the flu's, not increase their risk of getting it. Now the "mist" vaccine is a different story. It contains live virus and there is a chance that you can get flu symptoms from it. My son absolutely cannot under any circumstances get the mist vaccine. We cannot get it either because since it contains live virus we could shed the virus and expose our son. Long story short, the "shot" vaccine has proven to be very safe. So safe that the medical community highly recommends that those that have the greatest risk of being hurt by the flu get it. I would NOT get the mist version because it does contain live virus. Even this version has proven to be relatively safe so for low risk groups it is probably fine. It just isn't an option for us because my son is high risk. Our entire family has taken the seasonal flu shots for years. My children since they were little and my husband and I for 15+ years. We have NEVER had a single problem after getting the vaccine. Even my immunocompromised son has done well. We have gotten our seasonal flu shot this year and we have also gotten the H1N1 shot/killed vaccine. Again, my son's Oncologist says that my son and the rest of us must get it so we did. We had absolutely no problems from that vaccine either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Right, everything that mommyrooch said. The flu shot is not a live-virus vaccine and cannot give you the flu. Mild fever and body aches, yes, but flu, no. Flu mist is live virus and can cause a mild case of the flu. We all get the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyndie Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I think since your intuition is telling you something isn't right, you should definately follow that, regardless of what others say. There's something somewhere in your concience that is telling you to be careful so don't ignore it. :) That said, my husband is in the military and is required to get the shot each year. For the last 22 years, dead virus or not, he gets the flu from it every year... guaranteed. He is always out for a week with the flu starting the day of the shot. So some people do get the flu from the dead virus anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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