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Vaccines - just a general question


StaceyinLA
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How many vaccines would you be willing to get/give your children if they were available?
 

As more vaccines are introduced for more illnesses, I just wonder if there is a limit to the number people are willing to get.

Edited by StaceyinLA
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I would not cap at a certain number--it's not as if there's a cap on how many germs he can catch. As long as reliable experts are persuaded that the benefits outweigh the risks for people like him, I'd have him get it (as I did, for example, with chicken pox, which DH and I survived fine but not everyone in our generation did).

 

Edited by Carolina Wren
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How many diseases would you let your child get?  This isn't a straight number answer. Depends on the child's health and the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.  My kids are fully vaxed, though we did delay some just a little.  After having the flu, we always get the flu shot now.  For us and for the elders in our lives.  

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33 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

There is no limit to the number of vaccines I would get or give my children, assuming none of the kids had a medical reason not to get them. 

Yes. I would get my child all that are available, which is what I did. He was given all that were available at the time he was a child. As for flu, we were inconsistent in getting the vaccine until one year when we all got it. He was 6 at the time. Now we all get the vaccine every year, no exceptions. He's 22 now and has been getting it for himself since he turned 18. 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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16 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Yes. I would get my child all that are available, which is what I did. He was given all that were available at the time he was a child. As for flu, we were inconsistent in getting the vaccine until one year when we all got it. He was 6 at the time. Now we all get the vaccine every year, no exceptions. He's 22 now and has been getting it for himself since he turned 18. 

 

This was pretty much us. I was indifferent about the flu until I lost one of my bridesmaids right before my wedding -- pneumonia that turned septic. Pneumonia as a side effect of the flu (But all tamped down by steroids she took for asthma). I remember her talking to me about getting so busy they had not had a chance to get the flu shot yet a couple of weeks before. We get the flu shots ever since.

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10 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

 

This was pretty much us. I was indifferent about the flu until I lost one of my bridesmaids right before my wedding -- pneumonia that turned septic. Pneumonia as a side effect of the flu (But all tamped down by steroids she took for asthma). I remember her talking to me about getting so busy they had not had a chance to get the flu shot yet a couple of weeks before. We get the flu shots ever since.

A friend from high school lost her husband to that same problem and he was only in his 40s. He had been a smoker much of his life even since we knew him in school, but quit several years before and was otherwise fairly healthy. By then we had already been getting the flu vaccine for several years but his death really brought home how indiscriminate the flu can be. 

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We have not always fully vaccinated our kids, so I’m not going to act as though I’m some sort of “better” than anyone else. We’ve already been working on getting everyone UTD for a while, and have given the teens some autonomy on specific shots.  For the most part, we’re very much in favor of doing what we can to protect those who can’t.  No randomly picked limits set.

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I will add that when I said all vaccines available that includes HPV. At the time they were just starting to recommend that boys as well as girls get the vaccine. He was 15 and not active at all but his doctor pointed out that many insurance companies wouldn't cover it once a person turned 18. Yes, he was 3 years away from 18 but that didn't mean he would be 3 years away from becoming sexually active so rather than stick my head in the sand, I had him get it. I did discuss it with him as I felt he was old enough to have a say, but he agreed to it without any qualms.

Edited by Lady Florida.
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2 hours ago, StaceyinLA said:

How many vaccines would you be willing to get/give your children if they were available?
 

As more vaccines are introduced for more illnesses, I just wonder if there is a limit to the number people are willing to get.

I'm struggling a bit with this question, so forgive me for a follow up. Do you mean that you suspect people will have a specific number in mind and not be willing to go above that? It's such an unusual concept to me that I'm trying to make sure I understand the question.

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No limit. 

Vaccination is probably the single biggest public health advance, well, ever, followed closely by proper sanitation/hygiene practices.  And the immune system is designed to be challenged. 

Edited by EKS
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2 hours ago, SKL said:

It would be decided on a case by case basis for me.  I would not get a vax just because it is available.  We don't do the flu shot for example.

I’ve never gotten the flu shot. DH always gets the flu shot and oldest daughter does too. I believe her job mandates it. Both of our daughters had the chicken pox before the shot became available. That is an example of a shot, I wouldn’t have opted for because, overall, they were healthy kids. 

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We get all the vaccines that we can get.  Ds was too old for HPV vaccine-already in his mid to late 20;s and he is not active that way.  Dd1 has factor V leiden like I do and HPV has a risk of blood clots and both of us stay away medicines and vaccines that cause blood clots,.  dd2 does not have factor V leiden and did get it.

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I did all the shots, but I spread them out quite a bit compared with the norm.  I just felt that it was silly to stun a preschooler's immune system with 15 strange germs at the same time, when you could do them in clumps of 3-5 at once.  The other thing I did was not do early adoption.  So, for example, when the chicken pox shot was recommended it was still really new, so I waited for a few years to see whether it would continue to be considered safe and effective before letting it be administered.  I've noticed over the years that a lot of medical interventions and drugs turn out to have side effects that are not obvious in early testing, and did not want DD to be a guinea pig for that.

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1 hour ago, kathyntx said:

 

I was also born in the mid-50's, so I got all the childhood diseases just like everyone else did back then - chicken pox, measles, mumps, etc. - along with the immunity that came with that.  So I didn't stress over getting the shots immediately.  And, sometimes, even now, I kind of wish I'd allowed my dc to get some of those diseases vs getting the shots, so that their immunity would be more solid, as I've been hearing that some of those shots can 'wear off', leaving an ADULT to contract what used to be a childhood illness, turning it into a much more severe adult illness.  Ah well ....  good luck making those decisions.  🙂

 

 

 

I was also born in the mid-50s and knew two kids in my family's social circle with permanent damage from the measles. The only vaccines I got, the only ones available, were smallpox which was given to all babies back then, and when I was in grade school, polio. I apparently never had rubella (then called German measles) even though my mother thought I did. When I was trying to get pregnant I was tested and had no antibodies for that one. I didn't hesitate to get the vaccine (mid 90s) to protect the baby I was hoping to conceive. 

I've had other vaccines as an adult. Several years ago my doctor said it was recommended that adults get dTap (or is it Tdap? I can never remember the most current one). Again I didn't hesitate. Last year I was finally able to get the shingles vaccine so I did. This year my insurance company will consider me old enough for them to cover the pneumonia vaccine and I'll get that one as soon as possible after I become eligible (after my next birthday).

 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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I got my kids all the ones on the NZ schedule - so no chicken pox.  I get the flu shot most years as it is free because I am considered high risk and because I will need to nurse the kids.  I never got the flu in the 35 years before I started getting them though. I do think the general vaccination rates would fall off if there were too many though as there are already a lot of people who struggle to get their kids vaccinated here (this may not be such a problem in other countries but NZ doctors tend to only open business hours and public transport is patchy).

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All the shots.  In my view there is no such thing as too many.  My kids have had all the publicly funded ones, plus some that aren't publicly funded (HepA/B aren't funded until age 12 here.  We paid to have them done much earlier in childhood).  We get flu shots every year.  My eldest will be eligible for publicly funded HPV next year (age 12) and he will definitely get that too.

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7 hours ago, lauraw4321 said:

I'm struggling a bit with this question, so forgive me for a follow up. Do you mean that you suspect people will have a specific number in mind and not be willing to go above that? It's such an unusual concept to me that I'm trying to make sure I understand the question.

 

I guess I just wonder if there’s a point where people will draw a line - like how many is too many to compromise our own functioning immune system, or will we just get vaccines for anything and everything that’s available, even though there will always be diseases for which there are no vaccines.

At what point would the number of side effects come into play?

I, personally, think the vaccine schedule is overload for infants as it is now compared to what it was 25 years ago when my kids were little (and, by the way, I don’t think the overall health of people in this country is better than it was 25 years ago, based on the numbers of chronic illnesses). 

Just wondering if there would ever be a point when people would think enough was enough.

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10 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Wow, what a can of worms to open up. 

 

We're getting all of them. ALL OF THEM.

 

I was merely responding to the question asked of me. I am genuinely curious how others feel about it, but I’m not gonna lie about why. I certainly don’t expect that to be the majority position. There are many people who are extremely pro-vaccine that could possibly draw a line, and I’m legitimately wondering where that line would be.

Edited by StaceyinLA
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12 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

I guess I just wonder if there’s a point where people will draw a line - like how many is too many to compromise our own functioning immune system, or will we just get vaccines for anything and everything that’s available, even though there will always be diseases for which there are no vaccines.

At what point would the number of side effects come into play?

I, personally, think the vaccine schedule is overload for infants as it is now compared to what it was 25 years ago when my kids were little (and, by the way, I don’t think the overall health of people in this country is better than it was 25 years ago, based on the numbers of chronic illnesses). 

Just wondering if there would ever be a point when people would think enough was enough.

I can't relate to this line of reasoning at all, so I think I'll have to duck out. 

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8 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

I can't relate to this line of reasoning at all, so I think I'll have to duck out. 

 

Well, it’s just a question, and I do NOT want to argue. I am seriously just interested in others’ positions on the subject. Someone asked why I wanted to know, and I’m being honest about where I’m coming from, but I absolutely posted this out of mere curiousity.

Edited by StaceyinLA
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I don't know what the line could be. I mean, a new virus comes out that is extremely deadly, a vaccine is developed, is someone saying, no I won't get that one because I've already had 10 shots in my life time?

C19 aside, I cannot wait for a norovirus vaccine to show up on the scene. Can.not.wait. for them to figure that one out.

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42 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

I guess I just wonder if there’s a point where people will draw a line - like how many is too many to compromise our own functioning immune system, or will we just get vaccines for anything and everything that’s available, even though there will always be diseases for which there are no vaccines.

At what point would the number of side effects come into play?

I, personally, think the vaccine schedule is overload for infants as it is now compared to what it was 25 years ago when my kids were little (and, by the way, I don’t think the overall health of people in this country is better than it was 25 years ago, based on the numbers of chronic illnesses). 

Just wondering if there would ever be a point when people would think enough was enough.

Vaccines don't compromise our immune system. They cause our immune system to make antibodies. 

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I was actually wondering with this coronavirus if part of the reason it's hitting children less is because of all the vaccines they get these days.  😉

Our kids are fully vaccinated.  They just started the HPV at their last physicals.   We haven't always gotten flu shots, especially when there are shortages since we are low risk.  Usually it's just a timing thing, we'd have to make an appointment to go back just for that.

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50 minutes ago, EmseB said:

I don't know what the line could be. I mean, a new virus comes out that is extremely deadly, a vaccine is developed, is someone saying, no I won't get that one because I've already had 10 shots in my life time?

C19 aside, I cannot wait for a norovirus vaccine to show up on the scene. Can.not.wait. for them to figure that one out.

 

Yeah I mean that’s what I was curious about. For those who’ve completed the schedule, or say their children who are having multiple doses of vaccines at once, is there a point where you say no it’s too much? Or do you maybe pick and choose at that point? IDK - this is why I’m curious as to whether there are very pro-vax people that would have a line.

Edited by StaceyinLA
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Just going to point out that no, none of us have ALL the vaccinations. I doubt many people on this board are vaccinated against rabies, for example, and a most of us probably aren't vaccinated against yellow fever or typhoid.

With that said, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that getting many vaccines instead of few vaccines harms the immune system or the body.

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49 minutes ago, EmseB said:

Vaccines don't compromise our immune system. They cause our immune system to make antibodies. 

 

Well there could certainly be some argument for whether having multiple vaccines at one time would compromise your immune system, even if only temporarily. 

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6 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:

I was actually wondering with this coronavirus if part of the reason it's hitting children less is because of all the vaccines they get these days.  😉

Our kids are fully vaccinated.  They just started the HPV at their last physicals.   We haven't always gotten flu shots, especially when there are shortages since we are low risk.  Usually it's just a timing thing, we'd have to make an appointment to go back just for that.

 

I don’t know, but I actually saw a post earlier with a link to a study (it was because of the veteran hospitalized in NOLA) showing that those with flu shots were actually at higher risk for Coronavirus. I’m trying to find the study now, but I cannot remember who posted it.

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3 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

Just going to point out that no, none of us have ALL the vaccinations. I doubt many people on this board are vaccinated against rabies, for example, and a most of us probably aren't vaccinated against yellow fever or typhoid.

With that said, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that getting many vaccines instead of few vaccines harms the immune system or the body.

Ok, yes, I have not had every vaccine ever invented. I have had the vaccines recommended to me by my doctor based on a) where I live in the world b) my age c) my risk status.  I'm not of a risk group for pneumonia, so I do not get that vaccine. I did have the rabies vaccine, because I was considered at risk due to work. 

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I don't think I could give an exact number.... but I am surprised at the number of people saying "all of them."

Not all vaccines are created equal. Their ingredients differ. Some have higher incidence of adverse reaction. Some of them are for diseases that relatively mild. Some are more effective than others. Some last for many years. Some lose effectiveness rather quickly. Some people are more likely to experience adverse reactions than others, which sometimes results in permanent injury or death.

Nothing in medicine is "one size fits all" except supposedly the CDC's current recommended vaccine schedule. There is no way I'd give blanket approval to each and every vaccine that is or will some day be on the market. Research *each* vaccine. Look at your own personal and family medical history when making decisions. Don't buy into this idea that all vaccines are always worth the risk. Sometimes they aren't. 

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19 minutes ago, DesertBlossom said:

I don't think I could give an exact number.... but I am surprised at the number of people saying "all of them."

Not all vaccines are created equal. Their ingredients differ. Some have higher incidence of adverse reaction. Some of them are for diseases that relatively mild. Some are more effective than others. Some last for many years. Some lose effectiveness rather quickly. Some people are more likely to experience adverse reactions than others, which sometimes results in permanent injury or death.

Nothing in medicine is "one size fits all" except supposedly the CDC's current recommended vaccine schedule. There is no way I'd give blanket approval to each and every vaccine that is or will some day be on the market. Research *each* vaccine. Look at your own personal and family medical history when making decisions. Don't buy into this idea that all vaccines are always worth the risk. Sometimes they aren't. 

Every bottle of OTC medicine I have is one-size-fits-all dosing. Of course, if I know something about my medical history that would preclude me from talking a certain medication, I don't just follow the dose on the bottle. The same is true for vaccines. My egg allergic kid didn't get the nasal flu mist, for example, based on CDC guidelines and his ped. I don't know any pediatrician giving out vaccines regardless of medical history or counter indications.

Those of us saying all of them aren't  saying we'd give one or take one if it was counter indicated for medical reasons. I thought that went without saying.

Edited by EmseB
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5 hours ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

Well there could certainly be some argument for whether having multiple vaccines at one time would compromise your immune system, even if only temporarily. 

What is the argument? Our immune systems are bombarded by bajillions of germs everyday. Vaccines induce a response to create a specific antibody in a controlled way without overloading our immune system the way that encountering that same germ in the wild would. But I'm interested to hear the science behind what you're talking about here.

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5 hours ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

Yeah I mean that’s what I was curious about. For those who’ve completed the schedule, or say their children who are having multiple doses of vaccines at once, is there a point where you say no it’s too much? Or do you maybe pick and choose at that point? IDK - this is why I’m curious as to whether there are very pro-vax people that would have a line.

I would say it's too much if my doctor says it's too much or advised against a certain vaccine for other reasons (like my son's egg allergy, for example).

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6 hours ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

I don’t know, but I actually saw a post earlier with a link to a study (it was because of the veteran hospitalized in NOLA) showing that those with flu shots were actually at higher risk for Coronavirus. I’m trying to find the study now, but I cannot remember who posted it.

 

Is that perhaps because people at high risk for coronavirus are also at high risk for the flu and thus more likely to get their yearly flu shots?

Quote

Well there could certainly be some argument for whether having multiple vaccines at one time would compromise your immune system, even if only temporarily. 

 

Sure. There can be an argument for anything you can think up. Do you have data to support this argument or are you just spitballing here?

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All the available shots recommended. When there is a C19 shot available to the public, I will be there with bells on and will get my youngest the shot and implore my YAs to get it. I have no doubt my dd would get the shot because she’s watching all this unfold from France. 

I was a delayed vaxxer for several years in the past, so I understand thinking “It’s too many/too much/too early.” But I learned some things about how vaccines work and I no longer think that. 

This year is the first year I got the flu shot and I am So GLAD I did. 

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We are a very risk vs. reward family in regards to vaccinations.  All medicines/vaccine have benefits and risks. The sheer number of additional vaccinations recommended for my younger vs. older child had me scratching my head.  My kids were vaccinated for all of the things I was, and a few more that we felt they were more in the at-risk population.  The flu vaccine is something one of my adult kids and husband get, but the rest of us tend to get ill when we get the vaccine. Nonetheless,  I am thankful to have vaccines.

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I have a child that had a very serious reaction to a vaccine, so I am very cautious about vaccinating.  We have done most of the recommended vaccinations at this point.  I am cautious of new vaccines on the market and prefer to wait to see how the general population does, even when they go through a lot of testing beforehand, because of my own personal experiences.

For me it really depends on what the vaccine is for.  I would like to make a risk/benefit analysis, with my doctor (or loved ones doctor) to determine if it is something that would be beneficial.  I think that the coronavirus one would be one I would risk as a new vaccine for my loved ones who are most at risk, but maybe not for those that aren't.  I know that my stance is not popular, and I know that there is great benefit of herd immunity, however, after seeing my child very, very sick from a reaction, I just can't be on the "any and every vaccine that comes out" bandwagon.

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All of them, even HPV which my oldest has had. 

We did decline some newborn ones (Hep) just because of low risk vs efficacy of that extra early dose (can't remember the details, it's been years) but were otherwise always up to date - including boosters for adults.

Except we've never done flu, Just because low risk meant we didn't feel it was necessary to use up the resource - that may change this winter.

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14 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

My children had all the recommended vaccines when we lived overseas, including the basics as well as Typhoid, TB, Rabies .....  So I suppose I don't have an upper limit.

My vaccine record from growing up internationally is crazy long, I got vaccinated for stuff like yellow fever and rabies and European tick fever that are not at all common in the US.

No one in my family has ever had a serious vaccine reaction so I'm pretty comfortable with vaccines that provide a significant benefit to self or to the overall group. There are some diseases out there that we don't yet have vaccines for where I would love to see an effective vaccine developed.

We've waited on a few like the newborn Hep B where my children were super low risk.

Edited by maize
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On 3/12/2020 at 4:16 PM, StaceyinLA said:

I guess I just wonder if there’s a point where people will draw a line - like how many is too many to compromise our own functioning immune system, or will we just get vaccines for anything and everything that’s available, even though there will always be diseases for which there are no vaccines.

At what point would the number of side effects come into play?

I, personally, think the vaccine schedule is overload for infants as it is now compared to what it was 25 years ago when my kids were little (and, by the way, I don’t think the overall health of people in this country is better than it was 25 years ago, based on the numbers of chronic illnesses). 

Just wondering if there would ever be a point when people would think enough was enough.

I recommend that you study immunology from the ground up--so starting with physics and chemistry and working your way forward--and then decide what the answer is.  Anyone with a strong understanding of immunology knows that the idea of immune system "overload" from vaccines is BS.  That said, some people *do* have adverse reactions, but such folks are few and far between.  If we want to *actually help* people who can't get vaccines (as opposed to those people who *don't* get vaccines because either they or their parents have nothing better to worry about), we can get vaccinated ourselves.

Edited by EKS
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For us, due to medical issues, I don’t allow more than one or two at a time.  I had a few reactions to them and the last one was bad.  With my kids, our pediatrician fully supports us on this.  Especially with one of mine following closely in medical issues.  We don’t get the flu or hpv ones. My kids are fully vaccinated, we just do it a little slower. 

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