Flu Shot - Keokuk,IA

No never. The flu vaccine changes every year and almost every year they (scientists/researchers) get it wrong. This year H1N1 is in the vaccine and I don't believe there has been enough testing done on this. Last year hundreds of women in the first trimester of pregnancy miscarried within days of receiving H1N1, that's huge to me and not a coincedence. My mother used to get the flu shot every year and sure enough every year she would get the flu and has had to be hospitalized a couple of times. She stopped getting it and now doesn't get the flu. We are also not high risk and therefore I don't feel the need to pump my child or myself full of chemicals that are not needed.

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I do and always have. We haven't ever had any issues with getting it. My 11 year old just got his for this year on Wednesday.

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Nope, not getting it, for any of us. There was a news article recently that several European countries are banning the current H1N1/flu combo vaccine for kids because it has been linked to increased cases of narcolepsy. I just don't like the risks. Yes flu isn't fun, but in the vast majority of people it's not fatal either. My kids are otherwise very healthy, we'll take our risks with the flu.

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I have gotten them for the last 10 years because I have asthma. My husband started getting them when we had our son. He is 2.5 now, and will be getting his as soon as the ped has them. My daughter is 4 mo and will get them at her 6 month baby well check. I think that anyone that comes in contact with anyone is "high risk". My kids are in daycare, but they also go to the store with me, the playground, playdates, etc. It isn't worth the risk, especially if they could develop asthma too.

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We all get the shot every year. Our pediatrician actually will give one to everyone in the family, not just the kids. I firmly believe in getting the shot because the few times I didn't get the shot when I was a kid I got the flu and it wasn't fun!

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YES!!!!!

Children are in a very high risk category for flu infections. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) just issued guidelines for those who should be first to receive flu vaccinations: young children, pregnant women, elderly, health care workers.

Ask your pediatrician.

My Oncologist was worried about H1N1 when it first came out last year, but he wanted me to get it after researching more. There are tens of thousands of flu deaths each year. It's a virus meaning there is NO treatment for severe cases that the body can't naturally defend against.

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Everything you do in life has a risk involved, some you can calculate, some you can't, and some are imagined as smaller or bigger than they are because of popular feeling. You are likely to hear something about Austrailia, so go to the CDC website and read the facts about that, your child will not be given the vacine in question from the company who has a problem, there are tons of alternatives for children, and the facts have been really distorted in the article that you are likely to be sent. Don't let that bias scare you, unless that is what you are looking for.

Really, the person to discuss this with is your child's doctor. They have education far beyond ours to interpret the data about treatment options and your child's medical history. Doctors also interpret todays "popular feelings" and temper them with thier own philosphy in thier medical practice, and we should be selecting medical practitioners who we trust, based on all these factors, who can advise us appropriately. There is someone out there for everyone.

We always get flu shots, for everyone in the family. If our doctor ever advised us against it, I would be all ears.

M.

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My husband gets it, but thats it. The last time we got them for our kids, they were 2.5 and 6 months...and they were both sick all winter long. Once they got sick, they never got better. My daughter had two seizures, fever induced, because we could not get them healthy to save our lives. Thank God I was a stay at home mom then or we would have been screwed!! But yea, they were sick constantly. I think the flu shot really does no good. My husband gets the fly about every 5 years, same as I do. He gets the shot, I do not. I never have and never will. And my kids will never get them either. Our Ped pushes them, but for us, we know it's not the right choice.

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Read this: http://drtenpenny.com/the_truth_about_the_flu_Shot.aspx
She has a lot of information on the flu shot up right now.

"Dr. Sherri Tenpenny is respected as one of the country's most knowledgeable and outspoken physicians regarding the impact of vaccines on health."

"Do flu shots work?

Not in babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than 294,000 children it was found there was "no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shotwas any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu.

Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008).

Not in children with asthma: A study 800 children with asthma, where one half were vaccinated and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. CONCLUSION: This study failed to provide evidence that the influenza vaccine prevents pediatric asthma exacerbations.

Reference: "Effectiveness of influenza vaccine for the prevention of asthma exacerbations." Christly, C. et al. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-5.

Not in children with asthma (2): "The inactivated flu vaccine, Flumist, does not prevent influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma…In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine."

Reference: The American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego.

Not in adults: In a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, "Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work."

Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006).

Not in the Elderly: In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia.

Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.3 (2006)."

They don't work so why inject your baby full of poison.

L.

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Do your research and you will feel better making an informed decision either way and not based on opinions or the various actions of others. Trust me, you will feel much better about it than if you made your decision based on what other people did as everyone makes their decisions based on their own situation and what they feel is right. In my own family, we don’t believe in the flu vaccinations, however we are really healthy and hardly ever get sick. We also follow a modified vaccination schedule based on the disease and my LOs risk of exposure but that doesn’t mean it’s right for every family.

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I would never do it. And, if you haven't had it, why give it to her? Research. You might go to nvic.org to see what they say. Also vaclib.org might have some info for you. Blessings!
By the way, there are so many healthy alternatives to getting and staying healthy that have nothing to do with pumping toxins in your body. It is a whole lifestyle change. I would suggest that you start learning about homeopathy, nutritional healing, essential oils, herbs. We very seldom ever go to the doctor because we are healthy. When we do catch a bug, we are able to take care of it ourselves at home. Most of my children have never had antibiotics in their lives (I think the oldest one did, but it was so long ago, before I started taking care of our own healthcare needs). Let me know if you would like some ideas of where to start. It is a process, to be sure!

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I vaccinate. Our whole family does. Against everything they have a vaccination for.

My husband has to get his every year thanks to his job. But we both agree that I and our two sons don't need it. So every year we refuse. To date neither boy(14 and 9) have not gotten the flu. I haven't either. Though like others have mentioned I have seen too many friends and family wind up with the flu within a few short weeks of getting the shot. I understand it is suppose to be a dead virus but something isn't adding up with people who get sick after the shot.

Does your child go to day care? I would say maybe.

There was only one year that me and my family did the flu shot....and this is the year we all got the flu. Never had the shot nor the flu since.

My mom is a nurse and refuses to get the shot for the same reasons. Every time she did she got the flu. Last year, she had to have surgery and they basically forced her to get the shot in the hospital.....guess what....a few weeks after she was home, she was sick with the flu!!

I do not give the flu shot. I spread out regular vacs too.

I think some of it depends if your daughter is in daycare. She is in the high risk group since she is under two. My son is 2 1/2 and he wont get it this year although he got it last year (without thimeresol). He goes to a babysitter a few times a week and will go to nursery school in a few months for a few hours a week. My husband and I are both getting the shot though. Most likely, if your daughter gets the flu it will be from one of you and imagine caring for a toddler while sick with the flu!