H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

My advice... don't make fear based decisions. Get the facts. Weigh the risks/benefits. Make an informed decision.

Personally, I know too many people that have been adversely affected by vaccines. I might consider the H1N1 vaccine if there were peer-reviewed, placebo controlled, double-blind, long-term studies done on the vaccine. Since there haven't been any studies, the risks are simply too high (in my opinion).

My family has had their Vitamin D level tested. This is one of the most important factors for immunity. The Vitamin D Council recommends 25(OH)D levels be between 50 and 80 ng/mL, year around. It is a simple, inexpensive test, that you can get from your doctor or order it online:
http://www.zrtlab.com/vitamindcouncil/

My family also takes a high quality probiotic supplement. They say that 80% of your immunity is based in your gut. Probiotics are key to gut health.

I believe that probiotics and Vitamin D have a much better risk to benefit ratio than the H1N1 vaccine. There are hundreds of studies on probiotics and Vitamin D. The benefits are huge and the risks are very small.

Here's a great video on Vitamin D:
http://blogs.healthfreedomalliance.org/blog/2009/07/30/dr...

Here are links on Vitamin D and H1N1:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/h1n1-flu-and-vi...

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/vitamin-d-and-h...

LATEST INFO:
http://products.mercola.com/swine-flu-article/20091027.htm

http://swineflu.mercola.com/

1 mom found this helpful

Let me ask you this why do you think shes gonna get it? How do you know she will get the flu at all this year? Why make her system fight a foreign object off thats suppose to be dead when its going in but because her system has to work the foreign substance out. no one knows if there going to reactivate the flu in there system or not. they say its dead but than why did some of the people who receive the flu get the flu. Doesn't make sense. I refuse the shot because its needle in a hay stack if we are going to get the flu or the swine flu. The only time my family got the flu was my daughter played with toys in the childrens ward at the hospital and we came home and we all got it. That was 7 years ago.

Hi J.,

I agree with Dan & Ann. Do your research about it before you make any decisions, but also do the things you know you should (like washing hands!) for prevention. I asked my doctor about it last week and he said he's not offering it to anyone because "they" are not even providing enough information to the medical community! I'm going to read everything I can find about this before I make a decision whether or not to vaccinate my 3-1/2 year old son. He's far too important not to! Best of luck with this issue - I know it's a tough one!

L.

I took my kids (ages 3 & 5) to the H1N1 vaccine clinic in Hamtramck on Saturday, and I hope I didn't make the wrong decision. They both received the injection, and they both seem fine so far. I made this decision based on speaking with my neighbor who is a neo-natal ICU doctor with 5 kids of his own. I asked him what he was doing for his kids, and he said they all got the regular flu shot, and last week they were all vacinated for H1N1. I really trust his professional opinion, and I figured if it's what he's doing for his own kids, I would do the same. Good luck with your decision.

There is much to be said about POSITIVE THINKING in many things - this includes illness!

Hygiene:
Wash your hands, her hands and have everyone that comes into contact to be with her... wash their hands!

Sickness:
If anyone is sick currently or have knowingly been exposed - have them stay away! Even a low-grade fever of 99.3 can invite an infection in. Use common sense and judgment - do not alternate Tylenol or Motrin to lower temps to attend functions or send your child to daycare - it will not be worth it. (Or keep your kids home from school - it's not the worse thing in the world! Or you stay home from work - It's insane how people love to spread infections and not rest.)

Nutrition:
Make sure she is getting a well-rounded diet that contains lots of fruit and veggies. Lots of water to flush the system (or milk). My son did milk or water at that age as we did not do juice as it had too much sugar.

Fitness:
Toddlers are active, and you and your family need to make sure you are just as active. This helps your immune system.

SLEEP:
Make sure you get enough! At least seven to eight hours and I know this can be difficult, but it is important for adults to combat stress... Stress causes 90% of most illnesses & diseases - including the common cold or the flu!

As far as the rest of this goes for H1N1 - too much is media driven. As a natural wellness provider, I have more faith in my work in alternative medicine verses what I am reading in my daily alerts from CDC and Medpage as they lack in FACTS, DETAILS and BACKGROUND INFORMATION. Not to mention the numbers they provided include those vaccinated with a bad batch of H1N1 vaccine that was contaminated with a bacteria - not a pretty outcome.

I have no issues with the 'regular' normal flu shot... As for as this H1N1... It is too new, has only been available in the states for less than ONE MONTH and there are so many drugs and other vaccines for interactions to occur. Not enough studies have been done to placate me. It contains toxic ingredients - children under a specific age are required to have TWO DOSES - safe? I don't think so. (Not all clinics will get the non-mercury dose, plus all vaccines have some variance of other toxins.)
Not to mention, I do not feel it is appropriate to sign a legality waiver to cover the doctor's behind for an immunization - especially a new one - if something was to go wrong.

Don't believe everything you read or see on t.v. Even the doctors are pushing this too much and that alone bugs me. I feel they should be about our health, but not at the expense of some brand new vaccine that has not had the time to be researched. That is ridiculous and lacks judgment in my opinion. Even if the doctor does it for themselves or their children - I am not basing my decision on this either. (Think of the old "If they jumped off the bridge, would you" saying...) Obama has not vaccinated his daughters - but he is pressing others.

This was around in the late 70's, and I have heard something about the mid 80's... Too much info and not enough truth. But the vaccine in the late 70's did not help as they expected - it was harmful.

I just had this sent from a friend: http://www.theflucase.com/
It has some interesting headlines - one reading about a fifth death from the vaccine... So much to find, and lots to consider.

EDIT: My husband told me a co-worker and his wife had it. They stayed home for two days and only had a fever that varied from 100 - 101. It was nothing major or what they expected from the hype they are hearing about on the news. They only went into the doctors as they had the symptoms and did not want to spread the infection (and be sure that is what it was.). They were totally fine afterward.

As for someone that posted from the 'Globe' - Sorry, but I feel that is a fear-tactic post. I have been beating myself up over this and I have decided to have faith in what I have posted here as my advice - positive thinking is total key, as well as the rest I pointed out.

More to ponder: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/0...

This website has a lot of good info on the swine flu vaccine. Yes, it does have thimerosol/mercury in it which was banned for all other childhood vaccinations in 2001/2002. Also, remember that swine flu isn't necessarily more deadly than "regular" seasonal flu - it's just been more contagious. We only really hear about the really bad cases. But I don't want you to think I"m saying this to discourage you - you have to do what is best for your family. I have chosen to forgo the vaccine and have closely monitored hand-washing. My daughter just developed the flu last night so we watched her carefully to make sure it didn't go beyond a temperature. We took her to the doctor this morning and the doctor said just to treat it like a normal flu and that they don't test to confirm swine flu. Here is the link: http://www.safeminds.org/news/swine-flu-h1n1-vaccine.html

i have a 2 and a 3 yr old and today my pediatrician (whose opinion i value when it comes to my kids) strongly recommended me getting it for them. He does prefer the injection vs the nasal mist. We are going to the Freedom Hill clinic for the injections on Friday and Saturday this week. If you are interested in the nasal dose they have clinics at Freedom Hill for that on Wed and Thurs this week. Good luck in your decision making!

Some more information to ponder......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw

I didn't even read the responses because this is such a touchy subject. Anyway, we are not getting the vaccine. I am 22 weeks pregnant and have a 4 year old and neither of us will get this. They had little time to test this vaccine. Plus if you talk to health care professionals (wich I have talked to several nurses and doctors that I know - they work in hospitals and are not getting the vaccine) they say that as long as you take the normal flu precautions you should be OK. Cover your mouth, wash hands... Obviously if you or your child gets sick and it just doesn't feel right call your dr. Don't get me wrong I am worried about getting it and it being the worst case scenario (death) too. But they are saying that the people who have died have unknown health problems, diabeties, heart problems...
Do the best that you can to keep your family healthy and if you get sick call the dr. if it makes you feel better. That's why they are there and that's why we pay for all the wonderful health insurance.

Hi,
I have appt for my son tomorrow to get the h1n1 vaccine...I am comfortable with my decision yet have a few nerves. The thing is that I would never forgive myself if he got the flu and was really sick and worse...he is in daycare and 4 yrd old. I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks!

I was on the same boat you are. I spoke with my mother in law who is also a nurse and she said there haven't been any major reactions to it. We were lucky enough to have a flu clinic this weekend in AZ so both of my kids got it on Saturday and had no reaction. The great part about it was we were able to choose from a shot or the nasal solution. My 6 year old was very happy about that.

Everyone has their opinions and you just need to decide for yourself. I am pro-vaccine in this case and won't go into specifics but here is a good article to read. I tried to copy the link but was having a hard time, so here it is:

Globe Editorial
The Boston Globe
Ignore the hysterics; get swine flu vaccine
October 25, 2009

SOME OF the same government-haters who spread myths about “death panels’’ for the elderly are now spouting misinformation about the swine flu vaccine, and they’re getting support from holistic-medicine enthusiasts, some autism activists, and talk show host Bill Maher. If all these scare tactics cause many Americans to pass up immunization, they will raise the death toll of the epidemic.
Contrary to myths spreading online, the swine flu vaccine is made the same way the vaccines for seasonal flu have been. It has been tested for safety in clinical trials. It does not contain adjuvants, additives that are used in Europe in other vaccines but have become controversial here. It does contain the preservative thimerosal, whose potential ill effects have been discounted, but parents can obtain a version without it.

Still, a CBS poll earlier this month showed that just 46 percent of Americans said they were likely to get vaccinated. In the poll, fewer than half of the parents surveyed said they were “very likely’’ to have their children get the vaccine. This is worrisome, because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that of the 5,000 Americans hospitalized with swine flu since Sept. 1, more than 53 percent have been younger than 25. The flu has caused particularly severe illness among pregnant women.

Regular seasonal flu kills about 36,000 a year, the majority of whom are older than 80. But almost 90 percent of the 292 swine flu-related deaths since Sept. 1 have been among people younger than 65. People born before 1950 are believed to have a degree of immunity to the new flu because of exposure to related influenza strains in their youth. “This is a young person’s disease,’’ said Anne Schuchat, a CDC official.

The agency’s biggest public-information challenge is likely to come in the winter when millions of people will have been inoculated, and some will inevitably be stricken with sudden illnesses. In all likelihood, their ailments will have had nothing to do with the immunization, but it will be important for health officials to confirm that fact before vaccine skeptics are able to misconstrue the cases as an indictment of the vaccine.

The CDC will learn what it means to deal with a flu epidemic in the age of the Internet and the 24/7 cable news cycle. If the agency flunks the test, expect even more Americans to fall victim to swine flu.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

I think it depends on your situation.

We all got our shots over the weekend, but DS was a preemie, and is on a ventilator much of the day still, so the risks of getting *any* flu are far far greater for him than the risk of a vaccine. All of his doctors are located in the hospital, so we go through the hospital at least once a month, and if the flu is bad, that means we'll be in contact with tons of people who are sick.

If you mostly stay home, avoid crowds and public places that lots of kids will be all over (indoor play areas, etc), eat well, wash well (think hospital well), and no one your child is around regularly works somewhere that makes them likely to get it, maybe it's not so big a deal to get it.

The question is rather moot at this point...it seems to be unavailable anywhere.

Just curious why you would be afraid that your daughter would die of the flu. I now know 5 people that "officially" had the swine flu. It lasted about a week and they were fatigued and feverish but they are fine now. 3 kids, 2 adults.

Mercury is a toxin. I don't want to put that in my children. We could get through having the flu. It wouldn't be fun, but we could do it and hopefully be immune after that.

J. - do some internet research on cdc.gov and flu.gov. The vaccine that has been produced for H1N1 is produced in the same exact way as the "regular" flu shot. You can request thimerasol free vaccine - this is the ingredient which seems to cause some parents alarm. Squalene (another component people are concerned about) is another component added to the vaccine which occurs naturally in human livers - it is to boost the effectiveness of the vaccine. A vaccination trial was conducted by the CDC over a 2-3 month period at the end of the summer on 1000 children, not one of whom had a severe reaction. What is a fact is that children, particularly those under the age of 6, have absolutely no natural immunity to H1N1 for the sole reason that it has not been present in the United States until last year. For that reason, this age group (and those up to the age of 24) appear to be particularly at risk for complications related to this flu bug and the opportunistic secondary infections that can settle into a weakened body once the child gets sick - pneumonia, staph aureus and others. I plan on getting the flu shot for both my 1 year old and 4 year old once it becomes more widely available. If you do a risk benefit analysis, the chances are much higher that your child will develop severe complications from the flu than from this vaccine. There is a lot of misinformation out there - hand washing is a smart idea and a good start, but clearly, this is not going to protect everyone - there are too many variables out there and short of putting your child in a bubble for the foreseeable future, anyone can get this at any time.