Thoughts on the Flu Vaccine

I make my kids get the flu shot for 2 main reasons: having the flu is MISERABLE, and my 2-year-old has asthma.
I remember what it felt like to have the flu as a kid, plus I had it earlier this year, and I don't want my babies to suffer like that. I was too chicken to get the shot myself (no, it doesn't make sense, I know) and regretted it when I had the horrible aches and pains that come with the flu on top of being pregnant.
I have also read the stories about people dying quite suddenly from what they thought was a bad cold and that terrifies me.

The flu vaccine is one of the easiest and most effective ways of keeping your family healthy through the flu season. Getting your son vaccinated not only protects him, but also to a certain extent you, your husband and the little one in your belly by reducing exposure though one of the largest vectors: your 2 year old. That being said, it is a little late in the season to be getting the vaccine (Nov is more ideal). I also wouldn't worry about chemical exposure from the flu vaccine because vaccines aren't chemicals like pharmaceuticals are. They are biologics that help your body produce the antibodies it needs to fight flu before you are even exposed to it. Think of it as choosing to get a shot now to coax your body into doing what it would have to do anyway if/when you are exposed to the actual virus, only you don't have to be miserably sick and risk having additional complications. From a health risk standpoint you have much more to fear from diesel exhaust and unwashed fruit than you do from any vaccine. It is true that every year they make the best "guess" as to which flu strains to put in the vaccine and some years they do better than others, but there is always some protection from the flu even in the "bad" years.

I had my son vaccinated as soon as he was 6 mo. old and I get it myself as well. (so far, no flu this year!) I'm philosophically opposed to unnecessary medical interventions and believe many doctors are too quick to pull out the prescription pad, but really do believe in the importance of vaccines. I know the flu vaccines is one of the optional ones, but I feel it is well worth it.

We skipped the flu vaccine for our 14 month old son, and neither my husband or I have ever received it.

We put careful consideration into the vaccines he receives, and so far, he has gotten all of the "recommended" vaccines except the flu vaccine. One thing with the flu vaccine is that there are so many different types of flus out there, and the vaccine only protects against some.

The deciding factor is that my son is home--he does not go to daycare, and is not routinely around strangers.

Good luck in your decision. There are pros and cons to both.

Amy,

In 1996, I had the flu. Not the puking stomach flu, but the full on 105 degree fever, hulucinating, coughing till I threw up, aches and pains everywhere, horrible headaches, fainting from weakness flu. I was 24 years old and super healthy and I thought I was going to die! I lost 10 pounds in one week and missed a full 5 days of work, and felt like heck for another full week after.

I would never want my small children to have to go through that, so I vaccinate them as soon as they are old enough to have it. I think that if your 2 year old (or yourself as a pregnant mom) had the real flu (the kind that kills people) you would never go another year without the shot.

I recommend you and your son both get shots. Your husband too for that matter, because you don't want him bringing home any strains of the virus either.

Jessica

My husband and 12 year old have asthma so we all get the flu vaccine. It is rare, but influenza can cause serious complications like pneumonia and can even be fatal, especially among the very young and old. Both my husband and son have had pneumonia and it is scary. The vaccine changes year to year and it isn't a 100% guarantee that it will cover the strains that are going around, but they usually do a very good job of covering the strains that are likely to hit that year. This year has turned out to be a good year for the vaccine--it is protecting people from the common strains. Last year a strain of the flu went around that wasn't in the vaccine and a lot of people got sick, me included. It was miserable. I was flat on my back with a fever of 103 for 5 days. Then I developed the bad cough and it all turned into an ear infection and a sinus infection, turning into a month long ordeal. Although it probably has some sort of chemical preservative, the effective ingredient in the vaccine is a form of the actual virus, not a chemical per se. I would talk to your pediatrician about your concerns and get more information from them to see if your son should be vaccinated. They have changed the age recommendations for flu vaccinations in recent years. It also used to be that they primarily recommended "at risk" people (asthma, elderly, immune-suppressed) get the vaccine, but they have expanded the recommendation to cover more people. Sorry to go on for so long, but with asthma in the family it is something I have been dealing with for years! Good luck and congrats on the new baby.

My husband and I also have opted not to get the flu vaccine, and we don't get it for our son, either, who is 3 1/2. We also do not get the flu really in our family, and the vaccine only works against the 3-4 strains of the virus they think people will be most likely to contract that year. But there are articles and reports on both sides of the story...some kids who got the flu vaccine who still contracted the flu (and some who died from complications from it), and other kids who didn't get the flu vaccine who got the flu and died... We have received the other vaccines for our son because they have wiped out the disease in most cases because of the vaccine, but that is not so with the flu virus vaccine. So, I think it's a personal choice, and there is lots of info out there to look at to make the best choice for you and your family!

naturalnews.com — Baxter International Inc. has just been caught shipping live avian flu viruses mixed with vaccine material to medical distributors in 18 countries. Baxter International adheres to BSL3 which prevents cross-contamination, raising suspicion that this was something more sinister than a mere mistake. As if vaccines were not dangerous enough already!

You may want to go to natural news and read the whole article.

I agree it's a personal choice and you should read before you make up your mind. I had never gotten flu shots before either until I got pregnant. Being that I could not really take anything effective if I did get sick, I really didn't want to take that chance of being miserable, even if it is only against limited strains. My son is now 1 and we all got the flu shot this last season. He has had colds and was miserable and I did not want to take a chance of putting him through the flu. I was told he can't take anything but Tylenol or Ibuprofen until he's 4. Plus, as you said, infants are at high risk for complications. I feel the benefit of having the flu shot outweighs the risks if he got the flu.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! If you are interested in the study of flu vaccines being contraindicated in pregnancy - just Google it, but I'm guessing you wouldn't get one anyway!

Dr. Mercola has lots of interesting information about the flu shot (and other vaccines). Here's one article (make sure to scroll all the way down): http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1...

From the article:
"There is emerging evidence that flu shots cause Alzheimer’s disease, most likely as a result of combining mercury with aluminum and formaldehyde. Mercury in vaccines has also been shown to be a contributing factor in autism.

Other serious, and potentially deadly, adverse reactions to the flu vaccine include joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock (and other life-threatening allergic reactions), and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralytic autoimmune disease.

And, in the case of Tamiflu, thousands of cases of abnormal behavior, neuropsychiatric problems like convulsions, delirium or delusions, and brain infections, have been reported.
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A large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in children. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months."

Completely understand where you are coming from. We have a 2 1/2 year old who got the flu vaccine the past 2 years. He is in daycare and has had issues with wheezing with colds so it was strongly recommended by his pediatrician and I'm sure glad we did. My husband and I, who both work in health care, did not get the shot last year (I never had) and we both got the flu and it was miserable..as the other writer wrote..fever, aches, a week out of work, and the cough lasted 10-14 days. We are both healthy and it was a rough go. I am tentative about vaccines and have opted out of a couple but the flu is one I think I will stick with.