will you or wont you vaccinate for H1N1 - yourself or just kids?

boyohboyohboy wrote: I have been seeing more and more now about the H1N1 flu vaccine being tested, on adults and children,but nothing as far as reactions or if it seems to be working. I assume its still to soon to tell.
I am VERY concerned about the potential for this new rushed vaccine to harmful to people, and most of all children. Its going to be handed out before its given a chance to see if the trials worked. Flu season is only 2 months away, and they are recommending two flu shots and also two H1N1 shots for kids...will you or wont you and why?
I never get a regular flu vaccine and I work in health care, I also dont usually get it for my kids, and one has asthma and one is allergic to eggs so he isnt able to get the vaccine anyway..

I am concerned that no matter how careful and what precautions we take, IE: hand washing and staying home when sick, that with the germs that come home from school and my work we are at risk. I dont feel right about getting the vaccine not just because they dont know the sideeffects but also because my son cant get it. I feel guilty about protecting myself against something he cant be protected against.

Does anyone else with egg allergies let their kids get the shots but not themselves?

boyohboyohboy replied: I do follow a lot of Dr Sear's ideas on parenting and he has this on his website.

http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2...ts-way-what.asp

PrairieMom replied: I'm still undecided. A lot will depend on if I am PG or not. I don't think I will get one for the kids. I never get the regular flu shot either.

boyohboyohboy replied:
Tara if your preg. will you not get the vaccine? and being in health care you dont usually get the kids their flu vaccines but do you get it?

I have been in health care for 15 yrs and I have never gotten the flu vaccine, and have never had the flu.

PrairieMom replied:
If I am PG it will make me lean more towards getting it for myself, just because PG women seem to be having more complications from it. but I am still undecided.
I never get the flu shot, and I never get it for my kids either. Even with working in the hospital.

coasterqueen replied: We will not be getting either vax - none of our family. Even with my asthma and Megan's breathing issues when she gets sick, we still will not do it. I especially will not use a vax nor put it in my child's body when it has no history to it.

We will take all other necessary precautions and deal with it if we get it, just like colds, etc.

My2Beauties replied: I never get the flu shot and I never ever get the flu (knock on wood), I got the first round for Aubrey one year but decided not to go back to get the booster just because I thought about it long and hard. My mom has worked in heath care her entire life, never got the flu shot until a couple years ago when they said that flu season was going to be extremely bad, well literally like 2 weeks after getting the shot she came down with the most horrible case of the flu and it turned into pneumonia. My kids are in daycare and never get the flu shot and they hardly ever get sick. I'm really undecided on this vaccination only because it seems rushed. The H1N1 scares me more than the regular flu though.

bluebear replied: nope

boyohboyohboy replied:
it worries me a lot too..more so because they are rushing and we wont know the side effects until its to late.

I am more concerned about the kids. I worry about them catching something that could really harm them, and I worry about the cure being something that can harm them..
My worst fear in life is for my kids well being..

mom21kid2dogs replied: I always get a regular flu shot but never have O get one. I doubt I'll bother with the swine flu shot for us simply because I have no medical factors that pose me any additional complications/risk, nor does O. None of it seems particularly necessary for us.

For those of you getting flu shots, remember to get them in advance of flu season. It takes 1 month for them to fully take effect.

boyohboyohboy replied:
may I just ask why you decide to vaccinate yourself but not your kids?

boyohboyohboy replied: I was just reading where the flu vaccine companies asked for immunity before agreeing to make the vaccine..
that certainly doesnt help me feel like wanting to get it!

Swood75 replied: Nope,none of us will be getting either one of the vax's...

cameragirl21 replied: I've survived swine flu and I think it's no big deal but for kids and the elderly, it can be very dangerous.
As for protecting from germs from school, one solution is to have them take a shower upon getting home. It may be tedious and they may not want to do it but you wash away those germs before they get a chance to really get into the house and spread around. Remember (and I'm sure as a nurse you already know this) that a virus is not like bacteria--it requires a host in order to survive so it's fairly easy to wash away those germs if you get to them before the "invasion", although I have to say, I'm a total hand washer, use sanitizer regularly (which will only kill bacteria, not viruses), wasn't around anyone sick and still got swine flu so to be fair, anyone can get it. I don't think I'd go for that vaccine, though, it's too new and swine flu is not so rampant or severe here in the US...yet.

luvbug00 replied: i refuse to pump mya or myself with anything that has been on the market less then 10 years.. we are not gunnie pigs..she will not be getting the hpv vaccs either.

mom21kid2dogs replied:
I work in the public school system and am in very close contact with 1,000 different kids a week. She goes to a small private school with 70 other kids. It's simple exposure risk~mine is FAR greater than hers.

A&A'smommy replied: NOPE we aren't getting it

moped replied: Will need to do some research before I decide, but quite possibly yes, i don't want anyone in my family to be ones that are the statistics that die from it....but honestly I have no idea what we will do yet

gr33n3y3z replied: I have asthma and I'm not getting it either

youngmomofone replied: No way.

Kentuckychick replied: Right now they aren't even recommending the vaccine to the elderly. Their recommendations in key areas include pregnant women, children and teens under the age of 24 (apparently teens were badly affected last time - my guess is teens these days are disgusting creatures with no hygiene) especially those who suffer from underlying health problems.

As for waiting until October when the vaccine comes out... we already have schools closing here in Kentucky for the swine flu... so October is a pretty far stretch.

luvmykids replied: We won't get either vax. Never have, probably never will unless one of us ends up with something that could lead to serious complications.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I am usually pro-vaccines, but when it comes to chicken pox, the flu, and this one...I am not. We have never gotten a flu shot, my kids both went through the chicken pox naturally, and we will not be getting the H1N1 vax either. I even take care of hundreds of suspected H1N1 swabs each week, and I really am not all that concerned.

DansMom replied: Daniel has egg allergy, so no for him, and possibly no for me as well. I do know a child who was very sick with H1N1 in the spring, and it did make me worry, because his parents told me they had one very scary night with him. The rest of the family got sick as well. We load up on immune support and take what precautions we can.

boyohboyohboy replied:
TRACY! It is so good to "see" you! How are you and Daniel?

I am also very concerned about Jakob as he is the one with the lower immume system and also the egg allergies.
I dont want to get the vaccines for any of us, but the news just inspires fear not knowledge. I am not sure I trust my peds. right now.

jakesmommy08 replied: well my response was gonna be no, but jake came home today from his first day of preschool and the school is reccomending that all the students get it. So i called his dr. and they said they are reccommending it too........i guess i dont know what to do............

DVFlyer replied: H1N1 information from an email we received from one of our healthcare customers:

I edited out the parts regarding employers setting up pandemic preparedness plans

boyohboyohboy replied:
no offense but of course the dr's are recommending it, they go by what the majority of studies show, not that the H1N1 vaccine will have studies present when it comes out, but they are limited in their medical knowledge as well, this vaccine will not have been out for more then a few months..and many of the flu vaccines have thymerasol as if thats the worst thing there is, it isnt of course..but this wont be long enough to know what the long term affects are going to be.
now also history has shown that it has potential to develop into a more serious flu and really do damage, so deciding what is worse, the possible effects that might or might not come from a new vaccine or the possible flu that might or might not mutate..its a hard decision thats for sure.

I have decided to not get anyone in my family the flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine. I am also avoiding community places thru out the flu season, we of course have our oldest in school and thats a huge potential right there, but that cant be helped, but we are going to be as careful as we can with hand washing and hygeine and just see what happens. I am leaving the health of my family in the hands of my faith.

coasterqueen replied:
Not only that, but because the government and medical community is pleading for people to get the vax, no doctor (even if he did think it's best NOT to get it) is going to tell you not to. They don't want that lawsuit if something terrible happens.


Stacy, does your school health nurses go to the classes and explain about washing hands, etc? Ours does and kind of reiterates the purpose and the reason WHY we should do that, as well as not touching our face and mouth with our hands, etc. Kylie washes hers like a surgeon (she takes forever), but I have to constantly remind her not to put her hands on her face or in her mouth at certain times. We stopped by and talked to the school nurse yesterday (she's a friend of mine) and I had her reiterate to Kylie a few things since I don't want ANY of us sick with our cruise coming up.

boyohboyohboy replied:
I think I will call the school nurse next week when it gets started and ask her to do that, that is a good idea. I did talk to caleb about not using the water fountain, (I hate those things even when there isnt a threat of flu) and use the water bottles we send along in his pack.

I also am supplying his room with the hand gel and kleenex's

I think just taking and the same precautions we take with the normal flu season is enough.

boyohboyohboy replied: I have also decided not to take the kids in for their wellness checks until after flu season. my kids are due in nov..and it seems everytime we go to the dr that they leave sicker then when we get there..it is the worst germy place ever..
so we are skipping those until march or so.

coasterqueen replied: Yeah, I think the normal things we do is enough. I just liked how our school nurses went around and reiterated the importance to the children in a way that they can understand it. Sometimes I think as much as me "nag" our children to wash hands, do this, do that, etc that it can go in one ear and out the other and then they can reiterate it, kwim? Our school has hand sanitizer like every 10 feet , well not that bad, but they are every where besides just in the classrooms. I'm not a fan of sanitizer as I feel it kills the good bacteria our body needs to fight off the bad, but I have no choice when Kylie is at school. Although I do tell her to use soap and water as much as she possibly can over sanitizer.

lesliesmom replied: DH is, surprisingly, really concerned about the H1N1. However, he is not keen on the vaccination. He just said something to me a few minutes ago about it, something about potential "nerve related issues" to the shot. I'm not sure where he read that (he works in media/news so he reads a lot of different sources). He is now looking at the black elderberry as a natural/herbal supplement for us and the kids. Worth researching at least. So, no, we will not be getting our kids the H1N1 vac, especially with the possibility of side effects and the unknown, too.

DansMom replied: Hi Stacy! It's great to see you too (-: We're doing relatively well---Daniel's thriving and his allergies are stable (hasn't outgrown any of them yet).

DVFlyer replied: More recent information about the H1N1:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_...s_med_swine_flu

boyohboyohboy replied: thats really good to know, I hope it doesnt mutate, and no one dies from it...