There has been a lot of talk in my extended neighborhood, and among friends and family, about whether or not to vaccinate our kids for the H1N1 virus, the Swine Flu. I have never had my children vaccinated for the flu. None of my kids have any underlying health conditions such as asthma so it has never seemed necessary. And, knock on wood, we have been very lucky in not getting the flu over the years.
I have noticed that there are two distinct camps: the no way, no how and the yes, Yes, YES! And according to a recent poll this is the same division that exists across America. 47% saying they will get the vaccine, 47% saying they will not. When I read this I joked that the other 6% were home in bed sick with the flu.
I was on the fence this year. With the flu, both strains, running epidemic in my area I was considering getting the vaccination for the first time for all of us. But before I could make a decision we all got the swine flu. It wasn’t that bad, as far as having the flu goes. The doctor told me that has been her experience as well. That a majority of her patients have been less sick with the so-called Swine flu than she has seen with the regular flu.
Everyone I know personally in my neighborhood has also had the Swine flu. Some were more sick than others, but we have all had it now. Most of the kids on my son’s sports teams have gotten it also. I know that some areas of the country have not been as hard hit.
What have you done? Do you think the swine flu vaccine is too new and experimental, as some people have said for their reason not to vaccinate? Or are you vaccinating your family?
I’m in the “hell no” group. Like you, we have had the swine flu already, and it wasn’t that bad. We felt bad for a few days, ran a high fever, and then were fine. I’ve had sinus infections that were worse.
I wasn’t planning to have the vaccine even before we went “piggy” – I think we don’t know enough about it, there haven’t been any long term studies, and I prefer to pump my family full of chemicals from Diet Coke and high fructose corn syrup!
Christie
Comment by Christie — October 26, 2009 @ 11:21 am
I am in the “no way, no how” camp.
We have never gotten a shot for the flu. I see no reason yet to change that stance for us.
If we get sick that will suck. But life goes on.
Comment by DW — October 26, 2009 @ 8:25 pm
we are not vaccinating. first there is not enough of either the reg or h1n1 in our area to get them and our family has never gotten the flu shots in the past. i am concerned that the shot is so new and i also feel that if they get it then the will build a resitance to it. I am however watching them very carefully and if i feel they are having severe symptoms i will get help asap. so far we have not seen the h1n1 in our home. but it is going through the school like fire.
stay well
Comment by tammy — October 28, 2009 @ 7:11 am
we currently have the flu going in the house, so I guess my answer would not matter. however, I should note that since my kids would not have been fully vaccinated until the second round, about late Nov, it would have been a waste of time. I did not feel the need because although my kids may get the flu, no one in the family is at high risk of complications. Do I regret my choice – nah. They may be out of school and activities for the week, but they are not running symptoms that require a dr visit or trip to the hospital. Headaches, fever, diarrhea, and nausea are the common issues, and all treatable with Tylenol, Advil, or Peptobismol.
Comment by Claire — November 4, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
I am a school nurse and in our district I can tell you that on average we are at less than 10% absenteeism per school…which is higher than normal for this time of year and the majority of the the reason for being gone is flu-like symptoms. We have yet to see any serious problems with kids at our district, but the fevers are harder to get down and time out of school for kids and parents can be up to 10 days.
I can honestly say that I have never got the flu vaccination myself until this year. My office is very small at the school I am at the most, and the last 2 years I have been sick…and after 10 years of doing this job and never ever being sick…I didn’t want to risk it. So, as a health care provider I did vaccinate myself and kids. My two sons have allergies that sometimes become respiratory, so that is what prompted me to vaccinate. I then can tell you after making that decision, my oldest son got sick on a Friday and was incredibly ill for 3 days and the 5th day was the scheduled H1N1 vaccination. We went ahead with them on that Tuesday and no one else got sick….coincidence? Who knows, but as of right now everyone is healthy and no missed school or work. It has really impacted some as far a missed work and school, depending on how many household members get effected. The question you should have is…are there any health conditions that could make you compromised and how long can you afford to be out of work or school?
Stay Healthy
Comment by Wendy — November 8, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
I am not vaccinating myself and my husband isn’t getting vaccinated either. My baby is too young for the flu shots, so of course she is not getting vaccinated. The H1N1 shot is too new, and they barely tested it before they started using it…we are being used as guinea pigs, IMHO. I refuse to get either shot because of doctors admitting themselves that the shots could actually make you sick. I’d rather take my normal precautions…good hygiene, an environment as germless as possible, and staying away from those we know are sick. If we get it, we get it. But we can protect ourselves without putting extra stuff into our bodies.
Comment by Imtiyaaz — November 8, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
Claire commented “Headaches, fever, diarrhea, and nausea are the common issues, and all treatable with Tylenol, Advil, or Peptobismol”.
Pepto contains Salicylates, which can lead to the development of Reyes Syndrome. We have all heard about the danger of aspirin and kids, but this was the first time I had ever heard about Pepto.
http://www.reyessyndrome.org/pdfs/nonrxprintable.pdf
Comment by Michele — November 16, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
I was in actually in the very small group of nah we never get the flu. But I recently had 1 friend die from complications of the H1N1 and another friend who is still in the hospital with complications from H1N1, and her 18mos is also hospitalized. The one who died left behind her husband, 3 kids, and many many many friends. She never got the flu vaccine so she didn’t think she’d need the H1N1 vaccine either… and now she’s gone. And now I’m conflicted in this whole thing….
Comment by Adriana — November 20, 2009 @ 7:46 pm