(TFT... aka Thoughts on Thursday... if you've forgotten!!)
So I want to know the scoop... are you or aren't you getting the Swine Flu Vaccine (ok, the H1N1 to be correct... ugh... Swine Flu is just so much... better HAHA!).
When the swine flu outbreaks happened in the spring I immediately freaked out. I sprayed down the kids' desks every day when I came into work and made them use hand sanitizer numerous random times throughout the day.
Then, over the summer, it seemed to die down and wasn't such a big "deal". Probably because kids weren't in school, I supposed.
And then I heard that they had the H1N1 Vaccine coming out and my first thought was "Sign me up!" I'm so paranoid that my kids will get sick and die.
THEN I started to read people's comments online and really turned against it... its too new. It was rushed on the market. What if the side effects of the vaccine outweigh the side effects of getting H1N1? What if there are side effects that they don't know about like, say, everyone who gets the vaccine develops a brain tumor, or some kind of stutter, or grows a curly tail? Is the Swine Flu really THAT big of a deal? I mean, what, 35,000 people a year die of the regular flu and we don't flip out about getting that.
So we had a discussion at work today and I'm still on the line. I heard lots of good points to get it (a co-workers' relative is the president or something of the medical research at Harvard and he said GET IT!), but I also heard lots of negatives too (mainly the points I mentioned above).
Tell me....
Are you getting the vaccine? Will your kids be getting the vaccine?
Why or why not? What are your reasons for or against getting it?
Have you read anything that has convinced you either way?
Nicole....I am not getting it and I am not having my kids get it. I am weird about it being too new as well. When I was up in the hospital after I had Mollie I was talking to the nurse and she was asking me about getting vaccinated for the regular flu and I said I wasnt going to since I never have before and I asked her about the swine flu shot and she said she wont be getting it and she wont have her kids get it either as it is so new and its only been tested on like 600 kids (which actually made me think...who volunteers their kid as a guinea pig for this, lol...seriously)...anyway, so the fact that a nurse said she wasnt getting it helped me make up my mind...i honestly dont think their will be enough of it to go around anyway, so you may not have to worry about it at all.
ReplyDeleteWe won't be getting it and neither will Grant. I have worked off and on in an inpatient hospital setting for the past 6 years and even while working around various strains of flu, I never got any sort of flu shot. And never contracted the flu.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am a big supporter of child vaccines, I choose not to vaccinate Grant or myself with any of the "extras" (the flu shot or the H1N1 vaccine). There is not enough research out there for me to choose either of those. That being said, you have to do what is right for your family. :)
We're not getting it.
ReplyDeleteWe don't even get regular flu vaccines though... Sawyer's had one or two but that's just because his birthday/regular check-up every year is in the fall, so sometimes when we're in there they just offer to give it to him and I say what the heck. Savannah's never had a flu shot at all. Nor Ryan and I. We just don't sick often and I'm not too concerned about it.
As for the swine flu specifically... I'm not too worried about it to begin with. We're reminding the kids to wash and watch germ stuff and keep up on our oj and vitamins. It's just a flu. Even if we happen to end up in the middle of an outbreak, and if it shows up at our house, we'll huddle up at home, rest up and keep hydrated and we'll see ya on the other side. I just don't think it's the big deal the public panic has made it out to be.
Even if I was really worried about it, I'm pretty sure I would not be comfortable getting the vaccination this year. Aside from the whole 'hundreds of people killed or seriously injured from the inoculation of the 1976 swine flu' thing, it's just as you said; too rushed, too many questions in my mind. How did they figure out the vaccine so fast? How was it so fast tracked through to get it out so fast? Not enough testing (they're testing on pregnant women NOW... and recommending the rest of the pregnant women get vaccinated in the next few weeks?? No way would I be comfortable with that.), questions about the ingredients, not liking thimerosol (sp? too lazy to look it up) in the first place, wondering what it means that Washington temporarily lifted the restriction that limits the amount of thimerosol given to pregnant women and children under the age of 3... um to fast-track the H1N1 vaccine?... that just all doesn't seem good.
To me and our situation at least.
We'll pass on it.
I'm really glad you blogged about this- I've been wanting to do the same. I'm exactly where you are- on the line. I'm pro-vaccine, but like you said, this one is so new and unknown that it's hard to feel it's going to be safe. The thought of injecting my kid with something that hasn't been proven or tested...I think I'd rather chance him getting the swine flu and just dealing with it. I had my yearly MD appt a few weeks ago, so I asked my doctor her opinion on it. And she was pretty much like "why WOULDN'T you get it if you could? It's the exact same flu shot that's given for the seasonal flu, except that the inactive virus is different." I don't know...are they paid to say that? Of course the docs are going to say to get it. I'm really interested in hearing what other commenters have to say about this.
ReplyDeleteI will not be getting it, and neither will the kids. We all get the regular flu shot every year due to the fact that my husband works in the hospital setting - he brings home more germs that I am willing to have the kids exposed to.
ReplyDeleteMy concerns are similar to yours - too new, too untested, etc. We were also advised to skip it by hubby's medical director (who was told by the CDC LAST WEEK that the vaccine would not even be available this fall - go figure.)
Great topic!
I am not getting it and neither are the girls. I never get the flu shot and I have never gotten the girls flu shots.
ReplyDeleteI was talking to some of the nurses at my work the other day and they said they would get it and if they had kids they would not have their kids get it either. A lot of people actually get the flu from getting the flu shot.
if you didnt notice last year that you guys got the flu shot and you guys were sick often.
We are not. We're not in the high risk areas the way you are though being in a school - maybe that would push me to get it.
ReplyDeleteThis is unscientific but my gut just tells me this isn't good. I'm not buying that they can come up with a vaccine that will be both effective and safe in the inside of a few months and with limited funding. And if it doesn't work all they say is that this is a new strain of the flu and that the vaccine won't work on it.
We won't be getting it. One year I was forced by my employers to get the flu shot. This might be a big coincidence, but immediately following the shot, I had ringing in my ears for 2 weeks. Solid ringing. I thought I would lose my mind. I haven't had a flu shot since.
ReplyDeleteWe WON'T be getting it.
ReplyDeleteFor me its too new and too rushed.
We try and practice good hand washing,keeping hands out of the mouth etc.
Great topic!
both tucker and i get the seasonal flu shot. my husband doesn't but claims that he 'never gets sick'. anyways, this h1n1 vaccine is so new and honestly, i feel the same as you. tucker seems to pick up sickness all the time and it sucks. it is very likely that if available, i will have access to get it, but i'm just uneasy about it for all the reasons everyone listed. i think if i had to make the decision right now, my vote would be no. i still want to discuss it with both my doctor and tucker's doctor just to see what their opinion about it is. good tft!
ReplyDeleteI was told by my OB to get it- but I'm not... its too new and since I'm not high risk or have any kind of breathing issues (asthma, etc.) or a comprimised immune system I feel like if I were to get the swine flu it would be okay (CROSSING FINGERS!!!!!!!!!) Maeve isn't getting it either- its just too new and I'd rather risk the flu than a brand new vaccine- plus I read a list of ingredients that are in it and its CRAZY stuff... definitely not anything I'd want in me or Maeve (or this growing baby). I feel like you- thousands and thousands of people die from the regular flu every year- and it's for the most part, elderly, people or cancer victims (anyone with a bad immune system). Good luck with your decision! It took me a good month to decide on whether or not I'd get one! (apparently preggos are first on the list... yikes)
ReplyDeleteNone of us are getting it. I don't really have a reason, either... we just... aren't. There are so many arguments for both sides that I'm really just indifferent.
ReplyDeleteJust checking back to see what other commenters had to say. Someone posted this article on Facebook the other day... it answers some questions. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/30/h1n1.vaccine.decision/
ReplyDeleteNo[e for me (nurse) and nope for my two boys ...My oldest son now 6 got the reg flu last Nov and landed in the hospital for a week with Steven Johnsons Syndrom and had to have 4 16 hour immunoglobulin treatments his skin was falling off and he looked horrid...A perfectly healthy child and then this all triggered blu the flu...so no I will not be injecting any form of flu virus no matter how small (ie vaccination)
ReplyDeleteNo[e for me (nurse) and nope for my two boys ...My oldest son now 6 got the reg flu last Nov and landed in the hospital for a week with Steven Johnsons Syndrom and had to have 4 16 hour immunoglobulin treatments his skin was falling off and he looked horrid...A perfectly healthy child and then this all triggered blu the flu...so no I will not be injecting any form of flu virus no matter how small (ie vaccination)
ReplyDeleteI am not getting the swine flu shot...but I did get the flu and pneumonia vaccine, mainly because of my job. Working at a school with 300 preschoolers makes me a little nervous that I make be more likely to be exposed to everything than most people.
ReplyDelete