I am torn. I actually just talked to my Dr. He said yes it is just another flu strain. The normal flue vaccine has about 7-8 strains in it. The swin flu is not one of them. They are seeing the swine flu now not respond to tamaflu. So far the flu with it has been mild and like any other flu, but they are worried it may change.
So, no real good answer. He said to get it, but I am not sure either. I am worried with all shots we get. I hate not knowing.
Are you thinking of getting it for the girls. I know the school is preparing to deal with it. As soon as all the kids are back in school it will start to spread again like wild fire.
I was told by Mason's new school that the government here is only planning to give the vaccine to High Priority people. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounded like Mason would not be able to get it, whether I wanted to give it to him or not. Probably just people that are sick/preg, etc.
What I see happening here, is pretty much what has been happening for years in Africa with Malaria... something I would not have been aware of if my brother had not lived there for 4 years.
with malaria, there is no vaccine to stop it. what the drug companies have come up with is a drug, a prophylaxis (btw, the flu vaccine is a prophylaxis as well). this is a medicine created to hopefully prevent an illness.
the problem with this, is that it is not a vaccine - it does not permanently stop the illness. the effectiveness wears off after a period of time (thus the annual flu shot). in the case of the malaria prophylaxis, that is developed for tourists visiting - the africans cannot afford to take it 24/7, nor should they as it is not for long term use. when y brother lived there, the peace corps would NOT issue him this as he was there longer than 6 months - he had to catch the disease, which he did, and live with it the rest of his life. so now i have a bro with lifetime malaria, like the locals.
it is not a death sentence. however, what is happening to the poor africans is that this prophylaxis makes the malaria bug meaner - and it morphs into more virulent strains to get around the prophylaxis out there - and these worse strains kill people. and the tourists who go there, some for extended periods of time, continue to use (abuse...) the prophylaxis which harms, and kills the african people.... niiiiiice.
so, i believe that the flu shots do the same thing - encourage worse strains of the virus - you can already see this with the OVERUSE AND ABUSE of Tamiflu which is currently happening in the US - now, as crystal said, tamiflu no longer works as well for the swine flu... so what is next???
tamiflu should only be used in the first 48 hours of the virus appearance. (and most people wait a few days feeling a bit "off" before they go and get diagnosed.) and it should NOT be prescribed as a preventative measure in the case if you are near someone who is exposed - it should never be prescribed to a person without the flu.
the misuse and mis-prescription of drugs like this only makes the drug worse.
so I for one am EXTREMELY skeptical of this special swine flu shot. and i am borderline into believing that conspiracy theory that the swine flu was purposely released by the drug companies to sell more drugs... they wouldnt do that, would they? in a bad recession like this??? nah....
i have never had a flu shot. and i do not ever recall having the flu in my adult lifetime. i am prone to sinus infections, a completely different thing, or even the occasional 24 hour gastro/pukies if i am to get sick. same goes for my kids. but flu - we never deal with that in our house.
we do take measures to eat healthy and organic, take vitamines, we have "clean" habits (hand washing etc.)... so i am going to focus on those type things to prevent the flu.
I asked Elizabeth's pediatrician about it and he said that he wasn't sure yet. He also said he didn't even know if they would have enough available if they do get it. Elizabeth did not get the flu shot last year, so if she does it this year along with the swine flu, it will be at least threes shots.
Like Muffy, I have some skepticism about it anyway. For right now, I think we are going to wait and see.
For me, it's a big H*LL NO, I am not getting it. I just can't imagine putting something in my body that hasn't been fully tested when I have a very vulnerable little pea sitting in here.
For Meghan, I am completely torn. In my heart of hearts, I do not want to give it to her. I know for every argument I have against her getting it, there is a counter argument so I won't even list my reasons here. I'm just having a hard time ignoring this little voice in my head that is screaming at me not to let her get it.
On the other hand, what if she gets the swine flu and ugh. Can't even say it. Becomes a statistic. How would I feel knowing she had the option to get the shot?
My worst fear is that they will make it manditory like the regular flu shot in order for her to be in school and then I won't even have a choice.
If they make it mandatory for me because I'm preggers (doubtful but you never know), I already told my husband he will need to dig me a shelter under the house so I can hide there until I give birth. I refuse to get this vaccine.
I was told by Mason's new school that the government here is only planning to give the vaccine to High Priority people. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounded like Mason would not be able to get it, whether I wanted to give it to him or not. Probably just people that are sick/preg, etc.
Crystal here's a list of what they consider "High risk" so Mason is in this category:
children age 6 to 59 months, pregnant women and women who will be pregnant during flu season (usually October to March), adults age 50 years and older children and adults with most chronic health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, neurological and neuromuscular disorders (cerebral palsy, seizures, muscular dystrophy, etc.) and immune system problems, children and teens who are taking aspirin because of the risk of Reye syndrome, residents of long-term care facilities ,household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children younger than 6 months, or in other high-risk groups above, healthcare personnel who provide direct patient care
I always get a flu shot, because of my profession. Presley gets one because of her health issues, so SG gets one as well. Kenley will get one, and Kenneth usually does too, just because we all do.
As for the swine flu vaccine, we'll probably wait and see on that one, and go ahead and get the regular one.
-- Edited by Juanita on Saturday 22nd of August 2009 10:15:07 AM
i actually talked to toni about this one because it made me nervous and she explained to me it's made the same way as the "regular" flu shot - just with a specific strain to fight the swine flu.
For me, it's a big H*LL NO, I am not getting it. I just can't imagine putting something in my body that hasn't been fully tested when I have a very vulnerable little pea sitting in here.
For Meghan, I am completely torn. In my heart of hearts, I do not want to give it to her. I know for every argument I have against her getting it, there is a counter argument so I won't even list my reasons here. I'm just having a hard time ignoring this little voice in my head that is screaming at me not to let her get it.
On the other hand, what if she gets the swine flu and ugh. Can't even say it. Becomes a statistic. How would I feel knowing she had the option to get the shot?
My worst fear is that they will make it manditory like the regular flu shot in order for her to be in school and then I won't even have a choice.
If they make it mandatory for me because I'm preggers (doubtful but you never know), I already told my husband he will need to dig me a shelter under the house so I can hide there until I give birth. I refuse to get this vaccine.
The regular flu shot is mandatory at her school? I have never heard of it being a requirement before.
I am on the fence about this one. NY was one of the major hotspots for the outbreak of the swine flu, so I saw its impact firsthand. Lots of kids were sick, some really sick, including my son. Anyone who had a positive influenze type A test were assumed to have swine flu, which Logan had. He had a very high fever for 7 days, vomitting, sore throat and total listlessness. He got really dehydrated and almost was admitted to the hospital - luckily it never came to that.
At some points, there were hundreds of kids absent from school each week, something we saw in our elementary school. Granted not everyone was sick with swine flu, but a lot of kids were sick. And although most were only mildly affected, there is talk that the re-emergence of swine flu may be much worse than the initial outbreak.
I recently saw that they started testing the vaccine on kids in the US. I will be watching the follow-up closely. Since it seems that the vaccine was developed the same way the traditional flu shots are made, I feel a little better about it (we all get the standard flu shot every year). So, while I am not 100% sure about the swine flu vaccine, I am leaning towards getting them if available.
No I won't give it to the girls. I actually know 2 young girls who had H1N1 a few weeks ago. Their symptoms were basically a mid-grade fever for about 2 days and an upper resipiratory infection, ie cold. They were back playing outside in 3 days.
I think if you are high risk it should be considered. A 23 year old pregnant mother died yesterday here from it. I completely understand Diane not wanting to get it - COMPLETELY. I think I would feel the same if I were in her shoes and yet nearly every time they report a death here it is a pregnant woman. So sad.
No I won't give it to the girls. I actually know 2 young girls who had H1N1 a few weeks ago. Their symptoms were basically a mid-grade fever for about 2 days and an upper resipiratory infection, ie cold. They were back playing outside in 3 days.
I think if you are high risk it should be considered. A 23 year old pregnant mother died yesterday here from it. I completely understand Diane not wanting to get it - COMPLETELY. I think I would feel the same if I were in her shoes and yet nearly every time they report a death here it is a pregnant woman. So sad.
For me, it's a big H*LL NO, I am not getting it. I just can't imagine putting something in my body that hasn't been fully tested when I have a very vulnerable little pea sitting in here.
For Meghan, I am completely torn. In my heart of hearts, I do not want to give it to her. I know for every argument I have against her getting it, there is a counter argument so I won't even list my reasons here. I'm just having a hard time ignoring this little voice in my head that is screaming at me not to let her get it.
On the other hand, what if she gets the swine flu and ugh. Can't even say it. Becomes a statistic. How would I feel knowing she had the option to get the shot?
My worst fear is that they will make it manditory like the regular flu shot in order for her to be in school and then I won't even have a choice.
If they make it mandatory for me because I'm preggers (doubtful but you never know), I already told my husband he will need to dig me a shelter under the house so I can hide there until I give birth. I refuse to get this vaccine.
Aside from the pregnant part (LOL), I feel the EXACT same way, Diane. I do not intend on getting it (not that it would even be available to me), and like you, I have this little voice screaming at me to not let the kids get it either.
But then the self doubt comes in..."What if one or both of them get it and the worst happened? Could I live with myself? But then what if they got it, but the shot wouldn't have helped anyway because the strain had morphed? UGH!!!"
IHNI what to do. (if it is made available to my kids. Heaven forbid it is made mandatory)
I was told by Mason's new school that the government here is only planning to give the vaccine to High Priority people. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounded like Mason would not be able to get it, whether I wanted to give it to him or not. Probably just people that are sick/preg, etc.
Crystal here's a list of what they consider "High risk" so Mason is in this category:
children age 6 to 59 months, pregnant women and women who will be pregnant during flu season (usually October to March), adults age 50 years and older children and adults with most chronic health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, neurological and neuromuscular disorders (cerebral palsy, seizures, muscular dystrophy, etc.) and immune system problems, children and teens who are taking aspirin because of the risk of Reye syndrome, residents of long-term care facilities ,household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children younger than 6 months, or in other high-risk groups above, healthcare personnel who provide direct patient care
I always get a flu shot, because of my profession. Presley gets one because of her health issues, so SG gets one as well. Kenley will get one, and Kenneth usually does too, just because we all do.
As for the swine flu vaccine, we'll probably wait and see on that one, and go ahead and get the regular one.
-- Edited by Juanita on Saturday 22nd of August 2009 10:15:07 AM
Interesting. I am guessing that their version of high priority is different than the definition in the U.S. We'll see, but I'm doubting any of my family will qualify for it. I really don't want it anyway, so I'm glad it isn't an option that I would just have to fight with DH over
I did want to add that me and the girls do get the regular flu shot (well, they get the flu mist, I get a shot, as I can not have anything with a live virus because of my drug trial). I have never felt that it offers a whole lot of protection, but really IHNI.
I just don't know. We did have a school here with at least one case of swine flu, but do I give my girls the shot just for that??? IDK.
No I won't give it to the girls. I actually know 2 young girls who had H1N1 a few weeks ago. Their symptoms were basically a mid-grade fever for about 2 days and an upper resipiratory infection, ie cold. They were back playing outside in 3 days.
I think if you are high risk it should be considered. A 23 year old pregnant mother died yesterday here from it. I completely understand Diane not wanting to get it - COMPLETELY. I think I would feel the same if I were in her shoes and yet nearly every time they report a death here it is a pregnant woman. So sad.
Do you give your girls the regular flu shot?
No I have never had my girls get the flu shot and I won't this year either. Just my personal choice.
I'm not sure about getting the kids the flu shot but am very nervous with Braxton starting school here next week.
I have to get the flu shot since I work in a health care facility. I guess we will need 3 differnt shots this year.
I've heard through work that the high risk areas are pregnant women, Healthcare workers and anyone with an underlining condition that could make it worse.
