H1N1 vaccine - where are you now with your decision?

Jo · Guru

H1N1 vaccine - where are you now with your decision?

daisy · Guru

we're still not getting it. my pedi wasnt at all adamant about the vaccine.
i feel pretty confident in my decision. :dunno

Chickie · Senior Member

I got it for Nolan. He has to get it again in 30 days though, so I hope it's available at that time.

Juni · Guru

I took Gavin in. They didn't have the nasal available that day so he got the shot. It's been 10 days since he got it - no complications. But I swear that he was super hyper the next day but who knows if there is any correlation and I certainly don't see that as "complication." I would have gotten it for Owen but they didn't have it available (that day) for under 4.

I took Owen the next Saturday (this past weekend). They didn't have the nasal at all but he can't get it anyway because of his asthma. I was actually able to get it since I work at a child care center so I did - I got the shot also - the nasal wasn't available.

My biggest concern was that both boys suffer from respiratory issues and I was really concerned about that if they got it - the secondary infection aspect. I figured if I could get it I might as well since I am around them and around so many germy kids at school and church.

I feel good about it. My pediatrician really suggested it and I had a nice long talk with him and felt comfortable doing it. He made a point to say because of their resperatory issues I need to get them in when I can. So, we did and now I am just hoping they have the second dose available when they need it in a few weeks.

kdrew · Guru

Chickie wrote:

I got it for Nolan. He has to get it again in 30 days though, so I hope it's available at that time.

I hope so too.

Sarah and Ryan can get their boosters after Monday.

I really hope we can find the shots somewhere so that I can rest easy.

supergrover · Guru

We had Koda signed up, and even brought him in. However, they did not have the thimersol free version available. We only do thimersol free vaccines. So we declined while there and Travis dealt with a very put off and rude doctor about it (this was not a peds office, the university set aside a number of doses for the preschools on campus). The shots aren't going to waste if we didn't use it, there is a wait a mile long for them here. Our huge univerisity shipment never arrived.

Tristen IS getting it this Saturday. They have the under 3 available, thimersol free. They do not have the over 3 available right now, but his peds office said to call back daily as they are released by the state in batches.

I don't even know if I spelled thimersol right...

Neither boy is eligible for the nasal vaccine.

I will be getting the vaccine once I am eligible, however, right now they will only vaccinate high priority people around here. Travis already got his through the univeristy because he is high risk with his severe asthma. He never misses a flu shot.

Picture-Perfect · Guru

I was pretty on the fence. After Hannah got the flu, I asked her pedi if he thought we should get it for her and the baby, if he had recommended it I was going to get it. He said the official recommendation is yes to give it to them even if they have had the flu but he was not doing that. I asked him if he thought Bryson should get it and he said honestly that he thought Bryson may have had it but because we treated with the tamiflu that he did not feel it was necessary. Kent and I did not get the flu when Hannah had it nor have we gotten the vaccine. I'm comfortable with our decision. I can't say what I would do if I was preggers that just adds more to think about.

supergrover · Guru

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

Juanita · Guru

we're still not getting it..none of us

maybe next year, but for sure not this year

apies · Guru

supergrover wrote:

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

ok, maybe i don't understand viruses well enough.

if it mutates, will the vaccine help you at all?

like, i thought with seasonal flu, sometimes they put out the wrong vaccine and then a different virus goes around and everyone gets sick anyway.

Juanita · Guru

supergrover wrote:

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

Well, actually, if the virus mutates, the vaccine won't do any good. That's why the seasonal flu vaccine is different every year.

Corey · Guru

if we ever find it available, they will. our neighbor's 18 month old was hospitalized all week with 106 fever from it.

Juanita · Guru

apies wrote:

supergrover wrote:

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

ok, maybe i don't understand viruses well enough.
if it mutates, will the vaccine help you at all?
like, i thought with seasonal flu, sometimes they put out the wrong vaccine and then a different virus goes around and everyone gets sick anyway.

i just posted about this very thing smile

supergrover · Guru

apies wrote:

supergrover wrote:

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

ok, maybe i don't understand viruses well enough.
if it mutates, will the vaccine help you at all?
like, i thought with seasonal flu, sometimes they put out the wrong vaccine and then a different virus goes around and everyone gets sick anyway.

I'm for sure not an immunologist, but I think he was hoping for partial immunity, so the body would have a better chance at fighting it from having been introduced to a similiar virus. Like how some years the seasonal flu only offers some protection becuase it is made so early that the flu virus has changed by the time it is realeased. It is still helpful to have in your system just might not be 100%.

Says the liberal arts major, so I may have that off.

supergrover · Guru

supergrover wrote:

apies wrote:

supergrover wrote:

oh, and this was the line from Travis that finally (and I do mean finally- I debated this forever).

What if the virus mutates and suddenly we start seeing much worse cases. Don't we want the boys to at least have some immunity to this form of flu?

To that I agreed.

ok, maybe i don't understand viruses well enough.
if it mutates, will the vaccine help you at all?
like, i thought with seasonal flu, sometimes they put out the wrong vaccine and then a different virus goes around and everyone gets sick anyway.

I'm for sure not an immunologist, but I think he was hoping for partial immunity, so the body would have a better chance at fighting it from having been introduced to a similiar virus. Like how some years the seasonal flu only offers some protection becuase it is made so early that the flu virus has changed by the time it is realeased. It is still helpful to have in your system just might not be 100%.

Says the liberal arts major, so I may have that off.

um... never mind then :)

Jo · Guru

Kelly - I'm glad you're feeling confident about your decision. It's hard to not know what to do, and I know you were on the fence for awhile.

Chickie - did Nolan get the shot or the nasal spray?

Juni - did you go to the public clinic? How was the wait? I'm glad you have some peace of mind now, especially with Owen's asthma.

Jenn - just curious, what makes the boys ineligible for the nasal spray?

Amber - yes, certainly more to think about being preggo. I'm glad you're confident about your decision, too.

Corey - how's that baby doing now? So scary.

Juni · Guru

Jo wrote:

Kelly - I'm glad you're feeling confident about your decision. It's hard to not know what to do, and I know you were on the fence for awhile.

Chickie - did Nolan get the shot or the nasal spray?

Juni - did you go to the public clinic? How was the wait? I'm glad you have some peace of mind now, especially with Owen's asthma.

Jenn - just curious, what makes the boys ineligible for the nasal spray?

Amber - yes, certainly more to think about being preggo. I'm glad you're confident about your decision, too.

Corey - how's that baby doing now? So scary.

The very first one was insane - people there at 3:30 am when it opened at 10. We did not go to that one. The one last week was not crowded at all! We got there 20 minutes after it opened and walked right through - stopped at the checkpoints and then walked right in. Last week was advertised as potentially the last one (public clinics is all we've had available so far) because of the low turnout in previous week. Well, it was packed. Owen and I waited in line for an hour outside (brrrrr) and then about 20 minutes inside. So, it's hard to say how it would be.

Alison · Guru

I'm fairly confident about not getting it for myself, Mason, and Evie. I think John should probably get it, but I'm not really sure, and I haven't tried to find out where he would get it.

In the past month, a stomach virus, Coxsackie virus, and mono have gone around Mason's school, plus your standard colds, which he has gotten 2 of. It scares the crap out of me, but there are no vaccines for those illnesses, so I just have to tell myself that all this exposure is building his immune system, right? ;) Aye aye aye.

supergrover · Guru

Jo, Tristen is too young, and Koda had a lot of asthma-like issues when he was younger. Though not officially diagnosed with asthma right now, he had enough issues (on nebulizer for 2 winters) that they don't want to chance it.

sbucking · Guru

We haven't gotten it, nor will we be getting it. I'm just fine with that decision.