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Should my son get a flu shot or not?
October 12th, 2009, 2:00 pm · 17 Comments · posted by Theresa Walker, Editor
I bet I’m like a lot of parents right now, debating whether or not to have my son vaccinated against swine flu.
He’s never had a flu shot in the past. I never really saw any need for it.
My husband gets a flu shot every year because he has underlying health issues. My own flu shot history is spotty: Some years I get one, some years I don’t. It’s more of a convenience thing for me.
I didn’t get a flu shot last year and I didn’t get the flu. When I have had the flu, I just stay home in bed and get over it. (It’s actually kind of nice being totally out of it and not have to worry about much else than getting better — except for the hallucinations.)
My son’s always been a pretty healthy kid. So why is it different this time regarding a flu shot for him? Swine flu, of course.
At 17, he’s one of those “young people” that the swine flu might hit harder than the rest of the population. Might.
I’m not really worried about possible side effects from the vaccine, so that’s not what makes me hesitate. I guess it’s just I wonder about the real necessity of it. But then again, what’s wrong with taking a preventive step. See my dilemma? Are you debating it too for your children?
A recent poll by The Associated Press found that more than a third of parents don’t want their children to get the swine flu vaccination. Seventy-two percent of parents said they were worried about side effects — but most said they would still have their kids vaccinated.
My son is not in school anymore — he graduated high school and postponed college this semester — so he won’t be exposed to all kinds of diseases from living in a dorm, whether it’s garden-variety flu or social diseases. (Gee, what a load that is off my mind; like he needs to be in a dorm to put himself at risk.)
The other thing is, he’s a few weeks shy of turning 18. So maybe I should leave it up to him to decide if he wants a swine flu shot or not. He’s long past the stage where he would crawl under my chair at the doctor’s office and hang onto the leg for dear life when it was time for a shot, so he should be able to make an intelligent decision. I plan to talk with him and with his pediatrician about it this week.
But I imagine the flu shot decision is a little more complicated for parents of younger children.
Let’s do a survey in The Mom Blog:
More on sick kids:
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I’m on the fence, too, when it comes to flu shots. By the time I make up my mind the flu season will probably be over.
It doesn’t sound like you’re leaning one way or another. Since your son is almost an adult, you can always just ask your son, perhaps even his doctor, for their opinions and go from there.
For me, I have my little tater tot take every vaccination that is available. My husband grew up with the specter of polio (he’s a just little older than me
) and he insists on all vaccinations. I’d rather take chances (and I don’t think they’re risky either) with shots than with illnesses that can disfigure or kill. We’ll get the regular flu shot & the H1N1 shot if it’s available.
I’m not having an easy time getting the regular, old seasonal shot for my children. The doctor’s office is out, the county clinics are out, and the drug stores that still have it won’t give it to children under age 9. I’m glad that my kids have had flu shots in years past because it will be a big challenge to get the two shots necessary for a first year vaccination. Whatever you choose, good luck, folks.
oh, I am a big beleiver in vaccinations. I logged on this morning to access our HMO’s website and make appointments for my son (age 2) and I to get seasonal and H1N1 shots. We’ve been living in the UK, so although he has all the ‘jabs’ (as they call shots) that were required there, I beleive there are some more offered here. Chicken Pox, I think. I’ll ask the doctor to make sure my son is up-to-date by U.S. standards.
It frustrated me so much that, because of bad science and bad reporting, the UK has got so many unvaccinated kids. Esp. since, unlike here, getting the shots takes so little effort and no out of pocket costs.
I was not going to, but now I’m undecided. I don’t really believe in flu shots and I’ve never gotten one. I rarely get the flu, and to tell you the truth, I think we might have had swine flu in April, before it hit the headlines. The risk groups seem like they could be confusing - infants to 18, 18-25s who go to school, 25-60s who might get sick more often than others. Basically, everyone. It’s a particularly virulent flu, but it has a lower mortality rate when compared with all other influenzas. I just don’t know what to do and it has nothing to do with the side effects.
actually this shot my doc gave his opinon and voted against it. Side effects are not great and i’m not willing to have son have those problems.
Nope, not doing it. We did the regular flu mist this year (to avoid mercury preservative) and that will be it.
I’d so much rather get the swine flu than risk all the side effects of the vaccination. I heard you can get leukemia, cancer, tumors, autism, and even rabies from the vaccination. It’s a crazy conspiracy from our government that spans both political parties. Especially since Obama the anti-Christ, Rush Limbaugh the racist, and Dr. Laura advocate getting it. I don’t trust any of them! I know they really intend to hurt me and my kids with these so-called vaccinations!!!
H1N1 vaccine is not an injection, you inhale it.
It actually comes in both forms. My wife got the injection which is preservative free.
If you read the past history of swine flu vaccines (granted, they were a different strain) side effects were more serious than the flu itself. Take the incident at Fort Dix in 1976- hundreds developed a debilitating nerve disease from the vaccine and several died. Coupled with the fact that this current swine flu vaccine had a very small test group (approximately 1,000, based on the research findings I have seen), we will be waiting on this vaccine to see if any serious or fatal adverse reactions occur. I am not anti-vaccine, just very careful as to what my 21-month-old will be getting injected with. We have kept up to date on some regular vaccinations, and are waiting on others until he is older. There are some I never plan to get him.
brianguy is wrong. The H1N1 vaccine comes in both a shot and nasal form. How do I know? I just got the shot myself today and my kid got the nasal one last week.
When and how much of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be available?
Both the flu shot (in the arm) and nasal spray form of 2009 H1N1 vaccines have now been produced and licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_qa_pub.htm
I get the flu shot every year (you can ask for a mercury free one) but will not get the H1N1.
I don’t like when things are “rushed” to the population. There were 2 incidences of the swine flu vaccine in years past where the side effects were pretty bad - death and Guillain-Barre syndrome being some of those. I don’t trust rushed vaccines with no long term history.
Same reason I refuse to get my daughter the Gardasil vaccine. Only protects against 4 out of the 100 types of HPV and those 4 are sexually transmitted types. ALL cases of HPV can be caught and cured with antibiotics with a yearly checkup and only go into cervical cancer when untreated for a long period of time. Yet Gardasil has been responsible for 11 deaths of young girls and seizures, epilepsy and a host of other ailments by the thousands. Another “rushed” vaccine I do not trust.
No thanks.
They never could prove that it caused GBS.
That’s good info to know about HPV. I’d always believed that it was a virus (thus, antibiotics do nothing). I had no idea it was a bacterial infection. Thanks for the info.
I apologize. I mis-spoke.
HPV, while the reason for some cervical cancers and genital warts, usually clears up in most women within 2 years of detection.
I meant to say that regular yearly visits and tests will detect HPV and gynecologists can then watch and keep on top of how it’s progressing BEFORE it goes to cervical cancer!
Simply testing positive for HPV does not mean you will get cervical cancer. For a vaccine, which is turning out to be dangerous to young girls, that only proctects against 4 out the 100 types - those are odds that I’m not willing to take with my daughters health.
I apologize for my mistake!
What about the report from Canada where getting the regular, seasonal flu shot may increase your risk of getting H1N1? http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/09/23/flu-shots-h1n1-seasonal.html
It’s something about the body’s immune-response system that may make it vulnerable to other strains of flu as it ramps up to fight another strain.
There’s a lot of recommendations going around, but it seems like they are guessing about a few things.
I also know the CDC is going to really monitor people to see if there are side-effects… but that just means they are using the folks who got vaccinated early as guinea pigs.
No, thanks. If you get the vaccine, tell me how it works out for you.
If I get the swine flu, I’ll tell you how that goes, too.