I really need some help here. I have been debating getting Levi the H1N1 vaccine for at least a month now and am no closer to a decision. At this point I'm just so incredibly sick of worrying about it.
On the one hand the H1N1 virus can be dangerous and even fatal for little kids. On the other hand there are some reports that say the vaccine is also dangerous. Who exactly am I suppose to listen to?
I'm not a person who believes that vaccines give kids autism and stuff like that, but the lack of testing on this particular vaccine has me a little nervous.
Please tell me your opinions! Or better yet can't someone come and make these tough parenting decisions for me.
Thanks for reading.
7 comments:
I'm going to get Lydia the regular flu shot, but not the H1N1 shot. Like you said, it seems kinda thrown together at the last minute and may not work or be more dangerous. Also, Lydia usually doesn't go anywhere except for the sitter's house. She is the only one who is there besides the sitter's own children so I don't think she has a large change of getting it.
We're also not getting it because of a lack of research on it's side effects. I also tend to think today's kids are over-vaccinated. That said, my daughter will probably get the swine flu & I'll eat my words...
my mom keeps telling me i need to get the boys the shot, but i don't want to. i think it is actually probably just like any other flu and they are just blowing everything out of proportion trying to scare everyone. people die from the regular flu too. so seriously i doubt it is any different than the regular flu! just another way to get in people's pockets and to waste government money instead of spending it on something worthwhile. but that is another story for another day!
I think we will probably get it for Jaxson as long as his pediatrician recommends it when we see her next. He comes into indirect contact with so many people through Ryan (teachers have the germiest desks) and me (accountants have the 2nd germiest) and daycare. We put a lot of trust into our pediatrician who we think is just fantastic and I'm assuming she'll suggest it. It seems like every year they make the flu vaccine with a new strain of flu depending on what they think is going to be the worst so this isn't too far from what they do every year anyway. We'll see what happens.
Im like you, Corin. I have been worried about it for awhile now and still havent decided what to do. I come into contact with lots of germs from this school, and the kids come into contact with kids from a neighboring school district. So that means that they exposed to two different sets of germs in my mind. Im leaning towards getting it, but Im trying to pray about it. Im terrible with big decisions, so maybe the guy upstairs is going to have to help me out with this one!
Manide
If my children were that age, I wouldn't. I just did the vaccines that have been around for a long time and we've seen the results. good luck with all the tough decisions you have to make!
The H1N1 vaccine is similar to the seasonal flu vaccine, just made for that particular strain, like Stacey said. If you do the shot rather than the nasal variety, it is a killed virus and shouldn't have side effects any different than the seasonal flu shot. That being said, it is still a different vaccine that doesn't have a lot of data yet. I am recommending seasonal and H1N1 vaccines to my patients and will be getting both myself as well. H1N1 is just a strain of Influenza A, but as a pandemic, it is a strain that we don't see every year. That's why you hear of the young, healthy people being hit hardest with it. They don't have built up immunity like some of the older people who have been around for multiple flu seasons. The choice is ultimately yours, and you have to do what you feel is best for your Levi!
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