Swine Flu Question Sorry!!!
OK I know everyone hates these post, myself included, but I am really on the fence about getting the vaccine. I finally found where I can get it and now I am not sure. I have read a lot but I wanted to see what people's personal opinions are for pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine.
I, myself, sorta feels taht there hasn't been much research on what it can do in utero and the mercury levels, plus the fact that I am due in a little more than 4 weeks, what are the chances I contract the swine flu now and some terrible thing happen. My doctor says teh baby doesn't get the immunity from the shot, but would I pass the immunity through my breastmilk.
Is it better that I get it now or should I just wait and get vaccinated once I give birth.
I appreciate any light you can shed on this because I am truely agognizing over the decision whether or not to get the vaccine.
Re: Swine Flu Question Sorry!!!
I will be getting it, if I can find it. In my opinion its just a flu shot, made the same exact way as the regular flu shot. If you are concerned about the mercury you can try to find a preservative free shot.
My doctor told me that the antibodies your body make should cross the placenta and get to the baby, offering some kind of protection.
If you are getting the seasonal shot (or already have) while pregnant, you are taking the same risks as getting the h1n1 vaccine... which are virtually non-existent. They made the same way, just with different strains.
I trust my doctor's opinion and will be getting the h1n1 shot when it comes in to my OB's office. But I definitely feel it is a personal choice and you should do what makes you feel comfortable.
I got it, and I'll tell you why because I was dead set on NOT getting it. I honestly didn't like how fast the vaccine came to market and I was convinced that this flu would pass and not be more deadly than the regular flu. Well, that is starting to be proven wrong. With the amount of children that are affected and actaully dying from the H1N1 flu and it's not even 1/2 way into flu season, I got concerned. I will be breastfeeding and that is the only way a child under the age of 6 months can be given any chance of immunity to H1N1. I got my shot a week ago today and I'm glad I did. GL!
My feeling about the general safety of the vaccine and the preservatives used in making it is that we are a lot better off with the life saving vaccines we have today than we would have been had they never been created. There are plenty of environmental sources of mercury that we have all been exposed to trace amounts throughout our lives, so I'm not stressing this decision any more than I do when I decide to eat sushi.
I was going to wait until after birth to get the vaccine at first b/c I am already so close to my due date, but the vaccine is so scarce here that my OB/Gyn told me they wouldn't be able to give it to me after I delivered b/c they were saving all of their doses for pregnant patients. I don't want to wait just to find out that I can't get it anywhere.
Exactly this.
What are the chances of you contracting H1N1? You?ll never know. But I?d do it to be on the safe side.
This. And my OB office said the same thing.
I got my H1N1 shot this morning. I got the seasonal flu shot a little over a month ago. My reasons: the shot is made in the same way as the seasonal shot, except with the H1N1 inactivated virus instead of influenza A. IF the CDC had known about H1N1 in January, it would have been included in the seasonal shot, and we wouldn't be talking about testing right now. Second, you can get the thimerosal-free shot, and then you wouldn't have to worry about the mercury issue. Third, I work in a school environment with a lot of close contact with students. The virus is already on our campus, and although I've been vigilant with taking precautions, the ill students (and co-workers) are still showing up in public. Not fun. Fourth, I have two other little ones and I want to be able to care for them should they get sick. I'd have to move out of my house and leave DH alone until they got well - not an option I like.
Lastly, my OB strongly suggested that I recieve the vaccine. Pregnant women, specifically in their third trimester, are at the highest risk of contracting the virus and the highest risk of having major complications from it (pneumonia being one of the main factors). My family (including this LO) need me to be healthy.
HTH, and good luck with your decision.
Ditto all this and well said! I can only hope to find the vaccine soon, as it doesn't seem available anywhere in my county.
This is how I feel as well. I am, however, thinking about getting it after LO is born, but I'm still not sure.
For those of you who think that the H1N1 vaccine is new and we are getting experimened on.... Do your research from reliable sources and not vaccine fear-mongering emails. The vaccine is NOT new - it's made in the exact same way every year - just the strain of virus is different. If your dr.'s are saying it's new, as well - I'm sorry, but they are just plain wrong. If they don't recommend getting it for other reasons, that fine - we all have the right to choose.
Mercury levels in the vaccine are NOT a crazy amount. There is literally more mercury in a can of light tuna. Furthermore, the mercury used in thimerosol has been proven to be NOT the type that cause major health problems (there is more than one type of mercury). Ethylmercury leaves our bodies at a much faster rate than methylmercury. Also, our environments from day to day living provide us with more mercury than a vaccine.
According to my doc, her biggest concern is for the child AFTER its born. Infants are extremely susceptible to contracting things like this and they have the highest death risk of any age group.
We all (my skids, dh, my parents, my inlaws, and I) got the vaccine because we want to make sure we don't contract it and pass it onto him once he's here. Its just not a risk we're willing to take.
I agree! + people die for the "regular" flu just as much every flu season, we just don't hear it because it hasn't spread as fast at this string of flu. Do some research about the swine flu vaccine back in 1976....
From what I have read they are not making a preservative free H1N1 shot. I could be wrong, but that is what I read.
Again, do your research from reliable sources. The 1976 flu vaccine is NOT the same (obviously thing have change a bit in the 33 years). The virus isn't even the same. Furthermore, tons of testing has been done on GBS since then. You are more likely to get GBS (if you have a predisposition) from food-borne illnesses. The flu shot is the least likely reason out of all the reasons for GBS.
1. The vaccine is manufactured in the same way, by the same companies, and in the same places that manufacture the seasonal flu vaccine.
2. The amount of mercury preservative in the shot is a trace amount and is equivalent to what you would find in a few meals of fish that are high in mercury (tuna!).
3. The risk of flu outweighs the risk of the shot, in my opinion. Getting the shot while I'm pregnant was the only chance I have at protecting my baby until she's 6 months old. I have a 4-year old who is exposed to so many other kids, and unless I want to sterilize him before entering my home, who knows what he'll bring home from kids who weren't immunized.
4. Twice as many little kids have died from H1N1 already than die by the END of a typical seasonal flu season. Yes, many of them had chronic or otherwise serious conditions, but... kids have serious conditions every other year and don't die. This particular strain is targeting young people?many of them healthy.
5. Just because MY child isn't immuno-suppressed or chronically ill doesn't mean children he goes to school with and comes in contact with are as healthy. I have an aunt on oxygen, and I'm not willing to have someone in my house get sick and expose her (or someone like her) to something bad. I'd feel like a monster if my kid's flu got someone else seriously ill because i just simply chose not to vaccinate.
6. I get the whole argument that we've not been able to see kids grow up who received H1N1, but the vaccine is the same as the flu vaccine. We've seen plenty of kids who were in utero when their mom got the flu vaccine grow up perfectly fine.
7. I have yet to read any anti-vaccine propaganda that can legitimately prove that the RISK of the shot outweighs the potential benefit. Until I do, I will vaccinate my kids with anything and everything that will benefit them and the community. I have a dozen family members who are nurses and doctors, and every single one of them have no problem with vaccines and encourage me and my family to get anything available.
That's my rationale. Aside from some concerns about herd immunity and the way that immuno-suppressed people are compromised by healthy people who choose not to vaccinate, I don't care what anyone else decides to do.. Just my two cents!
The are making the thimerosol-free shot, not because the other one isn't safe, but more so to placate people and their fears of it. They have to do something to combate all the vaccine fear-mongering, right? So, many people ascribe to the false reasoning, so they have to do something to help people help themselves.
When in doubt, do your research through reliable sources. The CDC website is extremely informative on both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 shot. Emails and blogs are not reliable sources.
FYI - this year's Swine flu is NOT the same as the strain that hit in 1976. Just like this year's predominate flu that is aimed at by the standard flu shot is not the same as last year's flu. Influenza is a virus that mutates quickly. That's why it continues to thrive year after year despite vaccines made to combat it. If you get a flu shot and end up with the flu, you got a different mutation of the same virus. It doesn't mean the vaccine wasn't effective.
Also, this year's standard flu shot contains innoculants against 3 different flu strains, including a strain of H1N1. Unfortunately it is for the mutation of H1N1 that is currently causing the majority of flu cases. Therefore they manufactured the new H1N1 vaccine in response. Read up and make sure your sources are reliable and fact based.
I got the vaccine on Saturday......and was given the thimerosol-free one without even asking.
The amount of thimerosol in the shot is LESS than the amount of one tuna fish sandwich........
By getting the shot now, you will be able to pass some immunity on to your LO. You can also do this if you get it after and BF......but my OB said it will pass more quickly in-utero than through BFing.......
The shot was made just like the regular seasonal flu shot was made......and they don't do a ton of testing on regular flu shots either.....its just another strain of the flu. Someone posted a really great thought the other day that had the H1N1 started sooner than it did, it would have just been put in the regular flu shot and we wouldn't be having these conversations......but, it was not an "emergency" until after the strains of the regular flu shot was already being made.
Everyone in the house got the shot Saturday (me, my DH, my 2 year old DS and my mom....) and we are all perfectly fine
In fact, the regular flu shot hurt my arm more than the H1N1 did.....
GL with your decision!
I can't offer you advice, just sympathy.I can't decide either.
I think I'm gonna wait until I'm pretty close to full term. The effects inutero are unknown. No studies have ever been perfomed on pg women and flu vaccines. The H1n1 is the fist time they have done any clinical studies on pg women and I have not heard of the results yet.
Your body, your baby, your personal choice.
Everyone feels strongly one way or the other and will defend their choices, b/c none of us want to be bad monthers. Make the choice that you can live with.
I'm not sure where you found that there have been no studies on pregnant women, but that is actually false. There have been studies. A study on more than 2000 pregnant showed no adverse effects on the fetus.
If you get the regular flu shot, there is no reason not to get the H1N1 vaccine. By getting the regular shot, you're saying you're clearly OK with all the components of the vaccine. In refusing the H1N1, all you are "protecting" yourself from is the actual strain of flu virus that is most prevalent right now. It's nonsensical.
While I'm trying to be sympathetic to those "on the fence" and upset about it - I honestly don't understand where all the paranoia about this vaccine comes from. The flu is deadly, esp to pregnant women - just get the shot!
The cdc website.
What's your source? Was the study on seasonal?
Oh! It was the study done on the seasonal, but I guess since they are made the same way - that's study enough for me:)
https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/providers_qa.htm
https://www.pamf.org/flu/preg.html