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2nd Trimester
What are you doing about the "swine flu" shot?
I heard it's going to be given to high risk which include pregnant woman first. I obviously don't want to put the baby at risk and ever since I was pregnant w/ my first I got the regular flu shot - but the fact this one is new and back in the day caused so many issues - I'm very nervous. Just wondering how everyone else is feeling about it.
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Re: What are you doing about the "swine flu" shot?
well, being in the hospitals i'm not really given a choice. there is a big long list of al the vacs we HAVE to have to be allowed to work in the hospital and usually flu virus is included, and i have heard rumors that the H1N1 is goinbg to be required for ANYONE working in the hospital setting
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As a medical professional, and a pregnant lady I am not going to get it. There is not enough testing on the vaccine to make me feel comfortable about getting it. I might get it a year from now when there is more information on the vaccine itself, like side effects and long term effects.
I"m due Jan 26th and while this baby won't be in daycare until 4 months . . . June . . . my son is in school.
I work for a large germy company where colds and flu's go around all the time.
I'd like to wait a month and see how all the others do w/ the shot before getting it myself - but I'm not sure we'll have that option and I don't want them to run out.
I'll be talking about it w/ my OB at my next appt.
I've almost completely decided against it. I called my doctor's office to talk about it yesterday, and I guess it was the nurse, told me she didn't really know anything about it. AT MY DOCTOR'S!!!
So I called a clinic where my cousin works, and talked it over with her. I probably won't be getting it because researchers may study it in pregnant women, but they won't know if your child may have some strange symptom or condition when he/she turns 15. My cousin told me to get the regular flu shot, wash my hands, stay away from people who are sick, and maybe buy a mask (I am a full time student at a university). There have been cases in my area.
This exactly! It's not even on the radar.
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What i said yesterday...
I'm not getting it.? It's a personal decision.However, for those who are getting the regular and/or H1N1 flu shot, please ask for the mercury free version.? The EPA says that a safe level of mercury per day for anyone is 0.1 mcg of mercury for every kilo in body weight.? A flu shot that contains mercury has?contains 25 mcg of mercury (thimerosal).? From the package insert of one maker of the flu shot...?https://novartis-vaccines.com/downloads/diseases-products/fluvirin_vial_syringe.pdfAs pregnant women we are often told to watch our mercury intake and people forget that the flu shot is one of the few vaccines that still contains mercury.? At the very least, ask for the mercury free shot.? You should have a choice.? The flu shot is also a class "C" medication, in case you were wondering. ??
I have really been thinking about this all day. I teach & kids/teachers are already getting sick with random things. Yesterday one teacher had 6 kids absent & she went home sick today with the stomach bug of some kind. Every time I click online I see more headlines about the swine flu. I just pray they are making it out to be worse than it really is.
I am so torn about this vaccine. Normally I am a huge supporter of vaccines, because the benefits outweigh the risks in my opinion. I don't want to see horrible diseases coming back to my child because I didn't vaccinate them.... but this vaccine is so new. On one hand, I don't want to get the vaccine because I may not get the flu and it could cause unknown issues. On the other hand, I don't want to opt out of the vaccine and be one of the people who gets the swine flu.
I just think, why is this happening now, the first time I have ever been pregnant?!?!
I just wrote a long post on another board so I hope you don't mind me C&Ping it
***
I am trained as a neuroscientist and DH is a practicing research immunologist. You can imagine we have super enthralling conversations about this stuff
Long story short, I am leaning toward not getting the h1n1 vaccine, though I will get the standard seasonal vax. Why? Because at present FIVE companies have different vax in trials, and the trials won't be complete until the release of the vax. the FDA will be performing an "expedited" review. At this point, adjuvants may or may not be added to the vax. At this point, the production of the vax may or may not be identical to the production of the seasonal flu vax (current production in chicken eggs; potential novel production in cell lines).
So right now we don't know
1. how the vax will be made
2. whether it will contain adjuvants
3. whether the adjuvants have been thoroughly tested
4. who will end up with the "winning vaccine"
5. how the final vax will be selected
Moreover, full durable immunity will only be conferred after two rounds of shots, and the vax will not be broadly available until November. In October, IF everything goes according to plan and IF there are no adverse reactions, a limited number will be available. But these will be rationed to the ill, immune compromised, and pregnant. And, even the scientists working on the vax are talking about how rushed this is.
for me, there are too. many. unknowns.
That said... IF the production is in chicken eggs, with no adjuvants, and according exactly to the production plan of seasonal flu vax... I'll consider it.
And I am SUPER pro-vax generally - our kid will get all his shots on time.
If this was cholera, or TB, or something more virulent... I'd think about getting what I consider will be at best an "experimental" vaccine. But it's not - it's flu. It sucks, but in the vast majority of cases it is an inconvenience, not a death sentence.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
This exactly. Six months of tests will show you symptoms after 6 months. What about 6 years? No thanks. I'll probably get the regular flu shot. But someone on here yesterday told me that the regular flu shot has an outstanding amount of mercury in it so we have to ask for the mercury free version.
I said it and just reposted. ?
Want to know the funny thing? ?I work at a school and they do a free flu shot vax program with the state. ?I just called today and asked if they'll have any?preservative??free shots. ?They said the only kind they'll have is the nasal spray. ?Well, they don't give the nasal spray to pregnant women. ?Other than that, I was told to check with my regular doctor. ?I have a feeling that if the state isn't getting it, I might have a hard time trying to find a mercury free shot on this island. ?Sigh.
Whoops. I posted without writing my comment sorry. I live next door on Kauai, and I was thinking the same thing about us not having the m/f version. My fear is that since we're on an island with so many ppl coming and going that more of us will get sick, which I really hope not. Two cases were just diagnosed at one of our high schools a couple days ago. Really makes me nervous with how small the island is...Do you have any of the same feelings?
I posted this earlier today, but if the government says that the swine flu vaccine is safe for pregnant women, then I'm also going out for sushi and martinis the same day.
Most of the vaccine lots contain mercury, and it's unknown whether the few amounts of mercury-free lots will be prioritized for pregnant women. It's not just the mercury issue for me, but I've talked about this with my doctor several times ... the first time she said I didn't have to worry about it, then she said that I should get the vaccine ... but recently I just read an article that stated that the priority people to get the vaccine is now those at highest risk of contracting and spreading it, (parents of school age children, and school age children) instead of those most at risk for the most severe morbidities, (like pregnant women). And swine flu never reached pandemic status in the Southern Hemisphere where it is winter right now.
I may not completely rule it out at some point in the future when there's more clinical evidence, but right now, I'm not planning on getting the vaccine.
Just wanted to thank you for your well-explained post. This is honestly the first time I've ever considered not getting it. I'll discuss with my doc on Friday, but just wanted to tell you that yours is a viewpoint well worth sharing!
This article is comforting... not so much.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFluNews/story?id=8412477
Influenza Experts Disagree Over Need to Move Quickly on Vaccine Given Dire Predictions....
The government appears to be moving forward with an early roll-out of a vaccine against the H1N1 swine flu virus ? even as trials to determine its safety, efficacy and proper dosage are still under way.
I'm a Pediatric Emergency Room Nurse, and I will probably not be getting either one. There is not enough information on side effects on the H1N1, but one of the biggest ones is a neurological disease named Guiilian-Barre. With the regular flu shot, there is only about a 60% to 70% that is successful with this year's strain. I talked to the pharmacist at work today and she has opt for not taking the shots herself.
I will probably have no hands left from washing them so much and just be wearing a mask for the entire length of my shifts.
I just spoke to the public health nurse at the hospital yesterday about it. she said there is a good chance it is not even going to be available until November or December so if your due before then it probably wont be an option, she suggested that when it is available I should get it as they are expecting infection rate to double daily when we hit flu season. If its available and my OB is cool with it I'll do it.
This.
Our third addition is on their way!
Thank you! I am super fascinated by the topic and willing to change my position - if the data support a change. I will be curious to hear what more OBs say about it, including my own.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
I did not even see you live in Kauai. Awesome!
I never thought of the fact that so many people come and go here! My line of thinking was that since the schools are pushing flu shots so hard core, that maybe the (regular) flu won't be so bad. Wishful thinking, maybe. We've had outbreaks at school and about a month ago there was an outbreak at both Queens (hospital) and the Military hospital. People have died but they've all had "something else" that contributed to their death.
Being on an island does put some fear in me.
As of now I am undecided on this topic. I was thinking no initially because I figured I'll just get the reg. flu shot and call it good, but then it's not the same strain as swine flu so that argument didn't work in my head. Then I'm thinking It doesn't come out til Nov and I'm due in Dec so will it even be effective...I don't know. I haven't discussed it with my OB yet, but a friend of mine, who is also PG, works for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research is in close contact with an array of different types of MDs. She has spoken with a few infectious disease MDs and they all told her she should absolutely get it. I guess as of now the vaccine being considered most for FDA approval is made the same way as the regular flu vaccine, just with this different strain. Yes there is no long term effect studies available, but if it is mad with the same methods as before, there are no long term sudies on those strains either, because they change it every year.
That being said (and maybe in too confusing a way) I still don't know!