If you are not getting the flu shot...like we need another one of these posts..

ToledoDeux

loveforlife2009:

i may be a little late to add to this, but for all those saying that by taking the vaccine when you are pregnant and passing immunity to your baby.. what do you think makes it ok for the baby to get it when they aren't allowed to get the vaccine themselves until they are 6 months? 

just wondering that is all.. i definitely do not have the answer and am having a hard time deciding about this vaccine  

The flu shot is safe for both the pregnant woman and her fetus.  The fetus is not being injected with the vaccine, but the antibodies that develop after vaccination are passed on to the fetus.

Jen3016

ToledoDeux:

loveforlife2009:

i may be a little late to add to this, but for all those saying that by taking the vaccine when you are pregnant and passing immunity to your baby.. what do you think makes it ok for the baby to get it when they aren't allowed to get the vaccine themselves until they are 6 months? 

just wondering that is all.. i definitely do not have the answer and am having a hard time deciding about this vaccine  

The flu shot is safe for both the pregnant woman and her fetus.  The fetus is not being injected with the vaccine, but the antibodies that develop after vaccination are passed on to the fetus.

https://www.novartisvaccines.com/downloads/diseases-products/Fluvirin_PI_2010_2011.pdf

https://www.medimmune.com/pdf/products/flumist_pi.pdf

These are links to the information packet inserts for the flu vaccinations for 2010-2011 from the FDA.  Both packets state in black and white that the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine has not been proven in pregnant or nursing women.  The injectable vaccine is not recommended for children under 4 and the nasal spray is not recommended for children under 2.

You can find the info packet inserts for the majority of vaccinations on https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

 

1BabyFritsch

robinsokj:

1BabyFritsch:

I am not getting a flu shot for many reasons. Two being

1. I have always had VERY bad reactions to the shot.

2. Being in the health care feild myself and seeing many many sick people every day and being in contact with them and never having gotten the flu I really think the flu shot is pointless, at least for me. I am just not a sickly person.

 Also, I will not be vaccinating LO. Well we may end up vaccinating LO once he goes to school but not before then. because

1. I am afraid he will have a bad reaction like I do

2. He will not be in any kind of day care he will be home with me or DH

You sound very uneducated for someone in the health field.

ETA:  I just saw that you meant only flu.  It read as though you weren't vaccinating against anything.  So, sorry for the jump to conclusions.  

Well that would be your opinion. But the truth is some people are better off not getting the flu shot. Like my doctor has recommended for me and my child. Most people (depending on there type of work and living situations) are just as protected from the Flu virus by following standard precautions such as cleaning well, washing hands, ect... For the past couple years I have been in a health care enviroment without EVER getting more than the common cold because I make sure to take care of my self eat correctly and wash my hands regularly.

longingtoholdher2010

How about you ask this instead since everyone wants to be going nutso about the whole vaccine issue. How many of you have a baby and within the first couple days/weeks of birth are out shopping at walmart or any other store with LO? Everyone wants to be first in line to get their "vaccines" that they still don't even use common sense. What is the point of getting all these shots and being out around a ton of people!? Of course your baby is going to get sick! My mom kept us at home until we were 6 weeks old and we never got sick with any of the crap that people are so hyped up over these days.I plan on keeping my LO at home until 6 weeks as well.Maybe if everyone wasn't out trying to be a busy body and just stayed at home they would be more healthy. I do not mean be a recluse either but people just amaze me with all this talk about this vaccine and that vaccine. I personally find it to be  hype. I got the basic shots that every kid has to have in order to start school but I never had any of these other vaccines. The more neurotic you are about illness the more likely you are to get it. Stress weakens your immune system a lot and it seems to me like everyone is stressing over this issue all for naught.  

ToledoDeux

longingtoholdher2010:

How about you ask this instead since everyone wants to be going nutso about the whole vaccine issue. How many of you have a baby and within the first couple days/weeks of birth are out shopping at walmart or any other store with LO? Everyone wants to be first in line to get their "vaccines" that they still don't even use common sense. What is the point of getting all these shots and being out around a ton of people!? Of course your baby is going to get sick! My mom kept us at home until we were 6 weeks old and we never got sick with any of the crap that people are so hyped up over these days.I plan on keeping my LO at home until 6 weeks as well.Maybe if everyone wasn't out trying to be a busy body and just stayed at home they would be more healthy. I do not mean be a recluse either but people just amaze me with all this talk about this vaccine and that vaccine. I personally find it to be  hype. I got the basic shots that every kid has to have in order to start school but I never had any of these other vaccines. The more neurotic you are about illness the more likely you are to get it. Stress weakens your immune system a lot and it seems to me like everyone is stressing over this issue all for naught.  

LMAO.  I didn't stress about the vaccines at all - I just got them.  No muss, no fuss. 

longingtoholdher2010

1BabyFritsch:

sylwill:

1BabyFritsch:

 

 Also, I will not be vaccinating LO. Well we may end up vaccinating LO once he goes to school but not before then. because

1. I am afraid he will have a bad reaction like I do

2. He will not be in any kind of day care he will be home with me or DH

and you'll never take him anywhere in public? Or have people visiting you ever?

We will take him in public but not for the first month or so and I usually dont let random people in public places touch my child.... and the people who do visit will be close friends or family who will be asked to wash there hands or use hand sanitizer before holding LO. An since good handwashing is the best way to prevent the spread of any kind of sickness I am confidant in the fact that LO will be just as protected as with the shot. Plus some people in our family do CHOOSE to get the flu shot. Actually DH maybe getting it he is still undecided

Thank you!! Finally someone who has some sense! Don't let strangers touch your kid and have people who are touching little one wash their hands! AND STAY AT HOME FOR AT LEAST THE FIRST MONTH!!

monkeyqueen

amy052006:

I am DYING at "stay at home for at least the first month".

Because pediatrician office waiting rooms aren't chuck full of disease.Or are you not planning on taking your LO to the pedi?

Also, what total privledged woman BS.  How about single mothers?  Women with husbands who are deployed?  

Not everyone can afford the luxury of sitting at home for a month while a support system takes care of all their interactions with the outside world.

Me too!   It's hilarious.    Besides, some people have other kids in daycares/school, etc. who bring home various viruses.  Not to mention people who work out of the home - they bring home viruses, as well.  Viruses can live on surfaces for a period of time (yes, hand washes can prevent a lot - but not everything - which is why even the most diligent hand washes occassionally get sick).   But, I suppose if you keep the infant in a secure room and everyone who visits wears masks and gloves, then I suppose the "keep LO at home" and away from any risk of viruses idea could work.

LittleDucky

Mjmksb04:

Maybe I read it wrong and if so, I apologize. I felt like the question of "so, do you not ever plan on taking your baby anywhere?" put me on the defense. Anyway, I don't scientific studies to back up why I don't do a flu shot, I just don't. The shot only protects certain strains of the flu and anecdotally I know many people (my MIL, SIL, niece, nephew, etc.) who get the flu shot and still end up sick every year. I know that isn't solid evidence or anything, so don't quote me on it

I think one of the reasons people are so confused about the flu vaccine is that there are a lot of misconceptions about what the flu actually is.  Lots of people say they have the flu (and really believe they have a flu) when really they have a bad cold.  I get sick a few times every year.  Not always bad sick, but stuffed head, sore throat, fever, fatigue, etc.  This is not the flu. I had the flu one time, in February of 2007, and it was so much worse than any of the other sicknesses I've had.  I had a 104 degree fever for a week, lost about 7 lbs in a week from having no appetite at all and not being able to eat anything, felt awful, and couldn't exercise for a month after I was better because I couldn't breathe.  I ended up being put on steroids because the flu made my asthma unbearable.

A lot of people rarely get the flu.  It isn't all that common.  Most people don't get it most years.  But when you do get it, it is awful.  And it is particularly awful for babies and young children.

I'm not saying that you are a bad person if you don't get a flu shot or that there aren't reasonable reasons to avoid getting a flu shot (like egg allergies, for example), but I think the argument that you know people who get flu shots and they still got sick just doesn't hold water.

 I also don't buy the argument that you've never gotten the flu shot and you've never gotten the flu, so therefore you don't need a flu shot.  I never got a flu shot for the first 24 years of my life and never got the flu.  Then, after 24 years of being flu-free, I did get the flu.  It was awful.

Sure, the chances of LO getting the flu this year (or in any given year) are low.  But I don't think it is worth risking it when I can significantly reduce the risk by getting a flu shot myself.

Giggity19

Wash your hands!  Then you'll live to be 98 and your kid will go to Harvard!

There's a whole lot of moron going on in this thread.