March 2013 Moms

Vaccination/Flu Shot

Does anyone have a link to a legit source (AAP/CDC) regarding the recommedations for grandparents and vaccinations? I am googling it right now and forums on WebMD are not cutting it.

My mother told me she refuses to get a flu shot or a TDAP because she doesn't like getting shots and is afraid of the mercury in them.  She is 67, so I am personally worried her current horrible sounding cold will turn into something worse.

I do not want to tell her she is not allowed to see the baby or take a hard stance without some authority. If anyone has come across the actual opinion/position paper (if it exists) could you post the link?

Ok, back to googling.

Lilypie Premature Baby tickers

Re: Vaccination/Flu Shot

  • https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/09/04/peds.2012-2308.full.pdf  

     

    First page talks about caregivers of infants for the flu

     

    I'll keep looking for tdap. 

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  • This basically says the new rec is that people 65+ get the tdap shot.

    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6125a4.htm

     

    and here's something about mercury/thimerosol - which is not routinely used in vaccines (and you can get a thimerosal-free flu shot): https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/

  • I'm pretty sure you can request a mercury-free vaccine. Anyway, your mom's brain is done developing - the trace amounts of mercury used as a preservative would not have any affect on her. :) 

    Did you speak with your pedi about this? He/she might be able to give you more specific info.

    Pregnancy Ticker
  • Here's one from the CDC regarding caregivers and pertussis vaccinations.  https://www.cdc.gov/features/pertussis/
  • imageCBomback:

    I'm pretty sure you can request a mercury-free vaccine. Anyway, your mom's brain is done developing - the trace amounts of mercury used as a preservative would not have any affect on her. :) 

    Did you speak with your pedi about this? He/she might be able to give you more specific info.

    We have not met with the pedi yet. LO is going on DH's Kaiser insurance, as adding her to my Anthem plan would cause me to pay 400 a month OOP.

    Lilypie Premature Baby tickers
  • Thanks guys! I just blew up her inbox. :) Hopefully this will work.
    Lilypie Premature Baby tickers
  • lol - ask her if she eats fish.  :)  Mercury is everywhere. You can absolutely minimize your exposure by asking for preservative free versions but it sounds like she just wants to be difficult for difficulty's sake.

     

     

  • Yeah, and does she have any silver fillings in her teeth?  If so, she has some mercury in her right now!
    Pregnancy Ticker
  •  Hello- congrats on baby! I have never actually posted here but I was so motivated to respond after reading this. We actually sent out an email to our families simply telling them that only visitors with a current Tdap and flu vaccine would be allowed to visit in the first six weeks after baby arrives. So far we have gotten a pretty positive response and nobody has been bent out of shape about our demands :)

    Other than wanting to protect your sweet one, they should be keeping these up to date for their own health.

     Good luck to you! 

    (here is a copy of what is being given by my health care provider.) 

    https://dms.kp.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1399233/Tdap Vaccine Information.pdf

     

    Katie 

    *****

    This is long, but I have included the email I sent out in case you were interested in doing something similar :)

     

    Hello Friends and Family;
    Well, it seems like sometime in the next several weeks would be a great time to have a baby! We can hardly believe how fortunate we are to have so many people who love and care for this Sweet Little One even before he or she has formally arrived. We expect that many of you will want to stop by either the hospital or our home (or BOTH!) in the days following Sweet Little Ones arrival. And we can?t wait to share him or her with you!
    Given our backgrounds in medicine we may have a slight tendency to be a bit, shall we say, anal, in the first 6 weeks of Baby?s life. We have no intention of keeping anyone from seeing Baby, but please understand that we will be following some general guidelines for visitors. First, please do not visit if you are sick or recently recovered from being ill with cough, fever, or congestion. Second, we will be requesting that everyone willingly and thoroughly practices good hand washing or uses hand sanitizer prior to interacting with Sweet Little One. Lastly, we are requesting you wear a mask if you do not have up-to-date flu AND pertussis vaccinations- even if you do not have symptoms of either. (If you have had a recent tetanus shot you will have also been immunized against pertussis, as it is a combo injection.) Again, we are well aware that this seems overzealous and maybe to some of you a bit overbearing, but the sad reality is that babies easily become very ill and sometimes die as a result of the flu and pertussis (aka Whooping Cough) and it is preventable with a simple shot. Children less than 6 weeks old who develop a fever are required to be admitted to the hospital AND suffer through having an IV placed, endure multiple blood draws, have urine collected by means of a catheter and spinal fluid collected by means of a lumbar puncture. Obviously, our hope is to avoid any unnecessary pain or interventions to Sweet Little One and your understanding and cooperation will help us ensure that. Again, we are so thrilled to allow you all to be included in the excitement as Sweet Little One makes his or her debut, and we have no intention of prohibiting anyone from being involved. (We aren't that terrible!)  We hope you understand where we are coming from- having experienced the extreme sadness of seeing newborns as ill as we have, it will be a wonder if we ever leave the house ;)
    Thank you in advance!

    All our love and appreciation, 
    Mark and Katie

    (By sending this out now, you still have time to get either vaccine if you are missing one or both. And don't do it only because you are dying to spend time with Sweet Little One, but because you recognize how important it is for your OWN health, too!) 

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