DCP and flu shot

ladylisalt · November 2013

Never thought about this until today when I heard my DCP talking to another mom about the flu shot. My DCP did not get one. Would you care if yours did or not? I guess it dosent bother me too much since the flu shot does not protect everyone or all strains. She is a home daycare vs. a center if your wondering.

Nechie122 · November 2013

I wouldn't care unless my child couldn't be vaccinated for some reason. Although I'd be annoyed if she did get the flu and I had to find back-up care.

LoCarb · November 2013

Nope wouldn't bother me

DTNZ4Ever · November 2013

Nope wouldn't care. I get one as does DS but DH doesn't.

AllieMag24 · November 2013

From my perspective, it partially depends on the age of the children in her care. Because young babies aren't vaccinated for flu, she could be putting them at higher risk. We go to a center and one of the three teachers in our LO's room wasn't vaccinated and got flu last year when my baby was under 6 mos old and I was pretty frustrated. The teacher might have gotten flu anyway but it seems she could have reduced the risk.

NicoleWI · November 2013

AllieMag24 said:

From my perspective, it partially depends on the age of the children in her care. Because young babies aren't vaccinated for flu, she could be putting them at higher risk. We go to a center and one of the three teachers in our LO's room wasn't vaccinated and got flu last year when my baby was under 6 mos old and I was pretty frustrated. The teacher might have gotten flu anyway but it seems she could have reduced the risk.

This. It would bother me if my child were too young to be vaccinated. And, I just think she's foolish.

danigirl7181 · November 2013

It wouldn't bother me. The only reason I got the flu shot was my work (hospital) made it mandatory. My neither my DH or kids are getting the flu shot. Also to add, my kids don't go to a daycare center, my parents watch them. If they did I may rethink the flu shot for them.

jf198400 · November 2013

My mom watched my kids when they were infants and she got the flu shot which I appreciated. Now my kids get the flu shot so I don't worry about it. I still haven't gotten my flu shot this year and neither has DH, so no I don't care if the DC teachers do.

FemShep · November 2013

AllieMag24 said:

From my perspective, it partially depends on the age of the children in her care. Because young babies aren't vaccinated for flu, she could be putting them at higher risk. We go to a center and one of the three teachers in our LO's room wasn't vaccinated and got flu last year when my baby was under 6 mos old and I was pretty frustrated. The teacher might have gotten flu anyway but it seems she could have reduced the risk.

Yes, this. I also agree with PP-what happens if she gets the flu and you need to find backup care? Ugh.

itsmevkb · November 2013

NicoleWI said:

AllieMag24 said:

From my perspective, it partially depends on the age of the children in her care. Because young babies aren't vaccinated for flu, she could be putting them at higher risk. We go to a center and one of the three teachers in our LO's room wasn't vaccinated and got flu last year when my baby was under 6 mos old and I was pretty frustrated. The teacher might have gotten flu anyway but it seems she could have reduced the risk.
This. It would bother me if my child were too young to be vaccinated. And, I just think she's foolish.

My children don't go to a center but my sister who watches them does not get a flu shot and I wouldn't ask her to.

I get that some may think it foolish not to, however, as someone who just watched someone become paralyzed from the waist down for over a month as a result of a flu shot (guillain-barre syndrome), no, I don't find people not getting them foolish. They are not without risk and as they are not even close to being effective I can certainly understand why people choose to forgo them, myself included.

SunAndRain · November 2013

No I wouldn't for reasons previously mentioned.

And if she did get the flu I would take the opportunity to suggest that she consider a flu shot next season to help protect against getting the flu as well as to reduce the severity of illness should she become infected anyway.

I could be wrong, but I think that for a young, otherwise healthy, child to get the flu a time or two builds up their immune system against future seasonal flu. I'm all for vaccines but there is something to be said for natural immunity too. Again...I could be wrong.

preggersin2011 · November 2013

It would upset me that all their vaccinations weren't up to date. But that's coming from someone who gets a flu shot every year. If your are working around children then your health as well as theirs should be important to you. Children are at a signifcantly higher risk of dying from the flu than healthy adults.

FemShep · November 2013

SunAndRain said:
I could be wrong, but I think that for a young, otherwise healthy, child to get the flu a time or two builds up their immune system against future seasonal flu. I'm all for vaccines but there is something to be said for natural immunity too. Again...I could be wrong.

You are wrong. Getting the flu in a previous season does not protect you from future varieties. The flu is not a joke, and children die from the flu. Talk to the families of the kids who have died from the flu about "natural immunity".

If you'd like to become more knowledgeable on the topic, you can find more information about influenza-related deaths in children here:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/flu-children-impact.htm

Flu myths debunked here:

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/top-13-flu-myths

And here:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

SunAndRain · November 2013

FemShep said:

SunAndRain said:
I could be wrong, but I think that for a young, otherwise healthy, child to get the flu a time or two builds up their immune system against future seasonal flu. I'm all for vaccines but there is something to be said for natural immunity too. Again...I could be wrong.

You are wrong. Getting the flu in a previous season does not protect you from future varieties. The flu is not a joke, and children die from the flu. Talk to the families of the kids who have died from the flu about "natural immunity".

If you'd like to become more knowledgeable on the topic, you can find more information about influenza-related deaths in children here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/flu-children-impact.htm

Flu myths debunked here:
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/top-13-flu-myths

And here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

I may have been unclear. I know and agree that having the flu won't protect you from novel strains but I do believe that it will offer you some protection from seasonal flu that is typically caused by strains that have previously circulated among the population. My understand is that this is the reason that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic did not impact the senior citizen population nearly as much as expected nor to the extent that it impacted people <65 years of age; it was blieved that those over than 65 had residual immunity. So it would appear that having the flu leads to long-lasting immunity. Whereas a flu shot loses its effectiveness after 1 year.

But you are right it is no joke. Thank you for the links; I did read them. Though I think I'll hold off on talk to families of children who died from flu. That was a very morbid statement to make.

preggersin2011 · November 2013

SunAndRain said:

FemShep said:

SunAndRain said:
I could be wrong, but I think that for a young, otherwise healthy, child to get the flu a time or two builds up their immune system against future seasonal flu. I'm all for vaccines but there is something to be said for natural immunity too. Again...I could be wrong.

You are wrong. Getting the flu in a previous season does not protect you from future varieties. The flu is not a joke, and children die from the flu. Talk to the families of the kids who have died from the flu about "natural immunity".

If you'd like to become more knowledgeable on the topic, you can find more information about influenza-related deaths in children here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/flu-children-impact.htm

Flu myths debunked here:
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/top-13-flu-myths

And here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

I may have been unclear. I know and agree that having the flu won't protect you from novel strains but I do believe that it will offer you some protection from seasonal flu that is typically caused by strains that have previously circulated among the population. My understand is that this is the reason that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic did not impact the senior citizen population nearly as much as expected nor to the extent that it impacted people <65 years of age; it was blieved that those over than 65 had residual immunity. So it would appear that having the flu leads to long-lasting immunity. Whereas a flu shot loses its effectiveness after 1 year.
But you are right it is no joke. Thank you for the links; I did read them. Though I think I'll hold off on talk to families of children who died from flu. That was a very morbid statement to make.

My understanding is that the flu shot given during their earlier years for a strand similar to H1N1 or if they actually got that flu still protected them. My allergist in high school who had degrees from columbia, cornell and harvard (so hopefully he knows his stuff) told me that if i got a flu shot every year by the time i am in a nursing home I would likely be the only person immune to the flu and it would be the best thing I could do long term for myself. Esp since pneumonia from the flu can be deadly. The flu shot lasts a lot longer than a year it is the virus that changes year to year. However, like other vaccines your immunity over time diminishes. That's why we need tetanus boosters whether the immunity is from a vaccine or naturally occurring it is the same. I find it ironic that people vaccinate themselves against measles but not the flu

laurakaz13 · November 2013

SunAndRain said:

FemShep said:

SunAndRain said:
I could be wrong, but I think that for a young, otherwise healthy, child to get the flu a time or two builds up their immune system against future seasonal flu. I'm all for vaccines but there is something to be said for natural immunity too. Again...I could be wrong.

You are wrong. Getting the flu in a previous season does not protect you from future varieties. The flu is not a joke, and children die from the flu. Talk to the families of the kids who have died from the flu about "natural immunity".

If you'd like to become more knowledgeable on the topic, you can find more information about influenza-related deaths in children here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/flu-children-impact.htm

Flu myths debunked here:
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/top-13-flu-myths

And here:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm

I may have been unclear. I know and agree that having the flu won't protect you from novel strains but I do believe that it will offer you some protection from seasonal flu that is typically caused by strains that have previously circulated among the population. My understand is that this is the reason that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic did not impact the senior citizen population nearly as much as expected nor to the extent that it impacted people <65 years of age; it was blieved that those over than 65 had residual immunity. So it would appear that having the flu leads to long-lasting immunity. Whereas a flu shot loses its effectiveness after 1 year.
But you are right it is no joke. Thank you for the links; I did read them. Though I think I'll hold off on talk to families of children who died from flu. That was a very morbid statement to make.

All of this. I would actually question her judgment. A DCP not getting the flu shot should have a medical reason not to do so. I would not be happy.

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