Moms that were hesitant to get the h1n1 shot for their kids and did....

[Anonymous]

This vaccine is as tested (actually more, per the CDC) than the seasonal influenza vaccines we have.

Here's the thing -- the only component in this vaccine that is new is the strain. The rest is the same old influenza vaccine backbone.

So, putting aside the "rest" of the vaccine and concentrating on the new part:

A dead virus can't do anything TO you -- anything that happens is a result of your body responding to the virus itself. Your body attacks the specific protein sequence on the virus, just like it would if the virus were live. Any response we'd be seeing from your body attacking this protein structure on the virus would also be seen... that's right... in people catching the live virus. We're not seeing anything crazy like that in the data thus far, and even if we were, we'd be seeing it in a virus we're all likely to catch. That's the difference to me between this and say, polio. We can talk about herd immunity all day but if we're talking about comparing risk/reward for something we're actually likely to CATCH, independent of whatever ethical value we place on herd immunity, this is the year, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:most studies are ongoing and not done until May 2010
Some have 25 kids in test group.... that's a lot-

YAY for more poetry!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:most studies are ongoing and not done until May 2010
Some have 25 kids in test group.... that's a lot-

24 more than one bit of Anecdotal Evidence.

[Anonymous]

what made me do it was watching a friend of mine's 5 year old son get through a week with the swine flu. No way I will put my 16 month old thru that if I can help it.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am the 2nd poster. I am holding off for now. That doesn't mean I'll never get it, but I am not today. My DH was on the fence and asked his friend last night who's a dr. Dr said no and that he is currently treating 2 patients with GBS from the vaccine. This is 100% fact. I know it's rare, anecdotal, whatever, but I am just going with my gut. It isn't like I will never again have a chance to get vax if I change my mind in a week or a month. It may be hard and I may regret it, but I feel if I am so torn I shouldn't do it. As my ped said "You can't take it out of their body".
Everyone here who is pro-vax, I know there is more of chance of h1n1 complications, I know statistically it may not make sense, etc etc so no need to point all of that out. I am also not anti-vaccine at all, I am just unsure and want to see how this plays out over the next days and weeks.

I am really torn, but there is supposedly 80million more doses coming so we'll see. Let me know what you do. Part of me just wants to do it and be done, but this is a good friend of DH's and he was pretty emphatic about it. Makes me pause. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am the 2nd poster. I am holding off for now. That doesn't mean I'll never get it, but I am not today. My DH was on the fence and asked his friend last night who's a dr. Dr said no and that he is currently treating 2 patients with GBS from the vaccine. This is 100% fact. I know it's rare, anecdotal, whatever, but I am just going with my gut. It isn't like I will never again have a chance to get vax if I change my mind in a week or a month. It may be hard and I may regret it, but I feel if I am so torn I shouldn't do it. As my ped said "You can't take it out of their body".
Everyone here who is pro-vax, I know there is more of chance of h1n1 complications, I know statistically it may not make sense, etc etc so no need to point all of that out. I am also not anti-vaccine at all, I am just unsure and want to see how this plays out over the next days and weeks.

I am really torn, but there is supposedly 80million more doses coming so we'll see. Let me know what you do. Part of me just wants to do it and be done, but this is a good friend of DH's and he was pretty emphatic about it. Makes me pause. Good luck!

OP here. As of today, I am leaning towards getting it. Not sure why. Part of it is to resume a normal life (I have been limiting his public activities because of the flu). Part of it just to have it over with. I think what is swaying me is the fact that I do do all of the other vaccinations (albeit on a spaced out schedule). And I feel like I expose him to a risk with every vaccine I give him. Given that, this is the one vaccine that is most likely to benefit him. There is a very good chance he will get H1N1. There is no chance at all he'll get polio, yet I get him vaccinated for that. I don't know, there is no easy answer, and I do feel nervous about it. But I would never forgive myself if I did not get the vax for him, and he came down with H1N1 and got complications. Sigh. I may change my mind by tomorrow. But that's where I stand today!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am the 2nd poster. I am holding off for now. That doesn't mean I'll never get it, but I am not today. My DH was on the fence and asked his friend last night who's a dr. Dr said no and that he is currently treating 2 patients with GBS from the vaccine. This is 100% fact. I know it's rare, anecdotal, whatever, but I am just going with my gut. It isn't like I will never again have a chance to get vax if I change my mind in a week or a month. It may be hard and I may regret it, but I feel if I am so torn I shouldn't do it. As my ped said "You can't take it out of their body".
Everyone here who is pro-vax, I know there is more of chance of h1n1 complications, I know statistically it may not make sense, etc etc so no need to point all of that out. I am also not anti-vaccine at all, I am just unsure and want to see how this plays out over the next days and weeks.

I am really torn, but there is supposedly 80million more doses coming so we'll see. Let me know what you do. Part of me just wants to do it and be done, but this is a good friend of DH's and he was pretty emphatic about it. Makes me pause. Good luck!

OP here. As of today, I am leaning towards getting it. Not sure why. Part of it is to resume a normal life (I have been limiting his public activities because of the flu). Part of it just to have it over with. I think what is swaying me is the fact that I do do all of the other vaccinations (albeit on a spaced out schedule). And I feel like I expose him to a risk with every vaccine I give him. Given that, this is the one vaccine that is most likely to benefit him. There is a very good chance he will get H1N1. There is no chance at all he'll get polio, yet I get him vaccinated for that. I don't know, there is no easy answer, and I do feel nervous about it. But I would never forgive myself if I did not get the vax for him, and he came down with H1N1 and got complications. Sigh. I may change my mind by tomorrow. But that's where I stand today!

That is the part that swayed me too. He WILL get exposed to H1N1 and it's more than likely to contract it too, so I figure I am doing what I can to help prevent bad complications. And I have known many who have had them, so I just went with the "better be safe than sorry" camp. Good luck. When is the appt?

[Anonymous]

I am confused why educated people who LARGELY agree to cooperate with the medical system in the US and trust that they are NOT trying to kill us are drawing a line on the sand on this! The vaccine for H1N1. Measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chicken pox, we ALL get these vaccines (except for those who do NONE of these, and we are not even discussing THOSE people). I totally get the worry. No one WANTS to put MORE stuff into their kids bodies...no one. I hate to give my kids meds at all, but there is a point where I HAVE to trust the research (overall) and the goodness in people that want to work for public health. This does not guarantee my child's health, nor does it mean there will not possibly be unforseen repercussions, but I have watched my son's classmate struggle in the hospital for OVER A MONTH from complications with H1N1. The family is distraught. I look at the front page of the metro section today and children are REALLY suffering. What is more important to you? Your faulty logic or your child's health?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am the 2nd poster. I am holding off for now. That doesn't mean I'll never get it, but I am not today. My DH was on the fence and asked his friend last night who's a dr. Dr said no and that he is currently treating 2 patients with GBS from the vaccine. This is 100% fact. I know it's rare, anecdotal, whatever, but I am just going with my gut. It isn't like I will never again have a chance to get vax if I change my mind in a week or a month. It may be hard and I may regret it, but I feel if I am so torn I shouldn't do it. As my ped said "You can't take it out of their body".
Everyone here who is pro-vax, I know there is more of chance of h1n1 complications, I know statistically it may not make sense, etc etc so no need to point all of that out. I am also not anti-vaccine at all, I am just unsure and want to see how this plays out over the next days and weeks.

I am really torn, but there is supposedly 80million more doses coming so we'll see. Let me know what you do. Part of me just wants to do it and be done, but this is a good friend of DH's and he was pretty emphatic about it. Makes me pause. Good luck!

OP here. As of today, I am leaning towards getting it. Not sure why. Part of it is to resume a normal life (I have been limiting his public activities because of the flu). Part of it just to have it over with. I think what is swaying me is the fact that I do do all of the other vaccinations (albeit on a spaced out schedule). And I feel like I expose him to a risk with every vaccine I give him. Given that, this is the one vaccine that is most likely to benefit him. There is a very good chance he will get H1N1. There is no chance at all he'll get polio, yet I get him vaccinated for that. I don't know, there is no easy answer, and I do feel nervous about it. But I would never forgive myself if I did not get the vax for him, and he came down with H1N1 and got complications. Sigh. I may change my mind by tomorrow. But that's where I stand today!

That is the part that swayed me too. He WILL get exposed to H1N1 and it's more than likely to contract it too, so I figure I am doing what I can to help prevent bad complications. And I have known many who have had them, so I just went with the "better be safe than sorry" camp. Good luck. When is the appt?

Thanks so much for your post. Appt. is tomorrow. And then I get to deal with it all again in 4 weeks time! I'll be glad when flu season is over.

[Anonymous]

I'm the same way OP, I was hesitant to get the vaccine and refuse to wait outside in the cold and rain to get my son one. But I will get him one if the ped's office gets to us on their list (and did try CVS but they didn't have one for his age). What took me over to the dark-side was several things:

- a lot of the concern about the potential side effects of the vaccine was the adajunct - and that is not in the vaccine.
- Lots and lots of kids have gotten the vaccine by now, and while there have been some side-effects (rashes), there has been no reporting so far of anything wide-spread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me some moral support! I have been really nervous and resisting getting the vaccine for my 15 month old DS (for a variety of reasons). I decided that I would not get it for him unless I could find the thimerosal free, and that I would not wait in a long line. Sure enough, I got an appt. at Montgomery County clinic on Wednesday (thimerosal free).

I am probably going to go ahead with the appointment, but I am just so nervous. I have so many concerns about the vaccine. For other moms who were nervous about the vaccine, and went ahead and did it, what made your decision for you? Any regrets?

I was hesitant and scared and nervous. I went back and forth everyday. I have to day, tho, that since my kids got their first dose (3.5 YO and 12 mos) and feel an incredible measure of relief. I know it's not like a force field that will protect them, but I'm surprised at how relieved I feel. Good luck in your decision.

NP here. I went back and forth so many times and even posted on here about how I was agonizing about it. I did way too much research for my own good and ultimately decided that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks. I brought my kids to the flu clinic with a worried heart and felt very anxious for about a day...but like PP, that feeling was quickly replaced by relief. Even if my kids don't get the second booster, I feel like they're at least partially protected. I kept imaging my kids horribly ill with the flu and couldn't bear the thought, especially if there was something I could do to prevent it. Once I did it, I decided to just LET GO...not worry about it and second-guess. I know how hard a decision it is, though. You'll worry either way--so whatever you choose, just commit to it, do it and let it go.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the poster who put up the clinical trial links. At least they are testing now - however, concurrent trials do not give me much comfort, honestly. In looking at the product inserts when vaccination began....the inserts clearly state that the H1N1 vaccine had NOT been tested for efficacy or safety on children. So basically, we are vaccinating and testing at the same time. I am optimistic that the vaccine will be safe for most children, but feel badly for the children who suffer undisclosed or unknown side effects from it (no, not talking about rashes, but GBS or other auto immune issues, etc). For those of you who think those of us not giving the H1N1 are being ridiculous, please cut us some slack. For some very legitimate reasons, we are choosing not to give our kids this vaccine. In my view, we are giving our children an unprecendent number of vaccines in a very short time frame while their immune systems are young and just developing. As far as I know, there are no studies of cumulative effects of all these vaccines, including giving potentially FOUR flu vaccines this year into the regular vaccination schedule (AAP recommends 35 vaccines now by the time a child is 18 months old) http://www.cispimmunize.org/IZSchedule_Childhood.pdf. When I was a kid - there were less than 10 required vaccines.

Also,historically, there HAVE been bad vaccines that subsequently were pulled from the market. The first swine flu vaccine was one. The old rotavirus vaccine was one. Most tragically, the old DTP was one (which is why we now have the DTaP). To get some of the facts and debunk the myths - go here http://www.nvic.org/Myths-and-Facts.aspx, and please read Myth Number 3 about the DTP.

So while I know we must put a level of trust that pharma (and FDA) is doing the right thing, testing properly, and providing safe vaccines, I encourage people to fully inform themselves on the benefits and risks of vaccines, including the brand new H1N1. For anyone trying to get a good read on vaccine safety and tips on how to vaccinate safely - I suggest Stephanie Cave's book - What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations. For the record, I do vaccinate my kids with the required shots, albeit on a alternate schedule. I try not to give any extras, esp. to my DC who has a neuro disorder. I hope this post is helpful and it is not meant to start a debate. At the end of the day, parents must trust their gut and do whatever they have to to protect their kids and feel good about their decisions, esp. the hard ones. It's never one size fits all.

[Anonymous]

Be sure to note that news stories like the person that walked backwards after the vaccine was bunk. It turns out she is not going to be that way forever and she basically had a psychological problem resulting from fear of the vaccine. When you vaccine millions of people in a short amount of time they blame other medical conditions on the vaccine when it is usually just germs or fear that caused the problem.

[Anonymous]

do little math before making your decission:

h1n1 vaccine is said to provide circa 49% protection against flu, so technically you might do it and yet still catch the flu.. is it still worth the risks? you have to decide.

[Anonymous]

Also,historically, there HAVE been bad vaccines that subsequently were pulled from the market. The first swine flu vaccine was one. The old rotavirus vaccine was one. Most tragically, the old DTP was one (which is why we now have the DTaP). To get some of the facts and debunk the myths - go here http://www.nvic.org/Myths-and-Facts.aspx, and please read Myth Number 3 about the DTP.

.

People, these are not the sites to go to debunk myths. These are the sites that create myths. The "National Vaccine Information Center" is an anti-vaccine site.