Is there any hope for a "preservative-free" version of this vaccine?

[Anonymous]

Or should I just suck it up and get my 19-mo old the regular shot? I can get my 3.5yo the mist. I know that there is no evidence of harm, etc., but its just one of those things that i've preferred to avoid up to this point... Just wondering if anyone's doctors have indicated the likelihood that this will be available anytime in the near future?

[Anonymous]

I've made lots of phone calls regarding this. The Health Departments have ordered it, they just haven't received it yet. It sounds like they will eventually get it, they just don't know how long.

FWIW, I am waiting until the preservative free comes out to get my 13 month old vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

I've decided it's not worth waiting, for my family. I'm pregnant and my son is in preschool. For us, I concluded the possible risks of the preservative (I don't really see any real risks) outweigh the known risks of contrating the virus.

Plus, there is just so much uncertaintly as to when the preservative-free version will really become available. For me, getting us vaccinated has already given me a lot of piece of mind.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback - I believe I am leaning the same way.

[Anonymous]

I am waiting for the preservative-free for my 19-month-old. I'm a SAHM, so she's in a (comparatively speaking) lower risk environment. My ped said MD DOH, NIH, and CDC told them they'd get it in 3 weeks. They only ordered the preserv-free form, which makes me think they think preserv-free is important.

If you get the first shot now and your ped doesn't have the preserv-free, you might have to give another preserv shot for the booster. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

I did get both my kids the shot with preservative - 5 year old and 18 month old. I weighed the risks of the thimerosol (all the peds say there is NO risk) vs the risk of the flu and decided to go with it. It's still scary even though I know intellectually thatthere is no link b/w thimerosol and autism...

[Anonymous]

You can get the preservative free booster if you got the original version with preservative. You can even get the shot booster if you got the mist the first time. It does not matter. You can mix and match.

[Anonymous]

Later in the year it should be more widely available. It was a complete no-brainer for me to get my 18-month old and 4-year old the shot with trace amounts of perservative. There is zero evidence it causes any harm. We are also traveling by air in December and I want them completely vaccinated by then. Since it is almost 6 weeks from the time you start vaccinating to full immunity--I wanted to get the first dose in ASAP. Plus--swine flu is pretty rampant in our area right now and figured waiting did none of us any good. I don't want to have my kids end up in the hospital like several friends' kids.

I think my peds office will def. have the preservative version towards the end of Nov. when my kids are due for their boosters. The 4year old had to get the shot because he had seasonal mist--but next time he is eligible for the mist with no perservative.

[Anonymous]

We got the shot for our 1 year old.

Our ped said 4 weeks before they get it without preservative (and even that was a guess). 4 weeks isn't so bad to wait until you realize that you wait 4 weeks to get the first shot, then you have to wait another 4 weeks to get the booster (they are not protected during those 8 weeks). Then it takes another two weeks after the booster to be fully protected. That puts us well into January, which for me seemed to defeat the purpose since you miss the flu season.

For that reason, I chose to get the first shot now (and am hoping my booster will be preservative free since my timing puts our need for a booster right about teh time when the preservative free shot comes in). I didn't love having to do it, but the alternative (to me) seemed more risky given all the news stories about kids in the ER....