H1N1 Vaccine - Charleston,IL

my husband is a physician and both my kids (1 and 4) got the H1n1 shot. if you can find it, get it. hope this helps...

Hi J.,

I have been going back and forth about this too, but plan to get it for my daughter and myself when it becomes available. We have to get the shot because we have a history of wheezing. She has already recieved the seasonal flu shot, but her ped doesn't have any H1N1 injectable at this time. I was not able to get the seasonal flu shot yet, because I am not in the high risk groups (not pregnant, chronic health problems, am over 24 yrs old). I may stand in line this weekend at the city colleges so my daughter can get the shot. I think the benfits outweigh the risks. Over 100 people have died from the swine flu, not the vaccine. It has been tested, contrary to what people are saying. A relative (very healthy woman in her 50's, no underlying conditions) is still recovering from the swine flu. She came down with it and then had to be hospitalized for a week. She is still very weak and sick. It is a personal decision, but I haven't seen any medical studies that show the vaccine to be unsafe. I know there are preservatives in some of the vaccines, but medical research does not suggest the risks of those outweigh the risks of getting the H1N1 flu. I know many people who have had the vax and not one has had a side effect.

You've gotten a lot of responses...I can tell you I have gone back forth on this for sometime. I am pregnant (for the second time) and never even had a regular flu shot before (even with my first) however this time around and after having a frank discussion with my doctor I got the seasonal and plan on getting the h1n1. I've spoken with family and friends who are in the medical field and overall everyone is saying you're better off getting the vaccine than to get the illness. My son is in daycare full time so he gets the seasonal flu vacicne each year and this year he'll get the h1n1 too...everyone has to make the choice for themselves based on how they live and what they're exposed to.

It is a mandatory vaccine at my place of employment which is a hospital. It is mandatory because we work with patients but also because the medical staff there have reviewed all available information on its safety and are very comfortable that it is made along the same lines as the regular flu shot and does not pose any particular health risk to employees receiving the shot. If you need more information about the safety of this vaccine, check out the CDC's website www.cdc.gov or www.flu.gov - they bust all the myriad of myths that are out there. I will get mine as soon as it is available and I will get my daughter (2 yrs old) and my nanny vaccinated as well. Good luck.

our kids are in daycare and are under age 4, so we will probably try and vaccinate for it, assuming it's somewhat simple to get. If it seems too logistically difficult I'm not going to worry about it, but we'll make some effort for it.

According to the CDC website the number of flu cases this year already outnumbers the total number of cases seen during most previous years, and the seasonal flu season hasn't even started. CDC also says that over 99% of the typed cases to date are H1N1. This makes me think it's going to be a particularly bad flu season (in that lots of people get it) -- not that H1N1 is any more dangerous than the regular flu. They all suck (I had the seasonal flu 2 years ago and it was really rotten). So if it's simple for me to prevent my family from getting it, I will.

Both my son and I will be getting it. I'm pregnant and my 2 1/2 year old son is in full-time daycare.

My son can be the best hand-washer, probiotic eater, and vitamin taker in the world, but nothing can stop the other snotty germy kids in daycare from being vigilant 100% of the time (and, I bet despite his best efforts, my kid is also a snotty germy kid, too!).

Personally, as a pregnant woman I feel the risks of the vaccine are FAR less than the potential risks associated with the vaccine. Approximately 10% of all swine flu deaths have occurred in pregnant women. Furthermore, this particular virus seems to be most devastating to young children and pregnant women (as opposed to the seasonal, which typically strikes the elderly the hardest). Knowing that the H1N1 vax is basically the same 'recipe' as the seasonal flu shot (only difference is the type of dead virus in the shot), I'm not worried at all about receiving it.

You may wish to call your doctor and get it done there. I drove by a city college this weekend and the 'swine line' was long and winding.

For legitimate information on health quackery, visit:

www.quackwatch.com

(You will be able to find reliable information regarding the health and safety of vaccines)

My husband, myself, and two of my children ages 6 and 9 got it and we had absolutey no bad reaction at all. (Unfortunately, they didn't have the right dose for our 11 month old even though they advertised that they would so he has not been vaccinated yet). We got the nasal spray as they wanted people to get that instead of the shot if at all possible because the injectible form was in shorter supply.

There's a lot of people who have become cynical and distrustful of the medical establishment and in many cases I understand why, but I think they've let irrational fear and misinformation cloud their reasoning and judgement. The swine flu vaccine is made in exactly the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine...same "background" components, the only difference is the flu varient but because it is a flu virus, even though a different strain, it operates the same way in a vaccine as the flu strains we are more familiar with. Seasonal flu vaccines have been around for a long time with very minimal problems and ANY drug or vaccine is going to cause a reaction in some people, that's just the way it is. Most reactions that do happen aren't that serious and can and are dealt with pretty quickly and easily.

While I agree that H1N1 has been a bit overhyped by the media, there is a bit more of a danger from H1N1 than the seasonal flu and it seems to be affecting a different population more severely than seasonal flu typically does. Seasonal flu is typically more dangerous for elderly people while the H1N1 seems to be more dangerous for younger children and young adults. The 1918 Spanish flu that caused a lot of deaths was also a form of "swine flu" and it also caused more deaths among younger people because it caused the immune system to overreact to it, thus causing those who were younger with hardier immune systems to create more byproducts of an immune reaction like fluid in the lungs (the major cause of death for the 1918 flu was victims essentially drowning from fluid in their lungs) while older people with less hardy immune systems did not get as sick. This seems to be somewhat what we're seeing now with H1N1, though as of yet no where near the scale of devastation as 1918.

The problem is, you can't know how your child will react to the virus if they get the H1N1 flu. Most people who get it just get flu symptoms and recover, though it may take a couple days more than recovery from the typical seasonal flu...BUT there seems to be a higher proportion of younger people and younger adults that react very badly to it and become extremely ill and some of those have died. To put it in perspective, the regular seasonal flu causes the death of about 75 children a year during the entire flu season. The number in the last couple months alone of deaths from H1N1 in children has surpassed that and is around 120 the last I heard. That is definitely cause for concern. You'd probably be right that if they get it they'd get over it and be fine, but you have a greater chance of being wrong about that with H1N1 than you have of being wrong with the seasonal flu.

Personally I think in this situation it's better to be safe than sorry. The chance of your child having a complication from H1N1 is statistically higher than the chance of them having a serious reaction to the vaccine. A child can have a bad reaction to any drug, even antibiotics, but you don't often hear parents saying they're not going to give their kids an antibiotic they've been prescribed for strep or ear infection or whatever because it might cause a reaction. It's all about perspective and some people have lost their perspective because they've bought into the fear mongering. Some say "well I've done my homework on vaccines and my research tells me it causes autism or Guillan Barre or whatever..." but if you look at where they've done their research, they've probably done an internet search and read mostly the private blogs or websites put up by fear mongering people with no medical training and only weak anecdotal evidence so they haven't really done objective research.

I know I've made this pretty long but look at it this way. I'm 33 years old, I've known many, many adults and children in my lifetime that have had all kinds of different vaccines (including myself and my children) and I have yet to meet a single person that ever had a bad reaction beyond maybe a low grade fever or a sore muscle for a few hours at the injection site. Not one. I've read about some that have, but if you put this number against the number of people that have gotten vaccines, including flu vaccines, the number is miniscule.

I have read some people say that they got sick not long after getting the vaccine for seasonal flu in the past and blame it on the vaccine but what they don't realize is that it takes up to 2 weeks to gain full immunity after being vaccinated so they were either infected but were not yet showing symptoms when they got the vaccine or they were infected not long after before the vaccine had time to give them full immunity or they had a strain of the flu not covered under the vaccine (a lot of people don't know that the yearly flu shot only covers a select few strains because they can't make a single shot that covers all strains) or they have a cold and not the flu. It is a medical FACT that you CANNOT get the flu from the flu vaccine, seasonal or H1N1.

Apologies again for the length of this, but there is so much fear and misinformation out there about vaccinations and it always drives me crazy when I hear people spreading this irrational fear and misinformation to others that might cause people to make a choice for their child without the correct information to make that choice.

We all got ours about two weeks ago. No side effects, and I feel a little safer.

We got the vaccine last Thursday. I have a 3 year old and 6 month old. We all got it and are just fine. No adverse reactions. And I was a skeptic too. I was very nervous about getting it because it was so new. But I weighed out the options, get it and take the chance of a reaction or not get it and chance my children getting very ill, possibly death. After really thinking about it, I opted to get the vaccine. Like I said we are all fine.

Hi J.,
My four year old son got the H1N1 vaccine last week and all is well. I was confident in my decision yet nervous the morning of. You have to ask yourself, are you more nervous of the flu or of the vaccine. My answer obviously was the flu. I heard on the news today, 0 children have dies from the vaccine and 114 from the swine flu. For me it was a no brainer yet this seems to be a very personal and sometimes sensitive subject. I will also get it next week. I cannot obsess and worry over this flu all year!

Hi J.-

My son (2 y/o), his dad and I all received the shot this past Saturday. My son and his dad both have asthma/bronchitis and I just didn't want to take the chance. I am a teacher and my son will be going to a daycare soon, so we are prone moreso than an average person may be. I am also just 2 years outside of the risk group age on top of that. I did my research and feel safe knowing that it has been produced just like every flu shot is produced every year and we get the seasonal flu shot every year. The reality is that we NEVER know what the outcome will be with anything. Nothing is a guarantee. I know that even though we are all vaccinated, we might still get mild cases of ANY flu strain. But I would rather do what I can do prevent the possible severity than do nothing at all. I agree that it's a personal choice and that it is a VERY SCARY thing. I hope that everyone's advise will help, no matter which way you decide to go. Good luck!

Hi J.,

I took the vaccine last week after having a discussion with my midwife. I am pregnant and have read much about the "unknown" regarding birth defects. But I chose to take it because it was explained that it doesn't penetrate the placenta.
So good luck whatever your decision.

My daughter and I stood in a very long line to get the shot :) We received both the seasonal shot and the H1N1. My husband has not received it yet, but will be getting it through his work. My daughter and I had no side effects and are totally fine.
We got it for several reasons, I am pregnant and my husband is Diabetic so we are both at higher risk for complications. My mother got the H1N1 flu in September and developed pneumonia (my mother is an incredibly healthy individual with no underlying health conditions and has never had pneumonia in her life). She is finally recovering (although still exhausted and can only do a few tasks before laying down), but it has been over a month of her being sick.
We are also eating healthy, and we each take a daily vitamin as well as a vitamin D supplement. We are cautious, but not obsessive. Also we get the flu shot every year, so it wasn't as big of a deal for us to get the H1N1 shot since they are developed in the same way.

Hi J. No I'm not taking the vaccine. It's new and even some people in the health field who I have talked to aren't taking it.

If you go on the archives on this site, there has been quite a few postings to this exact question on here. Vaccinations are not 100% protective or 100% guarenteed, you still have to do your due dilligence and practice good hygiene, take your supplements, vitamin d3, probiotics, a good food-based multi, eat well, little or no sugar and have your family practice the same. Many are fooled that they are off the hook when they get vaccinated...I have written some articles last week on keeping your family healthy during the cold and flu season and have backed my writings by recent published research from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other credible journals. You'll have to click on the hyperlinks if you want to see them more thoroughly...

Here is the link to all of my flu articles:
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

Good luck,

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert

There are many ways to stay healthy and you have other options if you're not wanting to have a shot. There are many studies that suggest taking in high doses of vitamin D3 and show that the flu is a seasonal disease due to the lack of sun exposure. Also, most people who it is reported, died of the flu actually died from bacterial pneumonia and had other health issues. People should ask to see the insert of the shot to make sure it is preservative-free before they are given it (and if they don't offer that, you can also refuse it) Lastly, eat healthy in the winter months, get all the phytonutrients that your body needs to synthesize. Of course, good hand washing often, etc. Good Luck. m

i know several people who have had H1N1 including a good friend of mine with her 2 year old born premature triplets...They are all fine and they were all fine within a couple days since their mom didnt try to reduce the fever and guess what?!?!?! the fever killed it! reducing a fever stops your body from naturally fighting off what is making it ill, prolonging the illness. I would never willingly inject a vaccination, with those ingredients, without proper testing into my body or my childs, just to prevent a few sick days. Trust your gut mamma!

J.

My personal feeling is not to ever get a flu shot. You are putting who knows what into your body. God made our body's to heal themselves as long as we take care of them. Keeping your immune system healthy a big key to staying healthy. My mom used to suffer every winter with colds and last year I had swithed my daughter to different vitamins and she was sick 4 times last year. We have since went back to the old vitamins and she has not had even a runny nose. If your interested the name of the vitamins are ProVitamin Complete. They are natural liquid vitamins with a good taste and made from food with out any dyes like Red dye#40 I order them from www.proimageteam.com/21488 The more you order the less the bottle cost.

Best of luck in your decision,
Marge Garry

I was would like to know also. My son's doctor said they wouldn't have it until later this month.

We are waiting for the doc office to get them in. My office will only do the shot not the nose spray. My husband, Myself and my son will be getting the shot. My understanding is that it is similar to getting the regular flu shot, the only difference is the name. I will/would not do the nose mist because it is weakened live virus, where the shot is dead virus. Talk to your doctors office they have the literature and will advise you if they feel you should have it or not. Since my son is in daycare, I feel he should get it as he has a chance to get it. Good luck with your decision.

"Is vaccination safe or not?" is NOT the question. Here's what IS: "Is my child deficient in vitamins -- D in particular?"

It's the Swine Flu issue that nobody is discussing -- but important to 58 million at-risk American kids. Most are at risk due to vitamin deficiency. Is your child one of them? And despite what pediatricians (including mine!) tells us milk-drinkers are NOT able to get the D they need. Full article here http://budurl.com/87vd and a FREE Webinar/teleseminar on the subject Nov. 18 here http://budurl.com/r3n2

Find out what you can do to protect your family from the H1N1 virus -- naturally and without braking the bank. I hope this helps!

My kids had the shot a week ago. It is not available in this area for healthy adults. I have no issues with vaccines and my kids had no reaction, just as they have never had a reaction to any other flu shot.

Six of the city colleges are providing the vaccine for free on a first-come, first serve basis. I ended up having to go b/c my daughter's pediatrician didn't have it yet, and my PCP wasn't getting it. My husband, my 15 month old daughter, and myself were all vaccinated last weekend.

My 2-year-old got the mist on her birthday, then got a small fever. She is fine now. Plus she had a terrible cold at the time.

My husband and son have swine flu already.

I got the mist, too, but it takes two weeks to work so I might get sick anyway.

I am really surprised at how strongly some feel about this. I have consulted a few doctors myself about this and all firmly believe it should be given, especially to anyone already high risk. I have heard that the nasal spray is an active virus, so I do not want my kids to have that, but they are signed up to recieve the shot through school when it is available. I have never been one to get flu shots, as one poster said, it's a hit or miss thing, but decided I am not taking any chances w/ this. It is more severe and lasts longer (it is deeper in your lungs and harder to get rid of, especially w/ high risk or pregnant women whose lungs are being squished already.) Anyway, talk to your doc first and call others if you need to...I find the best people to ask about meds are pharmacists...that is what they are trained to know. Good luck w/ your decision.

I know you've had a lot of responses already, but I wanted to put in what I know. I had the flu about 2 months ago, and it was one of the least symptomatic of any I've had in my life. Having said that, I had a deep cough that I could not get rid of for 3 weeks straight, and a week before and during I had such a bad cough I could hardly catch my breath. It is not the flu symptoms, but the lung problems that are dangerous, and I definitely experienced that, and if I had any concerns whatsoever in that regard, I would get the vaccine in a second. As it is right now, I do plan to get it, when it is available.

Do NOT do it!!! You don't know whats in the vaccine. The media only hypes this up. To prevent the flu wash your hands, stay out of peoples faces, sanitize and wash. If you know someone is sick stay away

Barbara G summed it up perfectly for me.

To me, my opinion is this...why do want to chance a reaction just to avoid being sick. From everyone I know or have heard about it seems this flu is less severe then the regular one. Yes I know there has been some serious cases but depending on the person and situation anything can turn serious. It's like a convenience thing. No one likes to be sick but why would you take such a big risk? I'm not a gambler so I guess I just don't get it lol. I've never gotten the flu vaccine for me or any of my kids and we've been fine. :) I know it's a personal decision and this is my personal opinion. Im pregnant and just heard that a friend of my friends lost her baby at 20 weeks just after getting her h1n1 vax scares me even more. Just not worth it to me...we'll take our chances and do a lot of praying!

Myslf and my 3 kids are getting the vaccine today. I have one with asthma, so I hope this will help.

Wow I guess I am definately in the minority here. I would not take it. It was rushed in the testing its unproven. My whole family has had H1N1 half of the children in my daughters school have had it. Everyone is fine, no its not fun to be sick, but I prefer to let nature take its course, let the body do its job to fight it and you will have builyt p immunities that will help you down the road. Unless you are very high risk for complications I would stay clear.

I never get the vaccines. And I don't get them for my family. i have heard form a lot of people that have gotten flu shots and then became very ill afterwards

I just took my son to our ped for his 6 month checkup and the vaccine was available, but we chose NOT to give it to our child. Our ped is not really in favor of it and my husband and I did not want to give something so new to our son. I have friends and family members that are doctors, and all have told us not to get it. The media is blowing it out of proportion. All of the children that haved died from swine flu have had other major health problems.

This is a personal choice and we typically do not get flu shots in my household, therefore I was originally going to opt out of this vaccine too. So far, only my daughter has received the shot because she has a congenital heart defect and it was highly recommended by her cardiologist. My viewpoint has changed and when it does become available, my son and I will be getting vaccinated. With the flu shot, it is hit/miss whether that particular strain will be the one out there this flu season that the shot covers. In regards to the h1n1, this has been constructed to battle this ONE particular strain that we know is out there and people are getting sick from it. I'll take my chances with the antibodies this time, we'll see what happens!

Good luck, just follow what you think is best for you and your family based on your own health and risk factors. Of course, it doesnt help to be extra cautious in washing hands and covering mouths, staying in when you or your kids are sick (not a good time to come in contact with the virus when your body is already battling something!). Stay healthy and be smart!

My family has gotten the regular flu shot but there are no intentions on getting the N1H1 flu shot. I personally am concerned with not just immediate adverse effects but long term effects. The regular flu shot has been around long enough to know what long term side effects there are but this is one is so new that there have not been enough studies and tests. I personally think that this is hyped up too much by the media. What about the seasonal flu that so many people die from every year? From what I understand there is not a whole lot of difference in the numbers. Plus those that are dying from this have underlying conditions that are complicating the flu. I am not a medical person, this is just based on my own personal thoughts and feelings. I just think it is too new yet.

We had our 21 month old son vaccinated last week. Both my husband and I were having some reservations, so I spoke to my son's Dr. It was on his recommendation that we get our son vaccinated. He hasn't had any problems with it. Sometimes when you don't know what is right for your child you have to just take the advice of someone that you trust. It's a very personal decision. I'd recommend talking to your pediatrician.

I am on the fence regarding this vaccine, but I did find it interesting to learn that the H1N1 strain would have been part of the seasonal flu shot had there have been time to add it.. it will definitely be combined next year.... not sure why some think that the seasonal flu shot is safer than the H1NI.. it is manufactured the same... if you are concerned with one, you probably should be concerned with the other (according to what I have been told.. I work in the Healthcare industry)

I know, it is a hard decision, I have chosen not to vaccinate my 6 month old, but he is still breastfed, not in daycare, and we limit his exposure to the public at least as much as possible. We run errands on weeknights vs. busy weekends, etc..

I just had both my sons 3 and 5 weeks to the ped and asked him what he thought. He's not giving it to his kids and is not telling parents either way but when a dr. won't give it to their own kids it speaks volumes. So, no I am not getting the shot and neither are my kids.

Hi J.-

For what it's worth, I stood in line for 5 hours on Thursday (the first day the vaccine was available in our area) to make sure my son (age 2) and I were able to get the H1N1 vaccine. I'm asthmatic so it was a no brainer for me to get it. I talked to the ped's office, my Dr., and my husband's cousin who is a Dr. and they all recommended getting the vaccine as soon as possible for my son as well. I know vaccines of any type are a touchy subject for many parents, but I feel like (for my family) the risks that are associated with contracting H1N1 are much higher than any risks the vaccine might present.

My son is 13 and had to get the H1N1 shot because he had his spleen removed 2 years ago and he is fine.