If You Are *Not* Planning on Letting Your Child Get the Flu/swine Flu Vaccine..

They make the flu shot based on last season's strains. Strains mutate all the time. It only covers a fraction of the flu strains you can catch. My Dr. has always told me unless you are a high risk individual...elderly, suppressed immune system (or immune disorder), health care practitioner...it's not necessary. She never recommends the shot for children. Simple sanitation and washing of the hands, prevents flu more then anything. (In my opinion.) I'm 29 years old, and have never had the flu shot...or the flu.

They just aren't that effective. There was an article on CNN news (I think) that ran yesterday, about how ineffective the flu shot is. You might search for it.

It says right on the package that there has been no research as to whether or not it will even be effective. I wouldn't trust a company who's only in it for monetary gain anyway. It also says right on there that it could cause death. No thanks!

I do not get the flu shot (or mist) neither does my daughter or hubby. It is usually only about 40% effective.

First, trying to handpick the responses by your title is generally ineffective. You will get responses from folks who would like to give you what they deem is relevant information on both sides of the issue. Censoring the information that you read really doesn't lead to informed choices.

Flu vaccines have been, over decades, approximately 59% effective. But this includes those years when they've picked the correct mix of flu strains and those years when they haven't. So some years it's more effective than 59% and some it's less. All in all, it's been shown (by scientific research and studies) to be more effective than not, so you can believe the research or you can believe the anecdotal stories of those who haven't done the research and just want to believe it's not effective. Frankly, I think 59% is not so bad.

Second, one of the commenters mentioned that flu-mist was more effective than the shot. This is correct. The mist uses a live vaccine. Downside, there is a very, very, very miniscule chance of getting/passing on the flu with the mist. The other benefits of the mist (other than it being more effective) are that it does not involve a needle (yeah!) and does not contain thimerosal. Frankly, I'm not concerned about the miniscule levels of thimerosal in vaccines, but that is a big issue for some vaccine-adverse folks.

This leads to the shots. They do make a very small number of flu shots with inactivated virus without thimerosal. These are normally given to infants and pregnant women. If you and your family are neither, you may not be able to get it. Otherwise, you'll get the regular flu shot. They have been shown to be fairly effective (see above) and not harmful to those who do not have certain medical conditions or egg allergies. They do contain thimerosal (mercury), but contain less mercury than a can of tuna.

Finally, you're looking for reasons _NOT_ to get the flu mist or shot. The primary reason is if you want to have a better chance of getting the flu. If you're itching to be able to take a number of sick days from work to care for yourself or a sick hubby or kiddos, not getting the shot would increase your chances of this. If you plan it right, you could get sick at the same time as your kiddos and hubby and need to care for them while you feel miserable.

Influenza causes more hospitalizations than any other vaccine-preventable illness. And 49% of the 115 children who died in the US between Aug 2010 and Aug 2011 were OTHERWISE HEALTHY children without significant flu risks. Admittedly 56 deaths in a year of otherwise healthy children due to flu is not a huge number, but it is still tragic and potentially avoidable.

ETA: None of us have gotten really sick after a flu shot.

ETA2: For 3boysl8r B. Like you, when I was a kid, I thought the flu was vomiting and diarrhea. That's what my mom called it. Actually, what is now commonly called the "stomach flu" is often norovirus or rotavirus . It's not influenza (aka the "real" flu). The real flu actually presents much like a cold with fever and congestion, etc., but is typically much more severe than most common colds. So, those of you who've had really bad colds might have had the flu and not realized it. I suspect that some of you saying you haven't had the flu forever are actually referring to the stomach flu, not influenza. Influenza is a very specific virus that can lead to pneumonia. Stomach flu (which could be due to a virus, bacteria, food intolerance, etc.) does not lead to pneumonia.

I want to comment on the part of Kristin's post that stated "Influenza causes more hospitalizations than any other vaccine-preventable illness. And 49% of the 115 children who died in the US were OTHERWISE HEALTHY children without significant flu risks. Admittedly 56 deaths of otherwise healthy children due to flu is not a huge number, but it is still tragic and potentially avoidable."

The part that I wanted to add is that the Mayo Clinic did a study of children that had the flu shot or mist and children who did NOT have either the shot or mist. The study proved that kids who DID have the flu shot were 60% more likely to be hospitalized with influenza and/or complications from the vaccine or mist than their unvaccinated counterparts. We need to realize that many of the "statistics" of flu related hospitalizations and deaths actually involve people who got the flu shot.

We don't get the flu shot and the Mayo clinic study only steadies my resolve to never get vaccinated for Influenza or H1N1. My son had H1N1 and it was not a big deal at all. My husband had a flu shot and ended up in the hospital, sicker than he had ever been in his life.
At my work I was the only person who refused flu vaccination. Influenza took out 11 of our 16 employees for 3 weeks solid. I didn't get sick and was raking in overtime pay for a month.

I think this is something you should discuss with a qualified medical provider. I'm sorry, but several of the responses you've received ignore or misunderstand how vaccines work. Of course they only protect you against specific strains (and certain strains require a booster to be effective, such as H1N1), and wouldn't help with every other random virus that may come along. I would encourage you to speak with a doctor, rather than asking people with no medical background for their anecdotes. Understanding the science is important, and in my opinion that's the only research you should consider in making your decision.

I'm 44, hubby is 37, kids are 15, 12 and 9. Hubby and I have not had a flu shot in over 20 years and have not had the flu in that long either. Kids have NEVER had a flu shot and have not been sick throwing up since they were babies. We all take a multivitamin/mineral supp and Omega 3 every day. Kids do not get vaccinations either. They rarely miss school and my 12 yo had perfect attendance from K-end of 4th grade, didn't miss any school in 5th grade and so far hasn't missed any this year. Same for the other 2. It seems like all my friends that get them as well as their kids, are CONSTANTLY sick. Everyone always wonders why we aren't. I don't know. But I won't get any shot for me or the kids, that's for sure. Good luck with whatever you do.

OneandDone took the words right out of my fingertips. None of us has ever had the flu or a flu shot. Our system seems to be working so far lol

I have not allowed my daughter to get the H1N1 vaccine EVERY. I don't trust it, they rushed it, and there have been too many reports of side effects to ignore. Imagine what they will discover a few years down the road (things it has caused)! Since they now combine the regular flu and the H1N1, we decline it too. Our doctor doesn't like that decision but he knows it is my decision. Her allergist has now told me she has pre-asthma and should get the shot and the way they are made NOW are safe (as they are the same as the process for the regular flu) and indicated he too didn't let his kids get the H1N1 vaccine at first but since the changes have been made it is safe...I'm taking that under advisment.

I had a friend die from the flu shot she got. We have never gotten flu shots and never will.

we don't get very sick and when we do it's usually just a cold. Why put unnecessary chemicals and other stuff into your body if you don't need it?

I have no reasons to not get a them. However, I don't, simply because I don't want to. Not for any political, mothering, social anitcs, just because I don't want to get them.

We do other vaccinations but not the flu type.

Since the flu shots seem ineffective to the new strains I have never bothered with the shots.

My kids get all they immunizations, but we do NOT do the flu shot. The ONE TIME we all got the shot, we all got not just the flu, the H1N1 flu, and I was pregnant. Freaking miserable!! Personally, I don't see how they can give me an immunizations before knowing which flu strains are going tone affecting my area; they can't know that until there's an outbreak. So I'm not comfortable injecting my body with something that isn't guaranteed to ward off the illness specifically named for the shot. None of do the flu shot, ever, lesson learned!

We dont and will never give our boys the flu shot. The risks of what the shot and its ingredience can do to you out weigh the benefits. Also the current shot is more than likely covering an old strain and their for obsolete and useless.

We do all scheduled vaccines but not the flu shot/mist. I am not anti flu shot...I just have not been convinced that the benefits outweigh the slim risk. Just my opinion. Maybe we are naive...but we are all very healthy and only see the doctor for yearly physicals. We try to keep healthy through diet and exercise..

Good luck and best wishes!

We get all the immunizations except the Gardisal, and the flushot.
I see no reason for it.

And hubby used to get it every year, military.
We did not. Once we all got the flu, so did he, and just as bad.

None of my kids have ever gotten it and they never get the flu. I have heard from lots of friends that their kids got really sick after the shot, so no, mine will not get it. It's the one vaccination they don't get...well, besides the chicken pox immunization (they all had chicken pox).

My husband gets it every year still from his military days and working in the medical field in the military. The kids got it one year when my oldest was 3 and my youngest was 1 and they were SO sick that whole year. NEVER again. I never get it. Never have. It's pointless in my book.

I never get the flu shot/mist. The most I get is a little cold every year, and that's probably only because I am a cashier and deal with money all day long.

I used to get a flu shot every year, and always got the flu. Not saying that the shot caused it, just that it happened. Since I stopped taking it ten years ago, I have had the flu once.
I gave my daughter the option of taking or not taking it, and she opted not to. She is now 21 and has had the flu a couple of times in her life.
So I have come to the conclusion that the flu shot is a waste of time, money, and antibodies.

We don't get them ever. For one, every time one of us does get the mist (husband used to have to for his job), we get sick. and with my son, he has a reaction whether it is the shot or the mist. All it is is a guess anyways. There are so many strains of flu, they never know which is going to come around.

I don't do flu vaccines ever. Going the natural route works better for our family and is safer. When the swine flu was really bad here, I was pregnant. No one in my family got the vaccine including me. I went over board with all the natural preventative stuff after the doctor lectured me about his pregnant patients who refused the vaccine were all in the hospital on ventilators. Because of all our natural preventative stuff, none of us got so much as a sniffle that year. Vaccines do keep my kids plenty sick though. Good luck to you!

I only did the flu shot when my children were infants. By 2 years old, I no longer did it. I allowed their bodies to build up antibodies. I only got the flu shot once and the sickest winter I experience. Of course I related it to getting the flu shot. Anyway, I don't do it.

I'm not against vaccines either.

Could have been a coincidence, but when I got my son the flu shot at 2, he got really sick 3 days later.... I just choose to not ever do it again because I'm paranoid~

Count me in the group that is not getting it. My husband gets it every year when they come out to his workplace and offer it. He works in a confined space with lots of other people and they share computer and radar screens and work areas.
My son, who in the past 2 years has had exercise induced asthma (this started shortly after getting pneumonia) and lots of seasonal type allergies (but they are year round), got the flu shot.
My daughter and I, who are healthy and have no allergies or issues, have not. And probably won't.

I've never had the flu. I'm generally in good health and not out dealing with the public routinely (I shop and go to church, that's about the extent of my "contact" with people who I won't know if they are sick, lol), and I wash my hands often (the best prevention there is). My daughter is 10 and is home/cyber schooled, so she isn't exposed much either. (not like if she was at a physical school with sick kids coming/going all the time anyway). She is very healthy and rarely even gets a cold.

The flu shot contains thimerisol, or mercury.
This is stated on the CDC website.
Or just read the ingredients yourself.
HIGHLY TOXIC

We do the mist instead of the shot because it's a more natural way of getting immunity in my opinion, there are no preservatives in it, and my son doesn't mind it because it doesn't hurt like getting a shot. For my infant, who can't receive the mist because he's too young, I request a preservative-free shot. Most offices have this version, but only upon request.

I think that if you are a stay at home mom and your kids aren't in school, maybe you can all stay healthy without it by washing hands, avoiding the mall play place, etc. But with kids in school and daycare, I can be almost 100% sure that my kids are going to be exposed to the flu this winter so to me, it's worth it.

The mist is not "safer," it is live virus. I never did that separate H1N1 vax, and our doctor recommended against it. My 12 year old asthmatic kid gets a flu shot. My 16 year old nonasthmatic has never had one. Why? Because she has not seen a doc for a sick visit other than a case of pinkeye and a case of poison ivy, since before kindergarten. She is the healthiest person who ever lived so why would I mess with her system by putting things in there? Now, that may change in a couple of years when she goes to college and is living in close quarters with a lot of people who probably get sick all the time, and missing a week or two of classes costs you your semester and $15,000

My kids did get the regular flu shot and had no problems with it. My daughter is almost never sick except for an occasional ear infection when her allergies act up. I refuse to let them get the H1N1 as their doctor advised against for the 1st year. Now in the state of PA they mixed the H1N1 with the regular flu shot. My son within 2 days of getting the 1st dose ended up in the ER with pneumonia, he never went back for the 2nd. As long as the 2 are mixed they will not be getting it again.

No one in my family gets the flu shot. We don't do the mist either. The only time either of my kids had the flu shot was when my son was under 2yrs old and H1N1 was going around our area like crazy. He was in the 'high risk' catagory and about 2wks after my son got his shots [2 doses a few wks apart], our sitters kids caught it from school!!! He never got it.

Other than that, my family chooses to leave the flu vaccinations for those that need them... The ones in 'high risk' catagories. Yes, I've had the flu. It's a miserable couple of days... I got over it. I survived. And my husband is not a giant baby. Kids never have had it... Yet. my daughter is 8 and my son is 3.

I heard on the radio this morning that the mist is more effective. It is 80% effective and the shot is only 60% effective. We never get shots or mist though.

The only one in my family that gets the flu shot is my mother-in-law, because she's a senior citizen. None of us get it. We do occationally beef up on the vitamin C, but that's all. No special herbal preventive tablets, no little boxes claiming to help boost the immune system...We like to make our immune system work on its own. Even when we have to take an OTC, we take half doses. Exercise, washing hands with soap and water after going to the bathroom and before eating, and a healthy diet really is the key to success.

I was told by my son's doctor to not let him get a flu shot as my son has an extreme egg allergy. I would assume that the mist one is also made using eggs, so in our case not safer. :-)

Hi K.,

First, the flu is strictly influenza. We all grew up calling various things the "flu" (stomach bugs, bad colds, other viruses, etc.), but the FLU shot is just for influenza, which is a virus with specific symptoms. What people call the "stomach flu" is not influenza and cannot be prevented with the flu shot. Most people do not get the flu any given year, which is why you can get by with not getting the shot and still staying healthy. You can get the flu shot and still get every other non-influenza virus going around that winter, which might make it seem like the vaccine "caused" you to get sick (it didn't). You can skip the flu shot and have a particularly healthy season. But I'm telling you from experience, if you get the actual FLU, it is miserable and usually takes a week even to start feeling better. So for me, it's worth it for me and my family to get the shot -- I can't afford a week out of work/family life sick myself and I certainly can't afford a week out of work because my son has the flu. His preschool actually requires the flu shot, for good reason. I would say talk to your doctor or pediatrician and don't take much stock in anecdotal responses ("my neighbor got the flu from a flu shot") from people you don't know. My two cents.

Best wishes,
B.