To flu shot or not to flu shot

I am not a big fan of the flu shot.  I can see getting one if you have a compromised immune system, or if you work with the public a lot, or even if you are one of those people who get taken down hard by the flu. I know the medical experts swear by it, actively encourage/guilt trip about it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it.  But I have a hard time with the "shot in a dark" aspect of it all. They really don't know what strain of the flu is going to cause problems in any given year, and the problematic flus never seem to be part of the flu vaccine that year. 

I'll tell you right now that Doug gets one every year.  He is one of those people who is sometimes sick all winter, and he'll do anything not to be that way. I've had the flu shot twice. Once, when Sam was first in day care and we were getting colds left right and center (when I never get colds), and I thought it prudent. One other time we all got it when we were visiting my mom during flu season.

I am not prone to the flu, and neither are my kids.  In fact, the only time I can remember, and the only time Sam and Tess have gotten the flu, are the two years we got the shots.  And we got the flu bad. Three of us were hospitalized, me with double pneumonia (both times), Tess with severe dehydration, Sam with a high fever that wouldn't go down.  Now, I know you can't get the flu from a flu shot.  But I have a (totally non-medical, unproven) theory. Like I said before I NEVER get colds and flus.  I haven't had a cold probably in five years.  Despite that crazy first year of daycare, Sam only gets colds once in a blue moon. I think we have a really good natural immunity to colds and flus and somehow the flu shot messes that balance up. I could be wrong, and probably am. But that feels right. So I can tell you now we're not getting the generic flu shot this year.

But.

And there's always a but.

H1N1. A very overblown, panic inducing non-news story. A very mild flu. But, it has spread like wildfire. It's insane how this pandemic became a global reality almost overnight. And from what I read, it is very likely a second wave will strike this fall/winter. And it's not behaving like a typical flu. There's the virulence for one thing, and the fact that the people who have been taken down are often young and healthy. There are some scary theories about the flu mutating, or getting tougher to beat when people are down with the usual colds and flus of winter.

The Canadian government has secured enough of the H1N1 vaccine for 1 1/2 times the population of the country. So we should have no trouble getting the shot. I don't want to, but I almost think I should.  This is not a shot in the dark -- this is a proven, fast spreading flu. My kids go to school, we are out and about a lot. I almost think I have a public health responsibility to try and keep this strain at bay if at all possible.

What are your plans for the H1N1 vaccine?  Will you get it on top of the regular flu shot?  Will you get it at all?  Do we have a responsibility as a community to keep fast spreading (if mild so far) viruses at bay when we can?

Comments

[Emily]

The girls will get the regular flu shot, as will I. I will convince my husband to do the same. I am still debating the H1N1 and probably will not.

[Summer]

I usually do get a flu shot, at least I do if I have medical insurance and am seeing a doctor semi-regularly. I *do* have insurance now (a nice bonus of having an actual employer rather than being self-employed) and I got the shot last winter and I'll get it again. I think of myself as being pretty healthy, but getting pneumonia twice last year scared me badly. I think of the flu shot as a can't hurt (or is unlikely to hurt), might help proposition.

I'll get my son a flu shot, too, for much the same reason. Of course, I've also heard rumors that the flu shot might be distributed through schools. I suppose I should look into this!

[Lisa]

Hi Jenn. I too am wondering what to do this year regarding H1N1. I realize medical science has improved drastically over the years but still, back in the 70s when they pushed an untested vaccination through quickly to ward off a pandemic fl, some people came down with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Scary stuff and from the sounds of it, this H1N1 vaccine is being pushed through equally quickly, so it makes me nervous, especially when making decisions that will affect the health of my children. Man, the responsibility that is now on our shoulders!\

Having said that, I usually get the flu shot and year before last Liam got it, but none of us got it last year because we were too late and everyone had ran out, and ... none of us got sick. In fact, last year was a pretty good year for colds and flus for us, a small miracle!

So my answer to your question is that I still don't know what I am going to do. But you're right, H1N1 sounds pretty scary. I spoke with my pediatrician about it on Monday and she said she still didn't have a lot of information about it but she would know more in about 6 weeks, so I'll wait and see what she has to say. Usually the stats for major side-effects like GBS are one in a million I believe and children tend to recover fully from it if by chance they do get it.

Oh and my work just announced that they were providing each employee with retrovirals (pills) in the event of a pandemic, we can take them to try to prevent getting H1N1, supposed to be 60-85% effective in preventing or diminishing H1N1. Having said that, my ped cautioned that programs like these (Tamiflu) can cause dangerous, drug, resistant strains of the virus.

FUN TIMES!!!!

Still lots to think about I guess.

Lisa

[spacemom]

This is a tough one for us. I have NEVER had the girls get a flu shot. The regular flu shot is a russian roulette of if they guessed the correct strain.

For the H1N1, I have a feeling that S and Jay have already had it. They both have had lingering coughs all summer. The deep, hack your lung onto the table cough.

L and I have had no indications of illness.

I think I am going to skip them. Jay MUST get one (he has a compromised immune system for other reasons).
We still need to talk about it.

[Jen]

Standard flu shot - No
H1N1 - no, we all had what is most likely the H1N1 flu (according to symptoms, which are slightly different than standard flu) over the summer.

If we were compromised, immune or otherwise I would, but I feel pretty comfortable with massive hand washing and purell....

If they pushed as hard to get people who were sick to cover their mouth/nose (the little mask things work great) and wash their hands as they are pushing for the vaccines, maybe there wouldn't be such a problem........

[Lynn]

My cousin in Scotland was hospitalized with the H1N1 flu and I also know someone in Calgary that was hospitalized, so I am feeling like we should get the shot. Neither of these people are young/old or sickly.

I have had the flu shot a few years and I have NEVER gotten sick on those years. However, as you said, it is a bit of a shot in the dark.

Lynn

[Rebekah]

I'll be getting both -- being pregnant and apparently at increased risk. I simply can't afford to get really sick this year, if I can help it.

Not positive if the kids will get the H1N1, but Aidan will at least get the regular one and Ronan probably will too. I'm leaning towards it though, and will talk to their pediatrician about it. I'm not usually a big vaccination proponent ... we've always delayed and spaced out their regular shots, but they both have gotten VERY sick the last few flu seasons, sometimes more than once. The enormous disruption that it is to our lives --- time missing school, life coming to a halt and also the amount of MONEY that is spent on Tyelenol, Motrin, and other meds to help alleviate their discomfort is extraordinary --- I'll try to avoid it if I can.

Also, we have a friend who is a nurse at a local hospital and she's said the cases she's seen of people with H1N1 are REALLY bad. Young people on ventilators for 1-2 weeks, as well as fatalities. I know a lot of it might be hype, but I don't think that I want to risk it.

[STOP THE VAX]

Vaccines are POISON. The only one[s] who benefit from vaccines are PHARMACEUTICALS. Lots of Vitamin D will protect you from the flu and many other diseases. DON'T be fooled by paid off media hype. STOP the sickening assault on humanity.