Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

No prayers requested. I dont believe in such a thing.. It is what it shall be and as it should be. Good thoughts are welcome. Positive thoughts are always encouraged for any with children and worry in their hearts.

My cousin's youngest son came down hard and was in the ER. He's home semi-resting. She obviously thought he was sick and she took him in. He was more than sick.

Still it leads me to wonder about the vaccination. Im still against it. Which at first made my coworker (no kids) think I was crazy but here's my thought.

Its not like my cousin didn't give her son the shot, its just not available out here. Her other two children don't have the shot either. According to most reports a limited amount will be available in mid-Oct.

I'm sad to say that the rumor mill here in San Antonio is vicious. There is a story that the first doses will go to the 'clinics' for underprivilaged pregnant women and children. Which given our proximity to Mexico and our population figures means if you have insurance you're not getting those first run shots. It is assumed the un/under insured are most at risk as they would not seek immediate medical attention and would not hold their children back from school/daycare for financial reasons so it would spread faster from the 'underprivilaged' to the 'other areas of population'.

My god the words they use to say stereotypical things!

So .. chance of giving AJ the shot even if I WANTED to is late Oct to mid Nov. I live in affluent area and the pediatrican's office nurse pretty much said without saying that being in a richer neighborhood puts us even farther back. Said its making a lot of parents very very angry.

But I guess this goes to prove the flu shot makes no diff. (regular that is)

Anyone can get the swine flu. Its almost just a matter of time.

Watch your kids carefully. I'm leaning towards going back to my hyper protective 'newborn' mommy stage. Its worth a million visits to the doctor with every sniffle if it can help screen against the swine flu.

Its gonna be a rough 8months or so. Even with the swine flu shot our kids are NOT 100% flu protected.

God I wish she were old enough to tell me when she's in pain and where!

Every day I drop AJ off at daycare I'm actually monitoring the illness of the other kids. How long have they been sick, is that running nose/congestion wosre, did the parents look a lil under the weather themselves, Which kids have gone missing lately, for how long?

Yeah i sound like a nervous nosy mom, but ya know what? SO WHAT? No harm done I say.

Message edited 9/28/2009 1:03:49 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Wishing a speedy recovery to your cousin's son!


The shot is not available anywhere right now.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Hi...

I will keep your cousin's well being in my heart.

With that being said, i am bit confused and would like to know more of why you are against it still. Part of your post makes me think you are against it, other parts make me think you want it and DD wouldn't be offered it due to the priority list, etc.

Can you tell me more about your thoughts? Did your DD get the regular flu shot?

I am still so on the fence about all of this...I have cancelled a reg flu shot appt 3 times, have another one tomorrow and I dont know what the heck to do!!!!

and I think you have EVERY right to be a protective mommy. I am,and I get heat about it too much. I am at a point where i just dont care. My DD is my child and I will have to do as I see fit to keep her safe, and the manner I chose is best to do that. So do what you have to do!

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Good thoughts are going to your cousins son. Do you know what his symptoms were?? and how old he is?? This flu is freaking me out.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Both my kids will get the regular flu shot. Never had a problem with that esp since they are in daycare.

I too am on the fence about the swine vaccine.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Posted by Xelindrya

Posted by Goobster
Can you tell me more about your thoughts? Did your DD get the regular flu shot?

LOL sorry.. i am confused and mixed up mommy.

I'm against it ..... for now.

But Id be lying if i didnt say i think about it a lot. Im a Mom. A natural worrier.

I guess in my mind (ingorant or not) I find that is all too darned 'subject to'.

The normal flu shot nearly killed me years back. I remember being very ill and recently called my dad to talk about that time i had over 105 was blacking in and out and stayed in the hospital sick. He said was a reaction to the flu shot. It gave me the flu... but a really BAD one.

I'm against the normal flu shot because they just seem to NEVER get it right. I understand the flu kills hundreds if not thousands yearly. But most of those deaths involve underlying health issues or lack of immediate attention (tho im sure a small part are just sudden and sad consequences). Also those who get sick of the flu in some cases (if not most) have the vaccination. They 'say' it will reduce the severity but honestly I dont see it much as truth. If you're sick you're sick a week with or without the shot. Year after year they tell us that the shot they've been is a 'best guess' and mostly in the past few years its been WRONG. Folks with shot get sick and they find out the strain mutated and the shot was basically useless.

Too much guessing and way too much failure in the flu shot. The payoff is little to none.

So its been my opinion and my husbands to refuse the flu shot and we have for literally decades. Neither of us has had the flu in the past 10 yrs. I had a partial flu in 1995. I remember because of a wedding that i picked it up at. But it was partial and yeah i felt like crap but it was only a few days of my life. Not nearly as bad as other illnesses I've had.

So I'm against the flu shot for AJ. We have been since she was born. We both knew we'd rather take our chances.


Then the swine flu hit!!


The world practically stopped. Death after death and we move to swine flu central (aka Texas). What do we do?

Late in the game they come up with this vaccination. But its very much NOT a 100% fool proof guarantee. its like the regular flu shot. In way TOO many ways. They hope to have figured it out.

But just last year they said how the MUTATED swine will be the dangerous one. They didnt create a vaccination for that monster. A few years back the flu mixed with a cold and folks got really sick, I got kinda sick but remember they said the flu shot wouldnt help because of the mutation.

So what is this shot?

Does giving this shot to AJ put her more or less at risk. No one is saying.

We refuse the swine for ourselves based on our reasons for the regular.

We are refusing the swine because frankly its just not yet showing me much reason. Its hard decision as a mom. I dont want her to suffer but will giving her a shot really prevent it? Do I take the chance? What is the negative if i give her the shots (sickness). And if she gets sick from the shot there's no guarantee she wont get sick again, so what did i gain?

So for the moment until guilt or peer pressure pushes us too far... we are refusing the swine flu shot for AJ. too.


Sorry for the long answer.

Message edited 9/28/2009 12:38:53 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Well if im over posting on the flu.. maybe just maybe its just more information that may or may not changes a person's mind. Either way for or against.. Knowledge is power


more info on the regular flu shot


From the link:

Waste of Time?

Yes and no... the flu vaccine will be more effective some years than others. The CDC predicted that the vaccine developed for the winter of 2003/2004 wasn't going to be effective against most cases of the flu because the strains covered by the vaccine weren't the same as the strains that were common. Highly targeted vaccines work, but only against their targets! There's no point in accepting the risks of a vaccine for a disease you can't get. When the flu vaccine is on-target, it's more effective. Even then, the vaccine isn't perfect because it uses inactivated virus. Is that bad? No. A live vaccine is more effective, but much more risky.

Bottom line: The flu vaccine varies in effectiveness from year-to-year. Even in a best-case scenario, it won't always protect against the flu. The CDC study didn't say that the vaccine didn't work; it says the vaccine didn't protect people from getting sick. Even with imperfect effectiveness, the vaccine is indicated for certain people. In my opinion, however, the vaccine isn't for everyone and certainly shouldn't be required for otherwise healthy people.

Message edited 9/28/2009 12:55:49 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Hope he gets better soon.


This whole thing is so confusing to me. I'm not doing the swine flu shot for any of us, but now I don't know what to do about the regular shot.

My DD had it when she was just born because it was winter. I haven't done it since.

Now I'm freaking out because next week I'm going to El Paso, TX on travel. I know San Antonio is far, but being in the airport is what's freaking me out.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin...

Posted by littlejoy06

Hope he gets better soon.


This whole thing is so confusing to me. I'm not doing the swine flu shot for any of us, but now I don't know what to do about the regular shot.

My DD had it when she was just born because it was winter. I haven't done it since.

Now I'm freaking out because next week I'm going to El Paso, TX on travel. I know San Antonio is far, but being in the airport is what's freaking me out.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

I feel very confused about all of this as well. We are all getting the regular flu shot, but I am so on the fence about the swine flu shot.

I'm thinking that my DH and I should at least get it. I'm also a K teacher so....

I really don't feel comfortable giving it to my DD who's 8 months, but a part of me will feel swayed if my ped recommends it.

So much uncertainty.......

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

That ask article sums upwhy I hesitate to give either vaccine to my DD.

Thanks for posting it.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

I really don't want to give my DS either flu vaccine, especially the Swine flu one. But I can't say I don't re-think my decision everyday. I'm very worried about him getting the flu, so I just don't know what I will do yet.

As for my DH and I, we have never gotten the flu shot. Well, until this year. Since I have just been mandated at my job to get the regular flu shot and swine flu vaccine when it comes out. I will lose my job if I refuse. My DH is a teacher and has already brought home some kind of cold/sinus infection last week. I think I'm going to make him get the regular flu shot as well. I figured, at least we should get it since we will most likely not be vaccinating DS against it. If my DS was in daycare, I would most definitely be giving him both flu shots

Message edited 9/28/2009 2:03:25 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

I get the flu shot every year and have never had one reaction.
I have never gotten the flu either.
DH got the flu shot last year before we had the babies, not one reaction.
DC got flu shot #1, not one reaction.
They will be getting the booster next week.
They will be getting swine flu if my ped recommends it.
The regular flu shot is an inactivated vaccine. This means they put an inactivated virus into your body. It tells your immune system to build anitbodies, but does not make you sick. If you got sick after getting the flu shot, it was a coincidence.

LINK 1
Link 2

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Message edited 9/28/2009 2:27:49 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Message edited 9/28/2009 2:37:25 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Those links are informative but also supportive to my reasoning:

From LINK2:
If I get the flu vaccine, can I still get the flu?
Yes. Even with a flu vaccine, you aren't 100% protected. Each year, the flu vaccine contains 3 different strains (kinds) of the virus. The strains chosen are those that scientists believe are most likely to show up in the United States that year. If the choice is right, the vaccine is 70% to 90% effective in preventing the flu in healthy adults. If you're older than 65, the vaccine is less likely to prevent the flu. Even if you get the flu after being vaccinated, your flu symptoms should be milder than if you didn't get the vaccine. You'll also be less likely to get complications from the flu.


So they have 33% chance of getting it right any given year. Then of that 33% chance 70-90% chance of it working.

CDC says 5-20% of americans get the flu.. .. I dont even wanna do the math

20% chance you'll get it
of that 20% - 1/3rd chance its the same strain the vaccine is for
of that 1/3rd - 10% chance you'll still get sick.


ow.. i think i heard my head pop

Message edited 9/28/2009 2:47:48 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Message edited 9/28/2009 3:54:45 PM.

Re: Swine Flu strikes a cousin... (thread morphed into Flu talk)

Im not going to get into the whole flu debate, I just wanted to say I hope your cousin has a speedy recovery!