I thought I felt strongly about not giving my kids flu vaccines. While they have received the recommended/required vaccines at every age, albeit with a whole lot of trepidation on my part, I've always held firm in my position that I didn't want them to have any extra ones. They've never had a flu shot, as I feel their bodies are better off facing and fighting illness than being pumped full of chemicals to do the job.
Or at least I felt that. Now I don't know.
This year's nasty flu outbreak is terrifying me, plain and simple. Everywhere, from birthday parties I attend to the news headlines I read, there are stories of people who are sick and dying from the flu.
Not just infants and elderly people, but strong and healthy people who are laid up for weeks, fighting this thing. Many are even being hospitalized. And I'm scared. Maybe for the first time more scared than I am of just getting them the vaccine.
Still I debate in my mind. Plenty of people who do get the vaccine are still getting the flu. Some say it's less severe, while others say it took them down just as hard. Researchers say it's 62 percent effective. Is that effective enough for me to give them the vaccine? I'm not sure, but when 20 children have already died from the flu, it makes want to do whatever I can to protect them.
So I'm leaning toward doing it. In fact, in the middle of writing this post, I called my pediatrician's office and made an appointment for both of them to get it Friday afternoon. I'm pretty sure I'll keep it.
Of course now that I've waited, and we're smack in the middle of the season, I actually have to take them into the hotbed of it all. Surely there will be flu germs hanging on every surface of the doctor's office, and that alone almost makes me not want to get it for them. If only I could roll in there in a bubble ... and everywhere else too for the next couple of months.
Has the flu outbreak made you rethink your anti-vax stance?
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Comments 80
That being said my 15 month old tested positive for the flu last Thursday and I'm headed back to the docs today with my 4yo.
So even WITH the vax you can still get some variation of the flu...just not AS bad.
I got both my kids vaccinated early in the season, and I am glad I did. So far, they have not been sick but even if they do get the flu they will likely get a much milder illness than if they were not vaccinated. The hospitals in my area are closed to new admissions because they are overwhelmed with flu patients. The vaccine may not be 100% effective, but it provides some level of protection and I'm going to take whatever I can get to keep my kids healthy.
I did not get the flu shot and caught the flu and have been dealing with it now for 14 days. It's awful. And I'm not sure where you live Ruby, but there's been a huge outbreak of the flu in Virginia. I felt like an idiot for not getting the flu shot(haven't in years and haven't had the flu in years) until my doctor told me that his wife got the flu shot and still got the flu and hers lasted 12 days!! So it doesn't seem like you are safe either way.
@ Ruby--"seems to work well for us"...until it doesn't. I can't take chances like that. We always think it's not going to happen to us. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I knew my son was very ill and I could've done something to help. I'm just now getting over the flu. You don't want it--trust me. And you definitely don't want your children to get it.
I think the media and Big Pharm is trying to make people paranoid. Where are all the facts on the people who have died AND had gotten the vaccine?? I find those facts very sparsely reported. Last week a 14 year old girl died in my area and guess what? She actually had received the vaccine! And in one article I read they actually reported that this is affecting the elderly the most severely. Most news reports aren't telling you THAT part of the story.
I didn't get the flu vaccine, neither did my husband or child. I'm not freaking out about the flu this year either. I believe that people that die from it or get severely sick have a compromised immune system on some way. Vaccine or not there is nothing to do about it. The vaccine is not a cure all like everyone is making it out to be.