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[fakereadhed]

We never get flu vaccines for a couple of reasons.
1.) It makes us nearly as sick as the real flu and sometimes isn't even effective against the strain that is going around.
2.) If contains Thimerosal. Will not give it to kids unless they remove it from the flu vaccine.

Just wanted to add that DD had a friend that slept over and went home sick after the weekend was over. She was swabbed by her peds and found to have H1N1. Well we are still alive! We had someone in our county that was one of the first cases and suspected that we had it May. The fact that none of us were sick after the Typhoid Mary sleepover unofficially confirms it for me.

 

[samandryanmom]

My DD, 8, went to the Urgent Care Center this morning after having fever all day yesterday....you guessed it, the flu. The doc said that they aren't testing it for swine, but just assuming it is. Since she's past the 48 hour mark, Tamiflu wouldn't help her or us. We're just going to be as careful as we can with washing out hands. We usually don't get the flu vaccine. My DS, 13 is allergic to eggs and can't have it anyway.

Wish us luck.

 

[C.Ann]

My DD, 8, went to the Urgent Care Center this morning after having fever all day yesterday....you guessed it, the flu. The doc said that they aren't testing it for swine, but just assuming it is. Since she's past the 48 hour mark, Tamiflu wouldn't help her or us. We're just going to be as careful as we can with washing out hands. We usually don't get the flu vaccine. My DS, 13 is allergic to eggs and can't have it anyway.

Wish us luck.

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Awww..poor little thing.. I'll be sure to keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.. It's so hard when your little one is sick..

 

[thebeesknees]

We've gotten the flu vaccine every year and I plan to get the swine flu vaccine when it comes out. I know several people that don't get the regular vaccine because they get sick afterward, but we've never had a problem with that and never gotten the flu, either (knock on wood!). With 3 kids that are constantly touching stuff, I figure it's good prevention. I realize that swine flu has not caused major problems for MOST people who get it, but one less bug to catch is better for our family. And if we get it before the vaccine is available, well, we'll deal with it then. My pediatrician doesn't seem to be particularly concerned at this point, and I don't see any reason to get myself all worked up about it.

We will, of course, keep up with our regular precautions of hand-washing, hand sanitizer, etc.

 

[delmar411]

we will not be getting the shot. We've never gotten the flu shot and I don't intend to start now. No one in our house has had any flu type illness in 9yrs (which means my 3 younger have never had it).

All 4 of my kids will be in school programs this year but I'm not overly worried about it. Their immune systems are incredible and fight off all illnesses in 24-48hrs. If they were to catch this then I don't anticipate any issues with recovery.

 

[Sandi S]

I'm getting it and so will the rest of the fam - with 2 in elementary, 1 in preschool, and 1 toddler it's a no-brainer, PLUS I teach middle school and I have asthma so I definitely need the vaccine. I haven't skipped the vaccine in 9-10 years and never intend to again.

Oh, and you can bet there will be hand sanitizer in my classroom! Kids can be gross enough anyway.

 

[eksb327]

Our family always gets the flu vaccine, and will continue to do so. We've never had an adverse reaction, as we receive the shot which contains a 'dead' virus, versus the nasal spray, which has a 'live' virus.

Other than becoming more aware of frequent hand washing and staying home when ill, we'll proceed as normal. I'm with the others in my thought of 'an ounce of prevention...'

 

[tartemis]

I don't know what we will do -- but I'm very interested in this topic.

We have never taken the regular flu vaccine. I realize this is anecdotal, but when I was in college at the Air Force Academy, it was mandatory for all cadets to get the flu vaccine -- except the varsity athletes competing in fall sports (mainly volleyball and football players), due to the possible side effects. Well, the volleyball and football players never got sick (I played volleyball) and the rest of the student body always seemed worse off. Since then, I have never taken it, nor did I let my DD get it this year.

However, if this strain truly is worse, then I may consider it. But, I want to see more information. I am concerned because I will have an infant soon and we also want to take a trip to Disney with her in February (when she is around 6 months), but that may be cancelled if the swine flu hits really hard

FYI -- for those concerned about thermisol, they do make batches of the flu vaccine without it, that they reserve for special classes of people. Our pediatrician always stocks a small amount of the therimsol-free vaccine that he offered to us because of our family history of autism-related disorders, but I still refused it.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

I have to say that I worked at a sleep-away camp this summer, and we had 9 confirmed cases of H1N1. However, we prob. had at least 40 non-confirmed cases, in my opinion. We also had a LOT of counselors sick (most were college aged or a little older)- I was one of the very few who did not get sick.

I think that some schools may get hit hard this fall...it only takes 1 kid to spread it....we learned that at camp! But hopefully kids will get the flu and get over it quickly!

 

[disneynewbee]

We will get it for our girls and us if possible. My 6yo was born with a lung condition and seems to get everything everyone passes around but twice as bad. The other 3 need it so they don't get it and give it to her. We got the therimsol-free vaccine for our girls with no problem through the health department. I wonder if this new shot will be offered therimsol-free.

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf7]

Ehhh, we homeschool but no, we won't be doing anything special. I teach my children to wash their hands frequently anyways.

We don't vaccinate at all and even if we did, they would NOT be receiving the H1N1 vaccine. It has not had proper testing. I'm pregnant (and due day before yesterday - blah!) and definitely wouldn't have been getting this vaccine even if I were still pregnant when the vaccine is released.

Our children are ages 6, 4, 3, 1, and due now. None will receive this vaccine. I feel that without proper testing and long term side effects studies, I would rather take my chances with the swine flu - really, it isn't THAT big of a deal. LOL

 

[Colleen27]

We really won't be doing anything differently. We don't get flu shots and we don't plan to get the H1N1 shot. We're all healthy people with stong immune systems, and I see no reason we should be running out to get a vaccine that by all accounts will be in short supply when there are so many people out there who need the protection more.

Beyond the vaccine, we do keep enough food and other supplies in the house to get by for a couple of weeks in an emergency (or even just a run of bad weather - I'm not big on the ice-hockey-on-wheels that passes for driving during/after a winter storm around here!), so if one of us does fall ill staying home wouldn't present a problem. And it really isn't a factor in thinking about our next Disney trip; we decided to cancel our free dining trip and are now looking at dates in Feb and April, and flu season isn't even a factor in my thinking. Weather, crowds, and pricing will make the final decision.

 

[C.Ann]

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[tinkmom2]

For me every flu shot I have ever gotten I end up sick. So I don't think I would get the new swine flu vaccine. My daughter starts k3 this year and since this is really her first exposure to other kids I am expecting her to get sick. She doesn't have her tonsils so I am hoping that will cut down on some of the sickness. At that age I know it is very hard to ensure she is washing her hands constantly. Besides keeping my girl in a bubble I know she will probably end up with some sickness but I am not going to freak out over it.
Both my kids had unrelated illnesses the first years of their lives but I am not going to isolate them. They are healthy now and that's what matters. It's when parents know their kids are sick and send them to school irregardless that really bugs me!

 

[dizneechic]

We will not be getting vaccinated. We have me and dh, ds8, ds6, dd4.5 and all 3 kids go to school full time and all 3 had swine come through their schools last spring (no one caught it).

My concerns are the lack of long term testing on the vaccine and the fact that the swine flu is on par with the seasonal flu which tends to mutate and the vaccine ends up being useless anyhow. The debacle over the 70's swine vaccine (yes times change but it shows what can happen when you rush to put out an untested vax) and the fact that then the vaccine cause more harm than the flu itself is very unsettling for me. Even if we do happen to have swine come through the house, it means we have a lifelong immunity to that strain vs needing repeated vaccinations hoping it protects for this season.

What I want to know is what are the "pre existing conditions" that caused the few that have died to succumb to H1N1. We all know pregnancy, obesity has been linked, and respiratory issues, but I would like to see a concrete if you have X Y or Z you are more at risk than the general population. I have 1 child who has WPW, several small VSD's, an ASD (all cardio issues) and ITP (blood platelet issue) but he also is medically exempt from vaccinations because they are what caused his ITP. We meet with his Cardio Electrophysiologist on 8/20 to to stress testing and discuss his fate surgery wise and yes we will discuss if his trio of cardio issues puts him at more risk, (ie if he gets the flu should he be immediately checked into the hospital like he was with pneumonia due to ITP/Cadio), or do we follow the same route we would with others if they got sick.

As for precautions, I am in MA and our schools locally have a 7 day rule in effect. basically if you spike a fever over 100 and it is accompanied by a cough, runny nose, aches, or stomach issues you are out for 7 days - period. Even if your fever is resolved the next day and symptoms are gone, you are still out. A lot of parents we're inconvenienced in the Spring when we had swine come through the schools, but it did help prevent it's spread. At home my kids wash their hands and faces as they walk in the door - regardless of where they are coming from. They also have sani-wipes in their snack and lunch bags, and the teachers are well stocked on wipes for helping to keep the classrooms clean.

I'm sure we'll see more spread when school opens here in Sept, I'm not going to deny that at all. But I'm also not too concerned about it since it's fairly mild except for those with "pre existing conditions" (if only we knew what exactly those were) and we don't want to play the rush to vaccinate game until we've seen results of the long term testing.

Oh and we're going to Disney in Feb at the hight of the flu season up here in the North East. No plans to change that.

 

[momx2]

I would rather take my chances with the swine flu - really, it isn't THAT big of a deal. LOL

Unless your child has asthma or other pre-existing conditions. When my DD catches a normal flu or bronchial infection it takes her twice as long to get over it due to her asthma. If you had ever watched your child try to breath and see the look of terror on their face when they can't get enough air then it would be a BIG DEAL!

 

[disprincessatheart]

I'll be starting my 3rd trimester this fall, so i'll be interested to see what other news about the vaccine comes out before the vaccine itself is available. I've had the regular flu shot some years, and some years not. I'm leaning towards taking it since they say I'm in the highest risk category, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

My sister who lives in another state got H1N1 3 weeks ago - neither of her kids - 4 and 5 - or her husband got it from her and they'd been around her non-stop for a week. She's a flight attendant so she likely caught it on a trip a few days prior to showing symptoms and was contagious around her family.

 

[kalc12345]

We will not be getting the vaccine. We are home schoolers too so my kids aren't in the school system. We aren't doing anything special either. I do have antibacterial hand stuff that we use when we are out and about. If things get bad we will just stay home and not go out much.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We won't be getting it either. More homeschoolers here and pretty much we will watch and see what happens. I honestly think this is big right now because it is a new strain. Tons of people die each year from the normal flu also, but is isn't news because it has been like that for a long time.

 

[C.Ann]

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