Will H1N1 change your plans?

[pycees312]

Thanks everyone! I know we have to 'pick our poison'. i wish one seemed better then the other.
We take alot of vitamins, extra Vitamin D,C, and Omega's, things they recommend to boost the immune system. I'm hoping the whole Swine thing will be died down by christmas
We always have hand sanitizer with us, and we'll bring wipes like everyone has said. Sigh.... I wish this wasn't an issue.

. H1N1 is very new.. and I think it's a huuge decision for any family to make.
so don't feel bad for choosing to not get the vaccine.

 

[Potterswife]

We just got back on Monday and so far we are good. We haven't had the seasonal or H1N1 vaccine. We carried a small hand sanitizer and used it often and washed our hands a lot. My husband had no problem reminding people to cover their mouths...it's amazing how many adults and children don't do it and just hack and cough away without covering, on the flip side it was nice to see people coughing into their arms like you are supposed to. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[firefly87]

I see that you are located in SJ. Iam too. the problem here is that when people are contracting it the schools, etc are keeping it under wraps. One of the kids on my sons football team was diagnosed goes to the same school and everything do you think they told us? Nope...
Not sure what school your DD goes to but did they warn parents?
And I hope your DD is doing better!!!

My youngest is in pre-school and as of last count they said there were 9 confirmed cases. Here's the kicker though.........most of those aren't necessarily "confirmed". I have heard of doctors in our area that are considering any symptom that resembles the flu as H1N1. They are not even testing to see if it truly is H1N1.

To even confirm it as H1N1, you have to be swabbed and then it takes 2 weeks to get the results. By then you're over it!

 

[EagleFlyer]

Something just doesn't sit right with me either, maybe it's that they haven't had alot of time to research side effects and that sort of thing (running backwards being one of them )
We're heading to the USA on Sunday, but apparently hometown Melbourne has a pretty high concentration of cases anyway

It's made in the same exact manner as the seasonl flu vaccine, just with a different virus strain, so it should have the same side effects. I have it on good authority from a coworker who has been involved in many conference calls about H1N1 with the CDC that if the outbreak had been detected earlier H1N1 most likely would have been included as an influenza strain in the current seasonal shot.

And in response to a previous poster, it takes about 2 weeks for the shot to become fully effective.

 

[jenniferrose]

My youngest is in pre-school and as of last count they said there were 9 confirmed cases. Here's the kicker though.........most of those aren't necessarily "confirmed". I have heard of doctors in our area that are considering any symptom that resembles the flu as H1N1. They are not even testing to see if it truly is H1N1.

To even confirm it as H1N1, you have to be swabbed and then it takes 2 weeks to get the results. By then you're over it!

According to our pediatrician, 100% of the cases tested 2 weeks ago (over a week span) was all H1N1 so they are assuming all cases are since it is too early for the seasonal flu.

 

[jenniferrose]

I have it on good authority from a coworker who has been involved in many conference calls about H1N1 with the CDC that if the outbreak had been detected earlier H1N1 most likely would have been included as an influenze strain in the current seasonal shot.

This is exactly what my pediatrician said about it.

 

[KRIS10420]

Not getting the vaccine only puts yourself and folks you come into contact with at a greater risk of coming down with the flu.
Do you qualify to get the H1N1? There are specific requirements to qualify for it right now.

(IMO) I am not getting the vaccine as I am not interested in being part of a scientific experiment. I have been getting the regular flu shot for the past 15 years but something just doesn't feel right about this H1N1 vaccine, so I think I will just take my chances. While at DL I will just keep my hands clean, try to touch as little as possible (including my face), drinks lot of fluids and take my vitamin c and cold fx. And lastly, not worry about it and have fun

 

[daneenm]

I see that you are located in SJ. Iam too. the problem here is that when people are contracting it the schools, etc are keeping it under wraps. One of the kids on my sons football team was diagnosed goes to the same school and everything do you think they told us? Nope...
Not sure what school your DD goes to but did they warn parents?
And I hope your DD is doing better!!!

I asked the pediatrician and she said that there is no need to tell the school. Basically there is no protocol for reporting it (like they do for strep or chicken pox). She says that every case of the flu they were seeing in their office was this strain so they stopped testing. This is the case for everyone around that I am aware of, including Stanford. The rapid test is only 10-30% accurate (many false negatives) according to the SC County Dept of Health.

DD weathered it well, but did so with the help of Tamiflu because DS is so high risk. DS is also on a prophylactic dose of Tamiflu because of DD's illness. I am really frustrated that only one big Corporate Hospital chain in the area has availability and the rest of the county, including many high risk patients have to play the waiting game.

 

[cari12]

I have a slightly different view. Every year people get sick and a number of people die from the regular flu. The difference with H1N1 is that every death makes the front page of the newspaper (which is not the case with the regular flu). I think the media has people panicked. I am not saying we should be complacent; we should be careful and take care of ourselves and if our symptoms require medical attention, be sure to get it. Most deaths have been people with underlying medical issues so if you are an average healthy person, a little caution is all that is required.
As for the vaccine? I have heard that here in Canada there is an additive added that the FDA has never approved for a vaccine before but it has allowed for the H1N1 vaccine. Not sure I want that in my body.

 

[daneenm]

I have a slightly different view. Every year people get sick and a number of people die from the regular flu. The difference with H1N1 is that every death makes the front page of the newspaper (which is not the case with the regular flu). I think the media has people panicked.

I agree with you here and have been saying this exact thing to people I have been talking to. Although, I understand that the number of deaths (percentage wise) from H1N1 is higher than the typical seasonal flu, although I don't have the exact stats.

As for the vaccine? I have heard that here in Canada there is an additive added that the FDA has never approved for a vaccine before but it has allowed for the H1N1 vaccine. Not sure I want that in my body.

Interesting. I asked this exact question about the vaccine and was told that the formulation was the same as for seasonal flu only with the H1N1 strain instead of whatever strains were identified for the season.

 

[DDhunter]

My family came down with this virus and it took pretty much 4-5 weeks for it to work it's way through the whole house, as it seems to linger. My Daughter had 103 fever for 4 days (Tylenol could barely keep it at bay) and then had a harsh cough for over a week and extreme fatigue. I managed to shake the cough after about a week. Long story short, it lingers and if you can get the shot and feel good about doing so, I would highly recommend it.

 

[cari12]

I agree with you here and have been saying this exact thing to people I have been talking to. Although, I understand that the number of deaths (percentage wise) from H1N1 is higher than the typical seasonal flu, although I don't have the exact stats.



Interesting. I asked this exact question about the vaccine and was told that the formulation was the same as for seasonal flu only with the H1N1 strain instead of whatever strains were identified for the season.

Whatever the additive is, the US FDA had approved it and has been using it in their regular flu vaccines but Canada has not.

 

[deejdigsdis]

we have decided NOT to have the Vaccine

You are not alone...we won't be getting the vaccine either. I am not anti-vaccine in general. My kids are totally up to date on scheduled ones. But this one...like a couple others have said, it just doesn't feel right.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

I have a slightly different view. Every year people get sick and a number of people die from the regular flu. The difference with H1N1 is that every death makes the front page of the newspaper (which is not the case with the regular flu). I think the media has people panicked. I am not saying we should be complacent; we should be careful and take care of ourselves and if our symptoms require medical attention, be sure to get it. Most deaths have been people with underlying medical issues so if you are an average healthy person, a little caution is all that is required.
As for the vaccine? I have heard that here in Canada there is an additive added that the FDA has never approved for a vaccine before but it has allowed for the H1N1 vaccine. Not sure I want that in my body.

Agreed.

As for ingredients, I like going to the sources for those. Even if the active ingredient is fine...those inactive ones are disgusting.

This has links to the sources for the US ingredients (FDA PDFs).

Canadian approved here. Mmmm, thimerosal (mercury) and formaldehyde...also in the US versions.


Link to various countries and their injections' ingredients here.


We had *something* before we left for DLR, and we felt it had subsided to the point where we could go and have energy (I had my finger poised over the "cancel" button for 3 days though!). Came home...DS ended up with strep, very likely because of a fall he took, mouth first, into the chain in the TSMM line, after whatever we had had exhausted his body before the trip.

Germs happen. Everywhere.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

We're not changing our plans nor are we having the vaccine. We believe in vaccines and think this one is a good idea, but it seems there aren't enough vaccines to go around right now and we're not in any priority or risk group that needs the vaccine asap.

 

[CanadaMom24]

"Health Canada estimated that 700 to 2500 deaths may be attributable to influenza" This is the yearly stat

From April to Oct 27, 2009 there has been 87 deaths contributed to H1N1 in Canada. And 76% of them had unlying conditions.

Sarah

 

[daneenm]

Ah but to truly compare you have to remember that the flu season has only just started, so you are comparing a whole season to a small portion of the season.

CDC has several interesting pages with statistics...

"This report provides an update to the international situation as of October 23, 2009. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to report laboratory-confirmed 2009 H1N1 flu cases and deaths on its Web page. These laboratory-confirmed cases represent a substantial underestimation of total cases in the world, as many countries focus surveillance and laboratory testing only on people with severe illness. "

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/international/map.htm


At any rate, I will repeat again that I am all for being informed, but I believe the media has created more panic than need be. On the flip side, I believe some of people's concern is that H1N1 is effecting more people in age groups that were thought to hold up well with flu...

"Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65....The information analyzed by CDC supports the conclusion that 2009 H1N1 flu has caused greater disease burden in people younger than 25 years of age than older people."

In my house even seasonal flu has always been a big concern because of DS's risk factors. Not the same for everyone's family, obviously.

 

[Anater]

We're traveling to the US and visiting Disneyland in December. I just had the vaccine (it is offered to the general public here), but my husband is 100% against having it. they haven't yet approved the vaccine for children here, so I guess we will just have to wait. My son and I both have asthma so I feel it's a bigger risk to not have the vaccine. Taking lots of hand sanitizer, but our plans have not changed.

 

[jacs1234]

My 4 kids can't get it in Australia yet and I've never had a flu vaccine so we're not getting it. I'm bringing Tamiflu with us though and there will be loads of praying.

 

[Anater]

jacs1234 - I never thought of bringing Tamiflu with us. Will a GP fill a prescription for it without symptoms? If so, I think I'll be making some calls tomorrow...