Swine Flu: Will Your Kids Get the H1N1 Vaccine?

We will not get the vaccine. There is no telling what the associated long term risks are for this vaccine. It's far to new to know that information. And for someone like myself who was exempt as child from childhood vaccines due to severe allergy I'd rather not take the risk of what could happen should I get the vaccine. If I get the h1n1 flu I will deal with it accordingly, but I won't sit around like a hermit in my home trying to avoid it. I would much rather have the flu it's self any how and give my immune system the natural immunity.

It has been proven that the h1n1 is no worse to healthy individuals than the regular seasonal flu and even the insurance companies are starting to refuse paying for the test for it because the treatment for it is no different than that of the regular flu. And at $500 per test it's just not a necessary expense especially when the testing only has a 40 to 69% accuracy.

I honestly think the media has blown the h1n1 flu way out of proportion. They have done their very best to instill fear into the public over this and it has worked. People need to wake up and think for themselves and do the actual research and not buy into all the media hype.

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The distrust in science (and thus scientific evidence) makes me very sad and worried. I'm a mother of three young children so I know all about making hard choices. But I also have two decades of research experience (children's health/education/psychology) and I now review and write about children's health research. I'm amazed that people are so eager to trust what they read on line from other parents or biased journalists or organizations. Information that often flies in the face of well-done, very large, rigorous studies. In the media, and the public discourse, faulty or flawed pseudo science is given the same weight as really very good science. It's heartbreaking to hear parents outright dismiss the weight of scientic research. You may have your own opinion, but please don't outright dismiss the science. I'm not trying to convince parents to follow every government health directive but I do wish parents would start to trust the scientific process. And believe that science is a slow process that has and will continue to reveal very important findings for our children. It's ironic, because so many scientists, myself including, feel very passionately about finding the truth. I guess we need to do a better job of telling people about it.

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My children wil not be recieving the swine flu vaccine! We are all healthy and happy! My girls already had swine flu...and so did their whole school!But now very one is better thank god!!!!!

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Polly - Thank you! Great points!! I'm neither a scientist nor a doctor, but I can and must decide whom I trust to give important medical advice to me and my family on such issues. I defer to those I trust who are qualified to give medical and scientific advice/treatment.

It does make me sad that people (parents!) reject reliable, proven scientific information simply because of their distrust of CDC or the allegedly "evil Government." Some posters here seem to think "If "MAObama's CDC is promoting it it must be bad" without fully considering and understanding the evidence and their own pediatrician's recommendations for their own children (if you've done your job as a parent you've picked the right doctors!). Proven scientific evidence is rejected outright but fantaticism and "magic" are fully accepted. I do despair for the children.

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i am getting my grandson his h1n1 tomorrow - i have been fretting about this for a long time but he did have a history of asthma/respiratory problems in the past and i am just afraid should he get the flu he may end up with the pneumonia and that could be devastating for him and me - i just hope and pray he does ok with it long term.........

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I am 58 years old; old enough to remember when the diseases that so many today dismiss as "not serious" or "just illnesses" were commonplace. There were no vaccines for them and people, children primarily, could and did get very, very sick and sometimes died from complications. My brothers, three and six years older than me, both got mumps and had a very rough go of it. It was definitely NOT "just an illness". Another friend was exposed to rubella (German measles) while pregnant and her baby was affected (major birth defects for the baby - but, hey, it's just a "mild" disease for the child who wasn't vaccinated, so what difference does it make?). And, lastly, anyone who has ever had shingles as an adult will definitely argue that it is not an incidental sickness; it is a painful blistering skin rash which comes from the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox.

These diseases are no longer common. Why? Because we vaccinate against them. Those who choose not to vaccinate are incidentally protected due to an effect called "herd immunity" - because I vaccine MY children, your child will not get the disease. However, health officials are beginning to see resurgences of these diseases in areas where greater numbers of people do not vaccinate. And, of course, these kinds diseases are still rampant in the third world where they cannot afford to vaccinate.

On a larger scale, polio (poliomyelitis is a virus, incidentally), which is now basically eradicated in the US due to vaccination, affects nerves and can lead to paralysis and death. I remember pictures of people in iron lungs for respiration because their ability to breathe was destroyed. My high school science teacher was crippled and used crutches due to PPS (Post-Polio Syndrome). I vividly remember the excitement when we were all lined up and given the first oral polio vaccine on sugar cubes. That vaccine was further refined and, as a result, we do not see polio in the US anymore. I'm also the last generation which bears the smallpox vaccination scar - we wiped it out for you. Imagine - a disease that has been totally eradicated from the entire earth. And smallpox was no small, insignificant illness; do the research and you'll be glad it no longer exists.

I could go on and on. But my message is this: there is risk in everything we do in life. Just getting out of bed and into the shower involves risk! However, the risk vs. benefit analysis with regards to vaccination isn't even close in my opinion. If deaths can be avoided by vaccination (and yes, I'm in a high risk category and have had my H1N1 shots as have my children and grandchildren with NO side effects) shouldn't that be the right thing to do? The farther generations get from seeing the impact of the disease we vaccinate against, the less cognizant people are of the dangers of NOT vaccinating.

I've heard/read that people would prefer to take a "natural" approach to fighting disease. I don't disagree that a healthy lifestyle is essential. But, as recently as 1900, life expectancy for a white male was around 49 (33 for black males). By 1970, well into the age of routine vaccinations, it had jumped to 68. Of course, many advances account for this jump and one of the major ones is that diseases that had for thousands of years sickened, maimed and killed no longer did so because of vaccination.

If you wish to take your chances with nature as your physician, be my guest. As for me and mine, I'll take the vaccination! So far, some 30 million (MILLION) does of H1N1 vaccine have been administered. How many major side effects have been reported? You figure the odds.

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We are trying to stay healthy this cold and flu season by keeping our immune systems strong. And if we do get sick, we have natural products on hand to take action right away. We got our Immune Support kits from www.ColdandFluRescue.com -they have a great Just 4 Kids section.

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We did opt for our two children (ages 4 and almost 2) to get the H1N1 vaccine but it was after much research, many discussions and a bit of worry. Both kids were just diagnosed with presumptive restrictive airway disease (yes, fancy way of saying they may have asthma and, then again, they may not!) and that tipped the scales for us in favor of the vaccine. I don't take vaccines lightly. My son is on an alternative vaccine schedule since having nasty reactions to his 2- and 4-month vaccines. But for us, this was the best decision. You can read more about our thoughts and decision on this at:

babypotential.typepad.com

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I am almost 6 months pregnant and i have NO IDEA what to do... Do I take the shot or not? There are so many downfalls tha i have seen bu dont know what istrue and what is not. I read that it may cause a miscarriage?? How am i supposed to know whether it is safe or not?

I also have a 6 year old daughter who has asthma... Now im scared to send her to school? Do i need to keep her home until this H1N1 crap goes away? Will it even go away.

My 3 year old daughter already has developmental problems and i would hate to get her vaccinated and just make things worse?

Someone please give me some good advice... Im lost and im scared! I dont want anythingto happen to my beautiful children or myself.... Please HELP!

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Im stuck in the middle between getting the H1N1 vaccine or not. I have been brought up the old fashioned way where my mother raised me not to take meds and just let your body fight diseases so that your body builds immunities and gets stronger. We exercised, took our vitamins, ate well and rested...thats how we combatted diseases. Yet my husband and I both work in jobs where we constantly deal with the public and people with very serious diseases. I have a little 5 month baby at home and I dont want to bring anything home. Im stuck!

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