Need non biased info on swine flu vaccine

[~clover~]

I've not been interested in having any of us vaccinated against swine flu. A million reasons why. The main being that I think my mum & I had a strain of it last year when my sister had it & we were around my kids, so I hardly think they'll get it.
They should have some sort of immunity, especially DS who was breast fed at the time.

Problem is my mum wants it done. DD1 is asthmatic & might benefit from it, but these kids have had colds & flu's before & it was about the age of 2 DD1 got chest infections very easily, since then she's been fine. Only having asthma problems when she came into contact with a trigger, eg mould.

Mum has said that if they haven't been done by the time the hols come around she might take them & have them done. She's not being nasty, just thinks she's doing the best for them.

I would like to be pointed in the direction of some informed & unbiased information we can both go over.

Your help would be appreciated.
TIA

[Muppity]

Sorry Clover - I don't have time to write a specific response right now - but if you go to the Federal Department of Health's "Health Emergency" website it has a lot of information about the vaccine - and I know that there is something specifically about the swine flu and asthma which may be useful for you.

[~clover~]

Thanks

[Spring Angel]

Sweetie I don't have specific info but I just wanted to say it isn't your Mum's decision to get them imunised . It's yours and you DH's choice. Even if it isn't her being nasty she is overstepping the mark IMO.

Spring x

[~clover~]

I do agree. We are happy to not worry about it & I wasn't happy when she said it. But I really want some factual info for her to read that will have her see my side of things.
She's pro vax, pro ob, not keen on MW's & doesn't understand why on earth anyone would want a HB.
I do vax & am not a HB person myself, but thats my decision. Nothing to do with her or her reasons.
I would also like to know if DD1 & myself should think about having it done due to her asthma & my pregnancy.

[Cassius2]

IMO i would look into for your DD and see if there are extra issues for those suffering from asthma. but for myself, being pregnant i wouldnt. although i can see that it can help ppl immensely i am just not that comfortable ATM at having it done while pg (the same way that no other vacc's are given to pg women IYKWIM). for example, i have no rubella immunity (cant be immunised against it...my body is *quirky* LOL!). i know that rubella is life-threatening to my unborn child, but there are some risks that i will take on board and be aware of (ie, staying away from chronically ill fluey people lol).

I'm afraid that i dont have info that can be used for your mum. i would hazard that it might be hard to find info that is unbiased (even from govt websites...). the swine vax is so new that not many peer-reviewed articles would be available...well for free anyway

goodluck with it all and i hope that you guys can come to some sort of agreement!

[squidipa]

Sweetie I don't have specific info but I just wanted to say it isn't your Mum's decision to get them imunised . It's yours and you DH's choice. Even if it isn't her being nasty she is overstepping the mark IMO.

Spring x

well said

we have 2 children with asthma and 2 adults we chose to get it done because we didnt want a risk to our premmie bub but still feel a bit unsure about it IYKWIM

[fionas]

Kirley - I'm in the same boat - am pregnant and have heard different advice.

This has got me and DP a little spooked though ... especially as DD1 goes to childcare (coincidentally in the same suburb where the first case of swine flu in Melbourne was reported last year).

FROM SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

AUSTRALIAN experts are tipping a resurgence of swine flu as early as Easter, as new research shows the deadly effect the illness had last year on pregnant women.

The study of Australian and New Zealand women found that among women who were pregnant or had recently given birth and were admitted to intensive care units with swine flu from June to August last year, 11 per cent died. Twelve per cent of their babies died.

In Australia between 1997 and 2005 only one pregnant woman died from influenza, but in the three months of the swine flu pandemic four women died from the disease.

Ian Seppelt, of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Influenza Investigators, who led the research, said normally not even one pregnant woman would die from any cause in a three-month period in Australia. "So while it is a small number overall … it is still very important," he said.

Dr Seppelt said his research, published yesterday in the British Medical Journal, could not completely explain why some mothers and babies died and others did not.

''It is very hard to say who is a high risk because just being pregnant makes women high risk,'' he said. "While a proportion of women had conditions like asthma or were obese, there were some totally normal and healthy women who died.''

But Dr Seppelt noted that women who were more than 20 weeks pregnant were 13 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with a critical illness. Aboriginal women, too, were at particular risk.

He recommended that all pregnant women were given seasonal flu vaccine this year, even if they have already had the swine flu vaccine, which immunises them against a number of strains of the flu.

Australia might see another wave of swine flu as early as May, and the strain would probably account for three-quarters of all flu cases this year, he said.

Robert Booy, the head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, said swine flu was not necessarily more dangerous for pregnant women than other flu types, but was more common. ''In the great majority of people this virus is very mild, but for a minority it is very serious and so when large numbers of people are getting infected some people [will die],'' he said.

While Professor Booy agreed that another wave of swine flu could emerge as early as Easter, he said authorities could only guess when the disease would resurface.

"So many people in Australia have been getting immunised recently that I think there is a real possibility of keeping the next wave down to a small wave," Professor Booy said.

However, he said pregnant women who already had small children still had a high risk of contracting swine flu.

"This infection ripped through school age and preschool-age children … so my guess is that pregnant women with another child were at greater risk," he said.

[~Serenity~]

I didn't get it and niether have my kids I personally don't see the point since the so called pandemic is over anyways but I deff wouldn't have when pg

[*star*]

Apparently we are to expect a new wave this year.

Also I am an asthmatic, and although I haven't yet been immunised, I am seriously considering it. Your daughter may only have asthma when exposed to triggers, but I think the reason they say to immunise is that, should your daughter get the infection, it is more likely to be more severe and affect her lungs, etc. in other ways than just having the flu. A lot of the people that died had other health complications that the flu exacerbated.

So, take your time, consider it and weigh up the options, I guess. I agree that you don't necessarily run out there and do it, just because "they" say it's the done thing.

[nic]

The Qld Gov't is providing free vacc's for school kids and their families. Got the note home a few days ago, and I'm also not sure what to do either...

[Pip82]

I think that EVERYBODY needs to look into this themselves rather than rely on advice from strangers on forums. Some vaccines are safe and actually recommended during pregnancy.

[HotI]

I think that EVERYBODY needs to look into this themselves rather than rely on advice from strangers on forums. Some vaccines are safe and actually recommended during pregnancy.

which vaccines are these?

thanks,

KAte

[Pip82]

Sorry, yeah I know the OP was prob looking for a point in the right direction, I was more referring to other posts - if you are going to decide for or against vaccination i don't think it is a good idea to rely solely on other peoples opinions especially on a semi anonymous forum without looking at proper information. I don't think that the government would try to con anyone into having a vaccine that was unsafe.

[Cassius2]

I think that EVERYBODY needs to look into this themselves rather than rely on advice from strangers on forums. Some vaccines are safe and actually recommended during pregnancy.

i would also like to be informed of these...because i was certain that it was only the swine vax that they were giving out to pg women.

[entreat]

Mum wants me to have the SF vax, but I'm certain I had SF last year. We live in a town of 35,000 people and it doesn't take long for everyone to have the same bug, especially when friends of ours were confirmed to have it. DH & I got sick (flu symptoms) at the same time as our friend, so I'm confident we've had it.

Although having it before doesn't negate the chance of having it again, I think it will produce an appropriate immune response this winter, if I get it again.

I am actually pro-vaccinations (most pro-educated choice, but it comes across as pro-vax because I flatly believe most of the anti-vax 'info' is hype, especially when looking at ingredients list!), but I won't be having the SF vax mostly because I think it has been insufficiently tested on pregnant women.

A couple of years ago, I had a 2 day immune response to the regular flu vax & it sucked! I only did it because it was free through work & I wanted to see if it made any impact over the flu season. Now, I think (unless you're elderly, infirm, or do actually need it for other reasons) all flu vaccines are superfluous. I spent 2 days off work because of the vaccine when I may not have even got sick over winter.

*shrug* personal choice, but I would probably ban my mother from my house if she presented me with that attitude. You can't forcably vaccinate someone's kids (related or not!) against the wishes of the parents! so boo to your mum on that account.

[Fleur]

Ok, the emergency health site basically says yes. Do it. Not that much info that I saw.

I'm very comfortable recieving advice from BB. Have been doing it for quite a while now

I was just hoping that some one would know where to get some more detailed info about it & maybe even find out everyone elses reasons for getting it/not getting it.

I have my children vaccinated. But I chose not to have DS vaxed against chicken pox as I really don't see the point. I have thought about it & thats the decision I have come to. Again another one my mum probably doesn't agree with.

I'm looking to make my own informed decision with all the info behind me I can get

Clover like you we also are mostly vaccing, I have thought I won't do the chicken pox vax though.

We got the swine flu note this week & I chucked it out, I am wondering now about getting DS2 done, he has had asthma in years past but it hasn't been an issue the last couple of years. Any colds or flus do tend to become chesty though.
And I worry about DD2 being so young.

I also am still undecided.

I personally have not had it, and I don't plan too, unless the feared pandemic actually occurs. I actually don't know many colleagues who are planning on having it either.

Sounds like it could be a way to go... how long does the body take to produce an immune response? Is the vax likely to run out in the case of a pandemic?

[Cherished]

Hi, I would strongly recommend that you look every where else BUT the government websites and recommendations if you want a non biased view. It is well known that the government is pro vaccination and that is the only information you will get by taking their advice. Check out the Australian Vaccination Network website for more factual reading which is neither pro nor anti vaccination, just plain facts.

Oh I forgot to mention your mum, it is not her place to get your children injected with foreign substances without your consent. If my mother did that to my kids (when I have them) she would never see or speak to any of us ever again