Starting to think about it since LO will be starting at a center in Jan. He also goes to the church nursery on Sundays. DH and I aren’t really big fans of it. Thoughts? Did you get it and did your LO get it? He’s vaccinated overall just the flu shot seems to worry me for some reason.
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The only time I have ever had the flu shot was when I was pregnant, otherwise I refuse it. I do get my 2 year old the flu shot because the young and the old are the most at risk if they get the flu. Now I'm not sure when I will stop getting him the flu shot (I don't remember ever getting it).
ETA: he was also vaccinated on schedule
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My two have been getting it every year. I have only gotten it when I was pregnant.Fingers cross, so far we've not had the flu...
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My husband and I get it every year whether I am pregnant or not. The kids get it every year as soon as they are old enough (6 months, so my July baby got it her first winter but my September baby didn't get it until he was 1).
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I will always get the flu shot for my kids as long as it's in my control. Lowering the risk even a little bit makes it worthwhile to me---the flu kills.
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@jape14: Same.
Last year my youngest wasn't able to get the flu vaccine (ETA: and I guess my son couldn't either his first year now that I think about it) and I was a hot mess. Even if it's only marginally effective like last year, I would do anything to attempt to shelter my kids from the misery of the flu.
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My husband and I both get it and I felt tremendous relief when our baby was old enough to get it. The only complaint I have is that some years they don't predict the cocktail that well and it isn't *as* preventative as you'd hope. @cake2017: what's your worry?
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I personally never get the flu shot. I very reluctantly gave it to my toddler last year. I’m never comfortable with it. If I’m not pregnant and I make my kid get it, then I’ll give it to myself too.
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Why does it worry you? I am absolutely of the mind that if it can lower the risk even marginally, it's worth getting. And especially after the awfulness of last year's flu season.
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Absolutely. Especially if he is in child care.
There is no scientific reason why anyone should be ok with other vaccines but not the flu vaccine. It is no different. If you trust your pediatrician, and your pediatrician recommends the flu vaccine, then why would you not do it?
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DD has gotten it both years. I was lazy about the shot prior to having her but have made it a priority during pregnancy and since. Obviously this is only anecdotal evidence, but neither of us have gotten the flu in the 2.5 years since she was born. There was a particularly nasty strain going around last year and many kids in her class were out because of it.
Another thing to consider - even if your kid does end up with the flu after receiving the shot they will likely experience less symptoms. It's a no brainer to me.
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Our whole family gets the flu shot every year.
My kids have asthma and the common cold has landed them in the hospital before. If there's any way to minimize their risk of contracting something worse, I'm taking it!
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The nurse at my doctor's office mentioned that this year the flu mist is supposed to be coming back. If you're wary of the vaccine in general, though, I guess that wouldn't really change the fact that the vaccine is entering your body.
We always get the flu vaccine. It's not worth the risk of getting the flu. I've read about healthy adults getting the flu and dying so I'm happy to do anything to lessen that risk.
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My kids both get the shot at their annual well-check because their birthdays are at the start of flu season. My husband gets it because he's diabetic. I usually opt out but only because I can only get it at the doctor's office and it's not convenient for me from work (and I work during the hours they are open and live an hour away).
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We all get it annually and I even did a delayed vax schedule for ds. He is fully vaccinated but we just spread them out a little bit more.
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We always get it. The flu is not something I want to deal with. Even if my kids don't get it,they can carry the germs and get other people sick. It just isn't worth it.
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We get the flu shot not only to protect ourselves, but to protect the people who cannot get the vaccine and could die if they contracted the flu (by being surrounded by vaccinated people, they're protected by herd immunity). So babies and senior citizens and people with immune disorders are helped, nor to mention our own kids.
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Our whole family gets it every year.
I had a perfectly healthy early 20's acquaintance that died from complications of the flu. It really is deadly and I'll do anything I can to protect my family from it. Even if the vaccine isn't 100% it will reduce symptom severity and duration.
What is your hesitation? Since you are otherwise fully vaccinated, what makes this one different?
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We get flu vaccines because I always think if my child got the flu and died and I wouldn’t be able to live with knowing I could have tried the vaccine and didn’t. Last year was actually a very deadly year for children and the flu. As an aside, I had a high school teacher who’s mother refused the polio vaccine for him because it was brand new and she was nervous. He got polio and is paralyzed on half his body. She still deals with that guilt 50 years later. I always think about her for this stuff
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Eta here is the link to cdc about how last year set a new record for pediatric deaths and 80% were in unvaccinated kids.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/reported-flu-children-deaths.htm
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We have all gotten it yearly since DS was born. This year we will have a new baby who will br too young for the vaccine and we will 100% get it as soon as it’s available. Anything we can do to prevent a problem, we will gladly do and I don’t buy into vaccine fear.
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All three of us get it ASAP every year. Last winter I had 3 patients die from flu. 2 of the 3 were unvaccinated, and the other was elderly and frail but vaccinated.
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Yes. ESPECIALLY of going to a daycare situation.
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@cake2017: I will be the first to admit I'm wary of pretty much every medicine entering my body and my sons but we all did get the flu vaccine. in the risk-benefit scheme of things it's worth it. I also know someone whose two-year-old died of the flu.
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My husband and 2.5-year-old son and I all get it every year. The flu can be fatal, especially in the very young and very old, and even if it’s not 100% effective every year, some protection is better than none. Also, by getting it, we help those who can’t get the vaccine, contributing to herd immunity.
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Absolutely, work offers them free onsite. I nag my husband every day until he finally does it, and I make sure my kids get signed up as soon as it's available. They are both in daycare. When my oldest was born, there was a shortage, and I don't want to risk them missing it if that happens again. Any chance of avoiding it (or at least reducing impact of symptoms) is worth it to me.
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@cake2017: from experience both my little ones got the flu last year. One had the vaccine and the other didnt. The older one who had the vaccine got a much milder version of the flu whilst the younger one without the vaccine good a very serious flu with really high temps. Of course there are many strains of flu etc but I think its worth getting.
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Yes we get it every year. Especially bc my kids are in school and there’s a lot of germs
My husband was traveling and missed his work flu shot day. He never bothered to go get it. Guess who got the flu last year? You think man colds are bad. Guess who had to take tamiflu bc she was pregnant as prevention even though she had already gotten the flu shot? Good thing my other kids didn’t get it
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At my daycare it is mandatory. We’ve always done it and they’ve been fine.
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My husband is a pediatrician and we all, always get it. To protect our kids, to protect other kids. We will have a baby in October who will be too young for the flu vaccine this season and I’m so nervous about it.
There’s no way to know for sure but a third of my daughters class was out with the flu (confirmed) last year and she didn’t get it, nor did my younger son.
My husband had witnessed severe complications and long ICU stays for the flu. It’s not a simple cold, which is something it’s often confused for. I had a 22 year old otherwise very healthy client hospitalized for the flu last winter. -
100 percent yes. I’m terrified of the flu. I was already asking about it at my sons two year checkup this week, but they don’t have them in yet. Like someone else cited, a majority of flu deaths happen in people who are unvaccinated. Even though it’s more effective some years than others, some protection is better than none. Plus it can reduce the severity of you do end up getting the flu.
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We all get the flu vaccine every year. I never did before being pregnant/having kids but now I make sure to sign us up ASAP when its available. This past year with the super scary flu I was following all the statistics and it was terrifying. There were two times that flu went through my son's daycare building. In each case a handful of kids and teachers caught it and it was always those who hadn't or couldn't get the vaccine. Especially with sending your son to daycare I would recommend getting it for him.
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We all get it, every year, and have never had any problems (except that the kids obviously hate shots and really so do I).
Last year we all got the flu. It sucked, but was really just like a bad, long-lasting cold and mild fevers in the kids. I believe it could have been worse if we hadn't been vaccinated.
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Absolutely!!! I’m pretty hippie about meds except for vaccines. I work in schools and my kids are in schools, so we all absolutely get flu shots EVERY year. My older DS got a very mild case of the flu last year... you wouldn’t have known he was sick except for his high temp. It’s worth it IMO.
I also think that it is the responsible thing to do so that people who have compromised immune systems don’t get it. Think of people with chronic issues, cancer patients, etc.
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Yes, definitely. I know some people have a rare reaction, but that reaction would be more severe if they actually caught the flu.
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Another vote for yes to the flu shot. My kids and I get t every year. DH usually doesn’t unless I practically force him to, which doesn’t bother me when it’s just him, but when the kids are really little I want him to. But our insurance was annoying this year like @avivoca: where you can only get it at your doctors office, and he doesn’t actually have a primary care doctor.
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We always get the flu shot, and I would strongly recommend it for children. Last winter our 8 month old tested positive for influenza. She had gotten her second flu shot (since little kids need two the first time) about two weeks prior to this. It was super scary, but she came through it with relatively mild symptoms. Our doctor told me that the children who were really struggling and were hospitalized last winter were almost always the ones who weren’t vaccinated. The ones (like our daughter) who were vaccinated tended to have a pretty mild version.
So, remembering that, I would highly, highly recommend it. The rest of us, including our then three year old, never caught it.
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I personally have become so fatigued with the non-science of the root of the vaccine debate. It just makes zero sense to me to ignore proven scientific research which shows a reduction in risk when given a vaccine, including the flu vaccine. Anecdotes aren’t evidence. Personal belief not grounded in some sort of concrete evidence doesn’t pass the sniff test when it leaves vulnerable kids (the immunocompromised) more susceptible to becoming ill. Herd immunity works for a reason.
Local kids died last year from the flu. Local, healthy kids.All I can hope is if someone still desicdes to not get a vaccine or vaccinate their kids, they have really truly done their due diligence. Not just read blogs. Or talk to friends. Or think big pharma is out to get you. Or talk to their one aunt who is a nurse and saw a kid get really
sick that one time after getting a vaccine. Or read something on Facebook. . Or some other vague reason why it worries you.I just can’t believe we still have this conversation in this country. Everyone is throwing out their Cheerios over an infinitesimal risk of the unknown, yet resistant to get a vaccine that has a proven risk reduction.
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@Littlebit7: I wish there was an applause emoji on here!
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@Littlebit7: All of this. Spot on.
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