Do you give your kids flu vaccines (injections or nasal spray)?

Barefoot TJ

Administrator
Staff member
Mar 5, 2010
21,467
7,015
113
My son's school sent home a permission form for him to receive the nasal flu vaccine. I refuse. Any arguments out there as to why I should do this?
 
Very few kids will die from

Very few kids will die from the flu if they get it. Rarely does the flu vaccine contain the correct strain anyways, it's just a guess that with the few strains they can put in it they will get it right for the season.

If it is the right one, and the other kids at school that got it were protected, your kids will be fine! There will be nobody around that has it to give it to them.

Relax knowing you are being a good mom and not falling for the mass hysteria of this type of thing.
 
Longboard is correct. They

Longboard is correct. They are just guessing. No need to put your kid through pain and such over a flu that most likely won't happen. My 2 cents.
 
  Paintboy, the nasal vaccine

Paintboy, the nasal vaccine isn't painful. Personally, I look at the kids getting sick as a chance for me to get a day off.
 
IMHO, it is all about the

IMHO, it is all about the money. Just follow it. Big Pharma uses the media to create "a need", then government pays for it so it looks like they care. And let's not overlook the amount of money Big Pharma gives back to our "elected officials".
 
Thanks, all.  I really

Thanks, all. I really appreciate the responses. You've said exactly what I feel and think. I still haven't come up with why I should do this to my child.

Ram, you crack me up as always. Sounds like something my husband would say. He took back one of those child-proof gates (long ago when my oldest was a toddler), and when the lady asked him what was wrong with it, he told her he didn't like it because it was plastic, and he couldn't apply electricity to it. He said he got a lot of really ugly looks from the people waiting in line. That's just his sick sense of humor. He's funny that way.
 
TJ, that's hilarious. Your

TJ, that's hilarious. Your husband is my hero!
 
He has a big enough head as

He has a big enough head as it is, Ram, so I won't tell him. One of the things I fell in love with him for was his crazy sense of humor, wit, and he was oh so charming. :sexy:
 
What worries me and the

What worries me and the reason I myself bothered to get the flu shot is the fact that everyone else is. If I am not exposed to the sicknesses I cant build up immunities to it. Before everyone got them we'd all be passing the virus's around more, and sure we got sick more, but at least we build up immunities. Getting one flu can keep you from getting a related one quite as badly. It sort of worries me that I haven't even gotten a minor case of the flu in years. I think its because everyone around me isn't infecting me. So I got one this year. I'm not sure how legit this worry is, but it made sense to me to get something that isn't going to cause any problems and might help. Who knows maybe the immunity we build in response to the ones they are giving us now will save us from the next H1N1 type that does affect younger people, pregnant people ect... My random musings for what its worth.
 
I don't know, I kind of thnk

I don't know, I kind of thnk we humans like fixing things that are not broke. Germs and sicknesses serve a purpose and are not inherently bad. Our society has become obsessed with being germ free, which has led to other problems and us not building up immunities.
 
I absolutely get a flu shot

I absolutely get a flu shot for my kid. Everyone in our family does, and no one has had the flu for as long as I can remember (many, many years).

Anything to keep my kid well and avoid a doctor's visit and having to spend more money is A-OK for me. The flu shot was free under my job's insurance, and my son didn't even cry when he got the shot. He barely wimpered a bit and then was fine. What a big boy!

My wife stays at home with our son. He's almost 2 and has really only been sick a couple of times since he was born, thank goodness. But when he was sick (had croup about a year ago) it was REALLY hard on my wife, who had even more of a difficult time with him than usual.
 
We all got it last year. No

We all got it last year. No flu. Did not get it this year... being lazy. They ran out at my work. I'm for it. He will probably have herd immunity either way. I hate getting the flu. I always seem to dehyrdate really bad.
 
Longboard wrote:If it is the

Longboard said:
If it is the right one, and the other kids at school that got it were protected, your kids will be fine! There will be nobody around that has it to give it to them.



Ah, herd immunity, my ethics professor(MPH from Yale) gets his feathers in a ruffle about people drawing off herd immunity, but he's always talking about inoculations like MMR.
 
I guess I'm curious now. For

I guess I'm curious now. For those against it, are you gainst it because of adverse side effects or because you don't think it will be effective?
 
i would get too conspiracy

i would get too conspiracy theorist to give a full answer. too weird even for barefooters. lets just say i don't do it because we have lived for so long on this earth without vaccines why would we suddenly need them now? they only have about 50 years to them where we have millions to us. never had one and i've never been sick. besides, getting sick can make your immunity stronger.



herd immunity. ha! more like herd mentality.
 
NickW wrote:  Autism is

NickW said:
Autism is actually a very high risk for innoculations to children (as far as side effects go).

There are plenty of parents of autistic kids including some BRS members that have observed a clear cut correlation between vaccination and their child's developement of signs of the condition.

However, Nick's statement is not backed up with any scientific evidence.

The only study that ever proved a connection has been withdrawn from it's journal publication after the author admitted to incorporating fraudulant data. This was the article that started the whole vaccine fear, but many people still believe it despite scientific evidence to the contrary.

The usual reason given by those ignoring the current status of the controversy is that big pharma has been involved in the cover up.

I don't rule that out, but Nick's statement should be viewed as one of opinion rather than fact.

Most chiropractors are anti-vaccine. Interestingly, the majority of entering freshmen at one D.C. school are pro-vaccine, while by the time they graduate most are against the practice. This is despite the fact that the school does not teach the students to believe there is danger in vaccinations.

A well published professor of chiropractic has stated that the single biggest advance in medical care in the history of the world has been the introduction of vaccines. This is despite the fact that chiropractors are not even licensed to provide this service!

This researcher is no slouch, his son is an elite marathoner while he himself slowed down on running and is cycling thousands of miles a year.

Reading his info here: http://w3.palmer.edu/lawrence/

is pretty impressive!

He does not believe in the autism connection, thinks vaccines have made us healthier, but I am not sure how he feels about flu vaccines for healthy children.

He seems like a credible source to me, maybe I'll ask him.......
 
NickW wrote: Autism is

NickW said:
Autism is actually a very high risk for innoculations to children (as far as side effects go).



*shivers* if you don't want to provide your kids with vaccines thats one thing, but please don't spread bad science about it. Thanks Longboard for explaining the issue with the research and how that whole massive mess of a rumor got started.



I think the ethics issue of relying on herd immunity would have something to do with, if everyone does relies on it then no one has it? That would makes sense I think.
 
Actually Longboard, I didn't

Actually Longboard, I didn't know that any article had been pulled and I'm not trying to spread bad science. Last I researched, over a year and a half ago, there was a big debate over it. If I'm incorrect I will gladly admit it, I'm not one to argue something even when I'm wrong unless I'm just trying to get my wife all riled up. I do believe that vaccinations have done much more good than bad as well. I'll edit my previous statement. Thanks Board for the info!
 
Mike, there used to be a ton

Mike, there used to be a ton more people that died from the flu too compared to now a days.... That being said though, there are some side effects that aren't great either from vaccinations. Autism was believed to be a very high risk for innoculations to children (as far as side effects go) back when my son was born (Board has informed me that this is not the case now and the study that proved it was fabricated). My wife and I had a good long talk with our pediatrician before we made any decisions on it.
 
Longboard wrote:A well

Longboard said:
A well published professor of chiropractic has stated that the single biggest advance in medical care in the history of the world has been the introduction of vaccines.

I agree completely about vaccines being important for our children. That's how we rid ourselves of the worry of polio, etc. My children have always been vaccinated with the usual childhood vaccines, but I always waited until the later part of the requirement phase in order to do it, rather than the first stages (for example, if the suggestion was to innoculate between age one and three, I chose to push the vaccine back until they turned three), and that has worked well for us. I will not vaccinate for the flu shot as I don't believe we are at risk of a flu epidemic, the flu vaccine can't possibly hold the current strain of flu until the following year, by then there's a new strain, and the last time I had one of my kids vaccinated, he got really, really ill. Strange, other than that one time, the one time I decided to do it, my kids have never had the flu and haven't since.



Longboard said:
This is despite the fact that chiropractors are not even licensed to provide this service!

Down here in Georgia, you can get a flu shot just about anywhere nowadays. The pharmacies have pharmacy techs who give the shots now, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, but a chiropractor can't?