Vaccines - McHenry,IL

I know this is a touchy subject but the CDC is saying YES it is safe. We have doctors in the family and they are also saying it is like any other flu shot and many tests have been done on the new h1n1 vaccine.

My son is not getting it, he is ten. But, if he had underlying health conditions I might feel differently. I wanted to post saying that last spring I tested positive for the swine flu. It was not pleasant but what flu is. It really wasn't much worse than any other flu I have had, except the headache was awful. I will also tell you that no one else in my family contracted it from me. My husband was wonderful about cleaning everything I touched and basically followed me around picking up and washing any pillows or blankets I used. It is contagious but not as awful as the media makes it out to be. I felt much better well before my quarantine was over. Good luck making the decision you feel comfortable with.

My kids are not getting it. They are quite healthy since the eat right - for the most part, take probiotics and vit D3. Neither one has been sick at all since March. The baby who's 17 months has only ever been sick twice so far. Truthfully, my older one does have autism - I don't know if it's from vaccines or not, but I'm not going to risk it again. Even if he didn't, I still wouldn't do flu shots.

It is safer to give Vitamin D as well as A, C, E and Omega fatty acids so that if they do get H1N1 or flu or cold, it will be very mild. I would not inject 25ug of a mercury, an known neurotoxin, into a 3 yr old. Yours may be the one that can't detox the heavy metal fast enough. In 2007, my then >3 yo child lost all his language, eye contact, and started having odd (now identified as classic autistic) behaviors over the courst of 8 weeks beginning the day after a flu shot containing 25ug of mercury. His twin sister handled it just fine.

Yes and they are a high risk group with higher risk of death if they get it and are not vaccinated. Same goes for pregnant women. This vaccine isn't any different from the regular flu vaccine. I work at Rush and all employees are required to get it when it is available and are strongly encouraged to get their children vaccinated.

This is a touchy subject....I will not be getting it nor will my daughter. They haven't done enough research on it for me. No one in my family gets the yearly flu shot either and we end up healthier than most of my extended family, who all get it. My dr. is also not a big proponent of vaccines. He feels that it is better to let the body make its own antibodies. He stresses hand washing, diet and exercise and making sure the kids get enough sleep.
Good luck with your decision.

I think you can find an article to support either side of the debate.
Unfortunately, I think you have to trust your gut instinct.
I could tell you my opinion, but it shouldn't sway you either way.
I can say that where there is a debate, there is usually cause for it. If it was a cut and dry subject and you were questioning it, then the answer would be clearer.
good luck, obviously none of us want our families to be sick in ANY way!

http://www.chicagoparent.com/article.asp?aID=35155792.###...

This is a great article that should help guide you. Here is an excerpt that addresses some of the common myths:

**It’s seems like they’re rushing a vaccine through so quickly. Will it be safe?

That’s a very appropriate concern for parents. As of press time, the vaccine has not been released, but it is in clinical trials meaning that thousands of doses have been given to volunteers (including children) and so far there have not been any serious side effects. Because of the nature of the seasonal flu, every year a new flu vaccine is developed, so there is extensive experience in testing flu vaccines. Many precautions are taken to assure public safety and any vaccine that is released will have passed muster. The CDC recommends that all children over 6 months old be vaccinated because children and young adults under 24 years old are at the highest risk for catching the flu. However, serious complications are more common among adults and those with chronic illnesses. Parents should strongly consider vaccinating their children, but if you are uncomfortable, you should schedule a time to discuss your concerns with your pediatrician.

Here are myths and facts (very balanced viewpoints) about H1N1:
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cold-and-flu/articlep...

And something from the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

And finally, a fantastic article that really knocks down some of the myths about vaccination in general:
http://www.immunize.org/concerns/offit_moser2009.pdf

I would have to say it depends on whether or not your child goes to preschool or daycare. If so, I would say definitely yes as they bring home so many viruses, etc. Talk to your doctor and get his opinion if your child isn't in any programs and not around a lot of other kids.

i want to see all the politicians & health care providers that are pushing this on us get the vaccine first

We will not be getting it. I have known several families now that have tested positive for swine flu and they have had only mild symptoms (including the very little kids.)

I have 2 daughters and my oldest was vaccinated. I know, you are thinking this will be a story about how she is Autistic, but it is not. She was vaxed with a newer vaccine when she was a baby, called Prevnar. It contained a strain of strep to bind the ingredients together. That particular strain of strep, along with genetic predisposition (which we had no way of knowing) caused her to have a disease called PANDAS. We did not see any signs of symptoms of this until she was 7 years old. I did not know that there was anything like this to even watch out for- she had no reactions when getting vaccinated and I knew she wasn't Autistic, so I thought we were out of the woods.

For 7 years I loved my smart, beautiful, gifted, funny daughter... and overnight she changed into someone I don't even know. She has swelling in her brain stem that causes rage attacks, disorientation, etc etc etc. The list goes on and on... she acts like a disturbed 2 yr old at the best of times and she is 9 years old.

All of this to say, that was a vaccine- and a newer one- and I was never a person who was anti-vaccine before, but now I am really scared.

M.

death or shot that can prevent death? I'd take the shot and so will my kids.

no is the simple answer...have you read the ingredients? read the package insert at FDA.gov and decide for yourself . read whats in it, how it was tested and the results...it hasnt been tested for very long so the population is going to be the guinea pigs...and for a usually mild virus it is not worth the risk of damage from vaccination. But you have to do your own research and know that YOU made the right decision that you can live with.

Hello F.,

My advice is educate yourself on all vaccinations before giving them to your child. As for H1N1, there are many Doctors that say it is not safe to give to anyone and they would not give it to their children and others who would. Find out what is in the vaccinations and if that is really something you want in your child. Check out http://www.homefirst.com/
There is a lot of info on vaccinations and Dr. Eisenstein offers webinars on this along with emails with the latest info on H1N1 vaccine. Great site to start with.
Hope this helps.

Of course it's up to you and your pediatrician, but the vaccine is really only a variant of the seasonal flu vaccine...in fact, if the H1N1 outbreak had occurred 2 months earlier, it would not have even been a separate shot, but included in the regular flu vaccine. Frankly, FWIW, I think people who are anti-vaccine are putting the rest of us and our kids at risk as it promotes spreading of the illnesses that the vaccines are meant to handle. Of course there's a risk with any vaccine, or medical procedure, or crossing the street; but sickness from vaccination has been proven to be VERY small. The H1N1 is especially dangerous for children and people under 25; something to keep in mind. Not meaning to be disrespectful, just that reading some of the other responses made me feel like I had to speak up because they were mostly anti-vaccine, and there are some links there that spread a lot of unsubstantiated rumors and scare tactics.

Hi F.,
My advice would be not to vaccinate. We vaccinated our 7 year old son, we now have a 6 month old, that we have decided not to vaccinate until he is 2 yrs. old. Had we known what vaccines may cause we would have never vaccinated our older son. As far as the H1N1 vaccine, I would definately say no. They have not done enough testing, and many doctors are even against giving it to their children, but they are obligated to tell patients otherwise. We found this schedule and this is what we are going by for the baby. Please read it, it is quite interesting and informing, http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller15.html

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Nice to see all the replies--I too have been struggling with this. We plan to have the regular flu but not sure on the swine flu. And only the flu shot as it contains dead virus and the nasal spray contains live virus. Stuffing a live virus up my kids' noses totally freaks me out. Wish I could offer some thoughts--but I'm just as torn as you....

Absolutely not! Read Dr. Mercola's website articles on swine flu, the hype and what is in the vaccines and decide for yourself. But why would you want to inject mercury and a number of other toxic products into a child or yourself?

L.

After doing an infant nutrition seminar here locally, a neonatal nurse, whose boss, a neurologist has advised his staff not to get the H1N1 vaccine...if that is not alarming, I do not know what is! Plenty of conventional doctors have gone on the record and said do not get the H1N1 flu vaccine...actually one infectious disease control MD said, the vaccines in the trials are not the same one our kids are getting, he was on Fox News and it is posted on youtube too. We will not be getting either, we take probiotics, vitamin d3 drops, limit sugar and very conscious about washing our hands, especially before we eat.

I've written an article on ways to protect your family from H1N1 on my family health column: http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...

Good Luck,
J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health

It's a very controversial topic. You will have to do your research/ homework and make your own decision for your child. Mine will not be getting it. Here are a few videos that might be of interest to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw&feature=pl...

Keep in mind that vaccines do not offer 100% immunity. That only comes with natural exposure to the virus. It's not an easy decision, but keep in mind that MANY people have died from the "regular" flu too. Most of the people who have died from H1N1 have NOT lived in the US.

Good luck,
T.
www.ReadandGrow.com

Hi F.,
I'm pregnant and my dr told me not to get the shot just yet. He's not comfortable with it. He said he had to inform me about it but won't be "uspet" if I don't get it. He feels they should have tested it for longer then just a couple months. So if my dr is telling me not to get it or is even hesitant about it, I'm certainly not giving it to my son just yet.

According to the CDC, yes for children 6 months +. But just because you have the vaccine doesn't mean you can not contract the flu (swine or any other strand). The swine flu is not deadly, its a flu like any other flu. (The people you see on the news that have died from it have pre-existing health conditions)

Check out Mercola.com

Ahhhhhhhh, a very touchy subject!! I have gone back and forth on this one myself and look forward to everyones responses.

Based on the research I have done myself on it I have decided not to give it to our daughter! There is no risk to the mfg of the vaccine if any injuries or anything happens to the patients taking it. It has only been tested on adults last I read. It also contains thimerosol- makes me a bit iffy.

Today I also spoke to my daughters specialist and asked her opinion on both the regular flu shot and the H1N1. Herself and her children all get the regular flu shot... they get the one which does not contain thimerosol (if you are iffy ask if it contains it- Walgreens Clinics do not contain it from waht I was told tonight) She told me that her children and herself are NOT getting the H1N1 vaccine since she does not want to be one of the first and find out later the effects. Was my final deciding factor on that one!

I actually was not even going to have her get the regular flu shot this year but because she went into anaphylactic shock 2 times in the last week she is now on steroids for the next 2 months. This can cause her to become sick and lower her immune system so I am going to play it safe and have her get it even though I am not comfortable doing so! I would not have done it though had I not found out about Walgreens doing the thimerosol free ones! Risk vs Benefit!

Good luck in whatever you decide! I hope you have a healthy and blessed flu season :)

No, no vaccine is safe. It contains mercury and other chemicals. I am not going to vaccine, but of course it is a personal decision. Good Luck !

Vitamin D and Vitamin C... wash your hands... get plenty of rest and eat well.

Asked our pediatrition and he said he wasn't planning on giving it to his own kids so that was answer enough for me.

Contracting H1N1 isn't a death sentence.

Consider that if you or someone in your family end up contracting the virus, that it is treatable. Just be vigilant about personal hygene and all the basics and if you or someone in your family end up sick with flu-like symptoms, go straight to the doctor. Even if it's regular flu, they can sometimes give you something to shorten the duration and lessen the symptoms.

Have a healthy winter!

I'm actually hosting a free Webinar on the subject: Tips on what we can do to prevent H1N1 *naturally* if you're interested.

www.greencravers.com/webinar

The vaccination debate is, in my opinion, fairly irrelevant. We're talking about a vaccine that was pushed through the system (typical precautions avoided) and the manufacturers are off the hook for any problems that may arise. Hmmm. Nuf said.

Let's discuss how to prevent flu naturally. Right? One example: Sunlight exposure is part of a better approach to preventing Swine Flu versus vaccines. Sun exposure is the simplest way you can get enough vitamin D into your body to allow your immune system to fight disease. What about milk?

BZZ.

To obtain the amount of Vitamin D that is necessary from milk a child would need to consume 10 glasses per DAY. Milk consumption’s association with Vitamin D is a popular myth even among doctors.

Most (yes, mine too!) are failing to tell us the simple truths about Vitamin D, milk consumption and reducing risk of flu viruses, common colds, etc. It’s not intentional, it’s educational. Most docs aren’t educated in nutrition and natural approaches to prevention. Let's consider “more education and less medication” as a “to-do” item. I discuss more here if anyone is interested http://bit.ly/Mc5Z1

It depends on who ask, but children and senior citizens are at risk. also people with illness

I haven't don't much research on h1n1 vaccine but I don't get the regular flu vaccine for my kids and to me h1n1 doesn't seem like it's anymore dangerous then the regular flu, in fact from what I've heard it seems to be less severe. I think because of how contagious it is and how fast it's spreading is why everyone's in such an uproar. Vaccines sort of scare me anyway, I don't like to give my children any extras (just what's required). So no, I will not be doing the h1n1 for my family. I agree with the lady who said we're the guinea pigs, it's true! Not enough time and research have gone into it, no ones fault, there just hasn't been the time to really see what the side effects will be.

F. C-
After all the research & reading I have done on vaccines I sincerely wish I had never given my son any vaccinations. I believe they are the major contributing factor to his developing eczema, allergies & asthma. I know it in my gut.
My advice- be informed. Read all you can on both sides of the argument. Just got this article from mercola.com-http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/1...
As far as mercury free vaccines being safe- mercury is not the only toxic ingredient vaccines contain..
Blessings-C. B

There are individual dose flu shots available that are mercury free. It is the multi-dose vials that use mercury as a preservative. I don't think I would get the vax if I were not able to get the mercury free version but will consider it if our ped has the individual single dose vials. However, I know they have not gotten their shipment yet and my youngest is on an antibiotic so it will probably be another couple weeks before we even have the chance to get shots if we decide to do so.

I am not going to tell you one way or the other. Please do some research and talk with your doctor. Some posts on here are absolutely false...so do some research and do what is best for little one!

There are thousands of flus!! You don't and they don't know whats in the H1N1 so why risk giving it to your child? Do NOT do it!!

There are some sites like Mercola giving false information. I wouldn't trust the rest if they publish false facts. They've published that the shots contain thimerosol. While there will be some shots that will use thimersol for a preservative, they'll have just as many shots or more that are thimerosol (mercury)free and MOST all doctors offices are choosing to order these. Just ask your doc. And confirm this directly on the CDC website- not with rumors. Also, the false rumor was spread on Mercola that the vaccine would contain and adjuvant, specifically squalene. Check the CDC site. This vaccine does not contain an adjuvant. (Incidentally, adjuvants actually allow you to receive MUCH LESS of the vaccine. So if you had any concerns, you would want an adjuvant, not the opposite. I don't know if the poster on Mercola understood that.) But, as mentioned, check out the CDC site to see it directly for yourself. It's the same process as the seasonal flu. And we've already lost 76 kids at the begining tip of the flu season (with seaonal flu, you usually lose about 80-100 whole season) so you can see the pattern. We've lost healthy kids and our healthy kids who get it can pass it on and cause death to our friend's and family's kids who might have asthma, chronic bronchitis or other repiratory problems, diabetes, etc.

F.,
I know people have opinions all over the board on this one, but I say no. We are careful about vaccines (spread them out more than recommended) but our children do get vaccinaed. They have never received a flu vaccine. I just found out from a news clip for fox news that this vaccine contains a good amount of thimerisol (mercury) which was required to be removed from other vaccines in 2002. Why they would allow it in flu vaccines I don't understand?!?! Thimerisol is a neurotoxin and is more dangerous than lead. There is also no studies done yet on the side effects. The doctor in this news clip shared the other side in my opinion. He gave facts and said he and his children would not be getting the vaccine. If you do get the vaccine I would recommend asking the doctor if they are available thimerisol free.
Here is the link:
Articles ::
Do NOT Let Your Child Get Flu Vaccine -- 9 Reasons Why - This year it is
more important that you protect your children and loved ones from the flu
vaccines than influenza itself.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/220991.aspx
J.

Hi F. It has been so many pros and cons on this it just hard to say. In fact on Good Morning America today they were visiting CDC about this vaccine. It was interesting. Look it up on the internet.

Doctor Admits Vaccine Is More Deadly Than Swine Flu Itself & Will Not Give It To His Kids

The Swine Flu is an orchestrated attempt to spread fear and chaos into the population and to try to get people vaccinated, which everyone should know contains 25,000 times more mercury than considered toxic in foods and water, and it can damage your nervous system. Mercury, of course, is one of the most toxic substances you can put in a human body...check out the site below to see the news cast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw

Check out HomeFirst.com also. Dr. Eisenstein is doing alot of webinars and putting out alot of information on this vaccine.

Please consider the massive scare that the media has so perfectly put out there. We are talking about a flu, the people who die from this or any other flu generally have other underlying issues. They say that the Swine flu is less severe than other flu strains.

This vaccine is not properly tested and they are pushing it out waaayy too fast. If other main stream doctors are concerned, who generally are not opposed to vaccines...that is SCARY!

What is worse having a flu or potentially having effects from a vaccine for the rest of your child's life or worse?

Take care of your immune system and get some Vit. D.

No, I wouldn't go anywhere near it. It is untested and unproven to work. I also have a 3 yr old, but I wouldn't put her in that danger. The swine flu has not proven to be any more deadly than the regular flu and you are giving your child part of that virus through the vaccine. There are better ways. Subscribe to Homefirst's Vaccine emails and you will learn a lot. The thimerosal (mercury) in the shots is at a level higher than the FDA say that kids and pregnant women should eat in fish because it causes brain damage. I can't take that chance. Good for you for thinking first.