Flu jabs...

[Aahh99]

I've never bothered with the flu jab myself, as I'm quite a well person generally.
I did have the flu jab once and I was ill all winter, so of course it put me off and I've never bothered since. (personal.choice,dont shoot me!)

I'm Currently 27 week's pregnant and seen the doctors have a clinic this morning.
Obviously with the state of the world at the moment, plus pregnancy I'm thinking of popping down.

Also have my 2 year old, and unsure about whether to get him done too.
He doesnt go to nursery and obviously we've aren't mixing like we used to...
Are you getting your toddlers done?

[questionss]

You are eligible for a flu jab as pregnant. He is eligible for one as he is 2 years old. I'm in a similar situation and of course I got vaccinated as soon as my GP recommended it. Why would you not?

[DragonPie]

The flu jab doesn’t make you ill as it’s not a live vaccine, it won’t stop you getting normal coughs and colds but you are more vulnerable to viruses being pregnant so get it done. Your toddler will get the nose spray which can be arranged via the GP.

[Laserbird16]

What are your concerns?

The flu vax is not a live vaccine so it doesn't make you ill. It doesn't stop your common cold. It actually doesn't guarantee immunity but does lessen the likelihood you'll get flu and its severity. Make no mistake flu is a killer just the effect can range from asymptomatic to death.

I get it and my kids because if I can lessen the impact of flu for a few seconds of discomfort it's worth it in my opinion. Plus we have relatives who are very vunerable and we want to keep them as safe as possible.

[FourPlasticRings]

I'm 40 weeks pregnant (yikes) and I had mine two weeks ago. My two year old is due for hers next week (but it's a nasal spray for the two year olds, not a jab, and two year olds are only eligible if they were two before 31st August.

[FourPlasticRings]

)

[Gettingonabitnow]

Hi. All my children are vaccinated for the MMRs etc. But, I haven’t given my toddler the flu jab nor have I ever had it. Personally I don’t think it works (my DH has it every year and still gets flu), I don’t think my toddlers little body needs any more vaccines in it, and despite what all the nurses will say when they give you it - it undoubtedly makes some people ill after having it.

X

[Disappointedkoala]

I had flu (proper flu, not just a bad cold) in my early 20s and it was awful - could barely move to get to the toilet in our then tiny flat. There's no way I'd want to suffer that while pregnant or for my LO to go through it.

[Bol87]

Statements of ‘I don’t think it works’ are why we’ll never get on top of coronavirus. I cannot believe 2020 has taught people nothing.

Do you realise how many deaths are prevented because of the flu jab?! Literally thousands & thousands. If it wasn’t for the flu jab, our death toll from flu would be akin to Covid every single year. Yes. You as a young person probably won’t die if you caught it. But you & your child can spread it to those who are elderly & vulnerable. As a pregnant person, you are considered vulnerable. Your immune system Is weakened. That’s why pregnant people were shielding from coronavirus. Flu if anything, is more deadly. You risk & your baby if you were to catch it. You probably won’t, most people do catch flu year on year but you might. I had it a few years back. I was 27. Ran half marathons. I was floored. In hospital for a week. Nothing would bring my fever down from 40+ (highly dangerous to a baby), I couldn’t breathe, my stats were awful (highly dangerous to a baby).. it took me months & months to recover. Which I can tell you, you do want to be doing with a newborn. It’s hard enough feeling totally well.

Have your jab, give your kid the nasal spray (it’s not a jab so it isn’t painful).

Flu killed more people than Covid between July-end September, way more. Thousands each week. And that’s in summer, not winter, if it gives you some perspective.

[Letsallscreamatthesistene]

I've never bothered with the flu jab myself, as I'm quite a well person generally.

This is a ridiculous statement.

[Bol87]

Also you don’t ‘still get flu’. Flu isn’t a bad cold. You don’t catch flu every year or several times a winter. Flu is really bad. You are very poorly. You are bed ridden, you struggle to breathe, you have raging fevers. Your whole body hurts like someone is crushing your bones. Flu is if someone put £100 at the end of the hallway for you, you are too ill to even consider going to get it.

[meow1989]

Your toddlee wont have jab it will be the nasal spray.

I have one every year and my toddler is booked for his.

Flu can be devastating in pregnancy so i would absolutely advise it.

[Gettingonabitnow]

Bol87 - prepare to spontaneously combust - I wouldn’t have a Covid vaccine either.

[snowballer]

Personally I don’t think it works (my DH has it every year and still gets flu)

Your DH gets flu every year?! While I suppose it's possible I think you/he might be confusing it with a cold

[Gettingonabitnow]

snowballer

No - he’s probably had it about twice, flu jab every year. He was extremely unwell with it both times.

[FourPlasticRings]

@Gettingonabitnow

Hi. All my children are vaccinated for the MMRs etc. But, I haven’t given my toddler the flu jab nor have I ever had it. Personally I don’t think it works (my DH has it every year and still gets flu), I don’t think my toddlers little body needs any more vaccines in it, and despite what all the nurses will say when they give you it - it undoubtedly makes some people ill after having it.

X

Wow. There's a lot to unpack here! OK, so:

• Your DH has the flu every year? Bedridden, feeling like death, feels like he's been hit by a house? See pic attached- is it possible he's just getting colds and being a bit of a wimp about it?
• The vaccine given to toddlers is a nasal spray and a live vaccine. It is very safe. Read up on it here. www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/

Flu, conversely, is not very safe. Flu can kill and is particularly dangerous for the under fives.

• It does not make people ill. The flu vaccine takes two weeks to become effective. In that time, some people will catch flu. Also, the flu vaccine is given at the time of year when colds are running rampant, so the odds of catching a cold not long after a flu vaccine are fairly high. Unrelated, but lots of people don't know how vaccines work and presume it must be the vaccine that made them ill.

[Letsallscreamatthesistene]

Agree on the COVID vaccine. I get the flu vaccine - but something thats been rushed through testing to get to the market....no thanks

[Gettingonabitnow]

FourPlasticRings

Explain it to me then - if the flu vaccine works, surely those who have it are protected. Full stop. So it doesn’t matter if someone like me doesn’t have it?

[FourPlasticRings]

@Gettingonabitnow

FourPlasticRings

Explain it to me then - if the flu vaccine works, surely those who have it are protected. Full stop. So it doesn’t matter if someone like me doesn’t have it?

Basically, there are lots of different types- or strains- of flu. The ones that circulate in any given winter change year after year. So every year, scientists track it as it moves across the globe (different countries have winter at different times) and try to predict which strains will be the most prevalent that year. They then make a vaccine that targets those strains. Some years they get it right and the vaccine is very effective, sometimes they don't and the vaccine is less effective. It'll never offer 100% protection. Another issue is that some people who are very vulnerable can't actually have the vaccine for medical reasons (so, for example those under six months old). So DH, DD and I will all be getting it in order to try and protect DC2 from the flu- if we bring it into the house, he or she is more likely to get it themselves (DD gets it to protect herself too). The protection isn't 100% as I've explained, but it's better than nothing.

[Gettingonabitnow]

You have explained it well there.

But for all those hammering me ‘perhaps your DH had a cold’, as you say it’s not 100% effective - so I’m not a moron, he probably did have full blown flu despite having the vaccine.

[FourPlasticRings]

But for all those hammering me ‘perhaps your DH had a cold’, as you say it’s not 100% effective - so I’m not a moron, he probably did have full blown flu despite having the vaccine.

Not probably- it's actually quite unlikely that you're going to contract flu every year without fail, even if you were totally unvaccinated. Possible, yes, but very unlikely. You'd also have been likely to pick it up yourself if he did have it. And, even if he did get it after the jab, the vaccine will likely have lessened the severity of the disease regardless, because it primes the immune response and gives the body a better chance of identifying it and making antibodies to destroy it before the virus replicates enough to cause severe illness. In the 2018-19 winter, the vaccine was only about 29% effective (very ineffective, as flu vaccines go- usually they're somewhere between 40 and 70%). However, according to the CDC’s estimates for the 2018-19 season, vaccinating only half of all Americans prevented 4.4 million cases of the flu, 58,000 hospitalizations, and 3,500 deaths. Well worth it, to my mind.

www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200902/how-effective-is-the-flu-vaccine

[Gettingonabitnow]

I didn’t say he caught it every year - I said he has the flu jab every year.

[FourPlasticRings]

@Gettingonabitnow

I didn’t say he caught it every year - I said he has the flu jab every year.

Sorry, misinterpreted this bit:

my DH has it every year and still gets flu

But regardless, it's a good idea to get it.

[Gettingonabitnow]

If he got it every year it would have read:

“my DH has it every year and still gets flu every year’.

I still disagree that it is necessary for everyone to have the flu jab. But not everyone can agree can they.

[FourPlasticRings]

I still disagree that it is necessary for everyone to have the flu jab. But not everyone can agree can they.

I didn't say necessary. I never had one before I had kids (have never had flu either , touch wood) and when my youngest is old enough to have one themselves I will stop getting them until such a point as I become vulnerable through age or another reason. They're a good idea though, especially if pregnant like the OP.

[FourPlasticRings]

I'd also seriously consider getting it for your toddler. It's a painless nasal spray.

cafemom.com/parenting/215396-healthy-toddler-died-from-flu