To have no idea about this flu jab immunisation programme?

[GeeTeeEff]

My 2 youngest dc's came home from school on Friday with letters saying their school is part of a new programme to start immunising all primary school pupils against flu.

It has never crossed my mind to have them immunised, they are rarely ill, never had flu so I'm thinking of not signing the permission forms.

Is it something everyone is doing? (Vaccinating that is) My mil said she wouldn't have them immunised as she felt quite ill after it.

they are rarely ill, never had flu so I'm thinking of not signing the permission forms.

And what has them never having flu got to do with it? It's like saying "they have run across the road, without looking, and never been run over"

Whether to give this vaccine or not is your choice, but either way do / not do it for real reasons.

We have all had our flu jabs this morning. Dh and I had the injection and 2 of our dcs had the nasal spray (ds cannot as has egg allergy) and dds also had the pneumonia vaccination.

I am glad we have them done but does anybody know if the antibodies will be passed to ds as I still bf him. He is unable to have the jab or spray due to allergies but I'm hoping that because I had the jab he will get some protection from me??

I booked my two in this morning we are paying £15 per jab, baby will have two - half a dose each time, and oldest just one.

Are you talking to me puntasticusername? Is it 'anti-vax' to ask how effective a vaccine is?

Mine are vaccinated but the other childhood vaccines boast well over a 90% success rate. So its quite noticeable that this doesn't make any claim over its efficacy.

BeyondTheLimits in my search to find out how effective the vaccine is I did come across this.

'For at least 21 days after receiving FluMist, avoid close contact with anyone who has a weak immune system caused by disease (such as cancer, HIV, or AIDS), or by certain medicines such as steroids, cancer chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. A person with a weak immune system can become ill if they have close contact with you after you have recently received a an influenza vaccine.'

From
www.drugs.com/flumist.html

'Flumist' is the American version of the vaccine.

I think it's great. He's less likely to get flu and also won't be bringing it home to infect the baby.

I'm very pro-vax.

Beyond, fluenz isn't licensed for children under 2. Just do you know.

Just out of curiosity - if you label yourself 'pro-vax' does that mean that you happily take any vaccine without thinking about it? Only asking because it seems that if anyone questions the vaccine in any way they are being labelled 'anti-vax'. I'm wondering where the happy medium is.

I took my son for all his vaccinations up to and including the MMR but am considering not taking him for the boosters. I am pro-vax in that I understand the need for some vaccinations but I wouldn't let my DS have every vax offered just like that. This doesn't make me anti-vax though.

I trust the board of experts recommending the NHS vaccination program. They don't just recommend anything and everything under the sun.

Similarly, if I go overseas on holiday, I check the NHS fit for travel website (or whatever it's called) to see what I need.

I am not a medical expert so I would put my faith in people who are.

For example, the chicken pox vaccine is not included despite it being quite popular overseas.

Personally, I like to know what those decisions are based on rather than just blindly accepting things.

JackNoneReacher no, that wasn't directed at the people questioning the flu vaccine, more at whoever it was further up the thread who proudly announced that she and her children had had no vaccinations whatsoever. I too prefer to make these sorts of decisions based on verifiable, scientific evidence, so would not apply the pejorative "anti-vaxxer" label to someone who was just seeking to discover such evidence.

On reflection I regret sticking my beak into the thread at all given that I contributed absolutely nothing helpful to the discussion! Sorry. It must have been too late at night or something

I don't know if anyone is aware of the fact that the vaccine protects against the strain used to prepare it only for the current flu season. A new vaccine is prepared every year based on the WHO recommendations and the jab is given every year. I'm in the US and everyone is offered the jab. I've been here over 6 years now and last year was the first time I decided to get the kids and myself immunized - I was fed up of them catching the flu every year since we'd been here. We will be getting our shots next week. The kids had the nasal spray and they had a stuffy nose and cough for a few days; I had the shot and no side effects. I've told the kids that we'll skip the spray and just do shots this year.

I can't find anywhere even vaguely local that will do the flu vaccination for children. DH & I can pay for jabs at Boots pharmacy, GP surgery only do those in the "at risk" category. V annoying that for £12 pp we can get the adult vaccination but I can't pay for the children to have it let alone get it on the NHS. Seems it would cost 2 x £50 and 3 hour round trip to the nearest clinic to do the kids :-/
I really want them to have it. One of them missed 6 weeks of their reception year with flu.

Press

There must be travel clinics near you that give shots to people travelling over seas, there are loads in my area.

I am paying £15 per shot, two for baby, one for older child.

Google travel clinics and ring round.

The supermarkets - asda - sainsburies are doing the shots for adults at about 9-10 pounds/