To not vaccinate my children against flu this winter?

[Isseyesque]

We have been offered flu jabs for DDs age 2 and 4. Neither have any respiratory/asthma type issues, and generally very good health (have been very fortunate in that to date they have rarely gotten ill and never seriously, not been on antibiotics etc).

AIBU not to vaccinate them as they don't appear to be high risk? My understanding is that flu is most dangerous to people with weak immune and weak respiratory problems. If they do get it, they'll be unwell but ok, and develop some resistance/ resilience etc.

However, I'm now wavering as someone said they heard on the radio that it recommended small children DO get immunised as it will reduce the spread of flu and therefore be better for others who are more compromised. I hadn't considered that previously, not sure what to do now.

The bad cold could have just been a bad cold. Especially if it afflicted pupils in direct contact with each other at a nursery, and not other recipients.

My DC aren't eligible (only up to age 4 this year) so I hope the prediction upthread that it'll be a bad flu season isn't going to be true.

My DS had the jab last year. He couldn't have the nasal spray because of an allergy risk. He was in, out and done in 3 minutes, and no tears.

If it helps reduce the spread of flu, that's a good thing for my family, and a good thing for society. Pre-school age children are very efficient at spreading that kind of illness.

Ds2 is a very tough and hardy toddler, and has only been ill once. With bronchiolitis. He veered close to a hospital admission. Had he not been such a tough thing, I think he'd have been in for a few days. I'd rather give their immune systems all the support we can.

Only read the first few replies but up until a few years ago I never vaccinated myself or my children. Two years ago we got the flu and it was the most sick I have ever been in my life, worse then the swine flu I had the previous year. My children and I all have fever from 40-42deg for 5days straight. Kids spent most of that time crying and very unwell, I had to try take care of them when I could barely move. The saying 'feeling like had been hit by a truck' really nails it. My friends children were hospitalized. We recovered and 2weeks later got hit with yet another strain of flu and same high fevers etc.

I really would highly highly recommend getting vaccinated. You do not want yourself or your dc to get the flu.

We have been vaccinated the last two years, we got I'll with the flu a few months back but was nothing at all compared to the one pre-vaccination

DS is brittle asthmatic. He was meant to have his flu jab yesterday but it had to be cancelled because he was too ill to have it, I am hoping that we can get it done quickly before he is at risk from flu. Hopefully many of his classmates are given the nasal vaccine in the meantime as it will help just a bit in reducing the chances of him getting it before he is well enough (from the common cold which meant a trip to a and e) to get the vaccine.

I am fit and healthy and have had flu twice and it was horrendous. I wouldn't wish that on anyone so if as a parent I can reduce the chance of my child getting that (even if they are normaLly fit and healthy) I would

I do think we over vaccinate. In the right circumstances they are life savers but we do need to let our bodies fight their own battles at times.

The flu virus going round in any particular year is a totally different strain to the one previously or next year so it's a waste of time. The bug mutates to a different form .

Yes its a bloody awful illness having had it myself I wouldn't wish it on anyone, let alone a child but I see no point in wasting NHS money if it isn't actually going to do the job.

We are becoming a society that doesn't accept illness is part of life, let's focus on staying healthy not preventing every bug known to man from entering our systems.

I'd rather just try & keep us all healthy, be more vigilant with the hand washing, & avoid friends with stinking colds. I hasten to add we are not in any of the high risk groups same as the OP.

My kids are teens now so I accept that's easier than when they were small.

The vaccine is changed every year to the 3 strains which are going to be most prominent that year

DD's school sent out letters yesterday about the flu vaccination.

We're not high risk, but I'm going to go for it. I'm also considering paying to have it done myself this year, as I had the flu last winter and it knocked me completely on my arse. I could barely move for days

Just to say about the wasting money on jabs, these Do Not waste money, they prevent emergency hospital admissions, gp out of hours call outs, cancelled routine operation and attempt to limit the spread to the wider community and places like care homes.

They help to stop front line services collapsing in a bad flu year.

What ever your stance on vaccination, please don't consider money as one of the arguments. Public Health England have crunched the numbers, they don't recommend an intervention unless its evidence based and cost effective - but its absolutely an individual decision to make.

I've never been offered a flu vaccination or spray for any of my kids by either the school or the GP practice. DSS (14) has diabetes so we get him vaccinated on the advice of his consultant but it's never occurred to me to get the other kids done. Should I ask the surgery about this? Other kids are 10 and 15, both healthy with no underlying conditions. I never thought of them as vulnerable or high risk.

Miss Marple, flu kills. It's not a minor illness like a cold. It kills the young, the old and the vulnerable. This vaccination programme may save lives.

I wonder how many healthy, unvaccinated children end up in hospital, or worse, with flu.

I would think very few.

Echinacea, vitamin C and zinc are wonderful for boosting the immune system. At the first sign of illness my DCs would be dosed with them.

I had no idea they were routinely offering flu jabs to youngsters now! I thought it was still people over a certain age or with a health condition... My DC are aged 4 and under and have never been offered it . Likewise I've never been vaccinated and only had flu once when I was ten so quite a long time ago now. It's horrible, it wiped me out for two weeks and I couldn't move at all. But once in twenty odd years isn't bad going is it? I don't really know anyone who gets flu tbh. Colds, yes but full on flu no.

I remember the swine flu 'epidemic' of 2009 and the people that died did seem to have a weakened immune system anyway. I refused the jab, was pregnant at the time with DC1 but didn't think the risks of any potential side effects for DS were worth it. Didn't catch it and it magically disappeared after a few months anyway.

I'm dubious about the constant vaccinations. The chicken pox vaccination made me go . I'm not anti-vaccination at all, I just think we're at risk of destroying our immune systems ability to fend for itself.

my dc are being vaccinated. I did decline the swine flu vaccination for them a few years ago because I was worried that we were too quick to vaccinate etc but I've read more about it since then and feel much happier with the whole idea now.

But having had a couple of doses of flu myself over the years I'd agree that in it's worst form it is a serious illness, not minor inconvenience, so I'm keen to avoid it.

I just arranged an appt for my 3 year old to get the nasal spray next week. I have her at nursery school and 2 others at primary, I have no second thoughts at all about getting them done.

Flu is nasty. People who haven't had it think its just like a bad cold. I used to think that too until I had it. Ds is in the 'at risk' group and had been vaccinated so didn't catch it. Thankfully for me, things have changed and carers are now offered the vaccine routinely - I used to have to wait to see if the surgery had any left after the oaps and at risk groups had had theirs. In fact ds and I are having ours today

I'm getting one immunised. It helps protect all of the family for getting flu as we'll as those around us.

I don't get the angst. Why wouldn't you prevent a child from catching an illness if you could? Flu is grim and can be deadly.

Mine, not one.

pool, the only ways to destroy the immune system's ability to fend for itself is if you have blood cancer, other haematological disorder, you have had chemo or radiotherapy or you have AIDS.

'constant vaccines' do not impair the immune system's ability.

I have two friends whose young children died of chicken pox and two thers whose children developed encephalitis and were extremely ill.

Influenza is retched. My two are being vaccinated this week.

I would also accept a chicken pox vaccine if it were offered. I do know a child who almost died from cp (think intensive care, parents warned she was unlikely to survive, long wait to see if she was permanently brain damaged etc) and although that particular child recovered fully, others are not so lucky.

MissMarplesBloomers

"do think we over vaccinate. In the right circumstances they are life savers but we do need to let our bodies fight their own battles at times.

The flu virus going round in any particular year is a totally different strain to the one previously or next year so it's a waste of time. The bug mutates to a different form.

Yes its a bloody awful illness having had it myself I wouldn't wish it on anyone, let alone a child but I see no point in wasting NHS money if it isn't actually going to do the job.

We are becoming a society that doesn't accept illness is part of life, let's focus on staying healthy not preventing every bug known to man from entering our systems."

This is all a bit silly, really. What does "over-vaccinate" mean? What do you consider to be the effects of "too much" vaccination? Your comment about letting our bodies fight their own battles shows a lack of understanding of how immunisation works. Immunisations give your immune system the chance to have a dummy run against the illness, a practice fight, so that when the real one hits the immune system is strong enough to deal with it by itself.

It sounds like you're talking about antibiotics maybe in error?

The flu vaccine is reformulated every year against the prevalent strains so it does do the job.

Society does accept illness is a part of life but that hardly means suffering from severe illness or dying (or even just a milder illness that interferes with your tasks) when it can be easily prevented. Immunisations are amazing.

paxtecum

"Echinacea, vitamin C and zinc are wonderful for boosting the immune system."

No they're not. If it's really necessary for me to back that up, see NHS page here. Also it says that echinacea should not be given to children under 12.

I genuinely think that some people are getting mixed up between antibiotics, which are being dangerously overused, and immunisations.

I will vaccinate mine and have the vaccine myself. They had the nasal vaccine last year and were absolutely fine with it, I see no reason why they shouldn't be protected this year. I had the flu a few times in my life and it's been horrible.

There is a chicken pox vaccine but it's only available privately. Anyone can get it, you just have to pay. There are doubts about its long-term effectiveness though, that's why the NHS haven't introduced it as it's not cost effective.

I have never had flu and am healthy with no risk factors. I get immunised every year as my company offers it for free and I would get the kids done too if it was offered.

It does not weaken your immune system.. It is not pointless because flu mutates so much (an awful lot of work goes into predicting which strains will be most prevalent and the vaccine is adjusted accordingly). It protects you, your family and the community at large from a horrible disease.

We are extremely lucky to have the luxury in this country of holding the opinion that vaccination is pointless or overdone. I expect we might feel a little differently if people were still routinely dying of smallpox and polio which they're not because of mass vaccination.