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Original poster

Why are all children being immunised against flu?

383 replies

MiniChedda · 13/10/2016 21:29

I am curious about this, my y1 DC is due to get it at school next week.

DD had flu but it was no worse than a sickness bug.

Wouldn't it be better to give the meningitis vaccine instead as it's so much more serious?

OP posts:
Tiredstressed · 14/10/2016 05:40

As usual I find myself depressed and horrified at the selfish and deluded attitude of anti vaxers. Shame on you all.

HeyOverHere · 14/10/2016 05:48

Because it could kill some people. The more people that are immunized, the fewer carriers, and the less chance of spread--meaning the safer it is for those who cannot be immunized, or who have weak immune systems.

TeacherBob · 14/10/2016 05:56

And 'herd immunity' is a terrifying concept. We are not cattle.

I don't know whether to LOL or FACEPALM tbh

mathanxiety · 14/10/2016 06:03

MadamGinger, I was wondering about that.

I would still get the jab in preference to the nasal spray. I am inclined to agree with Jiggly.

I am getting mine next week. For some reason I have had more need of my inhaler this autumn so far, and the prospect of flu really worries me. I had it two Christmases ago and that is two weeks of my life that I will never get back.

Squtternutbosch · 14/10/2016 06:13

Urgh, I knew I shouldn't have rtft. Way to start my day pissed off at the selfish ignorance of anti-Vax twats.

Those of you who don't know any children who'be had flu...lucky you. You probably live in an area with good herd immunity created by non-selfish not-twats who choose to vaccinate

Those of you whose children have "never been sick" unlike their classmates...ever occur to you that their classmates have suffered the relatively mild after effects of the vaccine whilst, as a group, protecting your precious unvaccinated snowflakes?

I'm 38 weeks pregnant and having my jab on Monday so my pfb has some immunity when he is born and through the winter. I have reacted badly to it in the past, as I do to all jabs, but having it anyway, as I have had all vaccines and as my child will have all vaccines. But then...I'm not a selfish twat.

Mcchickenbb41 · 14/10/2016 06:18

My dd 2.8 was due to get the flu vaccine this week but because of a cold she couldn't have it. Now we are in cold season as I call it I wanted her to have the vaccine in the summer when she was quite healthy but the vaccine hadn't arrived yet. Dd has asthma and a mild cold has put her in hospital twice Sad I am terrified that she could get the flu. I dread to think what that could do to her little chest. I have had flu once in my life and gastric flu once also. Both horrendous. Trouble is the word flu is banded around and trivialised. I probably wouldn't have considered the vaccine for my other two children but they didn't have asthma so not a risk I'm willing to take

exLtEveDallas · 14/10/2016 06:23

The best reason I ever heard for a child not having the flu vaccine was "My child is extra healthy, he drinks Aloe Vera every day so he doesn't need this"

Laughed till I cried.

Mcchickenbb41 · 14/10/2016 06:26

Sorry I just read my op and wanted to add when my oldest two dc were younger a flu jab wasn't offered so if u wanted it you had to have a reason. But now if it was offered I would take it

CPtart · 14/10/2016 06:33

What angers me as a practice nurse are the very many numbers of vulnerable people eligible for a flu vaccine but refuse to have it, mostly the elderly. I see it day after day, there are hundreds in our practice alone despite our best efforts. Vaccinating healthy children en-masse for the greater good year after year still doesn't sit completely comfortably with me.
Even a poster up thread said they are their husband are asthmatic but don't usually get vaccinated. There are millions like this. Maybe more education is the key too.

BenguinsMummy · 14/10/2016 06:47

Community immunity is important for children like my son, he was hospitalised with the common cold last week and put at deaths door by chicken pox months before, we can't vaccinate him until he has reached a certain point in his treatment (not on chemo) and we rely on our friends and family to help keep him safe.... I'd rather have the jab in the off chance it might prevent him from (inevitably) catching flu, than not have it and almost guarantee him catching it...

Why are all children being immunised against flu?
Mcchickenbb41 · 14/10/2016 06:52

BMUMMY. I dread winter months now. Every other week we are at the doctors/ ooh / a and e. Wishing your son well xx

manhowdy · 14/10/2016 06:56

My 6 year old had the spray on Weds at the GPs surgery. I just rang and booked her in. It was free. Her school has never offered it as far as I am aware.

I caught flu once when travelling in China. I went from perfectly fine to thinking I was going to die in 4 hours. Coughing up blood - the works. I wasn't well enough to fly home for weeks.

I don't want my daughter to ever be that poorly, or anyone else for that matter.

ZanyMobster · 14/10/2016 06:59

After having flu once I would never miss my flu jab.

There is not 1 post on here that has actually given a good reason not to have it or to not give the DCs it. Many many reasons why you should.

There are some seriously selfish people around. My colleague is one, we work in a hospital with very vulnerable people and she refuses as when she had it once she had a sniffle. So it's OK for other people to become life threateningly ill so she doesn't get a sniffle!

Sallystyle · 14/10/2016 07:11

I am going to book the flu jab for all of mine today.

I am pro vax but admit I never really realised quite how important getting the flu jab is. I guess it is because it isn't offered to everyone for free like the childhood jabs are I ignorantly thought it was ok not to get the children done.

Thank you to those who shared their stories Thanks

honkinghaddock · 14/10/2016 07:24

CPtart - I have a child who is in one of the at risk groups. We had to battle past a receptionist who said they didn't offer it to school aged children. We had his school saying school health wouldn't provide it to any child older than yr 3. Eventually when we went back to the doctors armed with a print out of the 'rules' they agreed to do it. If health services want people to be vaccinated they need to actually know who is eligible and not bat people backwards and forwards saying they don't have the funding for it.

YelloDraw · 14/10/2016 07:30

I have had flu three times in my life. I have had bad colds with temperatures and other flu like symptoms many times. THEY ARE NOT COMPARABLE ARGHHH

You know you've got flu, because you start to think you're going to die. or maybe you just want to die to end the constant round of fever, sickness, pain.

YelloDraw · 14/10/2016 07:31

Also 'stupid award' goes to the woman I overheard at work yesterday "ugh so many people coughing on the tube, I'm like, why don't you just get the flu jab, idiots"

Sirzy · 14/10/2016 07:31

Ds can't have the nasal spray. He is booked for his flu jab BUT that of course relies on him being healthy enough to get it. Throughout winter he spends a lot of time on steroids and when he has had that he can't be vaccinated straight after.

By his peers being vaccinated it means if his is delayed it will hopefully reduce the chance of him getting flu.

graphista · 14/10/2016 07:32

'As usual I find myself depressed and horrified at the selfish and deluded attitude of anti vaxers. Shame on you all.' could not agree more!!

I have had flu twice in my life and it floored me both times! The 2nd time I ended up with pleural pneumonia, almost died twice, in hospital for 6 weeks, resulted in loss of lung function and capacity and I don't think it was a coincidence I developed asthma approx 18 months later. I was a fit, healthy, non smoking, rural living (so not exposed to city levels of pollution) 20 year old. Several family members have had cancer, lung and immunosuppressant conditions and at various times been unable to get vaccinated themselves, but that's just tough on them eh anti-vaxxers - long as you and yours ok stuff everyone else!!!!

Verbena37 · 14/10/2016 07:35

littleprincesssara I'm thinking cancer and the flu aren't really the same. Yes, I realise that some fifteen to twenty percent of cancers are caused by viruses but in general, I don't think the flu virus works in the same way.

And when I said I had refused to let my DD have it, she only has mild, infrequent asthma and she is 14 so I used my judgement (and of course asked her first because she is old enough to choose for herself) and made the decision. That's not to say that if she had severe asthma and was five, I would have refused it. I would probably have let her have it.

As parents we need to judge everything case by case and that is what I did for the flu virus jab this year.

P1nkP0ppy · 14/10/2016 07:37

I don't qualify for free flu jabs despite having had flu followed by pneumonia twice. I do pay for the jab but it doesn't necessarily follow that you won't get flu!

graphista · 14/10/2016 07:38

You do realise that even 'mild infrequent asthma' + flu could still likely lead to very serious illness even death?

OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 14/10/2016 07:48

DD has her spray this morning. Didn't even hesitate to accept it. She's fit and healthy but flu can hit anyone. We'll pay privately for mine and DP's - my immune system is screwed but my condition doesn't fall under the NHS immunocompromised banner (happy to go private though, it's not expensive), and DP is for more selfish reasons - we get married in December and don't want him to have flu for it Wink Grin

ShatnersBassoon · 14/10/2016 07:54

I have a congenital heart defect. It doesn't affect me day to day, but flu and/or pneumonia could kill me.

I could possibly fight the flu virus, but I'm not interested in gambling with my health in some vague attempt to 'stick it to the man', or to prove that I'm more robust than your average defective Hmm.

Verbena37 · 14/10/2016 07:59

In the US for the flu season 2014-15, the flu vaccination was the #1 cause of vaccination damage.....including a significant number of cases of guillain barré syndrome.

For the person saying about mild asthma, it was the clinic asthma nurse who said she didn't believe anybody other than the vulnerable should have it. I'm thinking she would have been very pushy had she thought DD should have had it.

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