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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not give dc flu jab

224 replies

Somepoorbugger · 03/12/2019 19:41

I didn't let my 7 and 9 year old have the flu jab this year. My reason was that some relatives had it a few years ago and were extremely sick afterwards. Me dp and dc have never had the flu and I probably ignorantly underestimated how nasty it can be.

I've started with a nasty cold this week - don't think it's flu as I'm still functioning just feel crap. But it made me think how terrible I'd feel if the kids did get it. Wibu to not let them have it and can I request it through the GP?

OP posts:
Rubyupbeat · 03/12/2019 21:40

My gp said the flu jabs do not make you I'll...its a coincidence if someone gets sick afterwards. I had the jab, plus the pneumonia one this year.
Believe me, flu is horrendous. literally leaves you bed bound and totally out of it.
You feel week for ages afterwards too.

FizzyIce · 03/12/2019 21:54

As said by a previous poster , you need to call the school vaccination team, your kids school will give you those details .
Dd was missed off because of a form error (my fault) but the team were coming back to vaccinate those who were off or had errors like mine so definitely get in touch with the school .

FizzyIce · 03/12/2019 21:55

Should add dd had the spray and she was absolutely fine so think the last time was definitely coincidence

Eggies · 03/12/2019 21:58

You're not stupid OP you were doing what you believed was best for yours kids at the time - same as the militant pro-flu jabbers.

takeittogo · 03/12/2019 22:01

This was a vaccine I declined when pregnant and for DCs, although as above fully vaccinated for everything else.

A vaccine being offered means just that - offered - it’s always up to you to make the choice if you want it or not.

dontcallmeduck · 03/12/2019 22:15

GP’s round here won’t give it to school children due to the shortage. Best contacting the schools immunisations team. I had flu a few years ago and couldn’t leave my bed for nearly 2 weeks, I’ve had my jab every year since until this year when I haven’t got round it but still plan to

hazeyjane · 03/12/2019 22:32

My son has it at the Drs due to his complex needs - he also missed the day it was dome at school due to having an operation. Hopefully your GP's can organise it for you if they get any more stock in.

Adults (and children who are unable to have the spray) get the flu jab. This shouldn't cause any side effects apart from an achey arm as it isn't a live vaccine.
Children receive the flu spray. This can cause mild side effects as it is a live vaccine.
Flu, however is worse than these side effects, especially for childten like ds.

Hope you can get things sorted op.

fancytiles · 04/12/2019 05:52

please vaccinate your children!!!

Aridane · 04/12/2019 06:10

Flu jab cannot make someone ill. It's just a coincidence and they would have been brewing it before the jab

Actually it can give rise to "cold like symptoms" - that's what Boots said when they gave it to me - ie it won't give you flu but may give you cold like symptoms (in which case take paracetamol)

SteeperThanHell · 04/12/2019 06:18

@Onesnowballshort - there isn’t reluctance from pharmacies - I’d happily vaccinate children as would my colleagues.

The DH doesn’t commission pharmacies to provide the service for under 18s - it’s that simple.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/

Alte · 04/12/2019 06:24

I might get flamed for this, but YANBU. My DC are 14 and 12, 12 year old had a jab last year for the first and only time, 14 year old never had one. Neither of them have ever had flu. My youngest only had it because it was free through school, but secondaries don't do it so how important can it really be? And no, I'm not taking them to the doctor's unnecessarily, they're not vulnerable anyway. The only reason your kids should have the jab is if they're around vulnerable people a lot.

AliDran · 04/12/2019 06:31

Mine have the flu vaccination every year. It doesnt always work, as one twin ended up in hospital this year with the flu, and it took her months to get over it. Regardless, she's had the vaccination again this year, as if I can avoid her going through that again, I would in a heartbeat

Tumbleweed101 · 04/12/2019 06:31

The injection isn’t live but the nasal spray is a weakened live virus. Depends what you’re being given. My mum has the jab - and does feel poorly after - but flu would be very serious for her if she catches it. I don’t like the nasal one so much because many of the children are poorly after that I know.

Doodledoom · 04/12/2019 06:47

You can get the child nasal flu vaccine at a doctors it's available to children from the age of 2 years so doctors surgeries have to have it in stock to administer it to the children who are not in school.

My two and three year old have just had there's done at the doctors yesterday.

cptartapp · 04/12/2019 06:49

Practice nurse here. We wouldn't vaccinate school age DC missed in school unless they had a chronic health condition, that's not our remit.
Speak to the school, there should be a mop up campaign at some point organised by the immunisation team, but your GP is unlikely to 'sort it out'. Nothing to do with us. We've struggled to get the vaccine this year for the two and three year olds.

BoomyBooms · 04/12/2019 06:51

YABU. The flu virus given as part of the flu jab is dead virus, it is literally impossible for anyone to get flu from the flu jab.

What might have happened to your family is that they were already getting a bit ill anyway and it was a coincidence; or they were very unlucky and were one of the relative few who's body gives a really strong immune response to the flu jab and some of the side effects of that can make you feel a bit achey and under the weather for a few days (extremely rare tbh); or they coincidentally caught a different strain of flu, because the flu jab does not protect against every possible strain of flu.

Also somewhat ironically, a big part of the reason we immunise children is to stop them carrying the virus and spreading it to other vulnerable people who could get really very unwell from the flu, such as older adults, pregnant women, those with long term health conditions etc. So by not vaccinating your children you have raised the risk of your relatives (if they are older or any of the above) getting the flu again.

nononever · 04/12/2019 07:01

I'm glad you changed your mind OP. Flu can be deadly as others have said. My friend ended up in ITU on a ventilator because of flu, she was in hospital for weeks. If I wasn't entitled to it on the NHS I would pay to have it.

Onesnowballshort · 04/12/2019 07:05

@SteeperThanHell thank you, I just wanted to check there wasn't any reason to not ask regarding my ds - some posters seemed to think it was hard to find a place to do it to a teenager. I didn't worry much about the flu until both dh and I got it a few years ago (dc did not, and had both had the nasal spray). It was 6 weeks before I felt relatively normal again, I had to miss a holiday and work and could do nothing with my children - it was truly awful.

Beseen19 · 04/12/2019 07:05

Check with your school nurse. They should hopefully have a contact for immunisation team. If someone offers to do the injection because they cant stock the nasal spray I wouldn't turn it down. My DS2 just had the injection (nasal spray not offered in country where we live) and he has been totally fine, a little moany on day 1 due to a sore leg but totally fine after that.

Original poster
Somepoorbugger · 04/12/2019 07:12

I'm going to ring the GP as soon as it opens this morning. If they won't do it I'll ask for their advice about what to do next. I can also ask at school reception.
Won't make this mistake again next year.

OP posts:
MrsPear · 04/12/2019 07:19

Every year around March / April the flu vaccine is revealed to have been the wrong one. It is a gamble vaccine. It does not prevent all flu. Only the one they think will be prevelant. No I don’t gamble - have they had all the others of course. Btw within a week of handing out the vaccine school attendance dropped to 80% with colds and high temps what a great thing!

SteeperThanHell · 04/12/2019 07:20

@Onesnowballshort - Teenagers are different as they can wouldn't generally come under the NHS service, unless they have one of the included long term conditions, in which case they would have it at their GP for free.

If they have no long term conditions then there are private services out there in pharmacy, but not everyone will have the service for for the 11-18s - mainly due to costs of additional training, the restrictions of the PGDs and the lack of demand - bigger Boots stores, Asda and Well are the ones that I am aware provide, but always best to phone ahead and check. It would be the injection not the nasal vaccine.

SteeperThanHell · 04/12/2019 07:22

@MrsPear can you provide evidence that backs this up? Evidence that shows that the vaccine gives absolutely no protection - every year?

CAG12 · 04/12/2019 07:30

@MrsPear this is absolute rubbish. Its true that some years are more effective than others, there are 1000's of strains of flu. So the idea is that the vaccine targets the strains that are thought to be prominent that year. Over time, if you get your vaccine every year, you'll build up an immunity to a variation of strains. So to say 'every year the vaccine targets the wrong one' is a bit simplistic

BlaueLagune · 04/12/2019 07:30

I didn't even know 7/9 year olds could get the vaccine, I though it was only for very young children.

And while the flu jab may not make you ill, your reaction to it certainly can and does. Lets not be pedantic.

There is a very interesting course on Futurelearn about flu - well worth having a look at it (it's free) - also gives some interesting info about how effective the vaccine is.

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