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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Not to give my child Flu jab

422 replies

Binjob118 · 30/09/2023 19:55

My son is 6 and has been offered the nasal flu jab at school. He has had it the last 2 years and had no problems, but I now feel reluctant to give it to him. Does a healthy child really need this? I have to admit this change in my thinking has come about since the COVID vaccine rollout and the many vaccine injuries that seem to be being ignored by the MSM.

OP posts:
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9
MigGirl · 30/09/2023 20:04

Firstly the flu vaccine has been around a lot longer then the covid vaccine and is safer. Secondly they give it to young children as they are more at risk then adults. Thirdly unlike the covid vaccine the flu vaccine actually prevents the spread of flu and passing it onto the elderly and the rest of the population.

It is not the same as the covid vaccine and shouldn't been seen as. But if you have done your research and don't want your child to have it then that's upto you.

febbabies2023 · 30/09/2023 20:04

cherryscola · 30/09/2023 20:02

@gemloving yep, pay for it every year and both my kids have it too.

Blows my mind anyone would risk it when we have vaccines available but to each their own, I really have very low tolerance for anti vaxxers

Genuine question, did you pay for your kids to have the chicken pox vaccine?

gemloving · 30/09/2023 20:04

@cherryscola I'm not an anti vaxxer but I respect everyone's decision.

NotDonna · 30/09/2023 20:04

Maybe really look into the stats and make an informed decision. As you do have a choice, make sure you truly understand.
Mine are having theirs - I’m paying for my eldest to have hers as no longer free for her.

WhoWhereHow · 30/09/2023 20:05

The flu can be awful. The real flu isn't like a cold at all.

I was a healthy 18 year old and ended up in hospital for 3 weeks. Its had longer health implications for me to this day.

I have my flu jab every year, as does everyone in my immediate family.

Why wouldn't you want to do anything you could to minimise the risk of suffering with a illness for your kids?

budgiegirl · 30/09/2023 20:06

gemloving · 30/09/2023 20:01

Is everyone who says she's being unreasonable having the flu vaccine themselves then?

I never had the flu vaccine as an adult, nor did I have it as a child, so I wouldn't give it to mine either.

I've had it for the last 2 years, but I'm not sure if it's being offered to my age group this year - over 50s. My husband has had it for the last 10 years, as he is in a eligible group.

And I would certainly have given it to my children when they were young if it had been offered at the time.

We are very lucky to live in a country where vaccines are offered, and where we can control the spread of some illnesses. Why wouldn't I take advantage that?

Thementalloadisreal · 30/09/2023 20:06

Yes YABU because we live in a country where catching and spreading Flu - which can be deadly - is preventable and you’re opting to not prevent it.

PosterBoy · 30/09/2023 20:06

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 30/09/2023 20:01

It isn't to protect the elderly.

Show quote history

Yes it is.

Children are 'super spreaders' of flu. The vaccine campaign is designed partly to protect children (they say that bit first in the guidance) but mostly to protect others.

cherryscola · 30/09/2023 20:06

@febbabies2023 sure did! Should be part of the kids ones over here, 280 quid down for both mine but worth it

Mchill79 · 30/09/2023 20:06

I paid for the chicken pox vaccine and my son has the flu spray but he hasn’t had the Covid vaccine (aged 7)

isadoradancing123 · 30/09/2023 20:06

Yes it is to protect the elderly

SoSad44 · 30/09/2023 20:06

Summermeadowflowers · 30/09/2023 20:01

I don’t think I’m going to bother to be honest. My friends children have become quite distressed at having it and if the vaccine isn’t for his direct benefit I won’t be putting him through it.

Distressed at a small spray in the nose? Seriously how will they cope with flu then 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thementalloadisreal · 30/09/2023 20:07

PosterBoy · 30/09/2023 20:06

Yes it is.

Children are 'super spreaders' of flu. The vaccine campaign is designed partly to protect children (they say that bit first in the guidance) but mostly to protect others.

Show quote history

The elderly are also given their own flu jab though, the children aren’t being used to protect others, everyone gets it to protect everyone.

gemloving · 30/09/2023 20:07

@febbabies2023 no I didn't, I contemplated it and should still do so as my 4 year old didn't get it but has eczema and was diagnosed with allergies. The consultant said that if he gets it, he might get it bad. Good reminder to book it in despite it being private and it's £65 per jab (you get two doses).

GrainOfSalt · 30/09/2023 20:07

I've had flu twice. Once at 13 when I spent 10 days in bed. I can still remember the headache and being convinced they had moved the Airport to under my bedroom window. The second time in my early 20's, It was the only time I was off sick for over a week, it took me over 6 weeks to be able to walk at a normal pace and I was coming home from work and going to bed. Flu is a killer. Because I the flu jab/ nasal spray we so little of it we don't realise how it can floor a healthy child/ young person. You do you but as you asked I do think you are being unreasonable

smallshinybutton · 30/09/2023 20:07

gemloving · 30/09/2023 20:01

Is everyone who says she's being unreasonable having the flu vaccine themselves then?

I never had the flu vaccine as an adult, nor did I have it as a child, so I wouldn't give it to mine either.

I am. Flu is awful, even when I was a healthy adult it wasn't horrible and ruined Christmas and took me well over a month to recover

cptartapp · 30/09/2023 20:07

I've given hundreds of these but never consented to them for my DC. It doesn't sit comfortably with me to vaccinate healthy children en masse every year, mainly to protect the elderly, very very many of whom I've seen over the last 30 years refuse to be vaccinated themselves.
For those in a clinical risk group, then yes.

Noimaginationforaun · 30/09/2023 20:07

I’ve had the flu vaccine since I was little and still have it now. My son (4) also has it because, my god, I would do everything in my power to make sure he doesn’t get flu. I dread to think what it would do to his little body! I think the issue is the ‘I have flu’ gets thrown around like ‘I have a migraine’ when often it’s just a very bad cold or a very bad headache. True flu for a child is horrific.

londonrach · 30/09/2023 20:09

Yabu. I'm grateful I live in a country where my DD can have it .. flu is awful and a killer and giving her protection protects my in-laws and parents.

ginandtonicwithlimes · 30/09/2023 20:10

It isn't to protect him but because he will spread it around as children are super spreaders. I don't see an issue with that myself. Better than vulnerable grandparents or vulnerable children with CF or asthma getting it.

Curiosity101 · 30/09/2023 20:10

@febbabies2023 me and DH pay privately for the flu vaccine and I got the kids the chicken pox vaccine too.

Ironically one of the main reasons (other than cost) that the chicken pox vaccine isn't routine in the UK is because there is some science that shows exposure to kids with chicken pox boosts shingles immunity in adults/ the elderly.

Just let that sink in for a moment 😅. Especially for those who "wouldn't give a vaccine to a child just to protect the elderly". We actively hold back the chicken pox vaccine and allow chicken pox to spread to protect adults and the elderly.

cptartapp · 30/09/2023 20:10

Thementalloadisreal it is primarily to protect the elderly. We're told that at training every year, to keep them out of hospital. But it isn't promoted as such to try and maximise uptake.

smallshinybutton · 30/09/2023 20:10

For children at school this is the reason the government website gives: This is to help protect them against the disease and help reduce its spread to both other children and their parents and grandparents.

GrainOfSalt · 30/09/2023 20:11

Yes I agree, true flu is awful but people say flu when it is just a cold. Flu was the only thing to actually keep me in bed as a child, every other time we were ill it was just settee and TV. Not flu

PinkPlantCase · 30/09/2023 20:11

I was on board until you started talking about vaccine injuries the MSM 🙄

I’m not that keen on the flu jab because it’s a bit of guess of what that years strain will be. It generally hovers around 50% effectiveness, some years more and some years less.

This is quite different to most other vaccines.