Flu vaccination for kids this winter

[cockneysparrow1977]

Hi there
Just wondered if anyone is considering giving their healthy under 5's the flu jab this winter? Last year my little girl who was 23 months had the swine flu vaccine seemed fine afterwards she will be three in feb and thinking about vaccinating her with the combined flu jab this winter will have to pay tho as gps not vaccinating healthy under 5's just wondered if anyone else is thinking of vaccinating too? ESP after the press last winter of that little girl dying of swine flu, it's such a worry
Appreciate your comments

No.
My child is not in one of the categories recommended for the swine, or ordinary, flu vaccine.
I wouldn't dream of giving her yet another vaccine she doesn't need.

The reason under 5s got the swine flu vaccine is that strain was especially dangerous to that age group. There is usually no excessive danger to them, hence doctors are not vaccinating U5s this year.

That's my concern swine flu, last winter it was still in circulation and some gps were offering surplus supplies to healthy under 5s abc other practices simple didn't have enough stock, they expect swind flu to be in circulation again this winter hence why I'm thinking do I pay and have if done as I'm worried about swine flu specifically ESP as my daughter starts Pre school in November! And last year we were seeing reports in the press about kids dying from it! Oh god knows what to do :((( decisions decisions

How many children died from it?
First you said one, then you said "kids".
You just need to evaluate the risk and do as your doctor recommends I guess. If my GP told me to vaccinate, I would. Otherwise not. They are the experts.

No I said the little girl who's parents went public urging people to have the flu jab she was 3, the number of deaths for kids under 5 was around 30, the problem is the govt can't afford to vaccinate all underv5s so they focus on the at risk groups obv, my gp said she would give it a couple of months and see what the flu stats are but she said it's always safer to vaccinate than not! If you take the dept of health info they ware not offering to healthy under 5s yet more people died of swine flu last winter than in the 09 pandemic, maybe it's new govt the past couple of years don't have the budget, I guess I have to decide if I want to take the risk, I'd rather get not get flu at all
Just wanted to know if anyone else was intending to vaccinate

My dd will be vaccinated against seasonal flu this year - I've not yet looked but expect it will be a trivalent and include SF as it did last year. However she has underlying health issues that put her at risk from any sort of flu. She's not an under 5.

I wouldn't vaccinate an otherwise healthy child.

"more people died of swine flu last winter than in the 09 pandemic"

but still very few died overall. Most people have probably been exposed to swine flu already tbh. I think a study showed that a really high percentage of cases were completely asymptomatic so your dd may already be immune. I think it's unnecessary to vaccinate an otherwise healthy child against it tbh. Do you worry about seasonal flu every year?

Yes, I have my daughter booked in to have it at a private clinic in October.

Lady curious: does your daughter have any underlying health issues? And how old is she? My daughter is 2 and a half and doesn't have any under lying health problems but am considering getting it done! What part of the country are you from? Just wondering what clinic your booked in at
S x

The European regulator says Pandemrix swine flue vaccine should not be given to anyone under twenty. here

Yes I read that but it does say that of the 6 million doses given in Britain there has been 10 suspected cases, that's pretty low odds it's difficult knowing what the best thing is to do if you give the jab or not, the flu jab this year contains the swine strain and the normal flu jab

cockney - do you normally get the flu jab? Swine flu is no worse than seasonal flu - it just sounds worse because every single case that results in a complication gets plastered all over the news. If we did that with every illness we would never step outside the door! We don't hear about the thousands of cases that weren't that serious and that people recovered from easily or the thousands of cases that had no symptoms at all.

I hear what your saying, but I disagree swine flu is a different type of flu that seems to affect a different age group than seasonal flu according to my gp! And in answer to your question yes I get myself vaccinated each year just simply because I don't want to get flu. My gp has told me I should get myself vaccinated this year as I'm pregnant and am in the at risk group. I wasn't really intending to start a debate just wondered if there were any other parents intending to vaccinate this winter