Fluenz

[SlightlyMe]

So today my 2 (5/7) come home with requests to give them the Fluenz anti-flue vaccine.
the government brochure they give is noticeably absent of any information other than it is being trialled so I do a dig.

and find this article:
Europeans Medicines Agency

information document: here

Adverse reaction frequencies are reported as:
Very common (? 1/10)
Common (? 1/100 to < 1/10)
Uncommon (? 1/1,000 to < 1/100)
Very rare (< 1/10,000)
Immune system disorders
Uncommon: Hypersensitivity reactions (including facial oedema, urticaria and very rare anaphylactic
reactions)
Metabolism and nutrition disorders
Very common: Decreased appetite
Nervous system disorders
Very common: Headache
Respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders
Very common: Nasal congestion/rhinorrhoea
Uncommon: Epistaxis
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
Uncommon: Rash
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Common: Myalgia
General disorders and administration site conditions
Very common: Malaise
Common: Pyrexia

Further more
page 2, section 2
This product contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

So far nine main studies involving around 24,000 children have been performed using this product...
This UK trial is the first country wide trial!

I have decided not to allow my children to be part of the experiment, deciding that flue is more an inconvenience than an issue, but also because I feel that I should be informed that genetically modified organisms are being injected ( nasally ) into my children and that they are part of a trial to see its effects... without having to dig further into it.

/offsoapbox

When my daughter contracted the flu at age 7, she woke up with a 106F/41C fever every morning for 9 days straight. It would spike that high during the day and evenings for over a week, too. Really impressive when you are sitting next to a little thing in bed who goes from 38 to 40.2 in 10 minutes - they get so hot and miserable. She had a raging headache the entire time, she did not eat at all, luckily she has always been a good drinker. I was struggling to get fluids into her little brother (just 3 at the time) - although his temp was lower, I was counting the mls he was taking in and the pediatrician was more worried about him than his sister's "uncomplicated" (i.e. no otitis, no pneumonia etc) course of the flu. The kids were wiped out for weeks - I had to have my mum come (who was vaccinated) to take care of them, because neither DH nor I could take off work for so long. I have pictures of the two that my mother took, they look just so ill.

I wish someone would offer us the Fluenz for DS (he hates needles) - instead, we are going to get our flu jabs privately, because we are not keen on a da capo of the above. Runny nose? Bring it on.

/soapbox

I would rather risk those small side effects than watch my kids have flu. Flu is nasty and more than a minor inconvenience.

I want a flu jab myself.. I've Only ever had it once and it scared the crap out of me. I was praying for death at one point.

Yes, flu can be nasty. I had it once myself and thought I was dying

But I would still question whether this vaccine has been tested enough and whether sufficient information is being given out.

Can I ask who is going to get this Fluenze please? I think this is the live vaccine that gets sprayed up the nose in 2 doses. I have enquired at 2 places privately and they are only offering the jab which my DS 6 has flatly refused. I will be paying my £10 at Tesco pharmacy which I do each year but would like DS to be immunised as well

The very common reactions sound similar to flu itself and the 'uncommon' ones which can still occur in 1/1,000 -

deciding that flue is more an inconvenience than an issue, but also because I feel that I should be informed that genetically modified organisms are being injected

So what did you think vaccines were made of?

And you know those children you have? Your ova were genetically modified by the sperm of your children's father.

Dang - I missed the fun ;)

Found a pharmacy up the road that will do flu shots for ages 12 and up, so we'll get ours there, unfortunately not the Fluenz...

What did I say? Bears do shit in the woods.

Do you typically refuse vaccines bumble?

post above reported.

I was led to believe the Fluenz vac was widely used in America?
Aside from that, ds will be vaccinated. He has asthma amd last winter with minor colds was bad enough, flu could be very serious for him.

As he is egg allergic we will have the shot in the arm vaccine given in hospital.

My 8 year old DS is also due to have this due to asthma. I had a look on the net and I found the following:

"In the US, Fluenz Tetra is marketed by MedImmune Specialty Care Division of AstraZeneca, under the trade name FluMist® Quadrivalent (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal). FluMist Quadrivalent was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on 29 February 2012."

I then came up with the following on the US food and drug administration:

"The safety and effectiveness of FluMist Quadrivalent is supported by studies conducted previously with FluMist and three new clinical studies with FluMist Quadrivalent conducted in the United States in approximately 4,000 children and adults. Studies compared FluMist Quadrivalent to two FluMist vaccines, each formulated to contain one of the two B strains included in FluMist Quadrivalent. The studies demonstrated that the immune responses and reactions were similar in study participants who received FluMist Quadrivalent and those who received FluMist."

From what I can see the new one has 4 flu strains not three (Flumist Tetravent). The big difference is that this is a live vaccine unlike other seasonal vaccines.

I found this on the CDC website: "For the 2013-2014 influenza season, trivalent and quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) is available. All live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in the U.S. is quadrivalent"

I then found this on the medication daily site

Adverse Reactions
The following events have been spontaneously reported during post approval use of FluMist. Because these events are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to vaccine exposure.

• Cardiac disorders: Pericarditis
• Congenital, familial, and genetic disorders: Exacerbation of symptoms - of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy (Leigh syndrome)
• Gastrointestinal disorders: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• Immune system disorders: Hypersensitivity reactions (including -anaphylactic reaction, facial edema, and urticaria)
• Nervous system disorders: Guillain-Barré syndrome, Bell’s Palsy, meningitis, eosinophilic meningitis, vaccine-associated encephalitis

Respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders: Epistaxis

• Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Rash

I have to say that because it was only approved in July it is still a relatively new vaccine (I know that the flumist 3 containing one has been around longer). I'm also a bit concerned because the new quadravent vaccine was only trialled on 4000 people and they are using the data from the flumist 3 containing one to predict the safety.

Im thinking I might just go for the standard non live injected vaccine for my DS (checking to make sure it does not have mercury in)

That's my opinion! would be happy to hear any views.

DC had the vaccine. We used to have flu jabs each year so thought it would be good to have DC protected. It's been a week but the stuffy nose shows no abating. It's miserable but much better than flu, I think. I am not keen on MMR but DC had jabs separately.