just had a note from the gp asking me to take dd2 for her "pneumo" jag ?????????????

[nailpolish]

what IS this? dd1 never had it. dont i subject her to enough as it is

sorry cant do links but its
www.meningitis.org
news, case studies
Freya is the first story.

iizybiz

wanted to post link to threads about freya, but didn't quite feel I had the right.

Thanks so much for doing this. If amyjade hadn't told us all about freya, I would not have thought get the jab for ds and dd. Kids lives will almost certainly be saved because of you sharing the story, amyjade, you are fab. Can't be much consolation though

So big thanks amyjade for sharing freya's story. God it makes me cry just to think about it

izzy, needless to say that I read your link with tears. DD has just had the pnuemococcal jab here in Oz (where it is routine), she is 3, but her doctor (thankfully mil got us in with a great dr) thought she should have it.

I am so so sorry for what you went/are going through. As soon as I read about Freya on another thread it made up my mind that I was doing the right thing! Thank You for sharing your story, it has inspired me to do what I feel is best for my dd.

izzybiz

sorry to hear about freya. The jab is important for children that may have a weak immune system, but lots of children have also died from having a bad reaction to the vaccine.I just think thato people should be able to make a decision and also be aware of the risks of the vaccine. The chances of a healthy child catching this type of meningitus is low. But what about the chance of having a bad reaction to the vaccines.

there is only so much a tiny immune system can take. GPs will tell us otherwise because they have vaccination targets to meet

'The chances of a healthy child catching this type of meningitus is low.'

This form of meningitis is well known for being hard to diagnose b/c it doesn't produce a rash in many cases.

In fact, half those who do contract meningitis of this variety DIE or are left permanently disabled.

It has been routine in the US for 5 years now. If 'lots of children' were dying from the jab, I'd have thought they'd have been the first to yank it, given the hugely litigous society they are.

The chance of contracting any meningitis is relatively low in a healthy person.

But boy, when they do, it's often w/devestating effect.

Here is the link new jag

My ds got his Pneumococcal vaccine on Tuesday, along with the other 12 week jabs. He was fine.
Got the leaflet explaining all about it this morning. Good timing, eh?

Apparently it guards against pneumonia, septicaemia, pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections, as well as meningitis.

Expat, apparently the programme for giving the jab is the same throughout Scotland. You can go to www.healthscotland.com/immunisation for more info.

I paid my gp to have my children done before it was routinely available in the uk. There are several mumsnetters who have lost their babies to pneumoccocal meningitis. The jab also has the wonderful side effect of reducing ear infections. It had a near miraculous effect on my ds who ended up in hospital with an ear infection with every cold before he had the jab. Didn't have another one after the jab.

My best friends baby had the jab this week and is now in hospital with suspected menigitis the test wont be back till this morning but they are treating him as if it is. Could it just be a reaction to jab I'm sooooo worried for her.

Prevenar is not a 'live' vaccine so i can't see this being the cause.

Lupo,
In the 17 months since Freya died this is the first time i have ever heard of the vaccine having these adverse side effects and have never heard of children dieing from it? and sorry the chances of children catching this disease is low, isn't 50 a year enough!!! and that's not counting the children who are severly brain damaged.

I'm not getting into a row and i knew in time i would come across people who question this vaccine, i'm just glad to hear that the majority of you are having or have had your children vaccinated and if part of that reason is because of what happened to Freya then something good has come of our tragedy.

Am in tears having just read Freya's story, she was adorable.
My ds had pneumonia when he was 15months, luckily it was mild and he only had to stay in hospital briefly but it was bl**dy scary. I'm not risking it happening again. He will be having the vaccine and I'm going to find out how to get my daughter vaccinated too (she is 3yrs)

had pneumonia several times as young child, once as complication of measles.

very, very scary for a 3 yo to go through that. Very scary. I remember feeling like my lungs were collapsing. Lots and lots of jabs. And being in hospital, alone, without my parents.

found this ""There may be some swelling, redness and soreness at the injection site. A child may also have a low grade fever, be sleepy, restless or irritable. Uncommon side effects may include vomiting, decreased appetite or diarrhoea. Severe reactions are very rare. Your child cannot get pneumococcal disease from the vaccine""

On the Australia immnisation website. Have also read that it is not a live vaccine, but cannot find where now.

Amyjade, your little girl is beatiful. Thank you for sharing your story.

how is the best way to find out when my ds is likely to be immunised?

how old is our ds?

janbo, ask the practice nurse or HV.

it does vary so much region to region.

sandcastles...our ds ?

lol...i know! no excuse, crap typing!

you'd think if it was our ds, I'd at least know how old he was!

Izzybiz, thanks for the link.

Freya's story is so sad, and I'm so sorry for the loss Amyjade and the rest of your family have suffered. It's terrifying to know how quickly the illness progresses, even with proper medical care .

I called the Meningitis Reseach Foundation and they gave me the web address for this Department of Health publication (if you scroll down, there is a link to a document about pneumoccocal vaccines - Chapter 25), which is quite a clear explanation of the vaccine (I think! I'm no scientist...).

Carolinamoon, that's where I read that it wasn't a live vaccine, was looking for it earlier, but couldn't remember where I'd seem it. Thanks.

""The pneumococcal polysaccharide and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines
do not contain thiomersal. The vaccines are inactivated, do not contain live
organisms and cannot cause the diseases against which they protect""

Izzybiz

I do not want to start a row over this either, l I am saying is parents should look into the possible side effects of this vaccine so they can make an informed hedecison. We trusted the government with our childrens health and the MMR and it is now heartbreaking to read about the damage that this vaccine has done.

I urge all parents please to visit www.jabs.org.uk look under the prevenar post from Bev under The Parlour and read a critical study by michael howerd about the vaccine.Lets just be aware of all the facts before we inject our kids. If parents still want to go ahead then thats their decison. I speak as a concerned mum of a two year old boy and nothing more. The drug companies make alot from this vaccine and I just think we need to question the reason we are giving a particular vaccine and not just do it because we are told to. For gods sake our Tony Blair wont even confirm his own son has had the combined MMR and yet he promotes it.

I am aware that children can die from this meninigtus, but they can also be damaged from the vaccine same as the combined MMR.Lets open our eyes to both sides of this.

Sorry you need to go to the Forum part of the jabs website to read the posts

Lupo, I agree. It's a hard decision, and I've been dithering over it for the last few days. It isn't clearcut, and a lot of the research was done by people linked to Wyeth (inc the work referenced by that Department of Health document).

But then, who else would pay for that research?

The fact that it's got aluminium in it bothers me too.

OTOH, the number of pneumococcal meningitis cases in the US has reduced since Prevenar was introduced, so you pretty much have to assume that it's saving lives and preventing brain damage.

Welcome to the support group for vaccine-damaged children

Blame Is The Name Of The Game.

This is the title on the jabs website so obviously it is one sided and does not promote the positives if the vaccine.
You could and should question every vaccine you give you child but every parent must way up the facts and Prevenar is proven to be safe and affective in saving lives of millions of children.

like i said before i'm so glad the majority of you agree that this vaccine is well overdue and i'm glad your children are being protected from this terrible form of meningitis because watching your healthy child suffer horrific brain damage from a preventable disease is something that will never leave me. I wish everyday that my poor little girl had been given the oppurtinuty to have this vaccine as she would be here now.

Live in france and my kids get immunised for everything - is standard over here, you can't go to creche/school unless had all jabs - DD is just coming up for her MMR when I mentioned concerns my paed (who I trust completely and who usually takes me very seriously) laughed and said she didn't understand what the problem was in the UK, also have recently read an article in focus magazine saying that leading paed's in UK (Dr David Elliman, Great Ormond Street) are becoming increasingly concerned about the unfounded fears the media insists on raising - childrens lives will be lost! I quote ' in the first 5 months of this year, there were more cases of measles in england and wales than in the whole of any year in over 10 years'. I think that's pretty scary....there are always side affects, exceptions and risks isn't it our job as parents to weigh those up? My DS is premature and as a result will have some of his jabs later when he is bigger and stronger, but he will still be getting them, think having a good paed, HV who you trust and can talk to you about these things helps..It really upsets me when I read some of your stories and experinces with the NHS I felt incredibly lonely over here without my family after the birth of DD but everything I read about NHS makes me think that medically I was probably in the best place..