swine flu vaccine trial

[lovetolosethatjellybelly]

what do people think about enrolling your child into this swine vaccine trial that are taking place in the next few weeks?www.swineflutrial.org There seems to be centres around Oxford, bristol, southampton and london i think. they want to see which of the two different types of swine flu vaccines are more effective in children. I am tempted to enrol my child, as i have been told there have been children who died or have been seriously ill from it. Even if the flu is mild, he will have to be off nursery for a week so I have to take leave too. do you think that is selfish?

I would consider it, myself, but carefully.

I think the current vaccine is based on current flu vaccine technology and that is different from the stuff produced in the 70s. And the issues that are risks with any vaccine are the same with the SF one, as with ANY other new vaccine.

A very small risk of complications. Possibly outweighed by the benefits to both one's own kids and the population at large.

I'd be interested to see more research on the trials in Australia before I made my decision but would consider it if there were a trial near me.

Probably what VW said. But both mine have either asthma or restricted airway issues, and both have had seasonal flu vaccines with no sides whatsoever in the past.

And if I had any immune issues in my family, I wouldn't do it either.

Amazing about your Mum, Riven - here's wishing her (and you and dd, obviously) another healthy winter!

No way would I let them road test a new vaccine on my child.
They claim its so they can decide which of the two are more effective for children. I think they're still working out if either of them are safe at all. The whole thing makes me very uncomfortable. No no no.

Riven there's lots of degrees of immunocompromise depending on the pathology, and inactivated vaccines do work in some categories. Usually the wild-type viruses are better at causing disease than the vaccines; especially the new pandemic influenza.

BTW the 1976 swine vaccine was made very differently to those today and was not adjuvanted.

Riven - your mum might have been very unlucky. I get the seasonal flu vaccine every year and whilst my husband had a very bad bout of flu at the start of this year I was fine, same the previous years.

I have just been invited to enrol dd

she is 2, fit and healthy and tough as old boots and I am not generally anti-vaccine.

I am dithering

if it was me myself I'd do it, but it's not, it's dd...

They are TESTING it - to see if it works, and what the side effects are.

No bloody way would I let something be tested on my kids.

nope

but if everyone said that there would never be a vaccine at all

But they still don't know if it is safe for people! My job is to keep them safe from harm - and letting someone test something on them is - i believe- potentially very harmful to them.

Musukebba ~I thought your opinion was that the '76 vaccine had not caused GBS?

former iterations of both vaccines have been tested in adults already.

the ethics are impeccable (have checked)

it is a risk vs benefit scenario - I could keep dd 'safe from harm' by never letting her go outside, OR I could risk her coming to harm by eg going swimming, walking along walls etc

Exactly Mrs Badger
I wish to keep my kids safe from this type of harm by keeping them as healthy as I can - and hope they don't get it.. but NOT letting them be tested on

and what of all those asthmatic etc children like Elibean's who stand to benefit from the vaccine but can't have it tested on them?

Can't she? Is there more risk of sides to an asthmatic child, then?

[reads conditions more carefully]

actually it seems they can elibean, so long as they haven't had steroid tablets or syrup for more than 1 week within the previous 3 months (steroid inhalers or creams are allowed)

but still, you get my point

I do

Thanks for clarifying.

Hi pofaced: I'm not sure I said that but if you could let me know where, I can have another look.

My position is that the evidence supports an association between the 1976 vaccine campaign and a higher than expected incidence of GBS (8-9 cases per million as opposed to around 1 per million). An association isn't the same as causation though, and I might have pointed out that contamination of the vaccine with bacterial endotoxins has been suggested as a factor (campylobacter and salmonella for example). Also you can never be sure that a rise in GBS wasn't an entirely coincidental thing. When so many people were vaccinated, it increases the chance that something else may be a causative factor yet it gets included in the data on vaccination safety.

we've had letters sent home from school today inviting children to take part in the trial, Part of me wonders whether to but part isn't sure because of the side effects

No way, it's crazy. If there is an adverse effect, if not enough others suffer it, it will be labelled a coincidence and not caused by the vaccine. So it won't even be worth it "scientifically".

Riven that is interesting what you say about your mum.

DH had flu vaccine 2 years ago for first time ever. he is a teacher and the school offered it to all members of staff for free......he was ill for ages afterwards, normally he is very well. never again!

As I have absolutely no idea if any of my family has immune issues (I have a big family) There's no way I would ever consider letting them use my dc as a human guinea pig. Scares the life out of me, vaccines! They have there place but this is all a bit rushed for my liking. The virus is going to mutate anyway as a matter of course so how useful will mass vaccination have. I have no idea and I'm not sure they do either.

Not for me or my family.