Swine flu. Are you giving your child the jab?

[darcymum]

I don't know what to do and hope someone can give some good advice. My children are 1, 2, and 4, I have had a Swine flu jab myself and am not really worried about the vaccine. When I had mine though it was at my GP surgery in the evening and we all just had to form a big queue outside the nurse room. Called in one at a time, very quick and all came out rubbing our arms. I am very worried about how they actually organize it for under fives without having mass hysteria. Even if it is a normal appointment system they will all be in the room with me watching each other having it. Added to this the report a while ago that a good percentage of children have apparently already had it without parents noticing.

Is it worth it? What do others think?

Dd and I got ours together, but we had the nose-spray vaccine instead of the needle. I would still have done if it had been a jab.

I know that many people feel swine flu is no big deal, but I am not one of them.

I didn't know you could have it my spay, is that how they are giving it to children?

We are offered the spray or jab for flu and H1N1, and a couple of others I don't recall. The jab is a dead virus, the spray is a disabled live virus. My understanding is that the live vaccine can provide better immunity, but that is just what I have read. I am not a doctor.

I'm in the US and sprays are common here; may e they don't do them in the UK?

As the health service are now admitting most people only suffer with mild syptoms no worse than the flu I don't see the point of having yet another vaccine. As we don't really know yet what the long term side effects are as it's a new vaccine and hasn't been tested. For that reason I won't let my Children have the vaccine but that's just my choice after lots of research. Everyone has to base their own choice out of their own research. That way they can't blame anyone else if things go in a way they didn't expect.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.

no.

My ds is over five so not eligible anyway, but have only heard negative things about the jab, and everyone I know who has had it has been quite ill afterwards, including someone the other day who I heard talking about how their dd had ended up in hospital with breathing difficulties after the vacccine.

I wouldn't vaccinate against seasonal flu, so I don't see why sf is any different. They have now said that this pandemic has not taken the course of others in the past and that most people have symptoms that are actually less severe than seasonal flu, so tbh I can't see the need to panic.

Obviously if someone has an underlying health condition that is a different matter, and they would probably have vaccinated against seasonal flu anyway, but if not then I don't think it's a big deal.

Plus they are also saying that only 10% of children who have had sf have shown any symptoms at all, so it's entirely possible that people are rushing out to vaccinate children that have already had sf..

We're undecided but tending on the side of not having it done, when the letters were issued from the doctors surgery ds3 was 1 week off 6 months so will not be offered it, ds1 is 3 and ds2 2. I feel its an all or nothing decision and actually the child most at risk is probably ds3.

After research I've found that the vaccine hasn't been widely tested. The hospitals aren't seeing the number of cases they expected and we are supposed to be in the thick of it.

I really can't decide as I wouldn't never forgive myself if anything happened. My 3 don't have any under lying health conditions, I would get them it if they did.

My 2 have been offered injection, one jab in arm

My dd 6 had it a month ago. Just had sore arm for a day. No other symptoms. She is going for a booster shot in a week.

There was a heavily pregnant woman going for her jab ahead of dd.

My dd had it end of November, felt quite unwell a few hours after it, shaking, not being able to speak, then high fever (in spite of maximum calpol and calprofen). Saw out of hours GP who said that this couldn't be the jab but was swine flu. We decided not to give her second jab (she is 3 years 9 months). I had similarly strong side effects (for brief time paralysed on one side), most terrible neck and headache (thought I had meningitis at one stage), felt like that for two days, really unwell, then improve. nevertheless, happy that we have both had it. DH had (confirmed) swine flu in summer and was really unwell. Not sure what I would do in your situation TBH. Good luck.

I've just called the surgery to arrange for my DS, aged 3, to have his jab.

I'm asthmatic myself and had the jab a few months ago, it was no different to the usual seasonal flu jab, not even a sore arm.

Had friends with swine flu, said it was horrific, though they've all been men, so who can tell?

DS is about to start school nursery and I'd feel much happier knowing he's protected. I really don't have any qualms about him getting it, but having had it myself perhaps that makes the decision easier?

My ds (now 15mo) had it a couple months ago and is being followed up as one of 9,000 healthy under-5s to have it.

He was a bit sleepy for a day, but otherwise nothing to observe - I had to measure the jab site for a week and by day 2 I couldn't find it!

Month later, still no problem but two kids at nursery have had swine flu quite nastily.

Both mine had the jab. Only side-effect has been sore arms for one of them; the other wasn't as badly affected. Perhaps it was something to do with that batch.

I'd have it if it's on offer.

(I've already posted this on another thread):

dd (6 months old) had the pandemrix vaccine this pm at 2.
she didn't flinch when the gp did the jab and her happy mood has so far not been affected whatsoever. She ate normally when we got back and she had a long nap. She's now up and hungry byt he sound of it!

It is a big weight off my mind that it is done. I'm not "happy" as such as clearly we don't know the long term effects (if any) but the choice is made.
I read the official vaccination weekly updates here: www.emea.europa.eu/influenza/updates.html
It's got all the info about how many people have been vaccinated and the side effects of the vaccine as well as an update on how many people are thougth to have died of swine flu and how widespread it currently is.
My GP vaccinated 60 to 70 children and none have had anything more serious than fever and headaches.

It's been really stressfull making this decision but what can you do, there is a pandemic out there whatever people think.

What really did it for me was an article on the bbc website here that says that more than 80% of the young ones who have contracted swine flu have had to go to hospital because it got so bad.
That and reading the reports and putting the side effects in perspective, the only reason pandemrix has has more instances of side effects is because a lot more people have had this vaccine over the other ones.

For those who are worried that the vaccine has not been fully tested, something that reassured me was that this is not unusual for flu vaccine to be fast tracked as it happens for the seasonal flu every year.

Yes, my ds is having it done next week
I'm happy to avoid potential risk of serious complications resulting from swine flu.

'more than 80% of the young ones who have contracted swine flu have had to go to hospital because it got so bad.'

I don't think that figure can be quite right.

My DS who is 1.5 got his yesterday.

Ds is six so hasn't been called yet - it'll be a while before they get round to over-5s. But as soon as he is, I'll be down to the surgery, even though it will involve massive bribes (darn the child, he remembers how upset he was about the pre-school boosters).

Swine flu complications in children appear so far to be more likely and more severe if they do get them.

Dh and I have had the jabs - I got a sore arm, dh felt as if he had flu for one day. Well worth it.

Yes, most people who have swine flu may well have a mild form but you just can't tell whether your child will be the one who becomes very seriously ill indeed.

(Btw, I got him singles instead of MMR so I'm not 'pro-vaccine no matter what'. But in this case I think it's worth it.)

Both my dds had the jab a while back (they're both on asthma preventers, though I don't honestly think dd2 has asthma - she's an unclear case with ENT issues). No reaction at all for 5yr old and slight temp/grumps for 3 yr old.

I happened to see a gynae in December, who mentioned his hospital was thinking of cancelling all elective surgery as they needed the theaters to intubate badly affected SF patients...he said those were were badly affected tended to be very badly affected. It was enough to scare him into having the jab, whereas he'd previously been unsure...he also wished he could have had his kids (older) vaccinated.

My two had already been vaccinated, but that did make an impression on me, tbh.

I'd heard that as well Elibean - that those that get it bad are affected very badly and others are hardly affected at all - seems to be complete extremes.

I've had the jab and had no complications, and I have the flu jab every year.

For me with this jab and the HPV it's a case of preferring to risk the effects in the long term to protect them in the short term. Might seem a bit naive to some but that's how I feel.

My dd has had hers today. We decided that we wouldn't forgive ourselves if we said no and she went on to develop serious complications from swine flu. I have a friend who works in paediatrics and she has seen some very very poorly children.

dd had what was thought was swine flu (no tested verification that it was but it sounded like it was and our GP friend thought so too) - she is 9 and relatively healthy (has had asthma problems but isn't suffering with it at the moment). She was hit incredibly hard. Funnily enough, it wasn't her chest but she was floored - completely. Sore tummy, bad shivers and v high temp - was solidly in bed for 2 days (which is unheard of for her). Ended up with a dreadful ear infection in both ears. I know it could be 'normal' flu but without testing, we will never know.

Although she had it after Christmas, had it been school time, we reckon she would have been off for 10 days.

I shudder to think what that virus can do to under 5s. I know they all get it in differing measures but I can see how it could be v serious for small children tbh.

foxinsocks - hope your dd is better. thanks fo your post, it is what we were afraid of for dd as she doesnt cope well with standard colds never mind flu, and although she isnt asthmatic she tends to get a lot of coughs.

she's fine now thanks Evye but it wasn't nice

I think because the stories aren't in the press as much, people aren't thinking about it any more.

have just had letters for ds2 (almost 5 and slightly asthmatic) and ds3 (16 months with recurring chest infections). Can anyone point me in the direction of sensible non-biased literature so that we can make an informed decision?

We had an invite for DS (3) to have the jab but declined. He had suspected swine flu a while ago (with hindsight I don't think it was) and had the drugs then.

and also, ds is due his 3rd baby booster (yes i knw, v v v v delayed) next wek and swine flu jab the follwoing weel. Am tempted tpo postpone baby booster if giving swine flu jab...