65% of Parents Say No Swine Flu Vaccine for Kids
Warnings that the swine flu vaccine will be most effective if given to children doesn’t seem to be swaying the majority of American parents. In a survey by Consumer Reports, sixty-five percent of parents said they won’t be getting the swine flu shot for their kids.
The number opting in on the vax for their kids (thirty-five percent) is just barely above the number of Americans who say they’ll get the shot for themselves (thirty-four percent).
To be fair, the majority of parents said they’re undecided, with just fourteen percent saying outright that they will not be getting their kids the shot. For those still on the fence, a little food for thought:
A study out of Yale and Clemson Universities indicates vaccinating kids and parents would be sufficient to stop the spread of the virus – it wouldn’t be necessary to innoculate the remainder of American adults.
While seasonal flu is generally worst for the elderly, H1N1 has been found to be showing up more in the younger population as its run through America. By contrast, fewer young people seem to be dying from the disease than the numbers of elderly generally claimed by the seasonal flu.
Shortages of kids’ Tamiflu – used to treat swine flu – are already being reported.
For parents opting out because they don’t want to pay – check with your insurance or local health department, some states have mandated health insurance carriers cover the shot for kids.
Will you be getting your child the swine flu shot?
Image/Source: Consumer Reports
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Sweet! Better chance of my kids being able to get one!
I’d much rather my kids get the shot than get sick and have to get Tamiflu; I’m more worried about the reported side effects of that medication than I am about any possible side effects of the vaccine.
My kids are too young to get it, but we’ll get it ourselves if we can. People are too unconcerned about the flu. It isn’t just like a cold, people do die from it.
Some parents (myself included) are worried about the amount of squalene present in the H1N1 vaccine. Squalene causes the immune system to ramp up by short-circuiting the normal immune response, throwing it into overdrive. This action is non-specific to the vaccination mechanism, which can cause various unintended autoimmune side effects.
For example, arthritis:
http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/abstract/156/6/2057
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I don’t get the constant comments about squalene on sites that publish articles about the H1N1 vaccine. I have not yet seen any information confirming that the vaccine available in the United States contains squalene or ANY adjuvant. I’m not saying squalene isn’t worrisome, just that there is no reason to believe it is actually present in these shots. Enough with the fear-mongering already!
Nobilis Reed – there is no squalene in the vaccines that are being given in the US. They were looking at a contingency plan to include squalene in case there was not enough antigen available. (Squalene is an adjuvant that boosts the body’s immune system response.) However, since it was discovered that, for most people, one shot was enough (instead of two as they first thought), then there is enough antigen and there is no need to add squalene.
Also, in Europe, flu vaccines have included squalene for over 10 years, and there have been no added side effects. (Ten years and millions of patients makes a pretty good set of data.)
I agree with KG – enough with the fear-mongering. There is so much misinformation being spread around, it is crazy.
I realize what I should have written was that there were no significant additions to side effects. Everything in life has some kind of side effect.
And obviously I am getting the shot for my son. (And when it is available, we will be getting it too.) The hard part is figuring out how it will be distributed. Here in San Francisco, the information has been very spotty. (Probably because nobody wants to commit until the vaccine actually arrives, which I can understand.)
My son will be getting the heinie shot. (shout out to Brett)
Hell no!
Am I the only one who takes issue with the title of this article? “65% of parents say No to Swine Flu vaccine” is followed – in the article itself – with the fact that only 14% actually said no, and that the remainder, like myself, are simply undecided. It’s one thing to “spin” a headline to entice readers, it’s wholly another to conjure up a totally inaccurate statistic. Takes away some of Babble’s credibility, in my book.
Credibility? They’re just bloggers.
H1N1 Vaccines and Our Children: The details are in the fine print! http://wp.me/pC1DX-34
WARNING: Safety and effectiveness of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine have not been established in pregnant women or nursing mothers or children <6 months of age. References from the CDC included in the above link. Seeing is believing so take a look not only for yourself, but for your family as well.
[...] the outset, the notifications seemed to make sense. But with a vaccine on the horizon for parents to protect their kids, frequent tutorials on handwashing and a little bit of common [...]
CommentsHi fellow Moms and moms to-be:
If your just like me and worried about swine flu and germs in general passing onto your newborn baby, I have found a great website that solved my worries, http://www.labeesakids.com has clothing with a life saving message on it, and it works!!!! Its worth checking out.
Tips that works wink
[...] Can Do It.” Coming from their favorite curious kid, it could help ease some fears before the next round of shots, so get the DVR [...]
Let me get this straight you can’t force organ donation which has no risks. You can’t force blood donation which is also basically no risk for healthy people. But you think its perfectly ok to require children to be vaccinated to protect adults and/or seniors. Vaccines have risks, period. Its up to each person, or in the case of minors their parents, to decide if any individual vaccine’s (or medication, surgery, medical treatment) benefits outweigh the risks for that individual.
If you are an adult and you chose to get the vaccine to benefit others, particularly your immediate family, that’s fine. You are an adult and you can make selfless decisions if you chose.
However when deciding for a minor child I think you don’t get to be selfless for them. Courts have ruled repeatedly that children or their parents can’t use religious reasons to abstain from life saving treatment. So I don’t believe that parents should be allowed to let their kids undertake risks to protect strangers.
You want to vaccinate your child for their own health because you believe the chance of preventing swine flu outweigh the chance of adverse reactions from the vaccine and the chance of complications based on the likeliness of even getting swine flu. That’s fine.
But don’t tell parents to vaccinate their kids to protect you. If the vaccine is so perfect and safe -you get it.
IF you have a young baby, it is advisable to breastfeed, even if you have contracted the disease so you can pass on your antibodies. I have written a blog with links to information given out to UK parents. http://fromrattopositiveparent.blogspot.com/2009/10/can-swine-flu-increase-breastfeeding.html
nope. I actually got in an argument with the nurse at my kids’ physicals last month. WITHOUT CONSULTING ME (check your kids vaccination records, they no longer require the parents to sign them and put the PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY’S NAME beside the shot) she brought in the syringes and was going to give them the H1N1, flu, and meningitis shots. in 13 years my kids have never even had the flu. She tried to claim that when she called to remind me of their appointments she told me. I remembered, I also remembered telling her she was wrong on which kids had vaccinations because the prior year the pediatrician said my now 13 year old was all set until he’s 18 and needs a tetanus booster
When they’re sick, i keep them home. When they get home from school I have them clean something with a bleach wipe. I send them to school with their own water bottles so there’s no need for sharing or using the water fountains (the teachers actually put water bottles on the supply list so the kids aren’t getting up every 5 minutes for a drink). There hasn’t been any issue with h1n1, the flu, or meningitis in our county and I spoke with their pediatrician last year and told him that I’m not giving my kids those ones unless there’s a reason to be concerned. He practiced medicine for years down in NYC and told me that it’s my right as a parent and given that both of my boys are perfectly healthy, he’s not going to push it unless there’s any concern.
As for why no flu vaccines for my kids, my dh got one when he was on the radio and did it on air…. that was a decade ago and ever since then he’s gotten pneumonia twice a year, every year. MIL gets the flu shots and STILL gets the flu. I’m not subjecting my healthy kids to that.
I am sick and tired of big brother government infringing on parents rights, especially when they’re in the back pockets of the pharmaceutical companies back pockets. I encourage ALL parents to do their own research and selectively vaccinate their kids based upon which ones they feel their kids need.