Are you getting a flu shot?

[blythe]

Here are another handful of links -

Vaccinating in pregnancy -
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/preg-guide.htm

Flu is more likely to cause serious illness in pregnant women and put babies at risk of premature delivery so the flu vaccine is especially recommended for pregnant women -
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/pregnant.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/high_risk.htm

ACOG recommends the flu vaccine for all trimesters and says thimerosal-free can be requested but "there is no scientific evidence that it [thimerosal] causes harm to women or their infants" -
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publicati ... 1-10-1.cfm

Hepatitis B -
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/hepb/default.htm
I got the Hepatitus B vaccine when I worked in a hospital in high school (I should clarify - I am in no way a doctor or a health care provider, I emptied bedpans and did whatever the nurses told me!). It can be passed by bodily fluids and can live outside the body for days, and it's very infectious if you come into contact with it.


And just a note from me as "admin" - vaccine issues can get very contentious and we try to avoid that around here, thanks everyone for keeping this discussion civil!

[jean]

Thank you for the info!

[amandamm]

Yes, I am getting the flu shot.

[riehlism]

No flu shot for me. I am not interested in getting Guillain-Barre. But I will get a whooping cough booster.

If you took your tdap you should be up to date with whooping cough.

[caryn]

I think Guillain-Barre is pretty much ruled out at this point: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic ... llain-Barr

Any speculation drawing an ongoing link between flu vaccination and the risk of a rare, paralyzing neuromuscular disorder has been dashed by a huge study. An analysis of side effects recorded among nearly 90 million people in China who were vaccinated during the 2009–2010 flu season found that only 11 people subsequently were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rate no greater than what normally appears in the population. The study appears online February 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

[jean]

Ooh, that's good to know!!

[riehlism]

I think Guillain-Barre is pretty much ruled out at this point: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic ... llain-Barr

Any speculation drawing an ongoing link between flu vaccination and the risk of a rare, paralyzing neuromuscular disorder has been dashed by a huge study. An analysis of side effects recorded among nearly 90 million people in China who were vaccinated during the 2009–2010 flu season found that only 11 people subsequently were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rate no greater than what normally appears in the population. The study appears online February 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Honestly, this makes me quite irate! As much as you moderators watch us so that we don't write comments about giving possible medical advice, the very comment "I think Guillain-Barre is pretty much ruled out at this point" does just that. If you make me bite my tongue, moderators better start doing the same. This remark goes beyond just commenting. So I'm going to alter what I said in a deleted post. I personally know 3 people this year alone who got Guillain-Barre from a flu shot. So to say we can rule it out is in accurate. Rare? Yes. Suggesting it be thrown out the window as a worry. False and irresponsible.

I personally have no opinion if people choose to have the flu shot or not. Personally, I wouldn't But I believe I still have a right to share my opinion, a valid opinion without being told that it shouldn't be a worry.

[caryn]

Jasmine, you certainly have a right to your opinion. My post doesn't share medical advice, and I'm not a health care provider. It shares a link to a report of a study you can take to your HCP for discussion, and my opinion about what I think. You're welcome to share studies, or anecdotes, as you wish.

In this case, our Medical Board says not getting the flu shot and getting the flu can carry a risk of death of 1:25 and if getting the shot (eta: baseline risk is 1:100,000) the big careful studies say the possibility of GB carries a risk of temporary paralysis of 11:90 million. The moderators on the boards do point out such risk values, but I did not say that people should value one above the other and I, as my .sig says, am not a doc.

[uncskristy]

I finished an OB appt where I was given one. My OB recommended going ahead and getting it so I could pass along some of the immunity I get from the shot to Blaine. The shot is not given to babies under six months of age so he will not have the opportunity to get one this flu season.

[jean]

Is this a bunch of hooey, or is it legitimate? I already got my shot..

http://therefusers.com/refusers-newsroo ... e-journal/