H1N1

lawby2005 · January 2010

At work, they are offering the H1N1 shot free. Would you take it? DH thinks that I should because he said I am always sick (it's true) but his company is offering him a free shot and he is not taking it. Hmm

Lisichka · January 2010

I'd do it. And I'd also make DH do it. Why doesn't he want to get the shot?

HudsonSunshine · January 2010

The first thing you may want to consider is that the shot they are offering is likely not the preservative-free one that pregnant women are recommended to get. So, you probably want to look into that and may want to get it from your OB instead if you decide to get it.

I will probably get blasted for this, but I really struggled with whether or not to get it and, in the final moment at my OB's office, I passed on it. I have done as much research as one can do, heard all the arguments about increased mortality rate for pregnant women if you get the virus, and how the shot is no different from the regular flu shot (except for the strain of the virus in it, of course, and btw I did get the regular shot before I got pregnant), etc., but in the end something just made me hesitate. I also considered that even if one does get the shot, that doesn't mean you are absolutely protected against getting the virus. It's a very personal decision and I don't think anyone can tell you what the right decision is. I would just go with your gut. All that said, your DH getting the shot is a separate issue. He can always get the virus and bring it home to you & baby, whether he's had the shot or not. My DH is very anti-shots, medicine, etc. and was at least initially refusing to get one whether I got one or not.

MrsKocal · January 2010

I talked to my OB about this, since they recommend it for pg women. he said he had to tell me that it was recommended for pg women, but off the record he said he doesn't think it is necessary. The chances that I will come in contact with someone with H1N1 are small, compared to the possible risks involved with a new and unproven vaccine. He recommended I get the regular flu shot and only get H1N1 if I wanted to. I am not a big vaccine person to begin with, so I don't think I'm going to do it. Unless, of course, swine flu cases start popping up in NY again. Then I'd get it.

lawby2005 · January 2010

Thanks for your feedback ladies. I will snooze on it!

MrsDe2008 · January 2010

Hudson: No one should blast you for your opinion...it's yours and you're entitled to it!

Now for my opinion...I personally am against the shot. For one, I don't like putting foreign chemicals in my body for preventitive measures. I don't know enough about this shot and it definitely hasn't been around long enough to know the true side effects. ooh, and any shot that is required to be administered by someone who is certified in CPR is NOT for me! =/ #2...Like Danielle said, the odds of coming into contact with someone that is carrying H1N1 is probably slim to none at this stage of the outbreak. But of course, this is totally my opinion and you do whatever you feel comfortable with.

dnagal · January 2010

One of my best friends nearly lost their daughter (2 1/2 years old) to H1N1 in November. She was in the pediatric NICU at Yale for several weeks and it was touch and go minute to minute for about the first week of that. They live in southeastern CT, Not necessarily a "hotspot" for the virus. (And the ped NICU was full of kids in even WORSE shape with H1N1 than Andrea) Even if I weren't pregnant, I would get vaccinated anyway, simply to prevent infecting someone else, more sensitive to it than I.

I read this article in the NY Times and it convinced me in terms of pregnancy:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/a-pregnant-womans-story-of-swine-flu/?scp=2&sq=H1n1%20pregnant&st=cse

As for "it's a new vaccine, untested", etc.

If the H1N1 strain had been identified a few months earlier, it would have been included in the standard flu vaccine preparation.

The clinical trials and clinical preparation of the H1N1 vaccine is the same as that used for the "regular flu vaccine" used every year. Remember that the "regular" flu vaccine is a mixture of strains of influenza, and its composition changes every year to keep up with the ever-mutating viruses.

So, from my "I'm a scientist" perspective as well as my "I'm a preggo mother of a toddler" perspective, getting the vaccine, and getting my family vaccinated was absolutely the right thing to do.

Certainly you are entitled to the management of your own health. But do remember to stay home when you are sick, wash your hands frequently, and cover your mouth when you sneeze/cough, for the sake of everyone else.

tovachava · January 2010

dh and I got it,we got both, actually. I am not a huge vaccine person either, but as the parents of a tiny baby, I felt this was not just about me. I got the preservative free since I BF. the flu can be very serious for children. A few years ago there were all these stories of unvaccinated children dying from the flu, it just seemed so sad that it could have possibly been prevented. That said, when B. turns six months she can get it too, but as flu season is nearly over and she doesn't go to daycare, I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.

firedancer22 · January 2010

i'm a non-believer in vaccines. i'm a teacher and come in contact with all sorts of crazy germs all day, every day...and have built up quite the immune system because of it!

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