swine flu vaccine – crapshoot or not??
Sunday, November 15th, 2009The biggest decision I had to make recently was to get Eva the swine flu vaccine or not. In the beginning I decided not to and felt great about it. It was constantly debated around me but I never entered the debate or gathered information. My pediatrician told me it was safe and was a lot better then getting the regular flu vaccine because it wasn’t a guess as to which strain it was
Then suddenly a colleague at work had a close friend die from the swine flu and then I got a little frantic. It seemed too close for comfort. So I found Eva an appointment 5 days later. In those 5 days I agonized over whether to get it for her or not. I got a lot of emails telling me to get it or not get it, that the government is evil and trying to microchip us (what the hell???). I watched the Dr. Oz video, I spoke to a lot of people, I read and researched. There is so many arguments both ways. There were so many times I made the decision to do it or not and then I found our more information and I had to start over again. It was so frustrating.
I prayed and prayed and just got a neutral answer. I kinda got the feeling that either way things would be fine. I spoke to my grandma who actually got the swine flu and has a lot of knowledge on homeopathic medicine she told me that it was a pretty mild fever but that the cough was horrible and that it wouldn’t be good on Eva’s little lungs.
So I ended up getting her the vaccine.
The main reason being that she is not in my constant care since I work. If I had her with me 24/7 I wouldn’t have gotten it for her.
Now the crapshoot is is that she has a fever which is a side effect (why????) and this is her first. She also has a cough. Now I am second guessing myself and wondering if I made the wrong decision.
So to those of you who might be struggling or wondering about the vaccine my advice is to inform yourself about it and make the decision you are comfortable with. Don’t let others sway you and don’t listen to the fanatics. If someone doesn’t respect your opinion then don’t listen to them, they are sure to supply you with some scary stories which won’t help.
I know one thing though, Eva will never get a seasonal flu shot. That is a crapshoot.
Poor little Eva. She seemed so miserable when I saw her on Sunday. You’re lucky that she made it to 10 months without getting sick. Violet was hospitalized at 30 days old cause she had a cough and a fever. It was so horrible. I had to watch them give my brand new baby a spinal tap! AHHHHK. So glad that is over with. I hope Eva gets better soon.