families who dont get the flu shot

What are your thoughts and feelings on the flu issue this year? I just read there have been 18 children deaths so far, and that its really bad this year. Every article I read says go get your shot! and we don't usually get flu shots.

I sit here freaking out, as I have 3 kids under 4 and an SO who works outside the home and has already gotten us sick once.

Does all this hype make you 2nd guess your decision not to get your family the flu shot? Why or why not? I havent heard how many of those kids had the shot!

No me and the kids still aren't getting one, but my DH is a police officer who picks up lots of off duty details at the ER and they told him if he didn't get a flu shot he'd have to wear a mask when he was there, so he let them give him one  

Well even if you get the vaccine there is a good possibility it won't work. Especially considering they GUESS what flu viruses to put in it.

Oh and I don't get myself vaccinated and I don't regret it. Also a boss at my work got the vaccine and got the flu, but I was around her and have not gotten it.

My husband and I get one. My kids stay at home with me so they don't really come in contact with alot of people. I don't want to put that in my kids body.
Oh, and last year both my kids got the flu from a visit to the drs office and it was miserable but all in all only lasted a week.

I wasnt going to...but I am thinking if the flu is soo bad this year, I might just have to suck it up and get me and him vaccinated.

I have never gotten a flu shot. Last year all my family got the flu shot and H1N1 shot and I ended up having to take care of them while they where sick with H1N1 and the flu multiple times with out getting sick so I will probably not ever get a flu shot myself but Im not 100% sure about the baby Im expecting. I still have to do research before I decide on that.

Quoting P3RvYmCp3rv:" Well even if you get the vaccine there is a good possibility it won't work. Especially considering they ... [snip!] ... and I don't regret it. Also a boss at my work got the vaccine and got the flu, but I was around her and have not gotten it. "

According to a CNN article from this morning, this strain of flu (H3N2) is "matching up well" with the vaccine...so theyre saying getting the shot will stop you from getting it (which we know isnt true)

I've never had a flu shot and neither have my kids. I'm a single mom so both of my kids have been to daycare and my son is now in elementary school. They're both very exposed to germs all day long. I'm not worried. You can actually catch the flu from getting the shot and so far *fingers crossed* we've never caught the flu while not having the shot, so I see no reason to put my kids at risk of actually catching it from the shot. I say just monitor your kids closely, keep their fluids and vitamin in take up,. and if anything appears out of the ordinary of regular cold symptoms, like exceptionally high fevers that won't quit with meds, take them in. I personally think getting the shot is a bigger risk than not getting it.

Ever since my last flu shot I will never get one again. The only reason I got one is because my DD was in the NICU and in order for me to visit I had to get one. Never ever again! It seemed like I got sicker with it than I ever have without it.

The twins and I haven't gotten the shot and don't plan to. Last time I got the shot it made me very ill and I was almost hospitalized. Hubs has to get the shot/mist being in the military though.

I dont even bother. There are so many different strains, even if you get the shot you can still get the flu because they go off of what was "popular" the year before.

Quoting L&B +1:" According to a CNN article from this morning, this strain of flu (H3N2) is "matching up well" with the ... [snip!] ... "matching up well" with the vaccine...so theyre saying getting the shot will stop you from getting it (which we know isnt true)"

yeaaa Everybody that my mom has seen come into Children's with influenza has had the flu vaccine. This is gonna sound awful but the reason and only reason I get the kids vaccinated is because it can reduce the symptoms since they are generally from the same strands. I don't get it for them to keep them from getting it.

No. How many of these kids had the flu shot already? Just out of curiosity. I've never gotten the shot and never had the seasonal flu. I get colds but that's it. Same with the kids. We've never done that shot for them and they've never had the flu.

My daughter and I both do not get the flu shot. She had the flu around new years and was sick for about 5-6 days. We ended up going to the ER for a super high fever and they didn't try and convince us to get the shot. They said they pretty much just have a vaccine for the most common flu virus of the season. I am assuming that that is the flu my daughter got so we are good now anyways. I just am not comfortable with the flu shot.

Quoting L&B +1:" What are your thoughts and feelings on the flu issue this year? I just read there have been 18 children ... [snip!] ... guess your decision not to get your family the flu shot? Why or why not? I havent heard how many of those kids had the shot!"

No. One of the things they are saying is that the flu shot doesnt even have the same strain as whats going around in it so it wouldnt matter. They are also saying that from years of having the flu shot the flu just keeps mutated so being vaxed doesnt matter too... theyre saying alot of things... so far there are 15,000 cases, do you really think all those people are unvaxed?

We're still not getting it and my husband is a cable guy that goes in and out of homes...he will probably bring it home, we'll get sick and then we'llg et better.... 18 deaths is a small number compared to how many people are in the united states. Like I said to my friend, how many people a year die from coconuts falling on their head?

People are also saying that the 18 that died doesnt mean every single one died FROM the flu, they could have had under lying helath issues and the flu is what caused something to shut down or irritate something else.