<p>^^^Totally agree.</p>
<p>And a lot of the whooping cough deaths are young infants who cannot yet receive the vaccine but are exposed by someone older who either wasn’t vaccinated or never got the booster.</p>
<p>My 11 month old was hospitalized for a week, and would turn blue with every cough. The kicker was, he was too young to make the tell-tale “whooping” sound, so after more than 5 visits to the ER/urgent care/dr. I finally coerced the pediatrician into testing him for pertussis. I was so desperate for a diagnosis, that i spent hours googling his symptoms; pertussis and scarily cystic fibrosis matched his symptoms pretty exactly. He grudgingly did the tests, and assured me he would be calling in a few days with the results and assuredly the culture would be negative for anything. Well, he ate crow, and apologized for not being more attentive to my observations about the progression of the disease. Had we known it was pertussis, I would have been way more cautious taking him out in public. I fear we may have infected people unknowingly…</p>
<p>I personally know a family who lost an infant to chicken pox. The same strain that my son got. Chicken pox is feared, very much so, on the oncology floors, I guarantee you. When my son was dxed with leukemia, that he had had chicken pox was a sigh of relief. Even with a depleted immune system, he carried some residual immunity from the disease. For those kids who did NOT get it, in those days,before the vaccine, it was a big fear. In our clinic alone, we’d lose a kid or two or year to chicken pox. This has been lowered by quite a bit, now that the vaccine has been added to the schedule. </p>
<p>As for unvaccinated kids being healthier, absolutely NOT. What kids are in that study? You want to see nests of unvaccinated kids, I can show them to you. They are usually very uncared for kids, with hosts of issues. They are unvaccinated because their parents did not bother. The studies with these parents pointing to their deliberately unvaccinated kids are taking a specific segment of society. A lot of these kids are getting very good parental care, and yes, their parents are advocating no vaccines with all the best intentions and for selfish reasons. But they are comparing their kids with society on the whole of the vaccinated public, ignoring the typical masses of the unvaccinated. </p>
<p>I understand what they are saying. But what they don’t get is that whallop of an unvacinated hit can be far harder, including death as opposed to other “maybe” side effects that have greater stats. You avoid the things that have death in the mix even when the chances are lower, over higher risk of less final but still adverse consequences. Until, they are hit, they don’t get it.</p>
<p>A few years ago, the orthodox Jewish community in the NYC area was hit with a mumps outbreak which compromised a significant number of kids undergoing chemo at Memorial SLoan Kettering and other hospital. For whatever reason, cancer tends to be more heavly in the picture among those with Jewish roots, so there were a significant number of kids in treatment at MSK, and yes, they brought the danged mumps into the picture.</p>
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<p>The likely reason for the blanket recommendation for the HPV vaccine is that there is the expectation that some adolescents won’t be completely forthcoming to their parents about beginning sexual activity (can you imagine one asking the parents “I’m going to become sexually active, can I get the HPV vaccine now?”?).</p>
<p>Actually, in my house (and in many cultures), ucb, that would’ve been a perfectly calm and reasonable conversation. </p>
<p>I agree that it’s not going to typically have a good reaction but I wish the culture would change so that adolescents could be completely open with their parents. </p>
<p>Pipe dream.</p>
<p>It isn’t just children that are put at risk from those that don’t vaccinate against chicken pox. I had a severe case at the age of 33. I was in bed for three weeks and have never been more ill in my life. I easily could have died from complications such as pneumonia or meningitis. I was NOT unhealthy before contracting it.</p>
<p>My D has a friend who was hospitalized with a very rare complication of CP. Can’t remember what it was but she was in the hospital for a week and again, she was very healthy before.</p>
<p>What really irks me is the attitude of many who choose not to immunize and openly depend on those of us that do! I saw a facebook post in which a woman went on and on about the problems with vaccines and then openly admitted that she counts on the herd to protect HER family. So she believes that vaccines are unsafe but openly admits that it is a good thing for her that the rest of us are willing to do it. Just so selfish!!</p>
<p>I think that I also understand that if you do get chickenpox, instead of the vaccine, you are now vulnerable for shingles as the virus is in you. So I believe that those who are vaccinated, won’t get shingles. Shingles is an awful disease. My brother in law had it in his eyes.</p>
<p>One of the issues with the Gardasil vaccine is that it is given as a series of 3 shots over 6 months, so it’s best to have it done before someone is in a situation to consider becoming sexually active.</p>
<p>We should also remember that the vaccine is not just for women. Young men should have it as well to protect their future partners.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve known adults who have been very ill with chicken pox. Some never had it as a child and thought they had, and with some perhaps the immunity did not stay. But adult CP is no joke.</p>
<p>Another flu here. </p>
<p>Yesterday, we went out for my birthday- bowling, dinner, etc. Came home and within hours my fiance couldn’t breath. Drew the line when he couldn’t breath and brought him to urgent care (happy birthday!). Confirmed for the flu- yippie. </p>
<p>He had the vaccine back in October so he’s not as bad as it would be if he didn’t. He’s still able to move around a little bit but basically just to the bathroom and back. It’s his breathing that scares me. I was up until about 5 in the morning because his breathing was so bad. </p>
<p>He called the family he works for to tell them that he won’t be in and lo and behold, their kid was diagnosed with the flu on Friday. I do not know whether or not the kid was vaccinated but they just got back from a long vacation around central America and in the west so there’s a chance that whatever strain he got is not covered by the vaccine. </p>
<p>I’m vaccinated and have had a cold for the last few days but luckily nothing from this. I hung out with the kid on Thursday so I was exposed to and I think I dodged a bullet. All three of my roommates are unvaccinated though so we’ll see how this goes. </p>
<p>Ema, I hope your fiance is doing better. Best wishes.</p>
<p>People with compromised immune systems are not only at high risk for the chicken pox itself, but for a runaway cancer that the varicella virus can trigger. Since the vaccine is live, those on chemo or with other immune disorders can’t have it – so we worry about exposure to people who are blithely endangering those we love by walking around unvaccinated. </p>
<p>My siblings and I all had CP at the same time – my 20-something brother was hospitalized for a week and nearly died. I waited to have my children immunized as the CP vaccine was new (all the reasons people give now for Gardasil) and as a consequence, my immune damaged child didn’t complete his varicella series and has no immunity, and cannot be vaccinated. Delay is not always your friend.</p>
<p>My fiance had the scary breathing too, but by day 3 or 4 was still really sick but I no longer felt he was in danger. The very severe cough only lasted two days or so. Those first few nights were terrifying. I was lying half-awake at 4am listening to him rasping and thinking about what I would feel like when I had to cancel the wedding and sell our house because he had suffocated to death. I think if he had not had the shot or the tamiflu he would have absolutely been hospitalized, it could not have gotten any worse without becoming an emergency situation. He was turning blue when he coughed and could not stop. I’ve never seen anybody get so sick. Now he is up and about again but still weak and feverish. I think it will be another week before he is really back to normal. But, at least the horrible coughing was short lived.</p>
<p>I personally felt like hell on saturday night but woke up feeling normal on Sunday, if a bit congested. So whatever is bugging me, I appear to be slowly fighting off.</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ve ever had full blown flu. The only times I have actually been sick enough to go to the doctor with flu-like symptoms, I ended up actually being diagnosed with flu. And both times were years when I had the flu vaccine. 3 years ago I got sick about a week after getting vaccinated, so I was fully immune but at least my symptoms were short lived and bearable. This year I got sick a month after being vaccinated. 3 days of moderate misery. I know anti-vaccine types would say I got sick from the vaccine, but I think I got LESS sick because of the vaccine.</p>
<p>Did the flu shots given out earlier in August and September contain anything to protect against the H1N1 now? I ask because I did get the flu shot, but I’ve run out of my asthma meds and I’m running into a lot of bureaucratic trouble getting more. I’m coughing a lot without the flu! I certainly don’t want that to get worse.</p>
<p>The trivalent flu vaccine contained protection against H1N1, H3N2 and an influenza b virus.
So you should be protected against most common strains.
The quadrivalent virus also contains antibodies against an additional influenza B virus.</p>
<p>If you are having trouble with your ins, cant you just get the inhaler at the pharmacy and get reimbursed later?</p>
<p>I just had a 50 yo friend who died from the flu about 10 days ago. He was otherwise healthy. I don’t know if he’d had the vaccine or not. The flu is nothing to play with.</p>
<p>I don’t remember hearing about so many deaths of younger, healthy people of the flu in previous years. ( I count a 50-year-old as young in this context.) This is scary.</p>
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<p>[CDC</a> - What You Should Know for the 2013-2014 Influenza Season | Seasonal Influenza (Flu)](<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2013-2014.htm#vaccine-protect]CDC”>http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2013-2014.htm#vaccine-protect) says that the flu vaccines include the following:</p>
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<p>A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus is the one that caused the concern in 2009 and has been included in regular seasonal flu vaccines since then.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, in 2009 I witnessed several young and healthy individuals die from H1N1 and others getting severely sick. I can recall coding a 30 something bodybuilder who died. The vaccine naysayers lined up for their shots causing a shortage in our community. After seeing what I saw in the ICU, I ended up getting a second shot once the shortage ended. I don’t ever want to witness that again. Btw, even if we were vaccinated, we still had to wear gowns, mask, gloves and isolate the patients. Several nurses became ill anyway. My hospital has instituted a mandatory influenza vaccination after that year.</p>
<p>bajamm - sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. So tragic.</p>