your opinion regarding a swine flu message on a

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I need to ask for your opinion, someone started a thread regarding swine flu

vaccine on our community group. I only know of one other family who does

not vaccinate, ALL others are in. I have seen some nasty, I mean NASTY, posts

targeting non-vax families so I learned my lesson and for now just ignore those

messages. However, this one regarding swine flu got me going and I would like to

know what your opinion/answers would be....I'm furious. Thanks all.

ne

I'm all about people making up their own mind about the vaccine, BUT having

> worked earlier this year during the first wave of H1N1 in infectious disease

> here in NYC, I can tell you that the outcomes for infected pregnant women

> were not good around the country, and unfortunately here in NYC we saw some

> sad, sad cases. Previously healthy women who were pregnant had high outcomes

> of death and other severe health issues. Pregnant women, by the way, have

> fared poorly when infected in every other modern flu pandemic, particularly

> the 1957 and of course, the 1918 pandemic. The reason is not only the

> lowered immune status of pregnant women (done so that the body does not

> reject the fetus as a foreign object) but also the growing uterus puts

> pressure on the lungs and causes them to compromise and leaves them unable

> to fight off infection. Novel H1N1 is a little different than seasonal flu

> in that it gets very deep in the lungs, right where pregnant women are

> squished. Some studies even indicate that this flu has a high ability to

> infect multiple people easily. And it targets younger people much more than

> the usual flu crowd, those over 65.

>

> The ugly truth of the flu is you either live through it or you don't: we

> don't have super effective medications against it. H1N1-Novel still is

> (mostly) sensitive to Tamiflu, but seasonal flu is not. Pregnant women start

> out at a disadvantage when it comes to the flu.

>

> I'm surprised that OBs are saying not to get the flu shot; I encourage

> people to read more about it and weigh both sides. Yes, I fully admit not

> all vaccines are safe for everyone, BUT as someone who worked in medicine

> and is currently 36 weeks pregnant, yes, I'll be getting the regular flu

> shot and the novel shot. I also have been sick personally while pregnant and

> now know how the compromised immune system takes a lot of time to get

> better! I saw recently that the shot is being tested on 120 pregnant women

> to double check its safety. Officials do not want a repeat of the rushed

> 1976 vaccine.

>

> Children, particularly toddlers, have traditionally been easy flu targets.

> And yes, in my practice I have seen children die of the flu.

>

> The CDC.gov site is a good place for info, along with your own doctor

> (although I'm a fan of the second opinion), and published reports from peer

> reviewed sources. I tend to stay away from blogs.

>

> The big ways to stay healthy are:

>

> *Keeping at least 6 feet from coughing and ill individuals, which is almost

> impossible on the subway, I grant.

>

> *Wash hands frequently with hot water while singing " happy birthday " . Use

> hand sanitizer with at least 62% alcohol--teach your children to do this

> too.

>

> *Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth, since these are the mucous membranes

> where germs get in to your system.