No antivaxers here please. Flu vax related question

amother

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:17 pm

Hi,
Gave the flu shot to my kids today & ped said that some of them need 2. Is this a new guideline? I always thought 2 flu shots were for kids getting shot for first time?

amother

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:24 pm

southernbubby wrote:

I also thought that. I took my grandson for the flu shot last week and nobody said to come back for more.

How old is he? Is this his first time?

amother

Green

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:26 pm

I remember being told when my kids were toddlers that their first year two doses are recommended.

We forgot to give the second dose so my doctor recommended they get two this year. But when we went for the shots this year, she said the guidelines changed and it’s not necessary.

amother

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:29 pm

amother [ Green ] wrote:

oh, interesting. Ok, I’ll check in with her again because some of my kids didn’t have their past flu shots listed since we’ve been at a dif ped in the past so that might change things too.

southernbubby

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:29 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How old is he? Is this his first time?

He is 6 and it is probably not the first time. Years ago, the doctor made the mistake of giving my son the second shot 2 years in a row and he had really bad seizures from that. Don't give a second shot unless it's the first time.

Elfrida

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:32 pm

Which children need to get a second dose? Is it possible that some missed out at some point?

The guidelines that I have sat that the first year a child gets the flu shot, they should have it twice in one year, a minimum of four weeks apart.

If a child only got one dose the first year, then the second year he should get two doses.

If he has had at least two doses in the past, even in different years he only needs one annual dose after that.

So maybe you somehow missed out a second dose with some of them for one reason or another? I should say that I am in Israel - the guidelines in America might be slightly different. They may want two in one year at some point regardless of how many times the child had had the shot.

Today I gave over 50 flu shots. Though mostly to adults. I did review the guidelines for children as well, though.

amother

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:36 pm

Elfrida wrote:

So in other words it needs to at least the 3rd dose regardless of when given- even if not same yr- and so a child that only got once in the past should get the 2nd & 3rd?
I’m going to check their records now

Elfrida

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 6:40 pm

Yes, if they only had one dose previously, then this year they should have two doses, at least four weeks apart.

Repeating that there may be some variation in practice between Israel and America.

amother

Tue, Nov 05 2019, 11:08 pm

Elfrida wrote:

Yes, if they only had one dose previously, then this year they should have two doses, at least four weeks apart.

Repeating that there may be some variation in practice between Israel and America.

Thanks for clarifying!

abound

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 1:12 am

A different question: I gave my children flu shots a few years back and every single one of them got the flu that year, it was an insane winter. I did not give it for a few years after that and then I tried again, once again everyone got the flu. since then I stopped giving the flu shot. I give all the other shots so it is not an anti vax issue, I just see it is not working for my family. DOes anyone else have that experience?

Metukah

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 3:49 am

I'm sorry for leeching off your thread, but I was going to start a thread with exactly this title, but my question is different.

I give my children all required vaccinations, I strongly believe in the institution of vax. But, I'm not so sure about flu vax. In our country they give it as a nasal spray, not a jab.

Is it really important, more so, do the benefits outweigh the risks? Are the risks really that high?

amother

Slategray

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 5:59 am

abound wrote:

I also had that but my kids got it on a way lesser scale. I didn’t give the flu shots yet this year I was thinking if it’s even worth it. Well my son got the flu now and it’s hell I actually might end up in the hospital his fever spiked to 106 I brought it down but he is extremely sick right now and I regret I didn’t hurry up and give the shot before

cozyblanket

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 7:12 am

abound wrote:

Yes, we have had similar experiences. But our cases of flu weren't too bad, probably due to the shot.

But, it's frustrating. I wish the shot would actually prevent it.

southernbubby

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 7:29 am

I am currently babysitting for a grandchild who is sick and tested positive for the flu. I was vaccinated only a week prior to exposure so I am taking elderberry and Maxibiotics in the hopes that I don't catch it because I have to help DD who is having surgery.
There is a shortage of high dose flu vaccine and I am a few months short of age 65 where high dose is preferred so I got the lower dose.
The vaccine does cause throbbing in the arm worse than last year but as I mentioned, I took a 6 year old grandson for a flu shot and he didn't complain about anything other than the amount of money that I was spending on the bribe.
The question about getting the shot now is that if the kid is already exposed, it probably won't be able to stop the flu from happening. It kicks in after two weeks. It does cover 4 strains though so I'm not sure if they will vaccinate if the kid has had the flu this season to prevent a different strain.

amother

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 8:27 am

Metukah wrote:

So here it is done as the shot- which is not live and I think more protective.
When I have done it in the past & when I got it even in pregnancy I haven’t seen any side effects Bh.
I haven’t given it all years for all my kids but this yr I have another child that is immunocompromised and already served PICU time for rsv, parainfluenza and rhino/entero virus. So we are doing our utmost hishtadlus...

amother

Slategray

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 8:29 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

To go back to your original question I never took two shots maybe Israel divides the shot in two so it shouldn’t be so hard on the body

Elfrida

Wed, Nov 06 2019, 9:18 am

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

To go back to your original question I never took two shots maybe Israel divides the shot in two so it shouldn’t be so hard on the body

No, it's exactly the same shot, given twice. The immune system doesn't tends not to react too strongly from just a single exposure, so the first time a child (up to age eight) gets the shot we reccomend doing twice in the year to ensure that his immune system recognizes it and can react in the future. After that, his system has made acquaintance with the flu virus, so one annual dose is enough to recognize the variations that are around that year.