Mercury-free Flu shots....Trying to find one for my 3 y.o. son...any ideas?

[masmdu]

Our regualr pediatrician seems unable to get the mercury-free flu shot. County Health Dept. might have some in a "few weeks".

This is our third attempt to get the shot with our regular doc. They say they don't know which kind they will get until it arrives...so far no merc-free. so we keep rescheduling.

We have a new baby in the house so we want to get the shot sooner rather than later.

Any ideas on how /where to get the merc-free flu shot for children?

Thanks

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Call the local and county boards of health to ask if there is a

pediatric flu shot without mercury (i.e., "preservatives") in the vaccine. The vaccine is manufactured in that variety.

[masmdu]

2. Did...checked w/ county health dept...."maybe in a few weeks" reply

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Option Two: Have you called some health food stores?

Or naturopaths in your area? Or clinics?

[caligirl]

3. No. But your experience is familiar. all the people we were talking

to at our clinic, son's university, and another office had the same delays from their distributors this year. finally i got lucky at my clinic and son got his shot Nov 21. (high risk group)

[pnwmom]

4. Have you tried other pediatrician's offices?

[Warpy]

6. First the bad news:

"Mercury-free vaccines also will be available, but many public health officials say those will be reserved for pregnant women and kids under age 2, for whom mercury poses the biggest health risk." http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=7311

Now the good news: the hysteria over thimerosol is just that, hysteria. It has been studied to death and NO LINK to any disease process in either children or adults has been found.

However, it's probably not a good idea to give it to infants and toddlers, even though most of us who are adults now lived through much more mercury exposure through coal fired central heat and multiple vaccines with mercury. If pregnant women and their kids under two can get it, I say go for it.

If I were you and had a new baby in the house, I'd get that three year old immunized ASAP.

[Waya]

11. Ok...looked around a bit........

And it might be too late to have your Pediatrician order the Mercury free vaccine for this year (if the health department doesn't get them or you miss it for other reasons). However, you can request now that your Doc order some for next year. Aventis - Pasteur makes them. They seem to be the only one so far that manufactures the mercury free vaccine (could be wrong on that, tho). It might cost you more (not sure about that) - ask your Pediatrician.

Some info about here: http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/secure/?fa=piexpress

Fluzone®, Influenza Virus Vaccine, No Preservative: Ped Dose
Pediatric Dose, 2006-2007 Formula (Children 6-35 months of age)
(Acrobat Reader required)

The Corporate website: http://www.sanofipasteur.us/sanofi-pasteur-us/front/pages/vaccination-immunology-vaccines-aventis-pasteur.jsp

Good Luck!

[SheilaT]

7. I'm going to suggest

that you really don't need flu shots. Hopefully you are nursing the new baby, and that way the baby will get your immunities. If you nursed the three year old for a couple of years, he's remarkably well protected also.

And if you didn't and you're not nursing (no need to explain why because it's your personal business only) you still shouldn't be even thinking of giving such young children immunizations. Keep in mind that it's only been a couple of years since the medical establishment started recommending flu shots for everyone, and there's practically no proof out there that flu shots are all that effective.

Eat well, get plenty of rest, do your best to avoid persons with the flu, and remember that actually getting the flu confers a far better and longer-lasting immunity than do the shots, which are a crap-shoot at best.

I must say that here it is December 1st and it's the first time in YEARS that I haven't been hearing the usual panic of "Omigod flu season is here we're all going to get the flu and die" that is usually so common.

[The2ndWheel]

9. Blasphemer!

[Horse with no Name]

12. Very bad advice. Very very bad.

I sincerely hope they decide not to follow your advice.
Breastfeeding doesn't protect a child for any longer than he is nursing with perhaps a month or two window in there.
Besides, humans don't carry "immunity" to the flu even if you were correct.
There are some BAD flus out there right now. I am a nurse and I have been seeing some of them.
And you might be interested to know that MOST likely the reason they haven't been hyping up the flu this year is because the past couple years flu vaccine has been a little scarce and they are concerned that there might not be enough to give one to everyone who wants one this year.
It is the media just doing it's job of covering the government's ass. Quelle surprise.
But people do NOT become IMMUNE to the flu. Which is one reason that people have to get innoculated each year. I won't go into specific details of why the flu vaccine is different each year, or how many actual flu strains there are..or combinations thereof.
Very poor research and very poor advice.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

24. I have a question (as a person who never gets the shots or the flu)

seriously, I've never had it, I really don't know how I've managed to avoid it. :shrug: I can remember a few times when I might have had it, (aches, fever, intestinal distress. :P )but within a day or two it was gone. I have no idea if it was the flu, or just a 'bug'.

I know getting it can be worse for the very young or the very old, but what are the risks to the average person? Dehydration or high fever? I could google if I wasn't so lazy this morning.

[Horse with no Name]

26. People at the extremes are at the worst risk

Which is why those are the most important to get the shot.
They don't have the defenses to fight it off.
Most healthy adults have constitutional symptoms. Aches, pains, fevers, just generally feeling shitty. However, they carry the virus to the extremes which is why getting them flu shots is important if they are available.
If you think about it in a bubble--as "I never get that sick" that is fine. But you always have to wonder if your mild case of flu gave someone else a fatal case of flu.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

27. Hopefully not. I've never known anyone who was hospitalized because

of it, and if I get sick, I stay home so I don't infect anyone else.

[Horse with no Name]

29. Was speaking generally

Not specifically of you.
But that is how the flu is spread. Most people have self-limiting symptoms that cause them a day or two off of work.
For others it is a death sentence.
I think anyone that actively tries to spread misinformation and lies about the flu vaccine is reprehensible.
Whether a person chooses to get the shot or not is strictly their decision.
Absolutely.
But to deliberately alter the facts because they don't believe in getting shots is wrong.
Had a 2-year old patient yesterday that came in that had flu symptoms for 3 days. Respiratory effort decreased after about 30 min in the ER. They stabilized her. Doc made the decision to keep her here (where we don't have facilities for intensive care for pediatrics and what I thought was a foolish decision).
Anyway, after about an hour of being transferred to the floor, the child worsened. CareFlite was called to transport her. They were on the ground about 4 hours before the child was stable enough to transfer--and even then it wasn't sure she was. When she left, she was blue and was on a ventilator. Not even sure if she survived the trip to Dallas because I am not at work today.
So, telling someone who wants to get a flu shot for their child not to get one is foolish. Kids decline quickly. Unless you have never seen it, you have no idea how fast a kid can go downhill.

[Horse with no Name]

30. She died on Sunday.

It happens.:cry:

[moc]

31. Oh no!

:cry:

[aquaman]

13. Where did you get your medical degree from?

If you don't have one, maybe you should hold back on telling people that they or their children don't need flu shots.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

20. From El Universidad Medica del Blogovia, no doubt. n/t

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

22. Um, I must say...regarding your post, it's pretty much...

f***ing hilarious!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


You may need to copyright that one!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: MKJ

[Horse with no Name]

23. When I first read that

I thought it said Bolivia and I was about to reply that I didn't get it.:rofl:

[Avalux]

16. Your post is full of misinformation.

Immunity to human influenza does not last from year to year because the viruses mutate (and there are many strains of both human influenza A and B). Breastfeeding does not provide immunity from human influenza. I'd like to know why you wrote there's no proof that flu shots are effective. Where did you get that information?

www.cdc.gov

[SheilaT]

17. Immunity does last.

If you get one of the major types of flu, then you're immune to most variants of that type for many years. The reason so many older people did not succumb to the 1918 flu was that they'd lived through an epidemic of a similar flu type some fifty years earlier. And still were immune.

And children DO retain immunities for a long time afterwards, possibly years.

Yes, flu does mutate every year. And the real problem is that in China they raise pigs and chickens side by side, the two species passing the flu virus back and forth, allowing it to mutate on a regular and steady basis. If China would change some of its agricultural habits flu would become less of a problem, although it would certainly not go away permanently.

One of the problems with flu shots is that about nine months before they're going to be distributed, the pharmacy companies making them have to guess, yes GUESS how the virus will mutate and develop what they hope will be an appropriate shot. And they can only include about three possible versions of what they think will happen, so there's always the distinct possibility that they'll guess completely wrong and that in any given year the shots will be totally useless.

I did see a piece on some news show, possibly CNN a couple of days ago talking about a potential shortage next year. Every year flu vaccine is manufactured based on how many shots were delivered the year before. And so if every single dose isn't used up the pharmaceutical companies are inclined to produce less vaccine the next year.

The CDC itself cannot assure us that flu vaccines are effective. A simple Google search will turn up plenty of relevant pieces.

And no, I don't have an MD degree, but probably no one else who responded to me does. Yes, one nurse has said "there are some BAD flus out there right now" but it doesn't sound any different from the usual hype about how terrible this flu season is going to be.

Rather than knuckle under to the giant-pharmacy promoted notion that everyone needs a flu shot, you all should be thinking more carefully about your own personal situation. Yes, there are those who probably should be getting the vaccine, as ineffective as it may well be. But young, healthy, non immune compromised people don't need it.

[Horse with no Name]

18. Again...you are wrong

Just flat wrong.
The pharmaceutical companies aren't the ones who "guess" which strains to protect from.
Each year, many laboratories throughout the world, including in the United States, collect flu viruses. Some of these flu viruses are sent to one of four World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratories, one of which is at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, for detailed testing. These laboratories also test how well antibodies made to the current vaccine react to the circulating virus and new flu viruses. This information, along with information about flu activity, is summarized and presented to an advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and at a WHO meeting. These meetings result in the selection of three viruses (two subtypes of influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus) to go into flu vaccines for the following fall and winter. Usually, one or two of the three virus strains in the vaccine are changed each year.

[SheilaT]

19. I stand corrected. Yes, it is the

various labs that work on the flu vaccines, but nonetheless they still have to make a guess as to exactly which subtypes to put into the vaccine. And I'm not wrong about natural immunity lasting a very long time and being better than vaccine-induced immunity. Nor am I wrong about the doubtful efficacy of the vaccines. And it's the big drug companies that want to make bundles of money who push so hard to persuade us that everyone without exception needs a shot every year. Which simply isn't true.

There's also a constant drumbeat of the possibility of a world-wide epidemic (or pandemic as some prefer to call it) like the 1918 flu. As if conditions would ever be the same as those that made that epidemic so bad. In reality, something as simple as hand-washing prevents a lot of disease, and a lot of people in even large cities like NYC did not have running water. Routine hand-washing simply wasn't in place as a routine.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

21. Links to ANYTHING that you reference? Anything?

I'm especially interested in the linked sources for these statements:

If you get one of the major types of flu, then you're immune to most variants of that type for many years. The reason so many older people did not succumb to the 1918 flu was that they'd lived through an epidemic of a similar flu type some fifty years earlier. And still were immune.

Please provide link to the difference in the benefit of a delivered vs. acquired immunity, which appears to be your conclusion

And children DO retain immunities for a long time afterwords, possibly years.

Link to either validated clinical evidence or peer reviewed studies with metrics, please.

One of the problems with flu shots is that about nine months before they're going to be distributed, the pharmacy companies making them have to guess, yes GUESS how the virus will mutate and develop what they hope will be an appropriate shot. And they can only include about three possible versions of what they think will happen, so there's always the distinct possibility that they'll guess completely wrong and that in any given year the shots will be totally useless.

Please link to any article, from a reputable source, that states the scientists at the CDC just "guess" the composition of the vaccine and please include any verifiable data that indicates that the flu vaccine has been "totally ineffective" due to this "guessing".

I did see a piece on some news show, possibly CNN a couple of days ago talking about a potential shortage next year. Every year flu vaccine is manufactured based on how many shots were delivered the year before. And so if every single dose isn't used up the pharmaceutical companies are inclined to produce less vaccine the next year.

The CDC itself cannot assure us that flu vaccines are effective. A simple Google search will turn up plenty of relevant pieces.

Please provide a link to any spokesperson for the CDC stating that the vaccine is not effective. And, since the number of manufacturers of the vaccine has increased every year, I'd very interested in the link to a reputable story that charts or graphs the "decline" of pharmaceutical companies manufacturing the vaccine.

It is your personal choice not to receive the vaccine. To demand that others follow that dictate based on sloppy, if any, research is unconscionable.

And, it's very evident you're not a clinician. MKJ

[librechik]

8. Please get your child immunized soon--the dangers of merc additives

are minuscule compared to a vicious flu bug in a tiny body. Listen to your doctor.

Here's an idea: if you live in or near a large city, call the local department of public health. This would be the place which supplies yellow fever vaccine and malaria protection to foreign travelers. They will be the first to know about vaccines arriving in the area, and they also might have a bit of what you want,you never know. In my experience the folks who work in those clinics feel sorry for the ordinary docs, who are last in line for the vaccine dispersals.

[aquaman]

10. That's what our son's doc told my wife and I.

I was ready to say no to it because of the mercury until he told me that an infant getting the flu is much more dangerous. So, we let him give the vaccine. It was a tough decision for me though.

[bleedingheart]

14. if you eat a lot of fish you can be exposed to far more mercury

than in the vaccines...

My kids have had every vaccine even the pneumonia vaccines for added protection since they are asthmatic....no problems except for a sore arm...but not always.

My son has Asperger's syndrome (a very high end type of autism..as it is diagnosed now)...but so does my husband and my father in law has the symptoms but has never been diagnosed...I don't think in our case a vaccine was the root of my son's disorder and in fact I suspect he will grow up to be just like his dad...a great guy.

[Ian David]

15. If you can't find Hg-Free shots, then just go on a Mercury-Free-Diet for a couple weeks

The amount of Mercury in the shots is minuscule compared to what you eat, drink and breathe every day.

However, I am personally concerned by the fact that even this small amount of Mercury is injected directly into the blood. My concern could be misguided-- or not.

In any case, if you can't find a Thimeresol-free shot, then perhaps it may be a good idea to go on a Mercury-free diet for a couple weeks.

Maybe a couple weeks of Veganism will offset the Mercury from the shot. Or maybe it's just a matter of not eating any tuna for a month.

Check with your doctor about what is safe, first.

[WindRavenX]

28. most sound advice in the thread

There is no established medical evidence to suggest the level of mercury in vaccines is in any way a threat; as you mentioned, there's more mercury in fish in all likelihood.

[jmowreader]

25. Ask for "thimerosal-free" shots

The chemical isn't called "mercury" on the label, even though that's one of the things in it.

The receptionists and techs there may not realize that the vaccines that say "thimerosal-free" on the box are the ones you're looking for.

[leftchick]

32. I have never given flu shots to either of my sons

I am curious as to why you feel it is necessary to give your child one? My older boy was not quite two when I brought his brother home. I never thought to give him a flu shot and it was never recommended. This was about ten years ago.