Swine Flu Vaccine - yes or no
- Thread starter Buckeroo
- Start date
rani
Administrator
Did you read the article in today's SCMP about the man falling ill after getting the swine flu jab?
According to the Dept Health only 3% of ill/pregnant women have received the vaccine.
Article in HK Standard
Probe as man falls sick after flu jab - The Standard
According to the Dept Health only 3% of ill/pregnant women have received the vaccine.
Article in HK Standard
Probe as man falls sick after flu jab - The Standard
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Hannah's Mom
Registered User
I was really debating about getting this shot also for my girls. Both have had the regular flu jab already.
I decided that I WILL get the H1N1 shot mainly because another child that we know has just been admitted to the hospital with it. Both my children are of school age (3 and 6) and the risk of getting it is higher since they are around kids all day (like any sickness!)! My 3 year old will get it for free but have to take my 6 year old to her doctor.
I've heard that people are most concerned about February.. after CNY ... after all the travelling?? If we get the first shot now the second one will be done just before CNY ....... ALSO next regular flu jab will include this "swine flu" so i figure if they'll be getting the jab anyway then .....
It's a tough decision!
I decided that I WILL get the H1N1 shot mainly because another child that we know has just been admitted to the hospital with it. Both my children are of school age (3 and 6) and the risk of getting it is higher since they are around kids all day (like any sickness!)! My 3 year old will get it for free but have to take my 6 year old to her doctor.
I've heard that people are most concerned about February.. after CNY ... after all the travelling?? If we get the first shot now the second one will be done just before CNY ....... ALSO next regular flu jab will include this "swine flu" so i figure if they'll be getting the jab anyway then .....
It's a tough decision!
I am 21 weeks pregnant and I had the jab when I was in the UK over Christmas. I will get my 9 month old son vaccinated too. My GP there was very convincing about having it on the grounds that a) it's the same and has gone through the same procedures/checking as seasonal flu b) swine flu has caused some people, especially small children and pregnant women to be very ill and have to deliver early or be hospitalised.
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Gataloca
Registered User
I don't know about my children (I don't have any yet). But I am 14 weeks pregnant, and I don't think I'll take the vaccine.
My sister is in Canada, and there she got the one without preservative. But here in Hong Kong, I don't even know what that vaccine contains... is it a live virus vaccine, or a killed virus vaccine? does it contain preservative???... why is it "safe" when most regular vaccination (e.g. Rubella) is not safe for pregnant women???
My sister is in Canada, and there she got the one without preservative. But here in Hong Kong, I don't even know what that vaccine contains... is it a live virus vaccine, or a killed virus vaccine? does it contain preservative???... why is it "safe" when most regular vaccination (e.g. Rubella) is not safe for pregnant women???
We're going tomorrow. According to our office, kids only need one (and I've read that research shows that the additional benefit of the 2nd shot is less than 1%, so I wouldn't go back anyway). We always did seasonal flu, but skipped this year because 90% of flu out there is swine flu. I may very well be included in next year's seasonal flu shots, so then we'll just get those next winter.
I've had the (seasonal) flu shots already a few years in a row, mostly due to pregnancy and the fact I have 3 young kids at home. From one of them, I fell ill for about a day, the other times, nothing.
I've had the (seasonal) flu shots already a few years in a row, mostly due to pregnancy and the fact I have 3 young kids at home. From one of them, I fell ill for about a day, the other times, nothing.
No waitinglist if you go the the Department of Health and the shots are free to. Actually quite an experience. Kids had no bad reactions and went in and came out smiling.
My reason for doing it is that the respective countries where my wife and I come from the government was giving the shots to the kids as well.
My reason for doing it is that the respective countries where my wife and I come from the government was giving the shots to the kids as well.
solidstars
Registered User
i'm still undecided. hearing news about people who became paralyzed after getting the vaccine is still scary... though i know it's a lot of hype so more attention, etc, but still...
Can you please back this up with facts? Sources. Would be interested.
joyofliving
Registered User
nicolejoy
Registered User
There was one person in Hong Kong, out of something like 100,000+ vaccinated so far. Rani posted the link on the previous page. It was a guy with "lower limb muscle weakness" which may or may not have been connected to the vaccination. I also have the SCMP article in an email if anyone wants me to email it to them...
There's been one case of possible "serious side effect" out of more than 100,000 vaccinated - as opposed to 55 deaths in Hong Kong out of 34,000 cases of swine flu. I know which odds are better!!
There's been one case of possible "serious side effect" out of more than 100,000 vaccinated - as opposed to 55 deaths in Hong Kong out of 34,000 cases of swine flu. I know which odds are better!!
But doesn't that go for all vaccinations. There are always rare 1:100,000 adverse reactions. At least if you go to the CDC website, you'll find it all written down. This many people experience this, other this, serious could be this. It's rare, and it's not typical for this particular immunization. Can happen with a different one as well. It's just the odds that you need to outweigh. My kids had never had adverse reactions to any shot, including regular flu shots besides it a mild fever (and if that it's rare) or a sore arm, which is quite common, especially when they're tense and "fighting" the shot by strengthening their muscles.
solidstars
Registered User
i saw it on the news when we were travelling in taiwan, but anyways did a quick search:
Swine Flu Vaccine Linked to Paralysis, Leaked Memo Reveals
Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America | Mail Online
As I said, i'm still undecided...
Swine Flu Vaccine Linked to Paralysis, Leaked Memo Reveals
Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America | Mail Online
As I said, i'm still undecided...
rani
Administrator
Probe into stillbirth flu jab inconclusive
Health chiefs say they have found no link - so far - between a woman's still birth and the swine flu vaccine she received.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Health chiefs say they have found no link - so far - between a woman's still birth and the swine flu vaccine she received.
The child was stillborn on Tuesday. Its 37-year-old mother is in stable condition at Tuen Mun Hospital.
The woman received the vaccine on December 28. She was 28 weeks' pregnant when admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital after she reported decreased fetal movement and no heartbeat.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "It will take some time to see if it is related to the swine flu vaccine, but so far we do not see any link."
The department also said yesterday that tests on a 67-year- old woman admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital for treatment last Friday showed she did not have Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).
The syndrome is one in which the body attacks its own nerve cells.
The woman suffered from general weakness, fever, headache and vomiting.
"[She] had been classified as a non-Guillain-Barre Syndrome case," the department said.
"According to the latest review of her condition by neurologists, all findings do not indicate GBS."
The Standard - China's Business Newspaper
Health chiefs say they have found no link - so far - between a woman's still birth and the swine flu vaccine she received.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Health chiefs say they have found no link - so far - between a woman's still birth and the swine flu vaccine she received.
The child was stillborn on Tuesday. Its 37-year-old mother is in stable condition at Tuen Mun Hospital.
The woman received the vaccine on December 28. She was 28 weeks' pregnant when admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital after she reported decreased fetal movement and no heartbeat.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "It will take some time to see if it is related to the swine flu vaccine, but so far we do not see any link."
The department also said yesterday that tests on a 67-year- old woman admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital for treatment last Friday showed she did not have Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).
The syndrome is one in which the body attacks its own nerve cells.
The woman suffered from general weakness, fever, headache and vomiting.
"[She] had been classified as a non-Guillain-Barre Syndrome case," the department said.
"According to the latest review of her condition by neurologists, all findings do not indicate GBS."
The Standard - China's Business Newspaper
rani
Administrator
Health chief urges pregnant women: Get the jab
Worried mothers-to-be are being urged to set aside unproven concerns that the human swine flu (H1N1) vaccination can hurt the unborn and to go ahead and get the jab.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Worried mothers-to-be are being urged to set aside unproven concerns that the human swine flu (H1N1) vaccination can hurt the unborn and to go ahead and get the jab.
The plea was made as Hong Kong's health chief said it would have been "irresponsible" if the government had not advised pregnant women to get vaccinated against H1N1 for they have a much greater risk of serious illness than most people if they are stricken with the pandemic flu.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok was defending the vaccination policy after two women suffered stillbirths on a single day last week.
That was just weeks after they received the jab.
A 33-year-old woman lost her 37-week unborn baby on Tuesday after receiving the vaccine on December 27. But she was suffering from gestational diabetes when admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, health authorities said at the weekend.
On the same day, a 37-year-old woman suffered a stillbirth at Tuen Mun Hospital. She got the jab on December 28.
"We still have not been able to confirm the cause of death," Chow said of the Tuen Mun case, but he insisted no evidence has been found to connect the stillbirth to the vaccine.
Investigations for common causes of stillbirths - including infection and genetic and metabolic disorders - are being carried out in both cases.
From 150 to 220 stillbirths are recorded in Hong Kong every year.
Meanwhile, Chow said there is no scientific evidence and therefore no reason to change the vaccination policy for high-risk groups.
Pregnant women have 10 times the risk of serious complications from the flu that require hospital attention, he said, and in some cases the virus means death.
"If we did not have [this policy] it would be irresponsible," he said of the recommendation that pregnant women be vaccinated.
Worldwide, there has not been confirmation of any flu vaccine causing fetal deaths - a fact that had Chow cautioning: "We must be very careful to draw conclusions."
Chow's plea was echoed by Shane Solomon, chief executive of the Hospital Authority.
He urged pregnant women to receive the jab because the risk of them needing intensive care in hospital is 10 times greater than that other people face.
While pregnant women remain high on the flu fighters' worry list, fears are easing over youngsters because many have built up an immunity to H1N1.
If recommendations by scientific committees of the Centre for Health Protection are accepted, primary school children will not be a target of a mass- vaccination program.
The committees examined "local serology data, which show that about half of the children have adequate antibody levels," a spokesman said.
That suggests "a substantial number" already have immunity against the coming second wave of flu.
So "the scientific committees do not regard primary school children as a special target group recommended for vaccination."
The Standard - China's Business Newspaper
Worried mothers-to-be are being urged to set aside unproven concerns that the human swine flu (H1N1) vaccination can hurt the unborn and to go ahead and get the jab.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Worried mothers-to-be are being urged to set aside unproven concerns that the human swine flu (H1N1) vaccination can hurt the unborn and to go ahead and get the jab.
The plea was made as Hong Kong's health chief said it would have been "irresponsible" if the government had not advised pregnant women to get vaccinated against H1N1 for they have a much greater risk of serious illness than most people if they are stricken with the pandemic flu.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok was defending the vaccination policy after two women suffered stillbirths on a single day last week.
That was just weeks after they received the jab.
A 33-year-old woman lost her 37-week unborn baby on Tuesday after receiving the vaccine on December 27. But she was suffering from gestational diabetes when admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, health authorities said at the weekend.
On the same day, a 37-year-old woman suffered a stillbirth at Tuen Mun Hospital. She got the jab on December 28.
"We still have not been able to confirm the cause of death," Chow said of the Tuen Mun case, but he insisted no evidence has been found to connect the stillbirth to the vaccine.
Investigations for common causes of stillbirths - including infection and genetic and metabolic disorders - are being carried out in both cases.
From 150 to 220 stillbirths are recorded in Hong Kong every year.
Meanwhile, Chow said there is no scientific evidence and therefore no reason to change the vaccination policy for high-risk groups.
Pregnant women have 10 times the risk of serious complications from the flu that require hospital attention, he said, and in some cases the virus means death.
"If we did not have [this policy] it would be irresponsible," he said of the recommendation that pregnant women be vaccinated.
Worldwide, there has not been confirmation of any flu vaccine causing fetal deaths - a fact that had Chow cautioning: "We must be very careful to draw conclusions."
Chow's plea was echoed by Shane Solomon, chief executive of the Hospital Authority.
He urged pregnant women to receive the jab because the risk of them needing intensive care in hospital is 10 times greater than that other people face.
While pregnant women remain high on the flu fighters' worry list, fears are easing over youngsters because many have built up an immunity to H1N1.
If recommendations by scientific committees of the Centre for Health Protection are accepted, primary school children will not be a target of a mass- vaccination program.
The committees examined "local serology data, which show that about half of the children have adequate antibody levels," a spokesman said.
That suggests "a substantial number" already have immunity against the coming second wave of flu.
So "the scientific committees do not regard primary school children as a special target group recommended for vaccination."
The Standard - China's Business Newspaper
A 77 yr old friend of my dad was paralysed when he was vacinated with the swine flu vacine last year in HK. He lived alone in Sai Kung and was unable to visit a doctor due to his paralysis. He also refused to call an ambulance.
Apparantly, he was near death and I managed to book a sameday e-ticket on Virgin Atlantic for his wife and son to fly back to HK from England to see him. Happliy, he has now almost recovered.
My dad now is refusing to visit our local GP in England in case it happens to him.
Apparantly, he was near death and I managed to book a sameday e-ticket on Virgin Atlantic for his wife and son to fly back to HK from England to see him. Happliy, he has now almost recovered.
My dad now is refusing to visit our local GP in England in case it happens to him.
braveheart
Registered User
flu jab
I just read the article in Standard where women less than 3 mnths pregnant were advised not to take the flu shot. The conflicting views among the medical fraternity scare me as nobody is sure whether it is really safe or what are the long term effects of the medicine. I definately would not want to experiment on my kids!!
I just read the article in Standard where women less than 3 mnths pregnant were advised not to take the flu shot. The conflicting views among the medical fraternity scare me as nobody is sure whether it is really safe or what are the long term effects of the medicine. I definately would not want to experiment on my kids!!