required vaccinations

[angelausp]

I read an article that said that the pentagon has bought 1.4 million H1N1 vaccines for active military personnel and that they will make it mandatory that that active soldiers receive the vaccine within in the next 7-10 days. What are your thoughts?

[MacSteve]

probably. I read an article in the navy times that the gov't in general purchased 2.7 mil. 1.4 mil makes since for active duty folk. I'm curious as to the stability of the vaccine. The main issue with H1N1 if I recall correctly was it was rapidly changing and mutating. I also know that I just had a mandatory nasal spray done about a week ago. Once again if I have read correctly, things to do to avoid catching swine flu were the same things to prevent catching the normal flu. Good Hygiene, clean clothes etc, meaning that the normal flu spray should be enough to prevent catching swine flu. So why do I need a secondary Vaccine?

I'm not for or against it, I would just like more information.

[sweetmtn]

Well, my oldest son is Army in the Honor Guard at Arlington in DC..his entire unit was marched in and they all were required to take that H1N1 vaccine..theirs was the nasal spay...anyway..his ENTIRE UNIT NOW HAS SWINE FLU! gggrrrr

[MacSteve]

are you sure it was H1N1? We got the regular flu mist a few weeks ago.

[sweetmtn]

are you sure it was H1N1? We got the regular flu mist a few weeks ago.

Yup..they got BOTH!:mad:

[MacSteve]

meh.I guess OCONUS waits a little longer

[angelausp]

Well, my oldest son is Army in the Honor Guard at Arlington in DC..his entire unit was marched in and they all were required to take that H1N1 vaccine..theirs was the nasal spay...anyway..his ENTIRE UNIT NOW HAS SWINE FLU! gggrrrr

They got the swine flu after getting vaccinated? Wow, I thought the point of the vaccine was to prevent you from getting sick. How is that possible?

[MacSteve]

yea so I've been REALLY sick for a few days now. dehydration, not eating etc etc. I'm going BACK to the doctor tomorrow for dehydration and such. Mom thinks its from the flu mist i got about a week beforehand. Tell ya what, I'm going to try every damn effort to not get this swine flu shot. especially after I eventually get over this regular flu BS.

[sweetmtn]

You hear on the news that they "TEST" this vaccine...who do you think they test it on anyway...my best guess, our military! I may be totally wrong on this..but I can only go by what my son said happened in his army unit!

[MacSteve]

the news loves to exaggerate things. take them with a grain of salt. Do you honestly think they would just randomly test something on the 1 thing that stops people from attacking the Nation? Doubtful. Furthermore the whole military would go into chaos if all these people fell down with swine flu.

[n15wb]

Yup..they got BOTH!:mad:

As one who practices medicine.......

Getting both Live vaccines IE: the spray up the nose at once is specifically contraindicated per the CDC website for providers.

Can seasonal influenza vaccine and 2009 H1N1 vaccine be given at the same visit?
Both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccines are available as inactivated and live attenuated (LAIV) formulations. The simultaneous and sequential administration of seasonal and 2009 H1N1 inactivated vaccines is currently being studied. However, existing recommendations are that two inactivated vaccines can be administered at any time before, after, or at the same visit as each other (General Recommendations on Immunization, MMWR 2006;55[RR-15]). Existing recommendations also state that an inactivated and live vaccine may be administered at any time before, after or at the same visit as each other. Consequently, providers can administer seasonal and 2009 H1N1 inactivated vaccines, seasonal inactivated vaccine and 2009 H1N1 LAIV, or seasonal LAIV and inactivated 2009 H1N1 at the same visit, or at any time before or after each other. Live attenuated seasonal and live 2009 H1N1 vaccines should NOT be administered at the same visit until further studies are done. If a person is eligible and prefers the LAIV formulation of seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccine, these vaccines should be separated by a minimum of four weeks.

The H1N1 vaccine is only coming out this week. Regular flu vaccine has been out for weeks now.

Furthermore, once you get vaccinated it can take 12-21 days to acquire immunity. If the virus changes somewhat you may still get sick, but not as sick as you would without the vaccine. So you can catch the flu if you are exposed very shortly after getting the vaccine. You can get a mild reaction after getting vaccinated but it is not the flu.

I just got my regular flu vaccine a few days ago but now am recovering from swine flu caught from my youngest son at school.:sooohot:

Swine flu is spreading fast right now and no one is vaccinated yet unless you got it in the last 7 days or so. ( Yes, I realize the military may have exceptional access, but my son has only been offered the regular so far, no mention of H1N1 yet)

Whole text of info if you are interested:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/clinicians_qa.htm

Cheers,
Bill

Note: The regular seasonal vaccine has a subtype of H1N1 in it, but it is NOT "the" H1N1 swine type.

[RNpatty03]

Please remember that it takes at least 2 weeks to build immunity after receiving the flu and H1N1 vaccines. Another thing, the vaccines do not always provide total protection against getting the flu, but they are still worth getting.

[xbeautifulbrunette]

I just have a quick question. My boyfriend received the H1N1 nasal spray vaccination around 3 weeks ago. He told me it was the regular flu one, but then they found out it was actually H1N1.. Right after that I spent the day with him.. is there any chance of me catching H1N1? I have a weak immune system from Type 2 diabetes, so I'm just trying to see if there is anything I should be worried about.


Thanks!

[MacSteve]

the only thing you really can do is exercise good hygiene and all that good stuff that is recommended to prevent the disease. Maybe take some Vitamin C as well.

By the way small update on myself, I went to the ER a few nights ago after throwing up. I was just feelin horrid. Turns out I have 2 or 3 bugs, which is why my symptoms jump randomly from one thing to another. yaay Flu Mist!

[sweetmtn]

I know that some of you may not feel that the H1N1 vaccine has not been used yet on many of our military, but I do know that where my son is..IT WAS! Now that being said...where I live, CA. it came out from the State Dept of Health that EVERY CASE OF FLU IN THE STATE IS AND HAS BEEN H1N1 since the beginning! Glad I work with animals at a vet office and not a people doc! Plus..it is still a very well known fact that the REGULAR FLU KILLS MORE PEOPLE ANNUALLY THAN THIS ONE WILL!

[MacSteve]

I know that some of you may not feel that the H1N1 vaccine has not been used yet on many of our military, but I do know that where my son is..IT WAS! Now that being said...where I live, CA. it came out from the State Dept of Health that EVERY CASE OF FLU IN THE STATE IS AND HAS BEEN H1N1 since the beginning! Glad I work with animals at a vet office and not a people doc! Plus..it is still a very well known fact that the REGULAR FLU KILLS MORE PEOPLE ANNUALLY THAN THIS ONE WILL!

Exactly. I don't want the swine flu shot because I don't want to spend another 2 weeks being sick. However if I do catch it, I'm really not too worried.

[angelausp]

I know that some of you may not feel that the H1N1 vaccine has not been used yet on many of our military, but I do know that where my son is..IT WAS! Now that being said...where I live, CA. it came out from the State Dept of Health that EVERY CASE OF FLU IN THE STATE IS AND HAS BEEN H1N1 since the beginning! Glad I work with animals at a vet office and not a people doc! Plus..it is still a very well known fact that the REGULAR FLU KILLS MORE PEOPLE ANNUALLY THAN THIS ONE WILL!

Every case? That seems a bit extreme! What plans does your state have to control the spread of the swine flu?

[sweetmtn]

Every case? That seems a bit extreme! What plans does your state have to control the spread of the swine flu?

I have no clue what California has plans for the control of spread...wish I knew. But that was front page news 3 weeks ago! From that article, it said they were trying to get enough vaccine, but for now only had enough for pregnant women and children under 5.
I know the other tech in my office, her daughter had it, and a elderly lady friend of mine had it 2 weeks ago. There has also been several cases at the 3 prisons we have here in my county, so also many of the correctional officers have had it as well. SUCKS to live here!
They say for those that are in their 50's that they have an immunity of sorts to it as we were exposed to this way back in the very early 60's and late 50's. Humm..maybe why I havent gotten it yet. But I get a regular flu shot every year and once every 5 years a pneumonia shot. But being I am also exposed to many different types of germs all the time, working at a vet office and working/running a small ranch, perfectly clean is not a high priority or even possible! They have said that for those that keep everything SO clean that when they and their children are exposed to germs, they get sick worse than those who are exposed to more.
Shoot, my kids grew up around dirt and germs all their lives, they hardly ever got sick, small colds that lasted a few days was about it. I have had baby lambs running through my house on many occasions that had become orphans, the many dogs that live here, and the fact that my entire house is surrounded by dirt. OK...rambled enough...sorry

[ABHAtkins21]

After seeing this video I dnt want any flu vaccinations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3xgV11ZSAg

[Retired Navy Chief]

Shoot, my kids grew up around dirt and germs all their lives, they hardly ever got sick, small colds that lasted a few days was about it. I have had baby lambs running through my house on many occasions that had become orphans, the many dogs that live here, and the fact that my entire house is surrounded by dirt.


We must've been neighbors !!! My alarm clock during high school was the rooster who lived our laundry room hahahaha

We rarely get sick for more than a couple days at a time. Gotta be something to it ....

Cheers,
PISTOL

[MacSteve]

After seeing this video I dnt want any flu vaccinations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3xgV11ZSAg

yes because it might unlock a nuerological disorder that catching the flu itself wouldn't have. she was a time bomb. try to actually pay attention to the details before deciding something.


and on a side note, I just got the H1N1 vaccine.. its required for all active duty personnel.

[sweetmtn]

We must've been neighbors !!! My alarm clock during high school was the rooster who lived our laundry room hahahaha

We rarely get sick for more than a couple days at a time. Gotta be something to it ....

Cheers,
PISTOL

Hey Chief..I truely feel there is something to it..you keep kids from all germs..then all of a sudden they get exposed to a bunch..walla..BIG TIME SICK! Shoot, my neighbors raise hogs, goats, chickens and turkeys!
I feel many new young parents these days are overboard on keeping their kids from germs! Dirt never hurt anyone..shoot, how many of you young men on here dared a sibling or friend to eat a worm or other bug growing up? Bet no one got violently ill from it either! :rolleyes:

[Retired Navy Chief]

In my job as facility manager I get all kinds of calls from panicking employees who hear the guy in the cubicle next to them cough and automatically start freaking out that swine flu is going to kill them all !!

Our company has spent quite a bit on "preventive measures" like special soap and even so far as to hire an extra cleaning person to walk around with a can of disinfectant to spray all the commonly touched things, door knobs, handrails, phones ...

One lady was freaking so bad that I was asked to fumigate an entire office !! I grabbed the spray can, walked in and juiced it ... and said "If I drop dead of swine flu after this... THEN you have something to worry about". Overkill ....

Cheers,
PISTOL

[DK3]

Overkill

You know, that's exactly how I feel about this whole swine flu thing is.

I get the flu shot every year, however, even though it was offered to me, I simply refused the swine flu vaccine.

The media and government has simply over hyped the swine flu threat to the point that it is simply asinine.

:itsatd:

[MacSteve]

the media yes, the government no. the steps the gov't has taken for swine flu are preventative measures. like declaring national state of emergency.. that was because in this condition, hospitals have the go ahead to start setting up extra treatment centers and recieve funding to do so. its all preventative measures.