Your position on the flu shot or vaccines in general?

October 5, 2010

Hi There,

I was wondering how folks on this list feel feel about flu shots for their

kiddos (and/or vaccines in general)?

My 22 month old son has been vaccinated regularly to date, and has had the

flu shot in the past, but given his recent apraxia diagnosis, I'm hesitating

to do the flu shot this year. The problem is that he also has an immune

issue called selective IgA deficiency (which means he can pick illnesses up

more easily and his body can't fight them off so well). My son's

immunologist says to absolutely get the flu shot, whereas his pediatric

naturopath says to not get it (she has him on numerous supplements to help

boost his immune issue and perhaps help w/ the apraxia -- plus we're doing

fish oils and NV). I should note that my son is in daycare 2 full days a

week and definitely gets exposed to lots of germs. The Naturopath says we

can use homeopathic remedies to fight any flu symptoms off though.

I'm also worried b/c I'm pregnant (due in Jan.) and wondering about whether

I should have the flu shot to protect me and the baby? Part of me worries

about getting sick and the other part is hesitant to get the shot since I

don't want to take any chances with baby #2 getting exposed to anything in

the shot itself even if we do the preservative free version (esp. since I

don't know what caused my son's apraxia/immune issues in the first place.)

I'm guessing this might be a heated topic, but I'd love to hear what other

parents of kids with apraxia think about the flu shot and vaccines in

general. None of my local friends have kids with apraxia or IgA and they're

all either completely pro-vaccine and flu shots or completely opposed. Plus,

I'm just not clear on what my vaccine/flu shot position will be now for baby

#2 after his birth...

I'd love any feedback from others.

Thanks,

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