Pkg insert for Fluzone

[danalyn]

Last week I visited with my OB (I'm 7 wks pg) and she "offered" me and my children the flu shot, which totally annoyed me b/c she knows how i feel about vaxxing. Good Lord, this is the 5th baby I've "had" her for. obviously, i told her i wasn't interested but I would be interested in having a manufacturer's package insert. She was happy to provide me with one, and informed me that it's "preservative free". OMG, you've got to be kidding me! Okay, so i am far from an expert on vaccines, though I'm learning more and more everyday it seems, and I know "why" we choose to abstain. Recently I went to a couple dif. clinics and obtained the inserts for several vaccines. Upon reading this particular insert, I see this statement, "Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with fluzone. It is also not known whether fluzone can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproductino capacity. fluzone should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed. It is not known whether fluzone is excreted in human milk. because many drubs are excreted in human milk, caution should be excercised when fluzone is administered to a nursing woman."
Although I should not be, I am floored that this is given to pregnant and nursing women. If I went to Target or Walgreens to get the flu shot, would they even ask me if I am pregnant or nursing? I happen to be both.
I just wanted to post that here to see what responses you all may have. thanks!

[Pirogi]

Yeppo. And recommending the flu shot for pregnant women has only been done recently. Being pregnant used to be a contraindication for flu shot according to most medical personnel.

These same statements are in those lovely "Here, stupid, read this and then get your vax" flyers that the military has handy for their active duty personnel in the vax processing line. They don't even have the inserts out for review, and I bet that they would be irked if you asked for them. Right underneath those statements you underlined are reassurances ... it's safe, we swear!

[danalyn]

wow. something else that just about baffles me is that "generally speaking" people are just soooo quick to believe anything that the med. professional tells them. I mean, seriously. I have a "friend" to whom I frequently give the real info. I'm honestly not trying to change her mind, b/c I know that cannot be done. and anyway, it would be a choice she would have to make completely.... on her own. but she absolutely does not believe a thing anyone has to say that goes against vaccines. Nothing. I even showed her the insert my ob gave me, and the words I quoted in my OP. so whatever.... I JUST REMEMBERED THAT MY SISTER RECENTLY TOLD ME THAT SHE "THINKS" THE US IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT GIVES THE FLU VAX TO PREGNANT WOMEN. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THAT IS TRUE? i may have to ask that question in an entirely new thread. my sister did not say she knew "for sure", but it was her thought. anyway, thanks for your response, PP.

[BeckyBird]

And if thousands of women take the shot, and something happens to the babies, people will still deny the shot had anything to do with it. Well, I have to ask, "How do you know the shot is NOT responsible for the harm caused?" Since there have been no studies, how can we rule out the shot? (Same thing applies to last year's shot.)

[ma2two]

You don't have to go to clinics to get package inserts.

All U.S. flu vaccine package inserts are here http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVac.../ucm094045.htm

And the package inserts for every licensed vaccine in the U.S. are here http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVac.../ucm093833.htm

I don't understand how any health professional can recommend the flu vaccine to pregnant women, when that wording is in the package inserts.

[is it puppies?]

Originally Posted by danalyn

. I JUST REMEMBERED THAT MY SISTER RECENTLY TOLD ME THAT SHE "THINKS" THE US IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT GIVES THE FLU VAX TO PREGNANT WOMEN. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THAT IS TRUE? i may have to ask that question in an entirely new thread. my sister did not say she knew "for sure", but it was her thought. anyway, thanks for your response, PP.

they do the flu vax here for pregnant women, I'm pretty sure (at least for swine flu last year it was REALLY pushed)

[Skippy918]

My OB highly suggested I get the vax too and now I'm on the fence. I'm currently 12 weeks. She mentioned the patient who died a week postpartum after getting swine flu. I told her I would think about it. How can they knowingly give a vax when they never studied the side effects on pg women?

How prevalent is swine flu this year?

[danalyn]

I honestly don't know how prevelant swine flu is this year. is squalene (sp?) in this year's flu vax? if so, OMG. i know it shouldn't really matter to me, since we do not vax, but IT DOES MATTER, B/c nearly everyone i know puts so much blind faith in what the docs say. and WHAT IS UP WITH PUSHING THIS FLUZONE ON ME? that just makes me so mad. this is OT, but someone on my facebook just posted, "the doctor who came out with the link between vaccines and autism just admitted he falsified hmis info.", yeah right. oooh, what s up with that? can't wait to see the links to her so-called info. i replied that the cdc admits there is a connection b/t mercury in vaccines and childhood neurological disorders, and i posted a link to jfk, jr's press conference in dc. anyway....

[mcgee]

Originally Posted by danalyn

I honestly don't know how prevelant swine flu is this year. is squalene (sp?) in this year's flu vax? if so, OMG. i know it shouldn't really matter to me, since we do not vax, but IT DOES MATTER, B/c nearly everyone i know puts so much blind faith in what the docs say. and WHAT IS UP WITH PUSHING THIS FLUZONE ON ME? that just makes me so mad.

I don't think squalene is in the vaccines used in the US. I know there was a big debate last year over it because it was used in the UK version of the H1N1 vaccine.

[mcgee]

Originally Posted by Skippy918

My OB highly suggested I get the vax too and now I'm on the fence. I'm currently 12 weeks. She mentioned the patient who died a week postpartum after getting swine flu. I told her I would think about it. How can they knowingly give a vax when they never studied the side effects on pg women?

How prevalent is swine flu this year?

This sort of scare tactic really bothers me. Did your OB also mention how many hundreds of thousands of people had H1N1 and recovered without any complications at all?

Skippy, I was pregnant last fall and after discussing it with my midwife, I opted to skip the flu shot. When my son was about 6 weeks old, my entire family came down with H1N1. It sucked. It was a really crappy week, but we all recovered. My husband is healthy, no issues. I have mild asthma and seasonal allergies. My kids are both healthy, no known issues. I had the worst case in our family, probably due in part to being stuck taking care of two sick kids while sick myself. If I had serious health issues, I might consider getting a flu shot, if I felt the risks of the shot outweighed the risks of the disease itself. I don't think they do at this point.