Flu-Vaxed Child Dies from Flu

[not_telling]

The local news reported that a five year old child in S. NJ died on Saturday from the flu (type B).  She received the flu vax in September.  They say she was "totally healthy" (i.e. no underlying conditions they know of).  She felt sick at school Thursday, went home early.  By Friday morning her condition had deteriorated so much she went to the ER via ambulance.  Next day she was gone.

Very sad, of course....and I thought this may be of interest to folks here. 

[cappuccinosmom]

Vaccines aren't 100% effective, and never will be.  And the flu can be a killer.

So sad for her family.

[rabrog]

CDC is saying the vaccine is highly effective this year, too.  So sad for that family.

Jenn

[miriam]

YOu post no link....what exactly did the child die of?

[MsFortune]

are you suggesting the vax contributed to her death?

[not_telling]

Not suggesting the vax is responsible for the death...just another incidence of it's non-100%-effectiveness.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7915258

Friends of the family say the parents of the girl are going through an 'absolutely horrific' time right now. The girl received a flu shot on September 22nd and was described as a perfectly healthy, happy child.

Authorities say the 5-year-old kindergartener became ill at the B. Bernice Young School on Thursday afternoon during an after-school program. She was picked up by her parents and taken home.

Her condition worsened overnight, and at 8:00 a.m. on Friday an ambulance was called. She was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she died from complications of the Influenza B virus.  

[BeckyBird]

I found this related article. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7915415  

They might try to push booster vaccines, so no, they are never going to admit that this girl's flu shot was ineffective. They will spin this to push boosters, that's all. What a tragedy for the family. I am so sorry for them.

[WildKingdom]

Originally Posted by BeckyBird 

I found this related article. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7915415  

They might try to push booster vaccines, so no, they are never going to admit that this girl's flu shot was ineffective. They will spin this to push boosters, that's all. What a tragedy for the family. I am so sorry for them.

From the article:

Overall, for kids and adults the vaccine is 70 to 90-percent effective.

However, if school-aged kids who are supposed to get two doses, and only get one, studies show the effectiveness rate drops to 65-percent.Overall, for kids and adults the vaccine is 70 to 90-percent effective.

I don't see anyone trying to claim that vaccines are 100% effective, and I don't see anyone stonewalling about whether or not her flu shot was effective.  It says right in the article that the vaccine is only 70-90% effective.  This is a very sad story and a reminder that the flu can kill.

[green_momma2007]

Ok, I haz the dumbz right now, but why would you need a booster for a flu vaccine, since it's already a YEARLY vaccine???????

[Otto]

Originally Posted by green_momma2007 

Ok, I haz the dumbz right now, but why would you need a booster for a flu vaccine, since it's already a YEARLY vaccine???????

The recommendation is for two doses at 4+ weeks' spacing for first-time immunization at 8 y.o. and under. I assume the issue is priming.

[Thandiwe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by green_momma2007 

Ok, I haz the dumbz right now, but why would you need a booster for a flu vaccine, since it's already a YEARLY vaccine???????

   I was wondering that too. 

[Lisa1970]

I think the flu vaccination is supposed to be the least effective one out there.

[kawa kamuri]

How sad for this family 

[ScottyG]

The flu vaccine works differently than other vaccines.  Mumps, for example, is just one homogenous disease, so when you vaccinate against mumps, you are protecting against ALL cases of mumps.  But the flu has many many many different strains, and there's only so much vaccine they can pack into one shot.  So they study global distributions of the various flu strains each year, and then try to predict what the 2 most active strains will be.  Then, the vaccine protects against those two.  But other strains are still out there, just not as widespread.  So the flu vaccine protects against the most common strains of flu each year, but not every strain of flu.  That's how stuff like this happens.

[miriam]

So, it is an educated, researched, lucky guess?

[ScottyG]

Originally Posted by miriam 

So, it is an educated, researched, lucky guess?

Pretty much, yes.  I am personally a big believer in the good of vaccines, though I altered the recommended schedule for my kids, to avoid them getting too many at once.  So, I still get the flu vaccine for my kids (and myself) because I don't really see any negatives, and the 70-90% chance of being immune to the flu each year feels definitely worth it to me.  

But yes, they do a lot of research and examining of statistics and stuff, and then they just guess which strains will be most prevalent.  A few years back, they totally guessed wrong, and the flu was rampant, and wreaking havoc for a winter.

[karne]

Originally Posted by not_telling 

The local news reported that a five year old child in S. NJ died on Saturday from the flu (type B).  She received the flu vax in September.  They say she was "totally healthy" (i.e. no underlying conditions they know of).  She felt sick at school Thursday, went home early.  By Friday morning her condition had deteriorated so much she went to the ER via ambulance.  Next day she was gone.

Very sad, of course....and I thought this may be of interest to folks here. 

Why?  To support your own thoughts about the flu vaccine?  The flu is more than just one strain, and the vaccine is not 100% effective against all strains.  I thought that was common knowledge.  Neither is using natural remedies to combat a deathly case of the flu.  

Was the point of the post to offer compassion to the family?  I must have missed it.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by karne 

Originally Posted by not_telling 

The local news reported that a five year old child in S. NJ died on Saturday from the flu (type B).  She received the flu vax in September.  They say she was "totally healthy" (i.e. no underlying conditions they know of).  She felt sick at school Thursday, went home early.  By Friday morning her condition had deteriorated so much she went to the ER via ambulance.  Next day she was gone.

Very sad, of course....and I thought this may be of interest to folks here. 

Why?  To support your own thoughts about the flu vaccine?  The flu is more than just one strain, and the vaccine is not 100% effective against all strains.  I thought that was common knowledge.  Neither is using natural remedies to combat a deathly case of the flu.  

Was the point of the post to offer compassion to the family?  I must have missed it.

Not the OP - but ouch.

I do not think it is inappropriate on a vaccine discussion forum to point out that vaccines are not 100% effective - nor to have a sad news story to back it up.  

I do not think it is common knowledge that vaccines are not 100% effective.  I actually run into people in real life who think vaccinating means your child will not get xyz disease.  MDC is a big place with numerous lurkers....I do not think pointing out the issue for people who may just be beginning to explore vaccines is inappropriate.

[karne]

I take your point, Kathy.  I just felt like I had the breath knocked out of me when I read about the family losing their child so quickly.  I cannot imagine what they're going through, and it felt to me that the first post was a little "told you so"...but that might just have been my sensitivity to the family's loss.  I'm sick just to think of it.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by karne 

I take your point, Kathy.  I just felt like I had the breath knocked out of me when I read about the family losing their child so quickly.  I cannot imagine what they're going through, and it felt to me that the first post was a little "told you so"...but that might just have been my sensitivity to the family's loss.  I'm sick just to think of it.

Me too, how utterly awful. My heart breaks to think of it. I just wanted to say that.

I don't chastise the OP but I don't think this is really relevant to our vaccine discussion either way, whether pro- or anti-. It's just plain heartbreaking.