Should I get a flu shot for my 8 month old baby?

Question

My mother says no, but the news says watch out for babies and elderly. Any doctors out here?

Answer 1

no, the flu shot is derived from eggs. You don't know yet if your baby is allergic to it (I believe docs say wait for eggs until 1 year). I don't vaccinate, if I go out in public, I wear my son in a sling so people don't touch him, we all know how complete strangers for some reason think it's a good idea to get their hands all over babies.

Answer 2

It depends on how many people you two come in contact with.
I am fighting cancer and am on the list of people who should take it but I do not because I do not contact allot of people. Hygiene especially hand washing is the best defense. I keep towelettes or self drying hand wash in my purse and use it immediately after shopping as that is the place I come close to others germs.
If your baby is handled by many people or is in daycare or has sensitivities that make him in extra need of precautions, I would say get the shot. If you are the primary caregiver and he is in good health staying home (inside) during the cold season would probably do as much good. I would suggest you ask your pediatrician if my suggestions are good enough. Drs. usually know more than well meaning moms.

Answer 3

I'm not a doctor, but I got my son a flu shot when he was little. Babies and elderly are the reason why no on could get one last year. they were saving all the vaccine for them since they are the most seceptible.

Answer 4

Sorry, I'm not a doctor, but I would go ahead and get your baby the shot anyway. Especially if he/she is in any type of daycare, the workers are made to get the shots, it only makes sense that the children they take care of get it too. You know what they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Answer 5

TUESDAY, Oct. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Even the youngest children -- those between 6 month and 23 months old -- can safely benefit from the flu vaccine, a new study concludes.

The study, which looked at more than 45,000 infants and toddlers from all over the United States, found there were only a few incidents of side effects that required medical treatment as a result of the vaccine, and none was serious.

"This vaccine is very safe in this age group. For me, as a pediatrician and as a parent, it was very reassuring how few diagnoses there were that were associated with this vaccine," said the study's lead author, Dr. Simon J. Hambidge, an investigator with Kaiser Permanente Colorado's Clinical Research Unit in Denver.

Results of the study appear in the Oct. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Annually, as many as one in five Americans gets the flu , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and as many as 36,000 Americans die from the infection each year, the CDC reports.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get the flu vaccination. The CDC recommends that most people get the shot, but specifically advises the following groups of people to receive the flu vaccine every year:

Children between 6 months and 5 years old,
Pregnant women,
People older than 50,
People who live in nursing homes or other long-term care settings,
Those with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, lung disease and HIV/AIDS,
People living with or caring for young children, nursing-home residents or those with compromised immune systems or chronic medical conditions.
The first time an infant or child receives the vaccine, it must be administered in two separate doses, given one month apart. While there are no expected shortages of flu vaccine this year, the vaccine has been slow to arrive at many pediatric offices this fall. According to flu-vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur, adequate supplies of the vaccine will be available by November or December at the latest.

Children under 2 have an increased risk of serious complications from the flu. The only people at higher risk are those over 65, according to the study.

Beginning with the 2004-05 flu season, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices began recommending that children between 6 months and 23 months of age receive the vaccine. However, the largest study that had been done on this age group included fewer than 9,000 vaccinations.

So, Hambidge, along with colleagues from the Vaccine Safety Datalink Team and eight other health-care organizations, examined retrospective data for more than 45,000 children who got almost 70,000 vaccinations between January 1991 and May 2003.

The researchers looked only for "medically attended" vaccine complications up to 42 days after immunization. Minor side effects such as swelling or tenderness at the injection site weren't included in the analysis.

The only statistically significant association they found was for nausea and vomiting. However, Hambidge said these side effects were probably due to exposure to the influenza virus or another virus around the time of vaccination.

Conditions such as asthma, ear infections and the common cold were actually less likely to occur after vaccination, according to the study. The researchers believe these may also be chance findings.

A previous study had found a possible association between the vaccine and febrile seizures (seizures that occur due to high fevers), but this study found no such link, according to Hambidge.

"This vaccine was already believed to be safe, and this study backs that up," said Dr. David Horwitz, a pediatrician at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

"This study involved a huge number of children. Generally, a study this large would show any kind of significant adverse reaction that might occur," he added.

The bottom line, according to Hambidge, is that this vaccine "will help protect kids against a nasty illness."

Answer 6

Call your Dr. but yes I would Infants and Elderly are the most likely to die or get very sick from the flu

Answer 7

Unless there is any reason to think that the child is more vulnerable there should not be a need. The vaccine itself can cause problems...I know coz my arm is sore, swollen and very hot from having had the jab 2 days ago (im diabetic)

Answer 8

no, baby have good immune system. you don't want your baby to rely on the flu shot

Answer 9

ya now it's a time just make shur that they what they are doing