The flu, especially the swine flu is making headlines everyday and I deemed it wise to give you the latest flu updates that may be relevant for you and your family.

Swine Flu Shots in New York Schools

Schools in New York City will start offering H1N1 shots end of October, the NY Times report. Those of you residing in NYC might already have received the consent forms. The vaccination will cover primary public schools but private schools who want to participate will also get access to the vaccine. The shots or nasal sprays will be administered by school nurses. Middle and high schools are scheduled later in November and December. Other cities and states are expected to follow suit.

Pregnant Women Urged to Get the H1N1 flu Vaccine

Pregnant women are on top of the H1N1 vaccination priority list. This is because pregnant women seem to be especially vulnerable. Health authorities say that the mortality rate among women infected with H1N1 is six times higher than what is normally observed in the general population. The reasons for pregnant women’s vulnerability are their young age and an immune system that is naturally weakened in order not to reject the growing fetus. It is, however, very hard for pregnant women to accept the flu vaccine despite health official’s reassurances of its safety. So far, 28 deaths have been reported among pregnant women in the US but health officials think it could be more. Many cases go unreported for confidentiality reasons. An NY Times report features one almost fatal case.

Tamiflu for Children in Short Supply

In another report from the NY Times earlier this month, Mary Poppin’s advice that a spoonful of sugar would make medicine more palatable may also be true for the flu drug Tamiflu. The liquid pediatric version of the drug is in short supply as drug companies are concentrating on producing more pills which are definitely much faster to manufacture than Tamiflu syrup. Some sources say that the manufacturing process for the suspension is almost 25 times longer than for the pills. Pharmacists are therefore advised to mix Tamiflu capsules in a liquid that consists of sugar, purified water, artificial cherry flavoring. The instructions on how to mix the liquid version are given in the Tamiflu labels, the report says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also gives easy to understand instructions in their site.

Flu Fears Prompt Review of the Sportsman Handshake

The hockey season has started and sports associations are scrambling to come up with hygiene guidelines that would hopeful prevent the swine flu. CBC reports that the chief medical officer of Hockey Canada sent out a bulletin with recommended precautionary measures which include no sharing of water bottles and – yes – maybe even do without the end-of-game handshake. It’s not only hockey that is affected. I am a soccer mom here in Switzerland and as early as school start in August, there were already instructions to avoid the sportsmen handshake, if possible. Just one more challenge for parents to find the balance between short-term preventive measure and long-term character building. At least hockey players wear gloves…

While my daughter was in daycare for almost the first 8 mos of her life, she developed three ear infections for a 3-month stretch there; one for each month.  Needless to say, I was very unhappy about it.  Ear infections aren’t that uncommon in children though, so I’m glad that they’re actually trying to develop an ear vaccine for children.

The vaccine has been tested on, of all things, chinchillas, and can be administered via droplets rubbed on the skin.  Can you imagine, no needles!  (But why chinchillas?).

The chinchillas received the treatment once a week for three weeks.  A control group received a placebo.  The chinchillas that were vaccinated were then introduced to haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), one of the three main bacterial causes of otitis media, an infection/inflammation of the middle ear.  The result: rapid reduction or complete elimination of the NTHi.

It sounds promising, and I hope that we see this vaccine soon.  In the scheme of things, ear infections aren’t that serious, but many babies get ear infections at a frequent enough rate that a vaccine to prevent such an infection would certainly be welcome.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met in Atlanta on Wednesday, Feb 25. The committee makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the latest recommendations: the Hepatitis-A vaccine for people who come in contact with international adoptees.

Dr. Cindy Weinbaum, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, said the recommendations cover adoptions from countries with a high or intermediate infection risk. “That includes most of the world. All that (it) excludes is North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan,” she said. The disease is unfortunately common among children coming from the four top countries of origin for children being adopted by US families. Those are China, Russia, Guatemala and Ethiopia.

Formerly, only parents who were traveling to such countries were recommended for the vaccine. Now, the suggestion includes people such as grandparents and babysitters–anyone who will have close contact with an international adoptee withing 60 days of his or her arrival in the U.S. The average incubation for the disease is 28 days, but it can be longer, and young children often show only very mild symptoms, thereby increasing the risk to unsuspecting adults. And children adopted from other countries usually have not had a vaccination.

Even though these children only cause 3% (at the highest estimate) of Hep-A infections every year, federal officials state that the results can be tragic–especially since they are both foreseeable and preventable. The latest of these cases involved a 51-year old woman who became critically ill after exposure to her internationally adopted grandchildren. Weinbaum cited there were about 20 recent cases.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by a virus. It is typically spread through feces (in other words, be careful with the diapers!). Symptoms can include fever, jaundice, nausea and vomiting. It is usually more severe in adults, and can be fatal.

The vaccine is given in two doses. The first one should be administered as soon as an adoption is planned. The second would ideally be given two weeks before the child’s arrival. It is an expensive vaccine, by some standards ($140). But considering that international adoptions often cost between $20,000 and $40,000 (according to Dr. Weinbaum), it’s not a lot of money in the big scheme of things.

This recommendation follows the news last summer of many false-negative tuberculosis tests in international adoptees. For some reason, the children did not show positive results for three months. Similarly, young children with hepatitis-A don’t often show signs of jaundice, an indicator for the infection.

I love companies with a social conscience. Apparently Pampers (and its manufacturers Procter and Gamble) is one of them. Together with UNICEF, Pampers is running the 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine program. Every pack of specially marked diapers and wipes sold translates to 1 tetanus vaccine donated to the UNICEF. The program has been running for tow years now and has provided more than 40 million vaccines for UNICEF to be used all over the world, most especially in impoverished areas.

Of all vaccines, tetanus was chosen because newborn tetanus is a major health problem in low- and middle income countries, and causes more than 140,000 deaths each year. A woman who receives the vaccine during pregnancy actually passes the protection against tetanus to her newborn, making the disease preventable.

The vaccine program is an ongoing worldwide campaign but it is not the only charity work in which Pampers is involved.

Even here in Europe, Pampers is actively campaigning for the program as I saw at the supermarket the other day. What a shame that they started the campaign long after my children were potty-trained. With my twins’ consumption of diapers, we could have provided a couple hundred more vaccines.

I just surprised the nurse at my pediatrician’s office – and it won’t be the last time, I’m sure.

When she called to confirm Ashley’s 2-month well-baby visit, I asked if she could give me the names and manufacturers of the vaccines she would be receiving. “I don’t know!” the nurse said.

I asked if she could please look them up for me. She said she would have the information available when we came in for our appointment. Standing my ground, I told her that by then it would be too late, because we may wish to have specific vaccines special ordered. She said they couldn’t do that and I said I may have to go to a different pediatrician if they didn’t have our preferred brands. I explained the dangers of combining two vaccines containing aluminum, and that this could easily be avoided.

She seemed surprised but, to her credit, accommodated my request, calling me back within three minutes with the information.

Although she was surprised by my request, I was equally surprised that more parents don’t ask. Would you eat something without reading the ingredient list first? (Okay, many people do!) I wouldn’t. So I certainly wouldn’t let someone inject my daughter with something before I knew the ingredients.

Of course, having an ingredient list doesn’t mean anything if you can’t interpret it. That’s why I recommend The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears, for any parent who cares about what goes into their baby’s body.

My husband and I carefully considered what vaccinations, if any, our daughter should have. This book, along with other titles such as What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell and How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor by Robert S. Md Mendelsohn answered many of our questions.

The Vaccine Book evaluates every vaccine on the American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine schedule, explaining the diseases each prevents, and what specific vaccines are available. It also provides an ingredient list for each vaccine.

In many cases, vaccinations are available from more than one manufacturer and the ingredient list, possible side effects and efficacy may vary. My husband and I are not afraid to request specific brands which have lower concentrations of potentially toxic ingredients or have fewer potential side effects.

The biggest selling point of The Vaccine Book, in my opinion, is it does not make decisions for parents. Instead, Dr. Sears talks about the odds of getting the disease if you forego the vaccination, the potential seriousness of the disease, and the potential for side effects from the vaccine, and then lets parents draw their own conclusions. It is objective and grounded in fact, unlike many other titles on the topic.

It does include technical details and some scientific information, but you can easily skip that to get to the heart of the information. All the information is neatly organized by chapter and divided into subheads, making it easy to find what you need.

My husband and I are not opponents of vaccinations, in general, but we also were not going to merely “follow the herd” with this important health decision. Will we make sure our daughter is fully vaccinated? Probably. But we will make the choice after knowing the pros and cons, not because everybody is doing it.

After reading the book, there are certain vaccinations, such as the one to prevent Pneumococcal disease, which I wouldn’t dream of skipping. Pneumococcal disease is a common bacterial infection that can have serious consequences. We’re opting to get the Hepatitis B vaccine only because it is shown not to have many side effects, so there’s little harm in the vaccine, although the odds of an infant contracting the disease are small.

If you are on the fence about vaccinations, thinking about “cherry-picking” the innoculations you want your child to receive, or just want to know what’s in a vaccine before your child receives it, this volume is indispensable.

?Tis the season to have the sniffles and flu. Are you and your family planning to get flu shots?

In 2005, the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issued guidelines that recommend annual flu shots for children aged 6 months to 5 years old. This year, ACIP expanded the guidelines to include older children and adolescents up to 19 years old.

Yet, people are questioning the guidelines and the need for flu shots in view of a recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers at the Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY studied the efficacy of flu shots given to children aged 6 to 59 months during the flu seasons of 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 in several counties encompassing Rochester, New York, Nashville, Tennessee, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Their researchers conclude flu shots did not demonstrate effectiveness in preventing flu and flu-related illnesses in this age group of children. This is probably because there are many different strains of the influenza virus and only a few of them are found in the geiven vaccines. It could be that on those years studied, the flu vaccine and circulating flu strains did not optimally match. However, the authors think that further study is needed during years wherein there is a flu vaccine-flu strain match.

I am a big supporter of childhood vaccines but the flu shot is one vaccine my family chooses to forgo. It looks like protection by the flu shot is a long shot…

There’s a growing minority of parents who are not vaccinating their children. I’m the kind of mom who buys organic apples and rBST-free milk, cloth diapers and doesn’t spray air-freshener all around my home. So perhaps, if I’m avoiding synthetic chemicals, then maybe I would think twice about vaccinating my child too?

Actually, my son received all his vaccines to the AAP recommended schedule. I’ve heard about autism – well, how could you have not heard? – and the alleged links to vaccines. The first doctor to propose a link between autism and the combined MMR vaccine is under investigation by the General Medical Council, the governing board of doctors in the UK, and facing a professional misconduct charge for the methods used in his original study that claimed a link between the shot and autism. The study is the only one that has ever claimed a link between MMR and autism, but has stuck in the public consciousness despite numerous studies and research that doesn’t show a link.

I know that vaccines, like just about everything else, can have side effects. I’ve heard terribly sad stories from parents of children who did suffer serious and even fatal reactions to vaccines. Is there anything worse than to loose your child to something that is supposed to keep them healthy?

For my son, I believe the risk of side effects is outweighed by the risk of contracting one of the diseases the vaccines are designed to prevent.

I’ve been to four continents and I’m one of the less well-traveled members of my family. I live in a city with immigrants from around the world so even if my son doesn’t grow up with the wanderlust that’s likely to be in his genes, then even at home, and when he goes to school, he’s going to meet people who have recently been to places where vaccine-preventable diseases are still a serious health threat.

I also think that the anti-vaccine groups have lost perspective of how serious the diseases vaccines prevent actually are. Because the last generation were vaccinated, moms and dads today often don’t have any experience of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Talk to your grandparents, and maybe your mom or dad too, and they will probably remember children from their neighborhood or school who died from a disease that’s not an issue in the US today because of vaccines. My mom nearly died as an infant from vaccine-preventable diseases. My dad remembers a childhood friend crippled by polio. My grandparents remember children who died from diphtheria, an often-fatal disease that has all but been eradicated in the US today because of vaccinations. And they are not unusual. Talk to anyone over 50 and you’ll probably hear similar stories.

Diphtheria, polio, and many other diseases we vaccinate against, are still prevalent in other parts of the world and how do I know when my son might come in contact with someone carrying the disease?

So my son is vaccinated. I hated holding him in the doctors office for the injections, and cried with him when he wailed after the shots, and cried again over his poor sore legs after the shots. But I’m glad I did have him vaccinated, and I believe that I made the best choice for him.

Many concerned parents of Autistic children are rejoicing as U.S. health officials finally advocate a treatment for Autism called chelation. The treatment’s goal is to purge metals from the patient’s body. Metals, particularly from mercury vaccines, are thought to be a big factor in the little-understood neurological disorder. The support of chelation treatment by the director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health may mean that the treatment may get federal backing.

Chelation is not often considered by doctors to battle Autism as the drugs have some unfavorable side effects, and unproven results. Still, for many supporters of the treatment, chelation may be the final proof — if it lives up to its promise– once and for all that mercury vaccines does have a direct cause on Autism.

Source: Stamford Advocate

Previously the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommended the nasal spray flu vaccine, FluMist for children only aged 5 yrs. and older. The recommendation was also limited to those who had no history of asthma or wheezing.

The new recommendation now expands this spray for healthy children 2 to 4 yrs. old. This is a great alternative to parents with toddlers and young children who are afraid of needles, or the parents who wish to spare their own child the needle. The nasal spray flu, sometimes called LAIV (Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine) or FluMist became available in 2003, and is a weakened live virus administered through spraying in the nose.

If your child is about to get the vaccine, be sure to remember that the needle is not your only option.