Before deciding whether or not to get a flu shot for a child, let's see what it is like. At its core, this is a commonplace injection. Intramuscularly or subcutaneously (although there is the possibility of drip), an infection is introduced into us. The dose is negligible, this makes it possible to cope with the problem on your own, through your own immunity, and most importantly, to develop special antibodies that can fight these viruses on a regular basis in the future. This scheme works for all types of vaccinations.
That is, a health worker infects your baby with a small dose of influenza viruses. With the best of circumstances, the child will not even feel the changes taking place with him, and the developed immunity in the future will allow him to cope with the infection with minimal consequences for the body.
Before you get a flu shot for a child (or not, you decide), you must go through a pediatrician examination. During the injection, the baby must be absolutely healthy. If microinfection occurs at the time of weakening of the body or after diseases, the effect can be completely unpredictable. The effect of vaccination can be affected even by active physical activity received the day before.
In addition to a banal examination, the pediatrician will recommend the type of vaccine. Vaccination can be "live", "dead" or split bacteria. Each of the forms has its own contraindications, which must be taken into account without fail. It is the doctor who will be able to expertly assess the situation and recommend what is needed. The most famous in Russia domestic flu vaccine for a child is “Grippol”. Foreign vaccines Fluarix, Vaksigripp and Vegrivak, which are well known to Russians, are no less effective. The bulk of Russian vaccines are manufactured in Irkutsk.
Whether or not you should get the flu vaccine is up to you to decide. You are not entitled to exert pressure. The doctor must tell about all the pros and cons of vaccination, after which you will form your own opinion, and you can make a decision.
Some parents unconditionally trust pediatricians and give their children all the necessary vaccinations, but there is another opinion in Russia. It is believed that constantly mutating flu does not allow timely release of the necessary vaccine. When an epidemic arrives in the country, it will not be vaccinated specifically from this virus. There will be those who have antibodies to the previous options. So, a flu shot for children in 2013 may not protect against the virus that will come this winter. But the fact remains that among the dead from the disease there is not a single vaccinated person.
Moreover, the decision on whether or not to get the child a flu shot is taken by the parents in the light of other circumstances. The bulk of the population is vaccinated, therefore, the spread of the disease is slower and not very severe. An unvaccinated child has enough chances to "pass by" the infection, because the society in which he lives has already taken care of himself, everyone was vaccinated against the flu.
Children are recommended those types of vaccines where the virus gene is used in a well-purified form. Most often these are individual proteins from the virus, no more. Side effects are incredibly small, but still they should not be written off. The manufacturer indicates that about 1% of side effects are possible.
Take care of your children!