Our Thoughts on Flu Shots...

To all of our friends and family:

Even if you are offended or upset by our request, please read this entire post. It contains information about the flu and it explains why we feel the way we do about our decision.

Ryan and I have been discussing our opinions on flu shots this year for a couple weeks now.

Our decision regarding them is this: If you have not gotten a flu shot by November 1, 2010, we request that you keep your distance from us and our son and that you absolutely do not hold him until you have gotten one, or until he is able to get his.

In a 2003 study by CDC scientists published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” (“JAMA”) referring to a period from 1990-91 through 1998-99, the number of estimated deaths ranged from 17,000 to 52,000, with an average of about 36,000.

Children under 2 years old who become infected are more likely to wind up in the hospital with a bout of the flu than older children, and the flu can be especially dangerous to young babies. Babies and young infants have high mortality rates from the flu because their immune systems are not yet fully developed.

The best way to help prevent the flu is to get a flu shot. Flu shots cannot be given until a person is at least six months old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all healthy people--children and adults--get an annual flu vaccination starting at age 6 months.

Even if a baby is too young for a flu shot, those in close contact with him can limit his chances of exposure by getting vaccinated.

The flu viruses are potent pathogens in close quarters, spreading easily through the air. If a baby is near someone with the flu who is coughing or sneezing, he may breathe in infected droplets through his mouth or nose. A person with the flu is contagious for about a day before symptoms begin and for about five days after.

Because the flu proliferates when people are in close contact, it travels easily through schools, daycare centers, playgroups, and families. Usually the unsuspecting victim will get sick one to four days after exposure.

But because the severity of the flu differs from person to person, people can be infected with the virus and not know it. If they develop only mild symptoms they may think it's a cold and unknowingly pass the flu virus to others.

Obviously, the flu vaccine isn't always foolproof. So, one way to further protect a baby is to practice good hygiene: everyone should wash their hands often to prevent spreading germs.

We believe that our decision is quite generous--flu season has already begun. It runs approximately from October until February. I know of a couple people who had it in September. We are allowing friends and family another full month.

We know that not everyone believes in getting the flu shot and we are not trying to force anyone to do so. We respect your opinions and decisions, but in return we expect that our decisions are respected as well. If you do not get your flu shot this year, do not hold Maximus, do not breathe on him, and do not touch his hands, face, or anything he may put in his mouth or near his face. Do not be offended if we do not visit you or if we ask you not to visit us.

Maximus is our child. Not only is he our child, he is our first and only child, and he will not be able to have a flu shot until flu season is nearly over. We realize that he needs to be exposed to germs to build up his immune system. We take him outdoors daily, and we take him to the store frequently, so he is exposed to germs often enough. But we do not believe he needs to be exposed to something as dangerous as the flu at his age and without any sort of immunization to it.

We realize that this may be difficult for some of you who want to be there for Max’s first holidays and we apologize for any hurt or pain this may cause for you. We will try to be sure we can include immediate family in Max’s first holidays, but it may mean very brief visits and no touching. We are not planning to participate in certain family events this season because we know that there is no way to be sure extended family members are safe.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend thank you’s to friends and family who have refrained from seeing Max when they have been sick or thought that they may have been sick. We also appreciate those of you who wash your hands every time you touch or hold him. We have been treated poorly by certain people for making such requests and we truly do appreciate those of you who have respected our wishes. We lose respect and trust for those of you who refuse to respect our wishes.

We realize that this decision may seem childish and over-protective to some of you and that it may seem kind of pathetic that we are publicly posting it for all to see. However, it is easier for us to confront everyone we know this way than to have certain people argue with us when we confront them individually. If you have a poor opinion of us for this, then that is your opinion. We are adults and we are the parents of our child. Whether you had a child a year ago or 20 years ago or 40 years ago, things change. Studies teach us new things about health and babies, and such studies help us all stay healthier.

Max is our child. If he gets sick, WE are the ones taking care of him--not YOU. So we truly would appreciate that you respect our wishes to either get a flu shot or to keep your distance, and not to lie about it either way.

Thank you all for reading this post and thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Aubrey & Ryan