Flu Vaccinations!?

Yesterday we took the little angel in for her six-month check-up and immunizations. The pediatrician told us she's doing great, she's still a big girl for her age, very happy, la la. Then I asked about flu vaccintions, it being the current thing we should all worry about, after spending lots of time in tall buildings in major cities and traveling with a pocketknife.

She told us she prefers for the babies to get the nonpreservative form of the flu vaccine, but they are out. If we waited until November to see if we could get the nonpreservative form, there might be none left. Since the little angel is six months old and in Ozcare, she is considered "high risk." Of course last year, the flu vaccine didn't even address the types of flu people got. But then again, you can die from "real flu," which is apparently respiratory (I didn't know that). Especially babies. Babies can die. Parents, have fear.

I was distraught. What to do? If I give my baby this preservative flu shot that contains trace levels of mercury, she could end up with some horrible thing I keep reading about on the mommy Web sites. Of course, there is no "real" connection, or at least not one anyone wants to admit, but no one admits that we test nukes in Nevada or dump waste in the ocean, either. Of course, if I didn't give her the shot and the real flu hit Oz, she could get very sick from a "preventable" illness. The media scare hasn't helped.

We asked her what she would do, for her professional opinion. But my pediatrician is scared of malpractice and simply shrugged her shoulders. I hate that! Give me your professional opinion! You would if you were a plumber, damn it!

So in the end, I let my beloved make the decision, and she got the shot. Then I called my sister, who told me about someone in her boyfriend's family who has some retardation they think is connected to a vaccine. Lovely.

Yet another parenting "choice." Tra la!