Visiting friend's newborn & asked to get shots (Mods: Get your whooping cough shot)
- Thread starter Skel1ingt0n
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hockeypuck
Member
Not sure why US pediatricians are all up in arms about anti-vaccination. Taking care of sicker patients always pays more, which would definitely help the lowest-paid specialty in this profession.
ugaboga232
Member
Medical field recommends EVERYONE (who isn't immunocompromised) get these vaccines. Just because doctors have gotten tired of people not listening to their recommendations doesn't change the fact that everyone should get them.
Lol. With this logic psychiatrists should give bipolar patients antidepressants so they will precipitate manic episodes for that sweet inpatient billing.
(i assume you are joking).
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
Edit: Sarcasm detector was broken.
AdventureRacing
Member
A clearly sarcastic post from someone who works in the medical field? I know it's hard to tell with some of the bullshit that's been posted in this thread.
TheGrizz
Member
The business of healthcare in the US is a real thing. My wife is paying out of pocket for cancer screenings, even though she has BRCA genetic mutations and lost her mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and her aunt to breast/ovarian cancer. We STILL have to pay out of pocket for preventative screenings, even after the doctor and genetic counselors recommend she get advanced screenings. It's almost as if they prefer she gets cancer to her getting screened (we pay 10k a year out of pocket for these screenings).
Apologies for the off topic rant.
yeah, that reaffirms my faith in humankind somewhat. thank you.
LegendofJoe
Member
Too out there to not be sarcastic. That said the last sentence actually contains a good point. Pediatricians and Primary Care Physicians should be paid more to encourage more to specialize in those fields. There is a strong negative correlation between more PCPs and Pediatricians and cost reduction.
The saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is right on the money.
autumnleaf
Member
I have never ever ever heard of someone requesting people get a flu shot before seeing their baby. That seems incredibly overcautious.
Ragnorok64
Member
After hearing my parents mention people we know whose kids ended up in the hospital for respiratory issues I've definitely adjusted my evaluation of "over protective" parents.
Though I'm now inclined just to keep my distance from new babies, and never try to hold them. I'll wait until the kid's a few months old before making an appearance.
Though I'm now inclined just to keep my distance from new babies, and never try to hold them. I'll wait until the kid's a few months old before making an appearance.
Some people are really careful about not letting their children die, parents are weird like that.
hockeypuck
Member
Check PMs.
TheGrizz
Member
It's people like you that really raise my faith in humanity. Thanks for the message
vainglorious
Member
Not an unusual request.
When my fiance's aunt was diagnosed with cancer and was in treatment we had to get flu shots prior to seeing her again after she started chemo.
And tdap requirements are so wide spread these days anyway. College campuses require updated vaccines like tdaps all the time.
When my fiance's aunt was diagnosed with cancer and was in treatment we had to get flu shots prior to seeing her again after she started chemo.
And tdap requirements are so wide spread these days anyway. College campuses require updated vaccines like tdaps all the time.
DizzyCaffeine
Member
As someone that's about to have a kid in a few months, our doctors specifically told us that friends and family need to get their shots before seeing our child.
Sounded weird to me at first too, but I'm not a doctor. And I tend to trust their advice rather than doing whatever and hoping for the best.
Sounded weird to me at first too, but I'm not a doctor. And I tend to trust their advice rather than doing whatever and hoping for the best.
I feel like a lot of people are in for a scary awakening, if they have children. The amount of things that can kill a newborn is terrifying. Even a common cold can lead to hospitalization for a newborn. Also, sometimes babies go to sleep and never wake up again, for reasons no one is quite sure of (but sometimes relates to an undetected infection).
The things you can control, like getting your flu shot and TDAP or barring visitors that aren't up to date on their shots, are easy decisions. Yeah, maybe there's only a .001% chance* that your child falls ills and dies, but if you're that unlucky .001% and you didn't protect your child...how would you ever fucking live with yourself.
* That's a made up number. I know the odds are low, but I don't know the actual number.
The things you can control, like getting your flu shot and TDAP or barring visitors that aren't up to date on their shots, are easy decisions. Yeah, maybe there's only a .001% chance* that your child falls ills and dies, but if you're that unlucky .001% and you didn't protect your child...how would you ever fucking live with yourself.
* That's a made up number. I know the odds are low, but I don't know the actual number.
UnluckyKate
Member
People don't get vaccine? What? Isn't it basically free or super cheap in most developed countries or covered with health care?
I think it's free and mandatory here
I think it's free and mandatory here
Spiral Insanity
Banned
Come on now.
It's not just about keeping babies who come in contact with you safe though...It's about trying to iradicate whooping cough entirely. You still may catch and spread whooping cough to other adults who then go on to pass it to children. Everyone needs to be up to date on TDAP whether or not you come into contact with babies.
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
^This. It's not trying to 'bubble' your child when you're following the advice of doctors and the CDC. It's not being OTT or crazy to shield a newborn from things that can kill them and have made a recent resurgence. If any of you (who do not yet) do have children, you'll probably do plenty of overprotective things that'll make you feel silly in retrospect, but this isn't one of them.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
"We need to bring a gift and flowers."
"They're asking that we make sure we're vaccinated."
"OH WELL FORGET IT THEN."
ginger ninja
Banned
You missed the point. If I am lazy/careless enough to not get a shot even for my own sake and just power through flu, I am definitely not getting one for a baby I am just gonna see for a while, pretend its cute and move on with the day.
My situation is not exactly comparable to OP tho. For example, I love my best friends to death but I am not so sure if I would fly to them just to meet their baby. Then again, my best friends are mostly located in other countries.
gutterboy44
Member
If you are willing to gamble with a newborn baby's life simply because you didn't feel like getting a single shot that you can literally get while going out on a beer run (virtually every major US pharmacy chain offers walk-in TDAP vaccinations) you are an asshole. There are no two ways about it.
This is an actual scenario that kills babies in the US. "My baby is dead." Why? " Died from a preventable disease, pertussis." Why wasn't it prevented? "Friend/family member wouldn't go to a CVS for a free shot"
That is the absurdity being defended by many people here. It isn't being over protective, it is listening to your doctor, the CDC, hospital staff etc and being smart and logical. Yeah, I have seen 9 month old kids in back seats of cars not even in a car seat. Did they instantly die because of the negligence? No, but is the risk of them dying or being seriously injured dramatically increased? Yep. It is risk management and the recommendations to mitigate the most sever risks with the easiest solutions. This is a high risk, easy solution situation, so it is an obvious choice to take the additional steps.
For the thousandth time, the risk is transmitting an often fatal disease to a newborn baby. The cost, likely zero $ and 15 minutes of time while going grocery shopping or buying deodorant. How is there any alternative other than, to quote Vincent Vega, "GET THE FUCKING SHOT!"
This is an actual scenario that kills babies in the US. "My baby is dead." Why? " Died from a preventable disease, pertussis." Why wasn't it prevented? "Friend/family member wouldn't go to a CVS for a free shot"
That is the absurdity being defended by many people here. It isn't being over protective, it is listening to your doctor, the CDC, hospital staff etc and being smart and logical. Yeah, I have seen 9 month old kids in back seats of cars not even in a car seat. Did they instantly die because of the negligence? No, but is the risk of them dying or being seriously injured dramatically increased? Yep. It is risk management and the recommendations to mitigate the most sever risks with the easiest solutions. This is a high risk, easy solution situation, so it is an obvious choice to take the additional steps.
For the thousandth time, the risk is transmitting an often fatal disease to a newborn baby. The cost, likely zero $ and 15 minutes of time while going grocery shopping or buying deodorant. How is there any alternative other than, to quote Vincent Vega, "GET THE FUCKING SHOT!"
In some places and situations it is, but a combination of shitty politics and stupid people prevent it. You are 100% right, it should be mandatory. There is no reason for it not to be, and a ton of reasons to support it.
it is mandatory for me to get it to work in the hospital. because infants and old people could get seriously sick if I give it to them.
Just like the pertussis vaccine.
the only people who get exempted are the ones who are allergic to them in some way. And it is up to everyone else so that person doesn't get sick, because herd immunity is a thing.
Risible
Member
Really? You posted this and couldn't think of one reason why it might be super-important but couldn't be mandated by the government? Nothing?
I'm going to answer your question with another question - why isn't smoking outlawed?
gutterboy44
Member
Whooping Cough aka pertussis is the bigger worry. It has been long contained through vaccinations but recently has made a big come back in young children due to anti vaccination propaganda and stupid parents. It is most deadly to infants, but becomes less a big deal once your immune system matures. It also has the shitty ability to be transmittable before exhibiting symptoms in adults, and even then the symptoms can sometimes be mild.
For a long time whooping cough was not something your average adult would come in contact with, unfortunately that has changed due to anti-vaxx. It is now recommended that people coming into direct contact with a newborn baby have the vaccination as the likelihood of you unknowingly spreading the disease to them has increased. Anyone required to come into contact with a newborn, eg hospital staff is most certainly required to have these vaccinations. They would be sued into oblivion if they didn't.
DizzyCaffeine
Member
It's literally what our doctors are telling us to do. But okay, guess I'm paranoid.
Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
The CDC never says 'required' for vaccinations. You can do whatever the fuck you want because legally they cannot mandate you vaccinate yourself or your kid but they can recommend guidelines. It is absolutely not overkill to require people get their tdap and flu vaccine before coming in contact with your new born. Especially not people that are flying to see you considering how many germs and nasty shit there are in airports/planes. Something that may present as a mild sore throat or other minimal symptoms in adults can be deadly in newborns. And yes, I am a doctor.
I have to get these vaccinations for work. I also absolutely made anyone visiting us to see my newborns to get the vaccinations. I have seen too many bad cases to let that slide.
Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
They are visiting. That means they are staying for a prolonged period of time, not just a couple of hours. They absolutely should be vaccinated.
gutterboy44
Member
Hmmm, gee I wonder why recommendations changed this past decade? Must be all baseless paranoia.
People vote and campaign against their self interests.
flintstryker
Banned
Honestly never heard of this before, I say go for it personally I would just not bother going since I'm lazy
Beer Monkey
Member
Paranoid would be like feeding them organic baby food or some shit because of something Food Babe or David Wolfe said. It isn't based in evidence.
Doing what doctors and scientists recommend isn't paranoid, it's good sense.
Frozenprince
Banned
TDAP is something you can get at CVS in ten minutes.
Yup.
Not unreasonable, especially if you don't have kids yourself. Regular illnesses can really harm infants who do not have the have an immunity yet. Some children can't get immunization as well, so the only way is for those who can to get the shots.
yellowjacket25
Member
This. You can make an appointment and it barely even affects your day. It is also basically free if you have decent insurance. When I had my first child, we asked all of the close family to get it. We didn't worry about one time friend visits though. Alot of my friends had kids of their own recently though and already had the shot.
InterMusketeer
Member
I guess it's understandable, since doctors recommend it, and parents want the best for their child, but in my view it seems kinda unnecessary and overblown. Doctors recommend yearly flu-shots too, and I never take those.
I can't stand shots, so this is something I'd personally cancel a visit over. I'd just visit them some other time.
I can't stand shots, so this is something I'd personally cancel a visit over. I'd just visit them some other time.
Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
You are putting old people, young kids, immunocompromised at risk. That is why we recommend it mainly. Herd immunity. It is completely not unnecessary and overblown. Your view is wrong.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/pert.html
Pertussis - United States, 1980-2012
Take a wild guess as to why the cases of pertussis have significantly risen in the recent years?
Absolutely get all the shots. Whooping cough may be a death sentence, a fever could end up life threatening given the circumstances. My daughter caught something at 2 months, and when we took her to pediatrician we were told she had to be in hospital 24hr while tests were run. Scared us shitless. Where we popped out our kid they really clamp down on visitations during winter due to all the nastiness running around. I'd assume they got briefed on all the possibilities which encouraged them to be better safe than sorry.
If you never or haven't had your TDAP in forever, now's a good time to do it anyway. Don't recall if it was tetanus or something else, but a coworker nearly died from an infection from puncture by chicken wire a couple years back. Stabbed myself w/ a filthy looking nail last year working on the house, nothing came of it but infections were definitely possible.
If you never or haven't had your TDAP in forever, now's a good time to do it anyway. Don't recall if it was tetanus or something else, but a coworker nearly died from an infection from puncture by chicken wire a couple years back. Stabbed myself w/ a filthy looking nail last year working on the house, nothing came of it but infections were definitely possible.
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