I want to talk about H1N1 vaccine.

Why do some people oppose to taking the vaccine?

When the vaccine comes along, I will probably get the shot.

Some people freak out over extremely rare, though very serious, side effects to vaccines of all types.

But the fact is, AFAIK, "herd immunity" is to my general benefit, and is worth the minor personal risk. How do I know this? Basically, because I am alive, and my odds of getting this far have been massively improved by mass vaccination against some very serious diseases.

It cuts a bit closer to home for me, odds-wise, because my DW is in the schools daily and an international airport is within view. So I am 30 minutes from nasty-bug-ground-zero.

I am personally more worried about drivers who are juggling a cell phone, newspaper, coffee and muffin at 70 MPH on the highway. If I was a betting man, I'd take serious odds on the jab.

Personally, I don't feel enough research has been done in the short amount of time H1N1 has been around. Plus the fact that I don't usually even get regular flu shots, and the normal flu is said to be much worse as far as mortality rate than H1N1.

Pretty much it.

I don't recall the last time I had the flu.. 5 years?

I got strep from flying a couple years ago... that was what I can remember.

No really good reason to *oppose* vaccination for the flu. It can help, or at worst be a wash, just a stick in the arm. There have been complaints about timerosol, a preservative included in the vaccine, particularly in complications for pregnant women. There is also a version of the vaccine without preservatives though. I think there could be arguably good reasons not to be vaccinated, but outright opposition isn't one of them imo.

Question for armchair virologists out there: if H1N1 mutates and becomes a killer (by percentage of infection, or killer of a specific age/community), will the current H1N1 vaccination provide any protection?

All things being equal, I may skip immunization on H1N1, have the flu, and develop some bit future immunity. It doesn't seem very severe (deadly to my age group), and immunization might just up the odds of becoming deblitated by a more virulent and deadly strain. I think differently for my college age daughter going off to the germ factory / college in a couple weeks. Question there is whether the vaccination ready in mid-October will be ready in time to prevent H1N1 in kids starting college in early October.

I am talking out of my arse, so need to spend some time on public health and CDC sites...

I don't know enough about the issue to give an informed opinion, but Dr Mercola's take on H1N1 and the vaccine is very informative.

This article and the ones associated with it are nothing more than fear mongering pseduo-science opinions, being expressed by individuals with agendas on anti-conventional medical practices. Could a particular vaccine generate significant side-effects? Absolutely, but the side-effects tend to be limited in terms of distribution and effect, where as the disease being vaccinated for has demonstrable and proven detrimental effects. Next time someone denounces the value of a vaccine, take a look at some video of child with whooping cough and tell me you would not take the small risk of vaccination to prevent that debilitating disease in your child.

I received my seasonal flu vaccine the other day and if at all possible plan on receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Each to his own, I have had the flu several times and if I can do something with low risk to reduce my chances of becoming infected, I plan to do so, without hesitation.

Pete

Well, since this is in the Campfire, I'll be more loose in my comments. H1N1 and particularly the topic of a vaccine has create a lot of controversy in certain circles. There are lots of different groups who oppose the H1N1 vaccine.

You've got what are often labelled the "antivax" folks who typically oppose childhood immunizations on various medical grounds, like fear of autism, although there is no credible evidence to support a link. These folks are often fans of Dr Sears, who is doing a lot to harm the health of children, not save it, IMO.

There are other antivax folks who think that vaccines just weaken the immune system in general, or in more extreme cases, are actually highly poisonous. The topic of immune system-boosting chemicals, like squalene, are the topic of much debate within these circles. Typically, these same folks usually push alternative health products (often to their own profit) which are supposed to boost your immune system. I know Dr. Mercola is popular but I lump him in this camp. Many of his articles, although referenced, do not reflect good reasoning representative of the scientific literature. Plus, he pushes his own products all the time so his credibility level with me is usually at the "huckster" level.

Many folks fear a repeat of the 1976 swine flu vaccine and cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a link that research does not consistently support). But the H1N1 vaccine is totally different from that vaccine. It's not like they took the '76 vaccine out of the freezer, thawed it out, tinkered with it a bit, and are ready to start injecting it into people now. The H1N1 vaccine is basically just like the regular seasonal flu shot in terms of how it was designed and produced.

There are some who think the H1N1 vaccine is just another way that Big Pharma is making a huge profit at the government's (really, OUR) expense. Actually, they claim that Big Pharma bioengineered the virus, released it to create the pandemic, and are now profiting from selling the vaccine.

There's a libertarian wing that points to language in various laws which they say proves that the government is planning on forced, mass vaccinations, and those that refuse will be thrown in jail or at least fined thousands of dollars and the rest of their lives ruined. These folks seem to be same ones that go to town hall meetings and scream, "Stay out of my health care, you socialists!!!"

Then there's a whole set of tinfoil conspiracy theories out there about sinister plans to do things like: inject microscopic nano-tags in everyone through forced vaccinations so that the government can track us, massive global depopulation (i.e. killing us) through tainted vaccines, etc. Oh, I love this one--in early summer, when obesity seemed to be a risk factor for serious cases, there was serious talk about how H1N1 was a tool that health insurance companies created to kill the people who cost them the most money (i.e. the obese) before health care reform kicked in and reduced their profits. Crazy stuff.

What concerns me is a series of news reports I have read over the past few months on various surveys done in the UK, Hong Kong, and here in the US, where a very large percentage of healthcare workers say will skip the H1N1 shot. Maybe it's just the reporter cherry picking the most inane reasons, but these professionals are saying things like, "Well, I got a flu shot ten years ago and still got sick" or "I didn't get the shot last year and didn't get sick". Huh? That's the most un-scientific reasoning! And you guys are health professionals? Funny, I don't hear any big backlash against these same professionals getting their other mandatory immunizations, like for hepatitis or tetanus.

That's kinda like saying I haven't been seriously injured in a car accident so I'm not sure how important seatbelts really are...

Flu shot production has to begin long before flu season begins so they have to guess which flu to make a vaccine for. Sometimes they guess "wrong". It doesn't mean the vaccine was bad but rather it wasn't the one you wanted.

(I'm going to guess that it will take only one good flu episode to change your mind on the vaccines)

I'm not a medical expert and don't follow national and local flu trends etc. I leave that up to my GP. I got a seasonal flu shot Monday and when asked if I wanted to be on their H1N1 vaccine list told the nurse what I always say "ask the Dr, then call me if he says yes". I pay him good money for his medical opinions and I see no reason to conclude now I know better than him.

It may continue to provide some protection, but it really depends on the specific mutation, so there are no guarantees. That's exactly why the regular flu shot needs to be updated regularly. Don't forget that "protection" could also include getting sick but avoiding the really serious complications, and does not only mean avoiding coming down with it at all.


This point is not necessarily true. Allowing yourself to catch H1N1 now may not confer any more protection to a mutated H1N1 down the road, plus you're adding more risk up front that you'll be one of the unlucky ones who develop a very severe reaction to H1N1 now. And immunization could also very well protect you from a more dangerous mutated strain.

From the public health perspective, avoiding or at least delaying the spread of H1N1 is a primary goal. Allowing yourself to catch H1N1 also means that you'll likely pass it along (since you'll be infectious before and after symptoms disappear), and the highly infectious nature of H1N1 means lots of people get sick at the same time, swamping medical resources at the same time.

Edit: Lono, you mentioned age, which is something most people forget about with the H1N1 vaccine. Currently, anyone over 25 and without any health conditions like heart disease, asthma, etc. are not part of the priority group who should be vaccinated first. On the other end of the age spectrum, depending on how the flu season develops, those over 65 may not ever be recommended to get the H1N1 shot (although still highly recommended to get the seasonal flu shot). We'll see if those recommendations change as the flu season progresses.