The flu shot’s available–should I get it?
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 by:It’s a question I’ve been pondering a lot lately. And to be honest, I still haven’t decided. I’ve never gotten the flu shot, or given one to my children before–why should H1N1 be any different?
For one, H1N1 preys on children and young adults–most severe forms of the flu target the sick and elderly. Since April 2009, 76 children have died of H1N1 (including 19 last week). Sure, 36,000 people die of the flu each year, but 76 children in just six months of non-flu season is abnormally high.
I’m also thinking of getting pregnant again, which makes me question whether I should get the shot. The immune system is compromised during pregnancy, putting the expecting population more at risk. During the first four months of the outbreak, 100 pregnant Americans were hospitalized and 28 died. The further along the pregnancy, the higher the risks to mom and baby. In the third trimester the fetus pushes against the thoracic cage, decreasing lung capacity and increasing respiratory risk.
Since the H1N1 vaccination is available starting this week, why take the risk? Shouldn’t I just get the shot? To help weigh my options I made a pro/con list:
Against: The multi-dose vial contains thimerosal (a form of mercury), used as a preservative to prevent contamination.
For: A can of tuna contains more mercury than the H1N1 shot.
Against: Has the H1N1 vaccination really been tested sufficiently?
For: Experts say yes. In fact, even more so because it has already been widely used during the Southern Hemisphere’s flu season. During China’s flu season just four of the first 39,000 people to receive the vaccination experienced muscle cramps and headaches as side effects.
Against: Canadian shots contain adjuvants, which increase the potency–and the uncertainty–of vaccination safety.
For: American shots are adjuvant-free and pregnant Canadians can get adjuvant-free shots.
Against: My kids and I may be exposed to flus other than H1N1 and get sick anyways.
For: At least we’ll be H1N1 safe.
My decision? I remain undecided but am leaning more heavily towards getting the H1N1 vaccination.
Tags: 2009 H1N1, available H1N1 vaccination, children, flu shot, H1N1 shot, H1N1 vaccination safety, pregnancy, safe, side effects
October 15th, 2009 at 8:02 am
[…] flu shot is now available; should you get it? — Just the Facts, […]
October 15th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Would you ever inject a can of tuna directly into your muscle? Just sayin’
October 15th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
The fact about the amount of mercury in a can of tuna is more than a H1N1 vaccine is interesting. If more people knew about this, maybe they would be less concerned about getting vaccinated and focus on other issues in the news.
i found a cool site called medtipster that helps you find vaccines in your area…just in case you lean all the way towards getting vaccinated!
good luck in your decision!
October 16th, 2009 at 10:06 am
For parents who are worried about thimerosal (mercury) in multidose vials, you can request a vaccine in a single-dose package which only has trace amounts of mercury. Or, request FluMist–a nasal spray option which has no thimerosal.
October 16th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Or take a selenium supplement. Selenium has been proven to counteract the negative effects of mercury. I always take one when I eat sushi.
October 16th, 2009 at 10:29 am
This is a natural process we go through. I am in total disagreement with flu shots. This is strictly a cash grab by the pharma companies and mismanagement / guidance by our governments.
If you get the flu – rest – sleep – eat noodle soup and rent a movie. Whats the problem. In the end you will be far better off and will be immune to that particular strain in the future and much stronger.
Don’t forget most people head south once they get the flu shot and can get very sick and there is no guarantees you want get the flu even if you do get a shot
October 27th, 2009 at 10:08 am
True about the Mercury but your not shooting the Mercury from a can of Tuna into your blood directly, bypassing all of your bodies natural defenses and filtering mechanisms…:)
October 27th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I have been pondering the H1N1 shots for me and my family also. I work in the education field and am exposed to all sorts of things everyday. After attending a class on the H1N1 vaccines I have decided not to get them. They have only been tested on humans for a short time, not sure I can trust that. I also feel the best defense against this is simple preventative things like bleaching and disinfecting everything you touch, take your handy wipes and wipe off the shopping carts at the grocery store and the door handles. If you cant get to a bathroom to wash your hands very often then keep wipes in the car or in your purse, stock up on GermX. But most of all be watchful of how often you are touching your face and clean anything that will be in contact thru your nose and mouth.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:44 am
I am 13 weeks pregnant and have just decided that I will get the adjuvant free shot when it becomes available. If the shot doesn’t work well then at least I knew that I did what I could to protect my unborn child. Also I think that it is irresponsible of low risk adults who are in contact with children and young adults to not get the shot. Is it worth the risk of having your child hospitalized or worse? If it’s a scam then I guess we all got taken in. But children dying is serious and should not be left to chance on a conspiracy theory.
October 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am
The chances of contracting H1N1 are much higher than the chances of side effects from the vaccine. I would rather risk the vaccination than end up hospitalized (or worse) because I didn’t take the available precautions. I also hope that anyone in contact with young children is smart enough to get vaccinated – my 9 month old is not capable of applying sanitizer to everything he touches. As much as I try to keep him away from things, germs can still be spread.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
After going back and forth for weeks, I just returned from getting the H1N1 flu shot for myself and my family. I decided for me the benefits outweighed the risks.
Most people who get H1N1 don’t get extremely sick or die but it is so random I don’t want to take the chance of being one of the unlucky few.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
When I asked my doctor if he would get the shot for his family his response was: “I’d feel like I was playing Russian Roulette if I didn’t.” Maybe a bit extreme but the response did make me wait for 3 hours for the shot.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
We’d also been debating whether to take the h1n1 shot when, lo and behold, my wife came down with the flu on the first day that the shots were made available (almost all flu cases reported in our region are h1n1). So it look like we’ll be getting immunity the natural way, whether we like it or not.
I’m still not 100 percent sold on the flu shot for small children. I’d have no hesitation to take it myself (if nothing else, to lessen the risk of my child contracting the flu from me) but remain undecided about injecting thimerosal into our little guy’s bloodstream. On the other hand, this flu is occasionally quite nasty too. It’s a hard one. Anyway, it’s a decision it looks like we won’t have to make this time.