I’m still reading about vaccinations so I have not yet decided on what my daughter and I will do. Copied below, however, is another opinion on the flu vaccinations, which is a different perspective from the last opinion that I posted. I received it from one of my mommy email distribution groups.
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[From another mom:] FYI, this was posted on PSP from our pediatrician, the source is AAP and CDC (I’m not sure if she wrote this or if it’s been issued by the CDC). This opinion varies from the well-presented “wait-and-see” opinion from Tribeca Pediatrics. Both are worth a read to help you make a decision regarding whether or not to vaccinate yourselves and your children against this year’s flu and the H1N1 flu.
FAQ regarding Flu Vaccine
1. Why is this flu different from all other flus?
The flu virus changes (shifts) slightly every year, enough to cause annual epidemics — the normal community-wide outbreaks that we experience every winter. But every once in a while — 3 times per century on average –a major change (drift) occurs, resulting in a novel strain. It is so different from all other strains that even if you’ve been exposed to or vaccinated against all previous flu strains in your lifetime, you are unlikely to be immune to it. Therefore there are widespread outbreaks all over the world — a pandemic.
2. Will there be a vaccine for this novel pandemic flu? Will it be safe since it is so new?
Yes — in October. Since the strain was first isolated last year, the vaccine makers have been working on it. Although it is a new strain, the vaccine is made just the way other flu vaccines are made — immunologically, every flu vaccine is specific to the strain expected to emerge that season, and therefore new every year –but the basic recipe, if you will, for the vaccine is exactly the same. So it is neither newer nor more experimental than the annual flu vaccine, which has a good safety record. Moreover, since the H1N1 strain has remained very stable since its emergence, we know that the vaccine is a good match for the virus, whereas the annual vaccine may sometimes miss the mark a bit.
3. Will there be special chemicals that are untested added to this vaccine?
No. Some vaccines have immune- stimulating compounds called adjuvants added to them, and there was some discussion of adding these compounds to the H1N1 vaccine in the event that the vaccine supply fell short, but the discussion was theoretical only and these technologies have not been implemented in the US.
4. Does the H1N1 vaccine contain mercury or thimerosal?
All flu vaccines are available in thimerosal-free formulations.
5. Who should get H1N1 vaccine and will seasonal flu vaccine protect against the H1N1 strain?
Eventually, as supplies permit it, widespread vaccination will truncate this pandemic (the first of the century). For the present, vaccine is being triaged to pregnant women and children, as well as those with chronic illnesses. This is because so far, more cases have been occurring in children, perhaps because older people have partial resistance, and because pregnant women are at higher risk for complications. An added benefit is that the infants of vaccinated women will be born with some immunity to this strain. Seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for everyone age 6 months and up, especially pregnant women. Seasonal flu vaccine does not appear to give any protection against the H1N1.
6. Since seasonal flu is usually mild, and since so far the H1N1 is tending to be clinically mild, is it necessary to be vaccinated? Why not just catch the flu, and take anti-flu drugs such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir)?
Influenza is usually a mild and self-limited disease. It tends to be more severe in young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses. However, the majority of the 40,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations per year from influenza in the USA occur in previously healthy people. Since flu is so highly contagious, eating well, taking supplements, and following guidelines for healthy living, are not helpful strategies for preventing infection , or for preventing complications of infection which may lead to hospitalization, severe illness, or death. In the current pandemic, more deaths would be expected in the pediatric age group as more cases are occurring in children. Another factor in the estimated burden of disease has to do with the number of acute or intensive care beds available, and the number of respirator machines available throughout the country. In a serious pandemic it is possible that the nation’s capacity for acute respiratory support would simply be overwhelmed.
Currently, anti-flu medications are recommended only for children under age 2, hospitalized patients, and those with underlying chronic disease. It is desirable to restrict use of these drugs to prevent viruses from developing resistance to them. Widespread use of currently available vaccines will decrease the number of cases and the duration of outbreaks, and thus the overall burden of disease in our communities.
In recent years, especially in Great Britain and the USA, vaccination has taken on other social meanings, associated with fear of environmental toxins, suspicion of the government and pharmaceutical industry, fear of neurologic damage or long-term side effects, or the desire to raise one’s children in a simple or more natural fashion. It is legitimate for individuals to take these issues into consideration as long as the risks are clearly understood — this is informed consent. Those choosing, with full knowledge of the facts, to decline the flu vaccine, are making an acceptable decision both ethically and legally, as this vaccine is not mandatory. Those who do not have such fears or objections should feel comfortable in taking the vaccine, because the more uptake of vaccine, the less disease, and the less disease, the fewer adverse outcomes will occur. Widespread uptake of vaccine not only safeguards individual health, but contributes to the health of the community.
7. How much will the vaccine cost? Will insurance cover it? How will it be administered?
All doses of the H1N1 vaccine have been purchased by the government, and will be distributed through state and local health departments.
Strategies for distribution will vary from place to place. There is no charge for the vaccine itself, although there may be an office visit or administrative fee charged by clinics and private offices.
Both seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines are available in an injectable form which is made from killed virus, and in a nasal spray containing live virus which has been weakened, or attenuated, so that it cannot cause infection. Nose spray can be used in healthy patients aged 2 through 49 years, who do not have asthma or egg allergy.
As regards co-administration of the vaccine, most patients age 9 and up will receive one dose of each vaccine, in either or both modalities. Children age 8 and younger will need 2 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, and 1 dose of seasonal flu vaccine, and children receiving the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time in their lives will need two doses of that vaccine as well. Final details regarding the timing of multiple doses in young children and the mixing of the two forms of the vaccine will be determined and made public when the vaccine is released for administration in the next few weeks.
Sources: Red Book of the American Academy of Pediatrics, CDC.gov, Mandell’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases,Elsevier 2005.
