Will you get the swine flu vaccine?
The swine flu vaccine won't be available for at least a month, but already people who are at the highest risk for complications from the new virus are wary of getting themselves or their children inoculated.
Pregnant women notoriously avoid seasonal flu shots and young children also have very low vaccination rates. Expectant moms worry about everything they put in their bodies. And this H1N1 vaccine is something new. Some new and current mothers alike are concerned that the new vaccine hasn't been thoroughly tested.
Health officials are confident that the vaccine will be safe and effective by the time it hits the market and they note that pregnant women and infants and toddlers are likely to be severely impacted why what has in most cases been a mild disease so far.
Still, just over one month out from when the vaccine is expected to be ready, the vaccines are still being tested. Just this week, the National Institutes of Health began testing it in pregnant women.
Comments
Can children with egg allergies get the vaccine? Our baby couldn't get one last year because of this reason.
I don't know the answer to that. Let me ask one of the experts and get back to you. -- Stephanie
Posted by: Dave Gell | September 10, 2009 3:47 PM
Will you share with us where shots are being given when they're available? That's been my big question for the past month: Where can I get the vaccine? (And, yes, I plan to. Let me go vote in your poll now!)
Plans have not yet been finalized as to where you can get vaccinated, Mary. The shots will likely be offered in doctor's offices and possibly drugstores and even schools. But once we know for certain, we'll share that information. -- Stephanie
Posted by: Mary | September 10, 2009 3:51 PM
Dave Gell,
I got this response from Dr. Karen Kotloff, a vaccine expert at the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development:
"Children with egg allergies should not get the vaccine. There are 2 choices for alternatives: 1) They can go to a Pediatric Allergist and ask about a desensitization regimen. 2) If the child develops flu and is either in a risk group or is experiencing more significant disease, the flu can be treated with Tamiflu."
Hope this helps,
Stephanie
Posted by: Stephanie Desmon | September 11, 2009 6:38 AM
The vaccine isn't actually that new and it isn't very different from the flu vaccine that is given every year in terms of how it was developed and how it is being tested.
Posted by: fea | September 13, 2009 8:27 PM
How safe is this for my children???The doctors said the Heparin my baby got was safe and that was a lie.So what I want to know is will there be a recall on this like there is everything else now days??
Posted by: Sally | September 14, 2009 12:20 AM