Pros/Cons Of Getting H1N1 Vaccination

Millions of parents around the world are debating this weekend the pros and cons of getting their children vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu. People that have a great deal of faith in the federal government will find it easier to give the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine to their children than other people that believe this new H1N1 swine flu vaccine has not been tested long enough to be given to young children. On the other hand, 2009 H1N1 flu is effecting and killing children in larger numbers than their parents, so I'm sure there is plenty of hand ringing going on in families around the United States as manufacturers rush to catch up with the demand for the H1N1 vaccine.

The last time swine flu became a huge problem in the United States was back in the 1970's. At that time, government officials from the President of the United States on down encouraged everyone to get vaccinated against that form of swine flu. However, as the years went by - it became very clear that not everyone had a good long term positive reaction to the 1970's type of swine flu vaccination and for a very unlucky few Americans there were long lasting health consequences after getting that swine flu vaccine, which followed them the rest of their life. Americans are known for taking what their government tells them with a grain of salt - but when it comes to H1N1 swine flu that skepticism could turn out to be fatal.

The pros side of getting the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine is that if your child does not suffer severe side effects from getting the H1N1 flu vaccination, the odds are excellent that your child will not get sick with 2009 H1N1 flu. However, the cons side of this story is what is keeping thousands of parents up at night when thinking about whether or not to take their minor children to the doctor to get an H1N1 flu vaccination. The biggest concern facing most parents with the H1N1 flu vaccine is that it was tested for such a short period of time before it was shipped to the American people. U.S. medical history is filled with mistakes when the proper safeguards, which include time, are not taken when a major vaccination project moves forward to mass delivery.

I am fortunate not to have young children living at home anymore, so the only decision my wife and I have to make is whether or not we will get an H1N1 flu vaccination when supplies increase enough for middle aged people like us to be qualified to get one. I am pretty sure my wife will get the H1N1 vaccination and I am confident that I will not. We received a regular seasonal flu shot several weeks ago, but we both feel different about the H1N1 vaccinations mainly because of the lack of testing that went into the vaccination before it was ready to administer to the American people. Right now, if I had a school aged child still living at home - I would be worried about giving the H1N1 flu vaccine to them. However, there is also a good chance that my doctor could change my mind if he had evidence to proven that the H1N1 flu vaccine was safe for school age children.