Should You Get the H1N1 or Swine Flu Vaccine?

Should you get the Swine Flu or H1N1 vaccine? Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the Swine Flu or H1N1 vaccine is safe or effective. Last Fall many people were confused by information being forwarded around the Internet, by word of mouth, and in many cases by physicians themselves. Many people believed that the H1N1 vaccine was unsafe, unproven, and untested. Some people don't believe in vaccines in general, much less a new vaccine that hadn't undergone all of the same safety testing as those that came before it. Is the H1N1 vaccine a good idea for you and your loved ones?

In recent years there seem to be more and more people that don't believe that vaccines are necessary or safe. This was a major topic of discussion among parents weighing the risk versus the benefit of having their children vaccinated for H1N1. Many parents who lost children or had a child wind up in the ICU on a ventilator wish they could have made a different choice. Parents with young and otherwise healthy children saw their children die or become gravely ill with H1N1. Many parents refuse to have their children vaccinated for fear of a link between vaccines and Autism. One of the first things that people should recognize about vaccines, and this is an indisputable fact, is that they have saved millions of lives. It can be said the reason individuals are able to decline vaccines today is because vaccines have indeed been so effective. Humans have a short memory for tragic events of the past, or perhaps in certain cases it's a selective memory. The great majority of parents that are refusing to have their children vaccinated have never had to live through polio outbreaks or the wreckage left behind by something as deadly as smallpox. These parents have never had to live through something so devastating because the public has been vaccinated. Many diseases that used to cripple and kill indiscriminately around the globe have been eradicated thanks to vaccine programs.

Getting vaccinated doesn't protect you alone; it protects the weak and vulnerable individuals out in the world that you come into contact with. That three-month-old infant sitting beside you with his or her mother on the bus is too young to receive an H1N1 vaccine. Would you want to unintentionally infect a vulnerable child and potentially cause a death? Another reason individuals that haven't been vaccinated may not have become ill is due to herd protection-also a benefit of vaccines. Most people have been vaccinated and in turn it protects those around them.

As an EMT, I was able to get vaccinated for H1N1 or Swine Flu last Fall and I'm glad that I did. I received the live vaccine and I'm still alive to tell you about it! I know, it's hard to believe, but here I am-just the same as I was before I was vaccinated. Actually, I suppose I'm a little better than I was before I got vaccinated-I have antibodies to H1N1 and I'm grateful to have them. I wasn't only worried about contracting H1N1 myself, I was concerned about potentially infecting someone else more vulnerable than I am. If you don't think you are ever around anyone vulnerable, is it also plausible that you are never around anyone that may come into contact with someone more vulnerable? It's like a chain reaction and somewhere down the line in that chain someone may die.
A huge number of people have now been vaccinated against H1N1 and there aren't endless stories of unimaginable side effects or a rising death toll from the vaccine. It's something to educate yourself about and to consider seriously. If you are a parent making the decision for your child, think about whether or not you are willing to take the risk of your healthy and beautiful child dying of Swine Flu.

The vaccine is still available to those that want it and in most cases you can get it for less than fifteen dollars. It may not be as easy to acquire if there is a major resurgence in the virus. I don't believe that anyone should be forced to get a vaccine if they don't want it. I do believe education is the most powerful tool you can offer to people and they may choose to use the knowledge however they see fit. If you are interested in getting vaccinated for H1N1, the vaccine is available at many pharmacies or you can contact your medical provider.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control
Harvard Medical School