To Vaccinate, or Not to Vaccinate, That is the Question.

So everywhere you turn there is information being thrown at us regarding the H1N1 Flu and the vaccine.  And at every turn is a parent asking, "are you vaccinating?"

We did.  On Monday, both my kids opened their nostrils real wide to accept the H1N1 vaccine.  And while this was ultimately my decision, it was not a decision I came to lightly.

I am not a person who buys into media hype.  I n fact, as the public becomes increasingly panicked about any particular media-induced issue, I tend to become more cynical.  Maybe it's the journalist in me, but I don't trust "frenzy."

Bu I do trust facts from people in the know.

I asked doctors their opinion.  And I asked more doctors.  Then, just to be sure, I asked again.  Every single solitary doctor I asked- from an Internist to a GI specialist to an ER doctor and a Pediatrician - every last one of them not only assured me the H1N1 vaccine is safe, but urged me to vaccinate my children. 

Every last one of them.

They told me that the H1N1 vaccine is prepared no differently than any other flu shot I've given my children and that the hype over the pandemic is what separates it from the regular flu.  As a matter of fact, the H1N1 strain of flu has been included in your regular seasonal flu vaccine each year since 1977, but since this is a new strain, a separate vaccine is being administered.

And yes, people in the high risk groups should get both the H1N1 vaccine as well as the flu shot.  While my instinct was not to administer both the vaccines simultaneously, many doctors do (if they have it - there's a supply and demand issue with both vaccines right now). 

I was reluctant to accept a "new" vaccine for my kids.  But after doing the research, asking health care professionals, finding out how the seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine are similar and different, my reluctance was to wait to vaccinate.  And now that I have, I feel like my children are protected from what I understand to be a horrible, complicated illness.

No matter what you decide is best for your family, there are ways to protect against getting sick - make sure your family washes their hands constantly.  We've been going through that anti-bacterial stuff like crazy around here.  At the very least, you'll be teaching your kids good hygiene, right?