November 21, 2009
What's Inside:
Parents worried about safety of H1N1 vaccine
First the H1N1 influenza caused alarm — and now, so has the vaccine against it.
A whopping 72 percent of American parents are concerned about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine, according to results from an Associated Press-GfK poll, and 38 percent have said they will refuse to have their children vaccinated because they feel the vaccine against H1N1, also known as swine flu, is too new and untested.
Other concerns parents expressed were that flu vaccines could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing nerve condition; and that more than half of the vaccine doses contain thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that some are concerned can cause conditions such as autism. Some also commented that the hype surrounding the H1N1 flu is an overreaction, considering that most cases so far have been mild.
But despite this overwhelming distrust of the vaccine, the City of St. Joseph Health Department hasn’t received questions about its safety, says public information officer Nancy Taylor.
“Most phone calls we’ve gotten are ‘When can I get my child vaccinated?’” she said. “People are calling because they want to receive the vaccine, not because they don’t want to.”
In response to safety concerns illuminated by the poll, Ms. Taylor notes that the H1N1 vaccine is produced through the same process as the seasonal flu vaccine and must go through the same U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process, ensuring “it should have a very good safety track record, because if there’s ever a problem, they won’t release the batch.”
Plus, she adds, “if H1N1 had reared its head a few months earlier, they could have put it in the seasonal vaccine,” which hasn’t drawn nearly as much concern.
But there are those who are concerned about not only the H1N1 vaccine but also vaccines in general, and one such group — the people behind a non-profit collection of public education Web sites called the NaturalNews Network — has created a Web site where people can report any side effects they experience from the H1N1 vaccine. The site, www.swinefluvaccinereport.com, has been up and running since late last month and contains multiple postings but, as of Friday, no stories of side effects from the H1N1 vaccine.
“The vaccines are only now being distributed in the U.S.,” notes site moderator and NaturalNews.com editor Mike Adams. “So it may be some time before side effects begin to appear.”
For those locally who are interested in receiving the vaccine, a list of local providers is available at www.stjoemo.info/flu or by calling 271-5325.
Erin Wisdom can be reached
at ewisdom@npgco.com.
This story has 6 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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This is usually where someone would mark a cynical comment about "leave it to St. Joe," or something comparable.
Unfortunately, I see this as an example of the trust, albeit misplaced, of the citizens of St. Joseph. And I'd be lying if I didn't agree some of it is just plain ignorance on the topic.
Probably the same people getting the vaccine are the same who said, "it's just the flu." They're only going off information they've been given by the press including this very paper.
I've still yet to see (in major media) any stories about the debacle in 1976 regarding the swine vaccine and the horrible propaganda that was used by the US government in getting people freaked out and eventually taking the vaccine. More people died from the vaccine than the flu.
This is the same government that discovered the HIV virus in multiple (thousands) of bottles of Bayer. What did they do when they discovered the virus? Sold the shipment to Japan. Don't believe me? Do some research.
You can have the vaccine, I'm still clinging to "hope."
i am not taking the shot. don't take the regular flu shot either. only had the flu 1 time in seven years. don't have any other concerning issues so if i do get the flu i will fight it and hopefully get over it. i am not concerned with the scare tactics of some nor do i worry about the mercury level in the shot. although i wouldn't want my granddaughter at 3 to take it for fear of side effects. a lot of the information that scare people are from the Internet. they try to give me millions of dollars all the time. i believe them (not). the sky hasn't fell yet that i know of. it tickles me the way a few have their heads in the sand and believe anything they read. Internet or not. i think someday i will write a book and all will read it and believe all that wrote. boy if that happens, there will be a lot of dummies.
This is just a practice run for other 'plagues' and 'epidemics' that can be visited on us, by the natural order of things or by terrorists or other agencies of disaster. And while all of the naysayers and paranoid individualist fraidycats are holding out and practicing their different drummer crap, it is fortunate that there are at least a cadre of people out there who aren't waiting for a real disaster to help get the medical field and emergency delivery systems up and in working order. Maybe we will get it right before something really big hits the fan and maybe we won't. If we don't, I can think of a few bloggers to thank......
Some people are just lost and believe things like this is a practice run for worse things like thye plage.Wake up this flu is here and has killed people.I have not heard of any side affects of this shot.And this flu has killed children and no goveremnt would let the vaccine out if it was going to kill children.Goverment conspiracy people dream up.
NEWS FLASH!!! The flu has always killed people including children.
MM1967 is quite possibly the most naive individual I've ever heard.
Mr. America, you are correct about the flu killing people. You are failing to acknowledge that H1N1 is a completely MAN-MADE strain. Ask any scientist - ANY scientist, they will educate you on the fact that these strains could NOT have mutated into one in nature. You don't find it just a bit coincidental that the vaccine was created a few years ago and all of a sudden this strain is now infecting millions?
Right. Total coincidence.
Why don't the both of you go get your H1N1 vaccine so we can weed out the population ala Darwinism? In fact, take everyone with you who thinks the government is their best friend and would NEVER participate in something that kills children. Umm... 1976 morons.
What you want something more recent? How about us backing Israel while they intentionally attack civilian sites in Palestine? That's cool by you? Sure is this government allowing innocent children to die and actually, we're facilitating it. Look up how much money we give to Israel.
Mr. America, I've read your posts before, you aren't this naive and while yes, the flu has always killed, you're downplaying other aspects of this flu that show malicious intent.
By the way, I've got the flu. Started showing symptoms last Sunday and Monday. Full on flu today. I don't know why this paper isn't covering the hundreds of kids in our immediate area that are infected. I know for a fact Savannah is having trouble staffing substitute teachers because everyone is sick.
You'd think that would make the local paper.