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Oct 8, 2009 8:42 pm US/Eastern
Some Parents Concerned About H1N1 Vaccine Safety
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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A young girl receives the H1N1 nasal mist vaccination at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on Oct. 6, 2009.
CBS
Now that H1N1 flu vaccines are arriving in our area, with children as a priority group, will there be any takers?
"They get yearly flu shots, so I'll get them the H1N1 also," says a mother walking downtown.
"I'm not around kids so I don't feel like I need it," says a young woman not planning on getting immunized.
"They should be vaccinated. Their immune system is a little bit different than ours," says a father who isn't getting vaccinated himself, but wants his kids vaccinated.
"I guess I'm worried about what complications it could possibly bring," admits one mom.
An Associated Press poll says one in three parents plans not to have their child immunized.
"The most common question I'm getting right now is, 'Oh, I've heard all this stuff about the vaccine, you know, tell me, just between you and me, is it safe?' It's safe," reassures Children's Hospital infectious diseases specialist Dr. Andrew Nowalk.
The concern over the H1N1 vaccine is concerning to him.
"What you're reading about it in the internet is the internet. What we've seen in studies where we really look carefully about it is that it's going to work and it doesn't look any different in terms of side effects than a seasonal flu vaccine would," he says.
With the regular flu vaccine, the most common side effects are soreness, redness, achiness and mild fever.
Rarely, you could have an allergic reaction, or a one in a million chance of a nerve condition called Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Dr. Mark Diamond of Children's Community Pediatrics acknowledges an H1N1 flu infection isn't necessarily severe.
"The swine flu, the H1N1, appears to be no worse in its effects than the seasonal flu," he said. "Now that's not to say there can't be serious complications."
Complications include pneumonia, trouble breathing and even death. In fact, more than half the deaths have been in people younger than 49.
Because the illness is spread easily in schools, the experts agree the benefits of children getting vaccinated outweigh the risks.
"So far the testing that has been done, which is much more extensive than any other flu vaccine in recent years, shows it appears to be safe," Dr. Diamond said. "So there's really no logical or even scientific reason to expect there to be a greater number of side effects."
"It's made in exactly the same way as we've always made flu vaccine. There's nothing new about it and it is going to be your best protection against something terrible happening if you get the flu," explains Dr. Nowalk.
The H1N1 vaccine has been widely used in the southern hemisphere over the summer months, which is their winter. They've seen a lot of H1N1 illnesses there and they've had no problems with the vaccine.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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