Pregnant women top the list of the most at-risk group for contracting the H1N1 flu but many are scared witless to get the vaccine that recently became available this October in the United States. (as evidenced in the below CNN video)
Wow, what can I say about the H1N1? That pesky virulent strain of seasonal flu is kicking butt, and Pregnant women, children, the elderly and others with weak or compromised immune systems have been falling prey to this deadly virus. Everywhere these days, there are reports about this rather stubborn and ultra dangerous strain of the flu virus, nicknamed Swine Flu because initial testing showed many of the genes in the virus were similar to influenza viruses normally occurring in North American swine.
The Washington Post reported this month, that "since the pandemic began, at least 3,873 Americans have died from complications associated with the flu, primarily the H1N1 virus, including at least 28 pregnant women."
Pregnant woman are urged to get the new vaccine pronto and so are other members of the population that may have compromised or fragile immune systems or in high risk situations: children, the elderly and health care workers.
Meanwhile, many in the population have been lining up in droves to get vaccinated. Still some (like me, admittedly) are staying away fearful that the unknown side-effects of this new untested vaccine may be worse than the actual virus. As the Washington Post reported, "several national surveys have found that only about 40 percent of Americans are sure they will get it, with those who are reluctant citing doubts about the severity of the virus and concerns about side effects." See, I am not alone!
And if you are really freaked about this virus, do NOT WATCH, the National Geographic Channel's series, "Swine Flu: The Science of Pandemics" because it will scare the bejeevies out of you.
A recent study found racial disparity among families opinions of the Swine Flu vaccine. People from minority communities, African Americans, I know for sure are hesitant and I believe part of it is cultural and comes from not trusting "the government". Many of them are aware of controversial unethical studies like the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments where between 1932 and 1972, the US government knowingly injected healthy black males with the Syphilis virus in Tuskegee, Alabama and withheld treatment to some in order to study the effects of the disease. Similarly, books and movies like The Constant Gardner, which tackles the controversial practice of pharmaceutical companies testing drugs on poor people in third world countries in Africa without their knowing consent, further fuels the fear of vaccines.
Not just minority populations are skeptical, the entire controversy over immunization shots for infants and children, in particular the MMR vaccine, is incubated from the unknown. In particular, many have linked a negative side effect of certain ingredients in some vaccines as leading to autism. At this point, there has been no definitive link but notwithstanding with celebrities like actress Jenny McCarthy who has been outspoken and is convinced there is a link based on their experiences (her now 7-year old son has autism), the fear is certainly there and festering and is not going away.
Thus, brings be back to my point, to vaccinate or no? Pregnant women and children are dying left and right from H1N1. At the same time, with the unknown effects of the disease, several pregnant women and parents I know are very quite concerned and hesitant about getting the new vaccine. Their time is running out as the supply of the H1N1 vaccine is critically low in many parts of the States, according to reports You have to take your chances and pick an option one way or the other.
The fear of the "unknown" is driving people to do some crazy things. I read in BabyCenter yesterday, how some parents are actually taking their children to "Swine Flu" parties to expose their kids to the virus while it is still in its somewhat mild stage. All evidence points to the strain still being conquerable until the flu season passes next February 2010, but some parents are not taking their chances. Health practitioners are
calling this practice dangerous, and are discouraging parents from doing this. But all of the fear mongering in the media and from other sources have led people to take desperate measures.
Still, just this July, officials in Japan confirmed a mutation of H1N1 that is resistant to Tamiflu! EEk! So could this thing get any worse?
I know in my home, having a child recently diagnosed with the Swine Flu, we are taking extra steps to keep the rest of the household healthy. We've immunized the middle boy with the seasonal shot (because we fall on the side of the fence of fearing the unknown from the H1N1 vaccine) and are spraying Lysol on all door knobs and surfaces. We are also each taking daily doses of Sambucol, the natural virulogist developed serum that boosts your immunity and has been successful in my family in keeping away the sickies. My husband's homeopathy-crazed cousin hipped us to this product years ago and I even blogged about it on my Other blog a while back.
So far, we are having our H1N1 diagnosed child wear a mask to catch his germs in case he sneezes without covering his mouth, accidentally and have sequestered/quarantined him to stay in one room of the house. He's been armed with books, a laptop and video games to keep him happy. And the thing is, our kid never got the nose culture swab to CONFIRM it is the flu. Our pediatrician's office, we believe is acting on the encouragement of the Center for Disease Control to diagnose most early flu cases as swine flu because the regular old seasonal flu begins later in the year like from November thru April. My husband I believe they are doing so to encourage people to take it seriously, rest up and treat the virus rather than rush it and go out and about exposing other people just in case it is truly the H1N1. That is our theory anyway.
I am curious at seeing how this plays itself out because all the evidence points to this strain of the flu not getting better, but rather mutating itself in the future into a more violent and deadlier strain. Eeek! What is a worried mom or preggers woman to do?
From Baby Center
The Washington Post reported this month, that "since the pandemic began, at least 3,873 Americans have died from complications associated with the flu, primarily the H1N1 virus, including at least 28 pregnant women."
Pregnant woman are urged to get the new vaccine pronto and so are other members of the population that may have compromised or fragile immune systems or in high risk situations: children, the elderly and health care workers.
Meanwhile, many in the population have been lining up in droves to get vaccinated. Still some (like me, admittedly) are staying away fearful that the unknown side-effects of this new untested vaccine may be worse than the actual virus. As the Washington Post reported, "several national surveys have found that only about 40 percent of Americans are sure they will get it, with those who are reluctant citing doubts about the severity of the virus and concerns about side effects." See, I am not alone!
And if you are really freaked about this virus, do NOT WATCH, the National Geographic Channel's series, "Swine Flu: The Science of Pandemics" because it will scare the bejeevies out of you.
A recent study found racial disparity among families opinions of the Swine Flu vaccine. People from minority communities, African Americans, I know for sure are hesitant and I believe part of it is cultural and comes from not trusting "the government". Many of them are aware of controversial unethical studies like the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments where between 1932 and 1972, the US government knowingly injected healthy black males with the Syphilis virus in Tuskegee, Alabama and withheld treatment to some in order to study the effects of the disease. Similarly, books and movies like The Constant Gardner, which tackles the controversial practice of pharmaceutical companies testing drugs on poor people in third world countries in Africa without their knowing consent, further fuels the fear of vaccines.
Not just minority populations are skeptical, the entire controversy over immunization shots for infants and children, in particular the MMR vaccine, is incubated from the unknown. In particular, many have linked a negative side effect of certain ingredients in some vaccines as leading to autism. At this point, there has been no definitive link but notwithstanding with celebrities like actress Jenny McCarthy who has been outspoken and is convinced there is a link based on their experiences (her now 7-year old son has autism), the fear is certainly there and festering and is not going away.
Thus, brings be back to my point, to vaccinate or no? Pregnant women and children are dying left and right from H1N1. At the same time, with the unknown effects of the disease, several pregnant women and parents I know are very quite concerned and hesitant about getting the new vaccine. Their time is running out as the supply of the H1N1 vaccine is critically low in many parts of the States, according to reports You have to take your chances and pick an option one way or the other.
The fear of the "unknown" is driving people to do some crazy things. I read in BabyCenter yesterday, how some parents are actually taking their children to "Swine Flu" parties to expose their kids to the virus while it is still in its somewhat mild stage. All evidence points to the strain still being conquerable until the flu season passes next February 2010, but some parents are not taking their chances. Health practitioners are
calling this practice dangerous, and are discouraging parents from doing this. But all of the fear mongering in the media and from other sources have led people to take desperate measures.Still, just this July, officials in Japan confirmed a mutation of H1N1 that is resistant to Tamiflu! EEk! So could this thing get any worse?
I know in my home, having a child recently diagnosed with the Swine Flu, we are taking extra steps to keep the rest of the household healthy. We've immunized the middle boy with the seasonal shot (because we fall on the side of the fence of fearing the unknown from the H1N1 vaccine) and are spraying Lysol on all door knobs and surfaces. We are also each taking daily doses of Sambucol, the natural virulogist developed serum that boosts your immunity and has been successful in my family in keeping away the sickies. My husband's homeopathy-crazed cousin hipped us to this product years ago and I even blogged about it on my Other blog a while back.
There are doctor-prescribed preventive non-homeopathic remedies. The most popular prescribed: Tamiflu and Relenza. Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and Relenza, known generically as zanamivir, can be used to prevent infection if given early enough. Both can treat flu but Tamiflu is often preferred because it is a tablet, while Relenza must be delivered using an inhaler.
So far, we are having our H1N1 diagnosed child wear a mask to catch his germs in case he sneezes without covering his mouth, accidentally and have sequestered/quarantined him to stay in one room of the house. He's been armed with books, a laptop and video games to keep him happy. And the thing is, our kid never got the nose culture swab to CONFIRM it is the flu. Our pediatrician's office, we believe is acting on the encouragement of the Center for Disease Control to diagnose most early flu cases as swine flu because the regular old seasonal flu begins later in the year like from November thru April. My husband I believe they are doing so to encourage people to take it seriously, rest up and treat the virus rather than rush it and go out and about exposing other people just in case it is truly the H1N1. That is our theory anyway.
I am curious at seeing how this plays itself out because all the evidence points to this strain of the flu not getting better, but rather mutating itself in the future into a more violent and deadlier strain. Eeek! What is a worried mom or preggers woman to do?
From Baby Center
What symptoms should I watch for?
Swine flu symptoms in children and adults are pretty much the same as those for seasonal flu:
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Body aches
- Headaches
- Chills and fatigue
- Sometimes, diarrhea and vomiting
If you develop the flu, you probably won't have all those symptoms, but you're likely to have some combination of them. Ruth Parker, a professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, says that if you have a fever, cough, and sore throat, it''s likely you have swine flu. If you don't have all three symptoms (or a recent history of those symptoms), you probably don't have swine flu.
Your thoughts readers? I would love to hear how others feel about this.
Check out this CNN video about the skepticism of the vaccine:
3 comments:
When I was pregnant I decided not to have the vaccine because it is not properly tested...
It's more about the fact that there has been cases in the past - in the US no less - where the govt has given out a vaccine which has killed more people and made more people ill than the original virus did. I forget what it's called but will come back over and let you know as soon as I remember xx
I have to first say that pregnant women and children are not "dying left and right" from the Swine Flu. Yes, there have been cases but what you neglected to include are the numbers of at risk folks who die yearly from the regular seasonal flu. The CDC states that every year about 36,000 americans die from complications from regular influenza. The number of swine flu deaths pales in comparison and doesn't quite seem like the horrible pandemic the media makes it out to be, now, huh? The media has everyone so hyped up on H1N1 that folks are running around thinking they are going to catch Swine Flu and die. In addition, those who have died from complications most always have underlying health issues that contributed to their demise -- it wasn't the flu itself that killed them.
Also, as you correctly mentioned in your post, people aren't always being tested for H1N1 -- health care officials are just assuming that is what people have when they call into their doctor with symptoms. As of August 21, 2009, the CDC listed 522 deaths and almost 8,000 hospitalizations associated with the swine flu but there is no information on lab confirmed H1N1 cases because the CDC has stopped recommending that suspected and reported cases be lab confirmed.
The H1N1 test is being reserved only for those that doctors truly believe may have it because there is not an abundance of tests and if they were to test every worried parent or adult that thinks they have the swine flu they wouldn't have enough tests to actually test those with symptoms that match up.
I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and know that this vaccination is a touchy and scary subject for many pregnant women but I can't stomach being told that I need to be first in line for a vaccination that no one can guarantee me that it won't affect my unborn child. Just because you're pregnant doesn't make you a magnet for the flu. Just because you catch swine flu doesn't mean that death is imminent. And, just like the seasons flu shot, just because you are immunized doesn't mean you won't catch it.
Overall it's best to encourage folks to find both sides of the coin in this argument and make a decision for themselves and to remain calm despite the anxiety we're being made to feel.
You can find more information on the hype here: http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/September-2009-(1)/Mild-Swine-Flu-Over-Hyped-Vaccine.aspx
And recommendations from Dr. Sears here:
http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/09/four-swine-flu-vaccines-approved-by-fda.asp
Thanks for your very thorough and thoughtful reply Amanda. Good luck with the remainder of your pregnancy.
I agree with you about most people dying having other issues and this flu not being worse than the seasonal flu and the media hyping it up more than needs to be.
Also, I am testament that you won't croak or have horrible consequences as my son had it and is okay now as are 3 of my daughter's classmates and another friend's son.
You bring out valid points and I am glad you shared.
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