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Many Americans Still Leery of Swine Flu Vaccine
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The seasonal flu vaccine goes into production around March and is available around August. The H1N1 virus was isolated in May and became available this month.
Side effects from the H1N1 vaccine have been mild, including tenderness and swelling at the injection site and a mild fever. In China, four of 39,000 people vaccinated reported muscle cramps and headaches.
"We've had experience with this particular variety of killed vaccine for 20 years, and the risks are primarily swollen arm and low-grade fever," said Dr. Nathan Litman, director of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "There are some very, very rare other events, but some of them happen naturally even in those who don't have the vaccine. The risk of disease and complications of disease is far greater than the vaccine."
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Some concerns were precipitated by an earlier experience with swine flu vaccine. In 1976, the U.S. government vaccinated 43 million people against swine flu following an outbreak at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Some 500 of those vaccinated developed a rare neurodegenerative condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which many experts believe was linked to the shot. Twenty-five of those 500 died.
But the equation for this year's swine flu pandemic is already vastly different. The 1976 virus never spread beyond 240 soldiers stationed at the base, while the current outbreak has already sickened more than 340,000 people worldwide, killing 4,100 or more, according to the World Health Organization.
More information
Visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for more on the H1N1 swine flu.
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Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/13/2009
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SOURCES: Anthony Fauci, M.D., director, U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Robert Frenck, M.D., professor, pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and member, American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases; Nathan Litman, M.D., director, pediatrics, and chief, pediatric infectious diseases, the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, New York City;
Sept. 24, 2009, University of Michigan poll; Associated Press; Oct. 13, 2009, news release, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Bethesda, Md.
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