This is going to be a long one… this is a lot of information and only you can decipher what is important to you and your family! Getting quality, complete information is a challenge and often we’re left feeling even more confused than ever.
When it comes to vaccination, there’s a fairly specific set of things to consider when you’re making your decision:
1. How likely are you to get the disease?
2. If you do get the disease, how severe is it likely to be?
3. How sick could you get (or could it be fatal)?
4. If you did get sick, how likely are you to pass the disease to someone else for which it may be more severe?
5. Are there other effective things you can do to reduce these risks?
6. How effective is the vaccine?
7. What are the risks of the vaccine – long and short term?
2009 SWINE FLU PANDEMIC
The population of Calgary is approximately 1,277,700. To date, there have been 194 confirmed cases of swine flu in the Calgary area, with 46 (26%) of those being children under 9 years of age. The chance you may contract is based on these numbers is: 0.01%. However; using the Alberta data, 20 people (out of 480 cases province-wide) have died due to complications following H1N1 influenza with one of those being an out of Canada resident. That represents roughly a 4.1% chance of death. The death rate is the scary number, not the actual chance you may contract H1N1.
What you need to know about this is that people are not dying from the flu directly. In North America, nearly all of the reported deaths are caused by bacterial pneumonia. People’s immune systems are taxed by the flu virus and they end up developing a bacterial infection in their lungs… and it’s the bacterial infection that proves fatal.
INDIVIDUALS PARTICULARLY AT RISK
You may be at higher of risk of getting H1N1 if:
1. You or someone in your immediate family/social network work on or around a pig farm.
2. You or someone in your immediate family/social network is a healthcare worker.
You have higher risk of severe illness and/or complications from H1N1 infection if:
1. You are a pregnant woman.
2. You have a pre-existing medical condition that affects your lungs or immune function.
HOW DANGEROUS IS THE SWINE FLU?
Concern around the H1N1 virus relates mostly to world history with this virus. In 1918, the H1N1 flu (“Spanish flu”) caused hundreds of thousands of deaths all over the world. But contrary to some of the media reports on this, the 1918 outbreak wasn’t the last time we saw the swine flu.
• H1N1 viruses reappeared in 1976/77 and caused major outbreaks mainly in those aged 25 or younger over the following few years.
• The 2009 H1N1 virus is also closely related to a series of human virus outbreaks from 1918–1956.
• This is why younger people are more vulnerable to the swine flu, whereas people born before 1957 have been largely protected against the new pandemic virus.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE 2009 SWINE FLU VACCINE?
The Canadian government has set-up “fast-track” approval processes in order to ensure that the vaccine is available in time to be useful. Fast track approval means that a vaccine might be licensed without the usual safety/effectiveness data requirements. That does not mean it is not safely tested. The individual active components are tested for immediate safety, and/or historical data on safety of the individual components is used.
Preliminary data:
• Approximately 99% of adults who got the vaccine developed seroprotection. (That means it worked.) This is an excellent rate of seroprotection!
• Typically, seroprotection provides about 85% protection against the virus. (15% of people will still get sick if they come in contact with the virus, but may have milder symptoms.)
• A single dose of the vaccine appears to be sufficient.
• Duration of protection has not been established.
• The vaccine has not yet been studied in children or seniors.
• Pregnant women are advised against the regular vaccine (should instead consider a variation that does not contain the protein-primer/adjuvant).
• People who are severely allergic to eggs should not get this vaccine.
• Avoid the H1N1 vaccine if you’re received another flu vaccine with the last 8 weeks
• However, you can get the regular seasonal flu vaccine at the same time as the H1N1 vaccine (in different arms.)
• Public Health Agency of Canada’s website reveals findings that healthy adults that tested positive for H1N1 were twice as likely to have received seasonal vaccine. This suggests that the seasonal flu vaccine may make you more susceptible to the H1N1 virus.
OTHER RELEVANT HISTORICAL DATA:
The 1976 H1N1 vaccination program in the US resulted in unusually high incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) following vaccination. That vaccination program was ultimately suspended due to safety concerns.
GBS presents as progressive neurodegeneration and ascending paralysis, which can ultimately progress to paralysis of the muscles of respiration and death. Severity/progression of symptoms varies widely among affected individuals. Some people spontaneously recover completely. Some are paralyzed for life. Some die fairly swiftly. (And there is a full spectrum in between.)
• GBS is an auto-immune reaction against myelin, which is the sheath around nerve cells.
• In Canada, the current reported risk of developing GBS after regular seasonal influenza vaccination is around 1 in 1,000,000.
• In 1976, the incidence of GBS after H1N1 vaccination was more than 1 in 100,000
• While there is evidence of causal link between the vaccine and the increased incidence of GBS, the definitive reason was never established.
1976 You Tube 60 Minutes Warning, Part 1
1976 You Tube 60 Minutes Warning, Part II
MAKING THE DECISION
Take some time to digest this information! Consider whether you (or your family) fall within the higher risk categories. Consider how you are affected by the regular seasonal flu or other communicable illnesses – do you tend to fall very ill every time the flu comes around? Or do you usually experience a few mild symptoms and recover swiftly?
Weigh the benefits of the vaccination against the potential risks and decide what is best for you and your family, given your own specific situation
~ Remember, do what is right for YOUR family, not what you “think” everyone else wants you to do~
What to do if you get sick in 2009 with H1N1
Feeding your infant through H1N1
Dr. Sears’ look at four vaccines, their manufacturers and recommendations
Statistics on incidence and rate of complications (Canadian)
H1N1 Clinics (and their re-opening)
½ Dose for Children ** Watch updates, keep listening!
2009 You Tube CDC H1N1 Press Release
Good Luck with everything. I’m sure you may have even made up your mind now. It’s so hard to say what is going to happen and what isn’t.
Health and Happiness for the remainder of 2009!
~ Meagan
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