Would You Accept Swine Flu Vaccine?

[pagandeva2000]

My facility had a town hall meeting and announced that this year, it will be mandatory for all direct care staff to get the flu shot, and that they expect the swine flu vaccine to be ready this year, around October, and that we would be mandated to take that as well to protect the patients we care for. I am not very comfortable being mandated to take anything...this would be a brand new vaccine. Why should I be the guinea pig? Thoughts?

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

For the person above asking to see an example of a medical/science preofessional stating why he won't get the swine flu vaccine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw

That doctor is NOT an infectious disease specialist but an endocrinologist (all you have to do is look him up). The fact that he called himself an infectious disease specialist, in itself, gave me pause. But when he starts going off on the autism tangent he lost me. Also, he said there were adjuvants in the vaccine and there are not. He is terribly badly informed and extremely irresponsible spouting off like that.

I might reconsider if there was someone who really was an infectious disease specialist but that chap is not one.

[Laidback Al]

for the person above asking to see an example of a medical/science preofessional stating why he won't get the swine flu vaccine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1z7ksenyxw

ineedcoffee, i watched the video on the fox news interview with the "infectious disease expert", dr. kent holtorf.

lol. a quick google search shows that dr. horltorf is self-promoter for hormone replacement therapy here and hardly an infectious disease specialist.

kent holtorf, m.d. is an expert in natural bioidentical hormone replacement and optimization for women and men, endocrinology, thyroid dysfunction (difficult thyroid cases), fatigue syndromes, adrenal insufficiency, growth hormone replacement, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic infections and multiple endocrine dysfunction.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kent-holtorf

and from the faq page on his site here are the questions he answers:

• how quickly will i start feeling better?
  
• why doesn’t my family doctor do such treatments?
  
• do you take insurance?
  
• can the hormonal therapies be found at regular pharmacies?
  

not quite the questions you might want answers to if you are concerned about vaccinating your child for h1n1 and the perceived dangers of adjuvants, additions to vaccines used to bolster the immunological response. at about 1:58 into the video you link to, dr. holtorf discusses these additions to vaccines, he refers to them as "adjuncts".

i guess i must be more of an infectious disease expert than holtorf, at least i know the difference in meaning between adjuvant and adjunct.

[CuriousMe]

Yes, I will absolutely be getting the N1N1 shot, for multiple reasons:

- I have asthma, which can unfortunately become very brittle, very fast with respiratory infections. I don't just get cold's anymore, I get bronchitis within 24 hours of the first symptoms of a cold. From all accounts, H1N1 would likely be very ugly for me, I just can't take the risk.

- I'll be doing clinicals in the hospital this term and don't want to A) risk getting H1N1 from someone there, B) give H1N1 to someone there.

- I'm not buying the "new and untested" story. I'ts the same dang thing as the flu shot that I get every year...the only thing that makes it different at all is that the H1N1 shot is monovalent. But until someone can explain to me how having the antigenic determinants from fewer strains in one shot increases danger...I'm getting the shot.

Someone else mentioned it above, but I'll say it again...I'm always astounded when healthcare professionals are so uninformed about vaccines.

[tewdles, RN]

Shame on the news source put this Dr. Holtorf on and presented him as an "expert" in infectious diseases without (apparently) reviewing his credentials! If the guy is not truly an expert in the field his opinion carries no more weight than mine, or the podiatrists. What other things from that news source should we question?

[indigo girl]

the the national vaccine injury compensation program only compensates individuals who are affected by those vaccines listed on the the nvicp's "vaccine injury table," on which the new h1n1 vaccine is not listed. http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/table.htm

well, this certainly got me wondering as to how people would be compensated for possible vaccine injury from the swine flu vaccine. it did not seem likely that there would be no recourse at all so i sent off an email to hrsa support. as it turns out, this is covered, but by a different program:

here is the reply:

this is in response to your e-mail inquiry to the national vaccine injury compensation program (the vicp) regarding whether an adverse reaction to the novel pandemic h1n1 vaccine will be covered by the vicp.

although the vicp does not cover novel h1n1 pandemic vaccine, it is currently covered under a separate program, the countermeasures injury compensation program (cicp). compensation for injuries related to the novel h1n1 vaccine is administratively located within hhs’ health resources and services administration (hrsa), healthcare systems bureau.

under the cicp, individuals must have received a novel pandemic, monovalent h1n1 vaccination between june 15, 2009 and march 31, 2013. they must also submit their request for program benefits within one year of receiving the novel h1n1 vaccination. information about the cicp can be found at http://www.hrsa.gov/countermeasurescomp.

you may also find information about the novel h1n1 vaccine by contacting the immunization safety office, office of the chief science officer, cdc at 1-800-232-2522 or visit their website at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines. you may write to the cdc at 1600 clifton road, n.e., mail stop d-50, atlanta, georgia 30333.

please see the attached information sheet about the cicp. i hope this information will be helpful to you.

sincerely,

vito caserta, m.d., m.p.h.

director

countermeasures injury compensation

checking out the site lead to this information:

the countermeasures injury compensation program (cicp)

the countermeasures injury compensation program (cicp), housed within the health resources and services administration (hrsa), administers the compensation program specified by the public readiness and emergency preparedness act (prep act).

the prep act provides compensation to individuals for serious physical injuries or deaths from pandemic, epidemic, or security countermeasures identified in declarations issued by the secretary pursuant to section 319f-3(b) of the public health service act (phs act) (42 u.s.c. 247d-6d).

the prep act also confers broad liability protections as defined in section 319f-3(i)(2) of the phs act. liability protections cover the manufacture, testing, development, distribution, or use of the designated covered countermeasure.

a secretarial declaration specifies the categories of health threats or conditions for which countermeasures are recommended, the period liability protections are in effect, the population of individuals protected, and the geographic areas for which the protections are in effect.

more information on the prep act

covered countermeasures

certain countermeasures. such as vaccines, antibiotics or devices used to protect against the following, are covered:

influenza (pandemic, not seasonal)

anthrax

botulism

smallpox

acute radiation