It's always an odds game. Crossing the road is an odds game. If you compare the odds of misery created by the vaccine, we are talking about only a few cases out of millions. If we are talking about childhood deaths; or if not death, complications such as pnemonia - those odds are much higher.
Will your child experience a toxic reaction to the shot? I don't know, but the odds do not support that. However, we can state with 100% certainty that your children have NO immunity to H1N1 - as it is new to humanity.
As I have stated previously, I do not fear the Swine Flu that is going around today. I am going out of my way to get in contact with people who have it. Why? Am I a masochist? No. I fear what the Swine Flue will mutate into next year, or the years after that.
Unless you catch the H1N1 flu, or get the vaccine; you will have 0% immunity to the Swine Flu, and the Bird Flu. Take a look at what happened in 1918 with regard to the millions of deaths related to the Bird Flu. Those who got sick with the benign version in 1917 were around to bury those who got sick in 1918. Given the choice, I'd rather be the one digging the graves - but that's just me.
First of all, I am a virologist (who studies viruses in a lab) with a PhD and NOT an MD that works with patients. I also have a BS in Biochemical Pharmacology. Therefore I am not qualified to make medical decisions for you and your family. I am still more than happy to share my experiences and opinions with you.
I know exactly what you are going through. I also have 4 kids (ages 2-12) and have argued with my husband on this issue. I did not end up having to make the decision for my kids because H1N1 is widespread in my kids’ schools and they ended up catching it. Everyone recovered and the vaccine is still not available in our area anyway.
I do not get my children vaccinated against the “seasonal” flu and I did not plan on doing it for H1N1 either. All of my kids are healthy and have strong immune systems. I think pharmaceuticals are so overused in our society and every drug has side effects. Of course there are many examples of drugs that truly save and improve the quality of lives. I just have not seen any solid scientific evidence that flu vaccines deliver the protection that they are hyped to give.
However, if my child had a medical condition that put them at risk, then I probably would get them vaccinated. If I did, then I would make sure that it was the inactivated shot in the single dose form, which does not contain thimerosal. There are conflicting reports on its safety, so better to be safe than sorry. Also, none of the H1N1 vaccines approved for use in the US (at this time) contain adjuvants, so you don’t have to worry about those.
I would not give them the live nasal mist, no matter what. It has only been out for a few years and the safety has not been tested enough. I have personally reviewed the clinical data and have identified many potential problems that have not been tested for yet.
Hope that helps!