H1N1 shot.. what do u think

Those two people died from the H1N1 flu.... not from the vaccine.  The CDC recently reported that over 10 million doses of the vaccine have been given with no serious adverse reactions.

I live on Long Island NY. My 16 year old son woke up with severe headache, tight chest and 102 fever. Rushed him right over to the Dr. The poor kid looked like a truck hit him and by the time the Dr saw him he was crying with such a bad headache. The Dr did a swab and told my son to lie down for few minutes until he got back . He said it takes 10 min for the test to show. One minute later he was back and said the swab came back positive but he knew it anyway because they had lots of cases in past two weeks. He said it was h1n1. The Dr gave him Tami flu..I never got my kids or myself the shot because of the controversy..My husband is a dentist and has received the regular one but did not want to get the h1n1. I was hesitant evento give my son the tamiflu because there are side effects with that. My sister in law had the regular flu a few years ago said give it to him it helps a lot. My son was so sick and i heard the fever could go higher and the chest was so tight he couldnt breath. I gave him the tamiflu, advil and doc put him on mucinex Dm..by the next morning he was a different kid. No headache , low fever, still a little tired and slight cough but nothing compared to what he started with. He needs to stay out of school for rest of the week. Also i dont know if this is true but my sister in law said she knows a labortory tech that said there is only one place in the country at the moment testing for swine flu..he said a lot of the drs are diagnosing h1n1 when its regular flu..i dont know..i went by what my dr told me.If any of you ladies are on chemo are you able to take the tamiflu? Also have to tell you we have great health coverage and the tamiflu was 85.00..we have four people in the family..i hope it doesnt go any further..wishing you all health and blessings. 

Barry - that video is hilarious!

I used to get flu shots every year.  Then the year there was a shortage and I couldn't get one, I got dx'd with bc in december.  There I was on the brink of chemo with no flu shot.  Thankfully, I got through without the flu. 

When I was still feeling like crap every day three years later, my learning curve for alternatives and natural healing began in earnest.  Mercury is commonly used as a preservative, and if they don't use mercury, they'll use formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.  It's of small consolation that a can of tuna contains the same level of mercury.  A drop here, a drop there.  If you don't pay attention, they'll add up like the plastic bags from the grocery store.  I've been using a fabric bag for groceries for months, and I still have lots of plastic bags.  I hope to have none someday.  I feel the same way about mercury. 

Even eskimos in the arctic circle have mercury in their breast milk.  It's probably unavoidable, but that no reason in my mind to say yes to a drop of mercury when it's in something supposedly good for my health.  

lol great video Barry!

PIP, did you have any reactions or flu symptoms from your shot?  I'm still not sure...maybe in Dec when I get home.  If I get achy from it I'd rather wait until Dec when I'm settled.

Im 32 and got the H1N1 shot Tuesday. My arm has been tender and it is slightly red, itchy & swollen where my GP gave me the infusion. It seems to be getting better.

For those of you who might still be on the fence about getting the H1N1 vaccine, there is another thread about it, over on the "Help Me Get Through Treatment" forum.  The thread is called, "H1N1 vaccine."  I posted something there yesterday about the ingredients of the vaccine and the companies making it for the U.S. and Canada.  The package inserts for the 5 H1N1 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. are available on the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm181950.htm

I don't want to start any skirmishes here.  This is all just FYI. 

otter 

Okay....  this is for PIP. It's copied from the other H1N1 vaccine thread I mentioned:

++++++++++start quote++++++++++++++++ 

1) Which companies are making H1N1 vaccines for the U.S., and where are their factories?

There are 5 companies authorized by the FDA to make a total of 251 million doses of H1N1 vaccines for use in the U.S.:

a) Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Ltd. (a division of Novartis AG) -- the company is based in Switzerland; I think the vaccine is being made there or in their factory in Germany (don't know for sure, but it isn't China). The U.S. contract calls for ~90+ million doses.

b) Sanofi-Pasteur Inc. (a division of Sanofi-Aventis SA) -- the company has a manufacturing plant in France, but the U.S. version of their H1N1 vaccine is being made in the Sanofi-Pasteur factory in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania. The contract calls for ~75 million doses.

c) MedImmune (a unit of AstraZeneca PLC) -- the vaccine is being manufactured in the company's factory in Speke, UK, and then is shipped to their plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for packaging. MedImmune's vaccine is a modified live (= "attenuated") virus administered as a nasal spray. The original contract called for 40 million doses, but I think more doses were requested in September '09.

d) CSL Biotherapies (a subsidiary of CSL Ltd.) -- the company is making its U.S. vaccine in Australia and then packaging it in Pennsylvania (or maybe in Germany? don't know for sure). This company is also making a vaccine for use in Australia, and, under a last-minute arrangement, providing a few hundred thousand doses for high-risk groups (e.g., pregnant women) in Canada.

e) ID Biomedical Corp. of Quebec (a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline PLC) -- GSK is a British company that purchased ID Biomedical a few years ago. ID Biomedical is making H1N1 vaccine for the U.S. in its factory in Quebec (Canada). The GSK/ID Biomed H1N1 vaccine was the last to receive approval from the FDA (on November 10, 2009). The U.S. contract calls for 7.6 million doses. GSK/ID Biomed is also making nearly all the H1N1 vaccine being used in Canada; but it's not the same vaccine as the U.S. version.  [Note added:  Here's the difference:  almost all the GSK/ID Biomed vaccine being made for use in Canada contains an adjuvant (squalene); none of the vaccine made for the U.S. from any of the 5 companies contains any adjuvant.]

++++++++++end of quote+++++++++++ 

It's a really long post, and that's only part of it. The package inserts (the "labels") for the H1N1 vaccines from all 5 of those companies are at that FDA link I mentioned earlier.  Again, just FYI, in response to PIP's question.

otter 

Thanks for the info Otter.

This article outlines a protocol to follow should you contract the flu or H1N1:

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2010/jan2010_What-To-Do-If-You-Contract-Influenza_01.htm?source=INFEML_411-62_1120&key=ClickHere

Barry,

The most common testing for swine flu (H1N1) is a 2 step process. The first part of testing for H1N1 is a nasal swab which is then used to run a rapid flu screen that yields results within a half hour or so.  This test is only a screening device and at best, can only differentiate between the two main types of flu; influenza A and influenza B. It DOES NOT confirme the presence of H1N1.  So for example, someone who was tested for strep throat, flu and H1N1, would have had 3 separate swabs collected; 1) a throat swab for the rapid strep test, 2) a nasal swab for the rapid flu test and 3) another nasal swab specifically for H1N1 culture or PCR which usually takes many days or longer to result.  Anyone who only had a positive for Flu A on a rapid flu test but no further testing to confirm that it was H1N1 it should not assume the H1N1 vaccine is unnecessary.  I realized that you, Barry wouldn't take the vaccine anyway, but others may feel differently and might appreciate knowing this information. 

Swine flu (H1N1) is a type A flu virus and so a positive result on a rapid flu test for influenza A virus only means that the patient MIGHT have H1N1...but could also just have any other type A flu virus.  If the rapid flu test is positive for influenza A, then a CONFIRMATORY test might be done using a different swab. Knowing for certain that someone has H1N1 requires that additional testing, otherwise the diagnosis is just an assumption that hopefully was based   additional subjective and objective clinical findings.  Because H1N1 is currently pandemic and because the confirmatory testing results take too long for them to be of any real use when making treatment decisions, most doctors are just assuming that a patient with a positive rapid flu results might have H1N1 and then treat them according.  At least in my area, the only time the confimatory H1N1 test is being done these days is if the patient is so sick that they require hospitalization. 

Actually I didn't take my doctor dx that seriously. I only had a throat swab taken...no nasal. I was shocked that she so quickly wrote me up to having the Swine Flu. Many of my students testified that when they went to the doc with flu symptoms that they too were told that they had the Swine Flu. I'm concerned that I'm not kicking this sore throat with mild fever.

But thanks for your post Mary Kelly...helpful.

Fortunately we are able to choose whether to have it or not. I will not be taking it nor will anyone in my family. Not enough information about it and many of the ingredients are concerning.

http://www.childhoodshots.com/uploads/SwineFLuVaccineFactSheet.pdf

http://www.novaccine.com/search/index.asp

I had my 6th and last TC chemo on 11/6/09 and was due to travel via air from So CA to MN less than 2 weeks later for my niece's wedding.  My onc said that the vaccine may not work if it was given during the time that my immune system was compromised.  It didn't matter since the vaccine was not available anyway.  I traveled from Orange County to Chicago and changed planes that day to Minneapolis -- all 12 days after chemo.  I came home via the same route 4 days later and did not get sick.  Of course I was careful to wash my hands frequently and not touch my face during the trip.