Swine flu vaccine

[NCInMyMind]

Originally Posted by ajzjmsmom

Maybe that would explain why it is taking so long for the vaccines to roll out. However, why would they need it to be the single most tested influenza vaccine ever produced if the medical community keeps saying it is made exactly the same as any other flu vaccine the only difference is the virus strain?

The reason that this particular vaccine was so tested was not because there was a doubt regarding its safety, but rather scientists went through a process to determine how many "injections" of the vaccine were needed to provide adequate disease-specific antibodies. If you recall, originally they thought patients would require two "doses." Unfortunately, it does appear that young children will still require two, while adults will only need one, per usual. Children's immune systems are not as adept as producing antibodies as are adults'.

H1N1 was only identified in April and the egg-based manufacturing process takes many months. There is no way to speed it up. And yes, it is correct that it is manufactured in the same antiquated manner as the seasonal vaccine.

[Viralmd]

It also just so happens that H1N1 grows much more slowly than anticipated, so the vaccine manufacture is behind what the anticipated schedule was.

[moonshadow]

Originally Posted by beckycat

For those who have gotten it, any side effects? Did you get sick?

Hi becky.

I had the H1N1 vaccination on Tuesday. It's now Thursday evening here.

Prior to me having the H1N1 vaccination I'd had a flu virus for around 4 weeks. I had previously had the regular flu shot at the start of our Winter, so back in May or June this year. Whatever flu strain (obviously not covered in this year's flu shot ) I have recently had was treated with a course and repeat of anti-biotics and I delayed getting the H1N1 vaccination until my current flu had mostly cleared up.

So I went to my doctor Tuesday and was given a hand out printed by the Department of Health and Ageing Australian Government explaining about the vaccine, who needs to be vaccinated, possible short term side effects, allergic reactions and also more severe side effects. They even included information about the vaccination itself, the amount of mercury based preservative included and also the overseas reports of a possible unproven association between influenza vaccines and Guillain-Barre syndrome including the statistical rarity.

So I sat and read all that and then I went in and had my shot.
I had it in my arm. I found it less painful than the regular flu shot, (I'm assuming that the fluid in the syringe is not as thick as say a tetanus shot) less painful than a Vitamin B shot and definitely less painful than a tetanus shot.

I was advised of the following possible side effects of vaccination:

Common

About 1 in 10 people may have swelling, pain or redness at the injection site.

I didn't.

Also may suffer tiredness or drowsiness, muscles aches: low grade fever.

I can't say that I'm feeling amazing but I have had the flu for a few weeks and haven't been sleeping regularly so I'm not leaping out of my skin anyway. I don't feel significantly worse than normal. Actually I've been marvelling at the lack of symptoms to be honest.

Very Rare

Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

Didn't happen to me.

I confess I was somewhat concerned about the information regarding the Guillain-Barre Syndrome and the implications for me as I have a pre-existing condition but I'm not feeling any adverse reaction there. It was also a relief to have it addressed on the patient information and they did add the statistic (1-2 cases per 1 million people vaccinated) It also said this has never happened in Australia so to my rudimentary mathematical brain that's 0 for over 21,000,000 people. I liked those odds.

I was also expecting that I would have more of a reaction because other medications/vaccinations where flu like symptoms are a possibility tend to affect me fairly convincingly.

All in all I'm fine and glad I had it and feeling a lot better about heading into the US winter and flu season now knowing that I have had it.