There are a million and one opinions online about the H1N1 vaccine, and I of course have mine.  I’ve had people ask if I will be getting the kids vaccinated, and the answer is a resounding “yes”.  By now, many of you have seen me posting links to (hopefully) helpful articles regarding the vaccine, so I think my stance is pretty clear.  Now we will see how supply lasts and who actually is able to be vaccinated in what looks to be a developing shortfall (update from Globe and Mail here).  But I will be in line with my kids first thing Monday morning, and am hoping for the best.

But of course, a two minute conversation or 140 characters on Twitter doesn’t give me a chance to explain why.  So here’s how I came to my decision.  Can I guarantee my kids won’t have a reaction to the shot?  No.  But when health authorities the world over tell me there could be a serious risk to my kids, and that they have come up with a vaccine to prevent it, I’m there.  I am casting my vote with the WHO, the Canadian Pediatric Society, plenty of family docs, my kids’ pediatrician and an emergency pediatrican I know and trust who is online as The Virtual Pediatrician.  (Links provided below, check them out.)

Do I believe everything everyone tells me?  Of course not.  But in this case, mainstream health authorities that I have come to know and trust are recommending getting the shot.  If I get the chance to get it, I will, as will my husband.  If I can prevent us from getting sick, I can make sure we are there to look after our little ones.  If I can get them vaccinated and not panic every time a cold, fever or touch of some other virus strikes our household this winter, all the better.  I don’t want to watch my baby and wonder if she’s having trouble breathing and guess if it’s H1N1.  I don’t want to put my son to bed and then lose sleep wondering if I should be checking him through the night.  I don’t want to wonder if we’ll be a family who will be a little under the weather for a few days or a family sitting in the emergency department at 3 a.m.  There are families who are sitting in hospitals as we speak, or who have already lost family members. 

I just checked the Public Health Agency of Canada online (link below) and it says 95 have died in Canada so far as a result of H1N1.  Some would say that that is a small number, and that it doesn’t warrant the reaction it’s getting.  All I have to say is this:  95 sounds like a large number to me.  I have 2 children.  4 in our family.  95 sounds very large indeed.  Am I panicking?  No.  I’m vaccinating.  There’s a difference.

So this is my opinion, and my decision.  You may share it or not.  I typically wouldn’t weigh in on what other families should do…breastfeed, not breastfeed, co-sleep, crib sleep, baby-wearing or not…anything that affects your family is your choice.  Make your decision and enjoy the family dynamic that you create and that is yours to decide.  But some decisions affect others.  If you think that no one should tell you how to keep your kids safe, then let me ask you this.  Do you follow the seatbelt laws?  Put your kids in carseats?  Keep your speed within safe limits when on the road?  Send your kids to school?  These are examples of ways society tells us how to protect and do well by our kids…and when valuable, official, tested information is presented to us, I firmly believe it is our job to listen.  Not because it’s a conspiracy that I can’t see through or because some big brother wants to control us, but because the risks of the virus far surpass those of the vaccine.  Get shot, get your families shot. 

When it comes to vaccination, please remember it is not just about you.  We have to realize that what we do affects others.  Part of why I believe so strongly in vaccination is a little thing we call community.   In each of our neighbourhoods, our cities, our country there are communities of people, that, whether we like it or not, depend on each other from time to time.  We share schools, shopping, public services and hospitals.  It goes like this:  maybe if I vaccinate my kid, and you vaccinate yours and the kid down the street gets the shot as well, maybe we keep one of those kids from passing it to a baby under 6 months who can’t get vaccinated.   Maybe if we all do it and get as many people as we can to do it, we can stop the spread before someone coughs on that person on the bus who is already sick and dealing with a chronic or terminal illness and can’t fight off a virus.  Maybe I get the shot, and when I’m exposed to the virus, I don’t pass it between my son’s schools.  Maybe my whole family and yours and someone else’s don’t end up in the hospital with dozens or hundreds of others, taking up beds that could be used for other reasons.  Maybe we stop the spread before our schools, or necessary services that we all need or enjoy, have to shut down temporarily.  I’ve already received notices from my son’s schools noting that they have plans prepared, and how they will handle it if they need to close.  It’s so unsettling.  I can’t control a virus, and I can’t control the rest of the world.  But I can vaccinate, and I will.

Get information from a doc or health authority you trust, and consider the source of the other information you are reading or hearing.  Here are a few links that helped me decide.  Happy reading, happy Halloween and I hope happy vaccinating!

http://bit.ly/3le1Mx  Canadian Pediatric Society – H1N1: Information for parents about the virus and the vaccine

http://bit.ly/2t278E  Article in the Ottawa Citizen re: WHO - World Health Body says H1N1 vaccines safe, effective

http://bit.ly/CculA  The Virtual Pediatrician – Taming the Hog:  Immunization or not for Swine flu

http://bit.ly/3NAdiT  The Virtual Pediatrician- Pandemic Panic:  How to sleep soundly this week

http://bit.ly/2Rofdy  The Public Health Agency of Canada – FAQ: H1N1 Flu Virus

http://bit.ly/zFVvo  The Public Health Agency of Canada – Surveillance:  H1N1 Flu Virus