Swine flu vaccine?

[willow5]

Ooohhhh but here is another really good AUSSIE article from the Age newspaper with a myth busting theme.

Swine flu vaccine myths 'busted' by experts

It suggests that Swine Flu won't hit our shores till Feb next year. Will we be ok till then?

S X

this vaccine shouldnt be given to people with an allergy to egg as it is made on a product which is based on chicken protein or has had an anaphylactic hypersensitivity to previous vaccine.

Kawasuki the link in Sue1979"S post shows a statement that the vax is ok for people with egg allergies as most of them are mild??
I'd always heard you shouldn't have it if you had egg allergies, this is the kind of conflicting info that makes me wonder...who do we believe??...If the experts can't agree how are we supposed to make our decisions with the conflicting information? Very frustrating.

[LimeSlice]

The pamphlet (read propaganda) I got from the doctors office yesterday makes mention that is is NOT safe for people with egg allergies

[Just Me]

When you have the vaccine, you have to fill out a form and one of the items on the declaration is that you don't have an egg allergy. This form has to be completed and signed before they will give you the vaccine. If I read literature stating otherwise, I would seriously question the validity and creibility of the literature and the author.

ETA: Just had quick read of the article and there are a number of 'myths' listed there that are on the form to sign to say that you have been informed of the risk including the one about paralysis.

[Bathsheba]

Yes but cake is dangerous for some people with egg allergies I don't get why people are more suspicious of a vaccine than the foods they buy off the supermarket shelf. I really don't think there is a hidden agenda here. I also don't get the comparison with Thalydimide... sure medical professionals will never know how everything affects everyone but I do believe them when they say they have seen more deaths (due to contracting the virus) than birth defects from the H1N1 vaccine. At one stage there were half a dozen pregnant women on life support (due to having contracted H1N1) in one Sydney hospital alone the last time it swept through. BUT I still believe that all of us need to weight up our individual intuitive response to this. I agree it is not for everyone. But I suspect it is safe for the majority.

[kawazuki]

the reason eggs are listed is because the vaccine is made and produced in a chricken embryo. it is infected with H1N1 and then the antibodies produced are used so it has quite a high egg content.

it is just one precaution listed, as the implications if someone had an allergic reaction cant then come back and say i wasnt informed.

when someone has a reaction it get reported and it is all reported what we suspect the allergic reagent was eg the eggs or a sulphuric product or unknown cause..

[Rooey5]

From the article:

MYTH:

In 1976 a swine flu vaccine in the USA caused paralysis (Guillian-Barre Syndrome) and it could do again.

FACT:

It was a one-off. The original effect was only an additional one case of GBS per 100,000 people vaccinated. The modern vaccine is very different, and no subsequent vaccines have been linked to GBS. In fact, research suggests vaccination may REDUCE the likelihood of getting GBS, which can be caused by an infection.

I developed GBS in 1992 when I was 10 following my annual flu vax, and both my GP and the specialist who treated me in Sydney said it was probably brought on by the immunisation. I haven't been vax'ed against the flu since despite being a chronic asthmatic on their recommendations. They also said be careful of MMR (can't remember why) and to just get straight rubella if I plan on becoming pregnant.

So in short, I'm not getting it, but that's because my GP has advised against it due to my history. I don't think I would want to get an immunisation whilst pregnant anyway, but that's just me.