I have heard so many people talking about this and giving ill advised advice about it I felt that it would be beneficial to give my opinion as a health professional and parent.

My disclaimer; this is only intended to present my personal opinion and not as instructions on how to treat yourself or your children. How to care for your health and that of your children is your personal responsibility and you should make that decision based on the best valid information you can find. Also note that this is somewhat lengthy and uses some medical terminology so if you find that confusing or just want the meat and potatoes of this skip to the last paragraph where I summarize things, but if you wish to learn more about the h1n1 flu, the vaccine, other treatments and hear a very unbiased appraisal of the situation please read on.

With all the talk, hype and debate about the h1n1 virus and the new vaccine and due to the fact that I am a health professional I have been diligently trying to figure out the truth behind all the talk. What follows is the summary of what I have been able to deduce from my research which admittedly is confusing at best. I have tried diligently to present this information in as a non-bias manner as possible and to effectively give valid arguments from both proponents and those in opposition to the vaccine.

According to the CDC (centers for disease control) for week 42 (oct 18th-24th) of this year there have been approximately 39,000 total cases of flu reported in the United States. For comparison for the same time period in 2005 there were 37,000 total cases of flu like illnesses reported and in 2004 that same number was in excess of 40,000 cases. Still, notice that these numbers are for ILIs (influenza like illnesses) and not necessarily confirmed cases of influenza.

What we do know, due to media exposure people are now reporting to ERs (emergency rooms) and their PCPs (primary care physicians) in much greater numbers. In the past many people with flu like symptoms often simply let the illness run its course and mainly turned to OTC (over the counter) products to treat their symptoms and likewise your physician’s advice was likely just to take Tylenol or Motrin for the fever and discomfort and let the flu run its course. Now because of all the media attention concerning swine flu deaths and the talk of a pandemic the majority of people are reporting to their doctor to get checked out at the first sign of illness so of course there will be an increase in the number of people reporting for ILIs (influenza like illnesses) and of course this will lead to an increased number of cases of flu being reported whether or not the actual number of cases has increased and for the same reasons physicians are performing many more cultures for flu and prescribing anti-virals at a much higher rate than in the past.

I have been trying to compare statistics from past years to this year’s numbers and it’s difficult at best. There does appear to be a slight increase in prevalence but how clinically significant that is in actuality is still open to debate and you will find prominent health professionals on both sides of the argument. What I do know is that the h1n1 flu appears to be no more or only slightly more virulent than other common types of flu but right now it does appear to be more prevalent in young children. What exactly does this mean? If your child contracts h1n1 they are no more or only slightly more likely to develop serious complications or to die from it than from any other type of flu, but it also means that your children are slightly more likely to contract h1n1 flu than other types of flu so…..more cases = more deaths in the total numbers but the true relevance of this on a individual level is highly debatable and remember the number of deaths comparatively speaking is very low. So while there is potential that your child could die from contracting the h1n1 virus (as they could from a host of other communicable diseases) we do know that the risk of mortality is very low in an otherwise healthy child. We also know that children (or anyone) with a compromised immune system or other ailments that would lead to difficulty in their ability to fight off the flu are at an increased risk of complications and mortality from the h1n1 virus. However, to truly put things in perspective your child is much more likely to get killed in a car accident on the way to the doctor to get the vaccine or to be treated for the flu than they are to die from either the h1n1 virus or the vaccine.

What about the risks of the vaccine? So far there have been no reported deaths from the h1n1 vaccine that I am aware of but the long term effects will obviously not be known for a long period of time. While the vaccine has been made using a similar process to that of the other currently available flu vaccines it was rushed to market in a shorter time frame and does contain thimerosal (a mercury based preservative) which some believe to be harmful. However, while we do know for sure that mercury is harmful there has yet to be a conclusive unbiased scientific study preformed that proves that thimerosal provides the same level of risk to consumers. While I can say that there is some potential risk with the vaccine (as there is with any drug) there is no way to know how big of a risk that is, but it is likely to be low.

What about treatments once you already have the flu? The most commonly prescribed treatment is Tamiflu (olseltamivir) an antiviral. This medication has been clinically proven to reduce both the severity and duration of the flu symptoms. In plain English this means it typically reduces the length of the illness by 1-2 days and you won’t feel quite as sick while you are sick. One downside about Tamiflu with children is that if they are unable to swallow the small capsules the oral suspension (liquid) tastes awful and many kids frequently vomit it back up within minutes. I have seen this quite regularly while working at the pharmacy.

So to make this very long story short here’s my personal summary. From the available scientific data the h1n1 virus appears to be no more deadly than any other common flu virus but it does appear to proportionately infect more children. So if you haven’t feared for your child’s life in the past due to concerns over contracting the flu than it is very likely that you shouldn’t be overly concerned about the swine flu either. In regard to the vaccine you can find very educated and very intelligent health professionals on both sides of the argument about whether or not to give the vaccine. My personal opinion is one of if you or your child is at an especially high risk for developing complications from the flu then I feel the risks of getting the disease outweigh the risks of the vaccine but in otherwise healthy people (who will most likely fight off the h1n1 virus just like any other typical flu and the worst part being that they feel crappy for a few days) I would not recommend the vaccine due to the fact that it is brand new and has been rushed to market and we do not yet know the totality of the risks it presents. All that being said I have chosen NOT to have my three sons that are ages 11, 9 and 7 vaccinated against the h1n1 influenza virus. However if they were in a high risk group for developing complications I may have altered my decision. I hope this helps those trying to make some sense of this and I apologize for the length and please remember your child’s health is your responsibility and please try to make your decisions based on solid evidence not what your friend, neighbor or co-worker may tell you (unless they are a health professional qualified to give that type of advice) and especially not based on what you hear on TV!

I sincerely hope this helps people to make their own educated decision,
Matt Kroczaleski