H1N1 Vaccine - decisions, decisions, decisions

[Anonymous]

Well, I went to the Arlington Clinic to get the H1N1 vaccine for my 3 year-old and was planning to get the mist that is mercury free/thimerosal free. However, when the nurse found out I am pregnant and that my Mom has cancer, she urged me to get the shot for my little one. Of course none of the shots that they had are mercury/thimerosal free (25 ?g Hg/0.5 mL dose). So here I am in a busy clinic thinking that I don't want the H1N1 virus to somehow shed and affect my Mom or the baby that I'm pregnant with but I don't want DC to be exposed to mercury. But the nurse gently suggested one more time that the shot would be better and that was my decision. Why on earth am I worrying about the mercury content now? I DON'T KNOW if a thimerosal free vaccine will be available anytime soon, I'm in the clinic already, I'm currently pregnant and my Mom has cancer so I think I made the right decision (aside from not vaccinating little one) but after watching 60 minutes this past Sunday I thought I should vaccinate. Can any Moms out there help me feel better about my decision and help me not worry about the mercury content?

[Anonymous]

The news story about the pregnant lady who got swine flu, was hospitalized for weeks with complications, and ultimately lost her baby as a result probably would have gladly taken the injection with the thimerosol.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP. Luckily I was recently vaccinated by my OB (thimerosal free) but am concerned about the amount of mercury in the vaccine that DC just received...

[Anonymous]

OP, FWIW I got the thimerosol flu vaccine when pregnant with both my kids; I never thought about it to be honest.

For the swine flu vaccine, this is my personal opinion -- we are RIGHT NOW in the middle of an outbreak of it. I think in the DC area we are just about at the peak... in the next two weeks or so. Then cases will start to decline. If you are going to get a vaccine, you might as well get it now when it will actually have a chance of doing you some good, rather than waiting until mid-November or whenever you'll be able to find the thimerosol free version, which I agree all else being equal, would be the one to get, if you could.
It takes some 2 weeks to be fully effective anyhow, best to get it sooner rather than later, IMO.

I think you made the right choice.

[Anonymous]

First, there is actually no evidence that the miniscule amount of preservatives in vaccines are even bad for you, but there is some legitimate concern over the level of mercury entering the system of children prior to the phasing out of thimerosal several years ago (since refrigeration has improved).

No single vaccine contains an amount that ought
to even raise an eyebrow, but the aggregate across the many vaccines made some non-crazy people a little uncomfortable and crazy people really uncomfortable. Note: even in that case it was still well within what would be considered a safe dose, but as I mentioned, with modern refrigeration technologies and transportation infrastructure, the preservatives aren't really a big deal anymore. So many vaccines are now being made with no preservatives, or with preservatives that do not contain any heavy metals. This is fine. The anti-vax clan doesn't have a leg to stand on, so please administer the vaccine and play it safe.

There are some people who will tell you the preservatives have all sorts of nasty effects, but those people are generally either misinformed or irrational. One of the biggest issues here is the failure to understand that "the dose makes the poison". We are breathing in and ingesting all sorts of horribly toxic substances all the time (and we would be even if we lived in a pre-industrial "natural" world, though arguably fewer) but the amounts are so minuscule that most of the time it doesn't matter. So the fact that there are some components of vaccines which could be bad for you in large enough doses does not mean that they are bad for you in the doses in the vaccines. We are talking about odds far less likely than getting hit by a car! People need to understand that.

That's pretty much the story with preservatives.

As far as the contaminated dose thing, it really doesn't matter whether you get a preservative-free vaccine
or not, because in both cases, while there is *theoretical* risk, in practice it's essentially zero, whereas with Swine Flu or seasonal flu, it's greater than zero.

It's possible that a minuscule dose of these substances has some heretofore unknown deleterious effect that no study into their safety has ever caught before... but it's also possible that a meteor will fall onto your house five minutes from now, killing everyone inside. Or you could get into an accident tomorrow. I'm not particularly worried about either possibility, as the odds of either are essentially zero.

Think of it that way.

I would probably recommend that a pregnant woman get the preservative-free one, just to be uber-safe. It's extremely unlikely that such a small dose of heavy metals would have an effect even on a fetus, but if there were going to be an effect, that's where it
would be.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Thanks for the responses. Good points all around.

[Anonymous]

OP, as with everything in life, it is a risk-benefit analysis. Flu is a real risk, which definitely has a chance of being dangerous or even life threatening if you get it. Thimerosal, there is no proof it is harmful at all, and even if it is in high amounts, the amount in a single shot is miniscule. Moreover, most likely even if it has harmful effects, it won't be life-threatening, whereas flu could be.

I'm getting the H1N1 shot with thimerosal tomorrow. If I could find it w/o thim, I'd do it (I went out of my way to get thim-free regular flu shot), but right now it's not available. HTH

[Anonymous]

I haven't had a chance to read the previous responses, but I'm going to take whatever H1N1 vaccine I can get and I imagine it will not be thimerosal free. Given the limited supply, I don't think we can be overly picky.

If you haven't heard this before, the amount of mercury in a vaccine containing thimerosal is less than that in a pack of tuna. Really, it will be fine!

[Anonymous]

Most people think that thimerosal is the same as mercury found in fish and that's why the concern but that's not actually the case. Here is a good description:

Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used since the 1930s to prevent contamination in some multi-dose vials of vaccines (preservatives are not required for vaccines in single-dose vials). Thimerosal contains approximately 49% ethylmercury, which is often confused with methylmercury (found in sushi and large pelagic fish such as halibut, swordfish and tuna). The kidneys excrete thimerosal very effectively, while methylmercury is fat-soluble and more likely to be absorbed by its host.

If you can get your hands on the Novartis version of the vaccine, the single dose has only trace amounts of thimerosal and is likely nothing to worry about. I got mine today, didn't even think twice. The risk of getting swine flu right now is much higher than anything actually happening to you or your baby from the minute amount of preservative in the shot. And this swine flu is serious business.

[Anonymous]

I got the H1N1 vaccine last night at the Cardozo High School location and they did have the thimerosol free vaccine for me. You just had to ask for it.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify, at Cardozo High School they had the single dose Novartis version, which they were giving to all pregnant women and which has trace amounts of thimerosal.

[Anonymous]

Hello all! I've been reading your discussion on the H1N1 vaccine. Seems like a tough decision. I'm a producer at Canadian TV and I'm working on a story about what you ladies have been talking about- to get or not to take the vaccine if you're pregant. I'm trying to find a pregnant woman (in the DC metro area) who might be interested in working with me on this story. If anyone would like to find out more, or could point me in the right direction, please give me, Leigh, a call: 202.531.5898. I think this is an important discussion to have. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I just contacted the VA Dept of Health H1N1 call center (877-275-8343) and they said the single dose thimerosal-free vaccine is still being developed and isn't available yet. I asked where I could get updates on when it will be released and he said to just keep asking my ob or primary care physician. (In my opinion the info should be updated on the VA Dept of Health H1N1 site, it seems like a basic info update.)

I'm surprised that people here are saying they already received the single-dose version, I feel like all my research just keeps going around in circles with different information everywhere. So frustrating. At this point I'm planning to stay home as much as possible and dodge the virus with my 3 yr old rather than taking a barely tested vaccine while 7 mo. pregnant, but it doesn't stop my research, I'm not completely one way or the other yet.

An interesting article which, like everything else, can be taken with a grain of salt: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/27/Obama-Declares-Swine-Flu-Emergency.aspx?sms_ss=facebook

[Anonymous]

OP, I just got the regular ol' flu shot. No regrets, no looking back.