DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m confused about whether or not to get the H1N1 vaccination. I stay home with small children, which puts me in the “higher risk” category, but I wonder how necessary it is. If I am otherwise healthy, should I really subject myself to a new vaccination that we know little about?
ANSWER: Caregivers, such as yourself, and others who frequently come in contact with children younger than 6 months of age should receive the vaccine as one of our first priorities in vaccinating against the novel H1N1 influenza virus. This is because younger infants are at higher risk for influenza-related complications but are too young to receive the vaccines, as the vaccines will not work to give them immunity against the virus. Getting an H1N1 flu vaccine will help protect yourself, your children, and others by preventing your infection and transmission of the virus to those around you.
Other priority groups who should receive the vaccine first include those at high risk for getting the flu and complications from the flu, including pregnant women, all people 6 months to 24 years of age, and adults 25 to 64 years of age with health conditions that increase their risk of medical complications from the flu. Also in this first group are health care providers and emergency response personnel.
Nonetheless, eventually everyone should receive the H1N1 flu vaccine. After the vaccine is given to people in the priority groups, its availability will be expanded to all adults 25 to 64 years of age and eventually to those 65 and older. Individuals 65 years and older appear to be at much lower risk of getting H1N1 flu than the rest of us.
Part of your question implies that you wonder about the necessity of the vaccine based on the severity of the flu. The novel H1N1 flu so far appears to be behaving like a seasonal flu among those it infects. But it’s very likely that far more people will get the novel H1N1 flu this year than typically get seasonal flu most years. H1N1 flu can certainly sicken a full-grown healthy adult, taking that person out of work for days and leaving that person unable to care for loved ones.
Furthermore, that adult probably will transmit the flu to others, including family members. Just like the seasonal flu, some will get very mild cases, most will get classic cases, and a few will be devastated by the infection, requiring hospitalization or, more rarely, dying.
The flu usually involves two days of significant fever associated with cough and sore throat, body aches, chills and night sweats, and can leave a person incapacitated. Protecting oneself from the flu every season has been shown to be beneficial even for healthy young adults as it reduces the number of days missed from work.
Your question also implies that we know little about the H1N1 flu vaccine, particularly its safety.
That is not true. This vaccine actually uses the same highly purified, egg-based manufacturing process used to develop the flu vaccine each year. We know this manufacturing process very well. We know how to confirm that the manufacturer is making a safe and effective product. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring the same level of testing for immune response and safety for the novel H1N1 vaccine as it has for previous flu vaccines.
Although manufacturers and the government have worked quickly to make sure we have adequate supplies of novel H1N1 vaccine, every effort has been made to stick to the same principles and practices in its manufacture that have been used in previous years for seasonal flu vaccines. No shortcuts have been taken.
— Robert M. Jacobson, M.D., Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
