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The swine flu vaccine will be available very soon, but there is still skepticism surrounding its safety. Generally, I have a strong opinion about these types of things, but my feelings about this vaccine are still uncertain.

One thing I am sure about though…This vaccine should not be made mandatory for anyone (including health care workers). I do believe health care workers should be among the first to have access this vaccine, since they will be the ones treating the sick. However, making it mandatory and threatening peoples jobs (especially in this economy) is totally unacceptable. But that is exactly what is happening in some states.

Mandatory Flu Shots Hit Resistance…

With the H1N1 pandemic spreading rapidly, hundreds of thousands of doctors, nurses, orderlies and other U.S. health-care workers for the first time are being required to get flu shots, drawing praise from many public-health authorities but condemnation from some employees, unions and other critics who object to mandatory vaccination.

Get Vaccinated or Get Fired…

Despite a planned rally in Albany Tuesday to protest a state regulation requiring health care workers be vaccinated against influenza — both seasonal and swine flu — New York’s top public health official predicts dissenters will ultimately extinguish their anger and roll up their sleeves. The regulation, which was approved in August, comes with a stinging addendum: Get vaccinated or get fired. But some nurses and many other health care providers say the regulation violates their personal freedom and leaves them vulnerable to vaccine injury. And they cite deaths associated with the last federal government swine-flu vaccination program in 1976.

Personally, if I was still working in a hospital, I would probably be leaning more towards getting the vaccination at this point. Although, I would be furious if my choice was being taken out of the equation and I was being forced to get it.

It just seems like there are still too many unanswered questions for me to make a definitive decision on this. For one…How serious is this outbreak going to be? It seems like most people coming down with the H1N1 virus are about as sick as with the regular flu, and most are making complete recoveries. I don’t get a regular flu shot, so why would I get the H1N1 vaccine?

The other thing that bothers me, is how the government has granted the drug companies complete immunity against vaccine liabilities. Now, I know there are perfectly good reasons for doing this, but it doesn’t help me feel better about getting this vaccine. It just makes me think it would be a better idea to not be among the first to get this vaccine, and rather wait to see if any problems crop up.

Then there is the whole 1976 Swine Flu fiasco.

I was 10 years old, and attending Shelmire Elementary School. I have very few memories of elementary school, but I do remember lining up for a shot in the arm (from a black gun-like thing) as if it were yesterday. I remember kids crying (me too), I remember how it felt, and I remember the distinct sound that the vaccine gun made. Tell me this thing isn’t scary to a 10 year old…

I hadn’t realized that it was a Swine Flu vaccine I had gotten, until my mother mentioned it to me the other day…it was the bicentennial year. The other thing I remember about that day, was how we were all lined up down the hall going towards the lobby of the school (where all the pictures that students had made for the bicentennial where hanging). It was a very long line, and I was scared to death.

In the end, there were more deaths due to the vaccination than from the Swine Flu.

As far as I know, they have retired that vaccine/torture device.

Obviously, this new vaccine will not be as traumatic for kids getting it today, as it was for us kids who got it in 1976. But the kids today will have to get two shots, not just one.

From Dr. Gwenn Is In -Swine Flu Vaccine: The Bottom Line (video)…

So…I’m still undecided when it comes to this one. How about you? Are you going to rush to have you and your kids vaccinated the minute the vaccinations are available? Or, are you more likely to take a ‘wait and see’ approach? Let me know in comments.

Also See:

• Top Ten Tips – How Not To Get Swine Flu
• 60 Minutes video from a 1977-1978 on Swine Flu – (transcript)
• From Integrative Renewal – Most Health Care Workers Won’t Get the HINI (swine flu) Vaccine…Should You?
• From Asthma Mom – Swine Flu Update

More on Swine Flu from BlogHer:

• The Swine Flu Is Now A Pandemic
• Is Swine Flu Making You Agoraphobic?
• Swine Flu: Being concerned is not foolish.
• Back-To-School Tips for Swine Flu

*cross-posted at BlogHer Health & Wellness

**photo credit – morning seditionists