The seasonal flu vaccine is on its way. This time around, the shot will also contain a strain of the Swine Flu. Manufacturers have combined the two.
The World Health Organization announced the Swine Flu, or H1N1, pandemic is over but health officials are still urging people to get the H1N1 shot. Some say they may skip the vaccine altogether.
"The shot scared us more than the flu did," said DJ Lonie, a dad, from Blythe, who was visiting the desert Tuesday.
Lonie got the Swine Flu vaccine last year, during the height of the pandemic, but decided not to get it for his children.
"They didn't get them. We heard a lot of bad things about it after we got them," Lonie explained.
While millions of doses were rushed to hospitals and clinics and health officials pushed for the mass population to get vaccinated for Swine Flu in 2009, concerns surfaced about the safety of the vaccine and potential side effects. Concerns included major disability and death.
"I surely do (think the vaccine can lead to serious problems)," said a 70-year old woman in Palm Desert, who declined to give her name. She said she would not get vaccinated. "You never know. You don't know who you can trust anymore."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no vaccine is 100% safe from adverse reactions but millions have been given the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine safely. By February 26, 2010, nearly 127 million doses of H1N1 vaccine had been shipped to healthcare providers. It's not clear how many were used.
According to Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), as of February 2010, there were 10,172 cases of adverse reactions reported, following H1N1 vaccination. The majority were not serious but at least 636 cases were reported as life threatening or resulting in death.
Those cases are being investigated by the CDC and FDA, and state officials. At this time, they are not proven to be associated with the vaccine.
VAERS also says the percentage of reports involving what would be considered "serious" health events is not different between 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines.
The CDC website says "life-threatening allergic reactions to vaccines are very rare. If they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot is given."
Marcia Catania, an Infection Control Practitioner and Registered Nurse with JFK Hospital, says the concern for getting Swine Flu may outweigh the concern for potential side effects.
"They have results, data (that show) no severe reactions on (the) national level and people are now more likely to accept taking H1N1 in combination with (the) seasonal flu application," Catania said.
Jeannie Smith, a mom, said she got her kids vaccinated, even though she had concerns.
"I was a little scared at first but I was worried (my) kids would get something incureable," Smith said.
