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How safe is H1N1 Vaccination for Infants?

Justmeans Staff | Wednesday 28th October 2009

Health studies have proved that H1N1 vaccination is not very safe for toddlers and infants. Even though doctors are recommending children to get the swine flu vaccination, age and food allergies are some of the basic factors due to which some babies should not take the vaccine. Thimerosal is a preservative used in swine flu vaccines. This vaccine contains mercury that can be extremely harmful for small kids.

Recently, the federal government in Canada ordered 50.4 million vaccine dosages which contain adjuvant (substance used for giving the effect of vaccine the much required boost). Out of this dosage, approximately 1.2 million doses are for pregnant women and it doesn't include any adjuvant. Since there are no evidences as such on how toddlers would react to this substance, the government is not planning to use adjuvant-free H1N1 vaccine for small babies. Pregnant women and babies are being considered the two most important groups that can get affected due to this virus. However, precautions are being taken to make sure that young children should be given adjuvanted vaccine only when required.

There is no doubt that H1N1 virus can cause serious health hazards on children under the age of five but the proposed vaccination can not be used on them for various reasons. If babies under 6 months are directly vaccinated with H1N1 vaccine, there are chances of sever health complications and even death in some cases. Therefore, as a precautionary measure health experts have recommended the required dosage for caregivers who take care of babies (6 months and below). This will provide protection to them from any possible infection. Infants can also be protected from the H1N1 virus if they are kept away from infected people and if pregnant women receive the vaccine before delivering the child, chances of the new born contracting swine flue after birth will decrease.

Doctors also don't recommend the vaccine for children who are allergic to eggs because the swine flue shot contains a small amount of egg protein that can trigger the allergic reaction in them.

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Juan Carlo Pascua | Posted: 11 November 2009

@Christina: Well my family works in the health care industry, some nurses, some administrators, some health orgs, and they recommend to make sure to get the regular flu shot first, and then from there we've also been debating because several of us have asthma (myself and my 9 year old brother).

I think we're just going to wait for the second batch, but if there is an outbreak anywhere near our area we're going to get it absolutely. For now be really anal about washing. Good Luck Christina

christina gonzalez | Posted: 11 November 2009

i'm very concerned for my toddler. she's only 4, however family members insist that she gets the vaccine. i'm extremely terrified. i don't know what i'd do if something bad happened to her. its a hard decision. if i don't give her the vaccine there is a chance she will contract the virus and not be able to fight it. If i do give it to her, there's a chance she could have complications. I wish I knew what to do.