Quote:
Originally Posted by Peanut
FWIW, my family doctor advised against rushing out to get the swine flu vaccine because it's *potentially* being rushed to market and hasn't been that thoroughly tested.
MMR vaccines well... that's another issue entirely.
|
It's really just a typical flu vaccine, and will have been adequately tested before it gets distributed. There are always risks from vaccines, but much lower than the risks from the disease itself (typical rates of severe adverse reactions from flu vaccines in Canada are on the order of 1 in 1,000,000 according to the Public Health Agency, compared to severe reactions at a rate of 1 in 100 from influenza and a death rate of about 1 in 1000). There have been a few articles on flu risks vs. benefits at sciencebasedmedicine.org lately. A lot of people worry about Guillain-Barre syndrome from flu vaccines, but you have a much higher chance of getting that after the flu or another infection than from the vaccine.
Best not to get me started on what I think of Jenny McCarthy and other celebrities with their misguided opinions on MMR and other vaccines (anyone who trusts Hollywood celebrities for medical advice deserves what they get, but it's usually their children that suffer the consequences).