Swine Flu or Swine Flu Vaccine: Weighing the Dangers

Fox News makes it very clear: "The H1N1 flu virus can damage the developing brains of unborn offspring..." The article on the Fox News website goes on to elaborate: "...children born to women who have suffered flu infections during pregnancy are at increased risk of schizophrenia and possibly autism too."

What that means, of course, is "the new research simply reinforced existing advice...Pregnant women should do their best to avoid all infections, especially flu."

The obvious conclusion? Pregnant women should run, not walk, to their nearest vaccination center.

But wait. It's not that simple.

An article in Associated Content makes the arguable statement:

As it has been abundantly proven, mercury and its derivatives are responsible for autism in children and many other neurological diseases, such as the Gulf War Syndrome. Mercury in its most common form - thimerosal- is put in almost all vaccines made available to the public, usually as a preservative. As it was recently unveiled by the Washington Post, many doses of the new H1N1 vaccine will be stored in multi dose vials which will contain thimerosal.

CBS News echoes these fears:

A backlash against vaccines has picked up steam in recent years. A vocal minority fears vaccines can cause autism, despite consensus among experts that they don't. Now warnings are cropping up on the Web that the new H1N1 vaccine could be rushed to market without enough proof that it's safe.

Autism-related blogs are digging deeply into the H1N1 vaccine development process, and finding a whole range of issues to worry about. Ginger Taylor, creator of the Adventures in Autism blog, puts it this way:

Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury or death and those risks are greater for some than others. 1 in 6 children in America is learning disabled18. 1 in 9 has asthma 1 in 150 develops autism. 1 in 450 has diabetes and millions more suffer with allergies and autoimmune disorders. Will the swine flu vaccine be safe for them?

Although it is a good idea for health officials to prepare for a worst case scenario and stockpile vaccines, it is a bad idea to turn schools into medical clinics and basically test experimental swine flu vaccines on children first. Especially when nobody has any liability. That has the potential to hurt children instead of keeping them well.

Taylor, among others, makes the point that, so far, swine flu in the US has been surprisingly mild. In fact, it's milder than many other strains of flu. She, and others, wonder whether the risk of the flu outweighs the risk of the vaccines.

Where are you on the issue of swine flu vaccine? Will you request it when it's available in early September? Will your children be among the first in line for protection against a potential epidemic?