Great!? Not.
Here's the deal. After receiving one dose of this year's swine (H1N1) flu vaccine, children developed a theoretically protective level of antibodies to the July 2009/California H1N1 strain (the vaccine strain) at these rates:
76% of 10 - 17 year olds [pretty sucky]
36% of 3 - 9 year olds [dismal]
25% of babies aged 6M to 35M [atrociously bad]
Med Nauseam readers are smart, but I'll spell it out anyway. Three-quarters of babies, two-thirds of kids 3 -9, and a quarter of teens who get the swine flu vaccine are not protected.
And, the kicker is the headline. The swine flu vaccine "works" like the seasonal flu vaccine.
No wonder the CDC recommends children receive two doses of the swine flu vaccine. It's a re-vaccination for a quarter to a third of them, then who knows how many more mount the desired immune response.
Looking at a different vaccine for perspective, toddlers receive two doses of MMR. The second MMR shot is not a euphemistically-named "booster," but a re-vaccination of all kids due to the fact that a few do not mount the theoretically protective level of antibodies the first time.
The H1N1 antibody data were obtained 8 - 10 days after the vaccination. "It is anticipated that the immune response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine will ... continue to rise for several weeks following vaccination," states NIAID Director Dr. Fauci in the NIH press release. My bet: the "continued rise" will be negligible.
I want to know how well the antibodies correlate to actual H1N1 protection if a vaccinated person comes into contact with the vaccine strain. Those studies have not been done for H1N1. In an upcoming article, I will explore this issue. This past weekend, I had fun reading package inserts for the three injectable H1N1 vaccines and the nasal spray version - the cited studies are not for the H1N1 vaccine but for seasonal flu vaccine. You won't be shocked to find that only one product insert cites one study testing efficacy in real life. As stated in the insert, the results do not favor efficacy.
Oh, and if a child gets the nasal spray vaccine, know that it is a live attenuated virus. The package insert says the transmission rate is 2.4%. The child sheds and spreads for weeks. In other words, for every 100 people that child comes into contact with, 2 - 3 will be infected with H1N1 from that child's infected secretions.
Flu vaccines seem to be falling far short of their lofty mission of prevention
6 nauseated people left comments:
As always, thanks for the great info! Seems like toys are more regulated than this.
Thanks for the great info. I've never had my kids get flu vaccines but this year with all the hype, I thought about having them vaccinated for the H1N1 flu. I definitely need to do more research and not get swept up in the frenzy.
Kristina,
I always say "educate before you vaccinate!" Thanks for reading!
I am so happy to find your blog. I just wrote a similar article about flu vaccines (and wanted to do another on H1N1 but now I can refer people here): http://kulamama.com/2009/09/28/keeping-immunity-strong/
This is such an important topic and something many parents don't know about. Vaccines do not guarantee immunity so it is best to keep our kid's immune systems as healthy as possible through food and lifestyle choices (whether you get a vaccination or not!).
I look forward to regularly reading your blog. I am new to the blog world so it is great to find like minded writers.
Take care,
Heather
(kulamama.com)
Thanks Kula Mama. Great to have you as a reader and as a fellow health sleuth!
Alix, it was great to meet you at the recent Silicon Valley Moms Blogger event. I dropped by to check out your topics and you hooked me with the top post! Excellent coverage on a critical topic, and one I'll be passing on to others. A tough problem to suss out--get the vaccine and hope for the best, or take our chances with the virus and potential complications. I'm still on the fence. For now, though, it's a moot point--our health care provider has no unspoken-for doses of the vaccine to offer.
Thanks doing the research "foot work". I look forward to reading more!
--Angela O.
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