Sarasota Health News

Editor's notebook, Nov. 9

The question I've been asked the most lately is this: Are you going to get your kids vaccinated for H1N1?

Regular readers know I have twin boys, now four years old. That puts them in one of the high-risk groups for swine flu and in a priority group for getting the vaccine.

And regular readers also know I've been reporting steadily on the virus, its prevalence and its virulence. So I should have a pretty good idea of the best course of action, right?

Well, not really. I see-sawed back and forth on this one. As a reporter, one thing you learn is that if you're having trouble with a story, it's usually because you haven't done enough research. I realized the vaccination question was much the same: I couldn't decide because I hadn't done my homework.

Hence the vaccine primer on this page. I've received a few emails and calls saying it's been helpful. It helped me, too.

The key piece for me was the CDC journal study on the rate of infection and hospitalization. As this site reported six weeks ago -- and the Herald-Tribune finally noted on Sunday -- the sudden spike of infections has subsided. The surge that had "no end in sight" was declining even as the paper printed those words.

Then the CDC journal deflated the scary headlines that trumpeted deaths and outbreaks. The share of cases that put a person, even a child, in the hospital are minimal. But that helped put the alternative in perspective. The odds of a significant harmful side effect are even smaller. The risk of the vaccine triggering autism or another disorder are even less, if they exist at all.

And that got me thinking back to a few months ago -- as I've written before; forgive me if it sounds too familar -- when we had no insurance and decided not to take the boys to the doctor when they had a cold. It turned into the sort of nasty cough that keeps parents up all night with worry.

And so we won't do that again. As one expert has said, it's all about relative risk. Swine flu is rarely severe, but we won't take the small chance of putting the boys through a week of misery. They'll be getting the vaccine at their annual physical next week.





	Editor's notebook, Nov. 9 The question I've been asked the most lately is this: Are you going to get your kids vaccinated for H1N1? Regular readers know I have twin boys, now four years old. That puts them in one of the high-risk groups for swine flu and in a priority group for getting the vaccine. And regular readers also know I've been reporting steadily on the virus, its prevalence and its virulence. So I should have a pretty good idea of the best course of action, right? Well, not really. I see-sawed back and forth on this one. As a reporter, one thing you learn is that if you're having trouble with a story, it's usually because you haven't done enough research. I realized the vaccination question was much the same: I couldn't decide because I hadn't done my homework. Hence the vaccine primer on this page. I've received a few emails and calls saying it's been helpful. It helped me, too. The key piece for me was the CDC journal study on the rate of infection and hospitalization. As this site reported six weeks ago -- and the Herald-Tribune finally noted on Sunday -- the sudden spike of infections has subsided. The surge that had "no end in sight" was declining even as the paper printed those words. Then the CDC journal deflated the scary headlines that trumpeted deaths and outbreaks. The share of cases that put a person, even a child, in the hospital are minimal. But that helped put the alternative in perspective. The odds of a significant harmful side effect are even smaller. The risk of the vaccine triggering autism or another disorder are even less, if they exist at all. And that got me thinking back to a few months ago -- as I've written before; forgive me if it sounds too familar -- when we had no insurance and decided not to take the boys to the doctor when they had a cold. It turned into the sort of nasty cough that keeps parents up all night with worry. And so we won't do that again. As one expert has said, it's all about relative risk. Swine flu is rarely severe, but we won't take the small chance of putting the boys through a week of misery. They'll be getting the vaccine at their annual physical next week.