<p>Sorry to start a new thread for this but I am very concerned since my D is being told she has no choice but get the vaccine (she attends a US College) but no one can tell me if a person with severe serum sickness to penicillin is at risk. I have checked the CDC website, the WHO site and our Canadian Health web site. They give no indication as whether a person with medicine allergies should not take it. My D’s reaction to penicillin can range from hives to inability to breathe. I am very concerned since there appears to have been very little testing being done prior to giving it out. If anyone has any information in this respect I would appreciate hearing it. Thanks</p>
<p>Allergy to penicillin does not correlate with a risk with any flu vaccine. Husband gets the flu vaccines every year and is allergic to penicillin. He has never had a problem. Allergy to eggs is another story. From what I’ve been told, if one has tested positive for an allergy to eggs, then they should not get any flu vaccine.</p>
<p>It’s definitely best to call and speak with her doctor directly before making any decision.</p>
<p>Has she had a flu shot in the past? If so, I can’t imagine this would be different - the shots are very similar.</p>
<p>Yes she has had the normal flu shots in the past. I know D and her friends are all nervous about getting it and I think part of it for my D is also being away from home in case there is a reaction. That is probably where part of my fear is as well. NYSMILE, thanks for the info, it is just so hard to get a semi straight answer. All the reports are either very in favor or are adamant against the vaccine. I have not been able to find an informative one that isn’t very one sided. Thanks Again</p>
<p>I hadn’t heard that colleges were making the vaccine mandatory. That would bother me too.</p>
<p>If she’s OK with the regular flu shot, she should be fine with the H1N1 vaccine.</p>
<p>To give yourself some peace of mind, give a quick call to her physician and get his/her recommendation.</p>
<p>There is no reason to think that the side effects from the swine flu vaccine will be any different from side effects from the seasonal flu shot. </p>
<p>I spoke to my D’s doctor about it and she recommended it. Checking with the doctor is always the best advice.</p>
<p>D2 just got her first-ever regular flu shot this week, and she’s leaving for London tomorrow. I, too, was afraid of how she might react, as she has some of the usual pharmacologic allergies, such as penicillin, sulfa (and cats, mold, etc). She did fine, and I’m soooooo glad she got it - one less flu for me to worry about her getting across the pond. It also reassured me that I really shouldn’t worry about how she reacts to vaccines, if the H1N1 is offered to students over there. I think she’ll be fine, and I hope someone over there talks her into getting it (it was our long-time family physician who talked her into the one this week), since she was more close-minded when I suggested it. </p>
<p>I’ve, too, always heard it’s more a concern if someone has egg allergies.</p>
<p>There isn’t going to be enough for everyone to have one (at least not anytime soon) so if you are really nervous, she should just take her time getting one. Many doctors, hospitals and pharmacies are already out of the seasonal flu vaccine here.</p>
<p>Making vaccines mandatory isn’t something done lightly in the US – so I wonder if they are misunderstanding strongly recommended with mandatory.</p>
<p>Not to upset the apple cart, but there are always inherent risks to any vaccine shots. I am a RN and many of my colleagues are leary of getting any vaccines that are new. We have as of this season been mandated to receive the flu vaccine, we are waiting on word about the H1N1 vaccine.</p>
<p>If you are really concerned about the shot, please speak with your child’s MD, however if you feel strongly against having the vaccine after your careful consideration, it is certainly within your right to refuse the shot, you will need a MD’s note to that affect.
And that should be sufficient.</p>
<p>Lastminutemom196 I agree that my D and friends are possibly misunderstanding what the college is saying. I have asked her to send me a copy of the email and I have also contacted the school directly to find out what is being said.</p>
<p>Unless a college student is pregnant or has some high risk underlying condition, they are not on the list of recommended groups to get the H1N1 vaccine this year. Odds are very high that your D misunderstood what the college is suggesting, as there is not enough vaccine to vaccinate everyone anyway. My D’s doctor has recommended against her getting the H1N1 vaccine due to a family history issue with the 1976 swine flu vaccines. I am confident that her college will not force her to have the vaccine even if they actually had it available for her.</p>
<p>However, as other posters have pointed out, there is no indication that a penicillen allergy would cause any issue. I just got over H1N1, and I would tell my kids to get the vaccine if it were offered and they did not have this family history issue. The H1N1 bug was quite unpleasant.</p>
<p>Percussiondad - First, I never heard of MANDATORY H1N1 shot, never! My D. is also in an American University. Is this a rule that applied to ALL students or just the ones with student visa from another country? That would be my first question.</p>
<p>It appears that my daughter got it about a week ago (just after college started) and I got it a few days later and our son got it two days ago. Our daughter had a mild fever but it slowed her down quite a bit and has a lingering mild cough. I didn’t have the fever but have the cough. Our son didn’t get the fever but has the cough. I’ve read that the contagious time is during the fever. From what I can tell, it’s everywhere.</p>
<p>There was a guy in the office near me that has been coughing for the whole summer. He seems to have the thing in his lungs and doesn’t seem to be able to get rid of it.</p>
<p>Just a little advice…DS campus has been hit hard with H1N1. He’s been feeling lousy all week with all the symptoms. I had to drive 6 hours round trip to pick him up. Good thing I did. Turns out he doesn’t have H1N1. He’s got pneumonia</p>
<p>In the US no h1n1 vaccine has been administered unless part of a clinical trial. The mention of “getting it” about must be a reference to getting the infection and not the vaccine. No students, doctors, high risk persons have received the h1n1 vaccine yet. The regular seasonal flu vaccine has been available in some part of the US for up to 2-3 weeks. The FDA only cleared the h1n1 vaccine Wed of this week, and they expect it to ship early/mid October. </p>
<p>The hn1 vaccine is nearly identical to other seasonal flu vaccines except it is specific to the h1n1 variant. There is no risk to those allergic to penicillin. I have not received the package insert, so I do not yet know if horse serum allergy or egg allergy will be a problem. We will have this info soon.</p>
<p>The current high risk groups INCLUDE young folks UP TO AGE 24. While the CDC had been saying up to age 20, the h1n1 vaccine will be recommended for those up to 24. Too many 20-24 yo’s living in dorms and sharing apartments in homes in ways that put them at risk during an pandemic. So our high school and college and grad student sons and daughters ARE in a risk group.(post #12 is INCORRECT. See the CDC list. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm[/url]”>http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm</a>
<a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r090729b.htm[/url]”>http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r090729b.htm</a></p>
<p>This contains the recommended groups to receive the vaccine. The US government will provide it FREE, there may be a $15 fee to your doctor or clinic to cover the cost of administering it (needle, syringe, staff time). Once the higher risk groups are done you will see there is still a recommendation that all persons 25-65 even without risk receive it, once the groups at risk have been done. </p>
<p>There are risks to everything. If you drive your car, you put yourself at risk, HIGH RISK, every day. Risk is relative. With the number of deaths from h1n1, the risk benefit ratio suggests there will be far more deaths and serious consequences (respirator support) with the disease than from the vaccine. I will be getting it early on as a health care provider. The vaccine does not scare me, the h1n1 does.</p>
<p>And in this country, mandatory always still means that anyone can sign to opt out. There has been no government override of informed consent. Actually, in a pandemic or epidemic, that can be done. But so far, mandatory means that you can sign a refusal.</p>
<p>sunnyflorida - Good information, thank you. However, I do not understand this part: “And in this country, mandatory always still means that anyone can sign to opt out.” Is this something, one is being taught at a young age, and is it common knowledge? I have been here for a number of years, and never knew MANDATORY to equate suggestion. If wearing a seatbealt is mandatory, can I opt out by signing a form?</p>
<p>I am not being funny, here. I am really asking if mandatory means mandatory. In the packet I received from Immigration, there sure was no reference to that right.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RS21414.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RS21414.pdf</a>. Here is info on “mandatory vaccinations” as of 2005. Unless your state, or the federal government declares a public health emergency, mandatory still means opt out is available for h1n1. You may have to claim a religious or philosophical conflict, you may need a note from your doctor, etc. If you are employed in the health care field, you might have to take a leave of absence (unpaid) or be placed in a position of no patient contact, etc. But so far, mandatory is not mandatory so to speak.</p>
<p>In my state, there are droves of parents against childhood vaccines who sign the necessary paperwork to not have their children vaccinated. This puts their kids at risk, and jeopardizes the risks of others as there is less “herd” immunity. Vaccines are only 85% effective. But if most of the “herd” is immune, the virus does not spread. If 30% of a population refuses vaccine, and of the 70% who receive it, only 85% are protected, that means only 60% of the “head” is protected. A virus can still jump around and spread rather easily. And YOUR kid who got the vaccine but did not acquire immunity will be at risk due to the numbers of parents who did not let their child be3 vaccinated. This is why we see outbreaks of measles, pertussis, etc. The percentage of kids receiving their full complement of childhood vaccines is dropping to critical levels in some states. Even though those states have “mandatory” childhood vaccine laws. </p>
<p>You can go to jail for not wearing a seat belt, but you cannot go to jail for refusing an h1n1 vaccine unless a public emergency is called by your state or by the federal government. You child CAN be sent home from school. But you will have options. You can choose to let your child come home from school or college. The college or local school system can say–no vaccine no right to be in the classroom. But that gives you an out. That is not the same as mandatory “you will be forcibly given the shot or go to jail.”</p>
<p>To gain entry into the US there may be mandatory requirements. But it is your choice to turn around and to back. Once you are here, and especially if you are a citizen, you have rights. Those rights include refusal of vaccines. Each state has different laws and criteria.</p>
<p>Mansfield, your S may have had H1N1 as well. D2 had H1N1, which turned into pneumonia about 72 hours after the H1N1 hit (maybe have been quicker, but that is when the xray diagnosis for the pneumonia was made). Heck, it may be best if he had H1N1, then at least you don’t have to worry about that when you send him back 
Hope he is feeling better quickly - - D2 bounced back pretty quickly once she started on antibiotics.</p>
<p>sunnyflorida - Thank you so much for this piece of information. I had no idea! I believe in vaccination, and of course, my kids and myself are up to date, me, being tetanus every 10 years. I am uncomfortable with H1N1 because I feel not enough researches has been done. But thanks again.</p>