H1N1: Part 1 (Not written well, but written nonetheless)

The past month has been a confusing and sometimes stressful time of debating, studying, and praying about whether or not to get the H1N1 flu vaccine that the government and health professionals are so aggressively urging the American people to receive as soon as possible. My biggest hesitation came from the extremely short amount of time the vaccine had been in testing before being produced and shipped out to the public. There is no long-term data available for review that would assuredly and factually guarantee the safety of receiving a vaccination. It has been understandable that the authorities are confident that this inoculation will be no different than other flu vaccines, yet I wanted to feel sure I wouldn't later regret giving it to Beck. I also wanted assuring evidence on how the baby would be affected by me getting the injection. Obviously, a brand new vaccine being given right now is not going to be able to provide information on babies that have not yet been born.

Through various outlets, I tried to weed through the fear-based information and also tried to keep a wide-eye while digesting the uber-positive/vague information available from government agencies. Combining my research all together, the answer to my prayers seemed to be that neither decision would be the right or wrong decision. That was not the sharp, quick answer I hoped would make deciding easy.

Considering the small amount of time Beck & I spend out in public surrounded by other kids, I felt it might be easier to get vigilant about washing our hands and disinfecting our door knobs. Nursery on Sundays was my biggest concern, followed by how I would survive an entire winter without being able to take Beck to the playground to play. Basically I had decided to rely on being able to avoid the flu. Then, this past Sunday an announcement was made that an entire family in the ward already had the swine flu!

For me, the decision whether or not to get vaccinated finally came down to this: I realized there was very little chance we would avoid all chance encounters with people who were sick this winter. The idea of dealing with an illness that could have been prevented with a fairly basic shot seemed senseless and the realization that with the vaccine I could much more confidently let Beck play with other kids was the final piece in my drawn out puzzle.

Interestingly enough, my final decision process coincided with a new supply of the H1N1 vaccine becoming available in Utah County. I went to bed Monday night aware that a mass vaccination clinic was being held Tuesday morning but figured I would still wait for the vaccine to become more readily available before dragging Beck out to find it. It was a complete surprise to me, then, when I decided at 8:00am that Beck and I were going to go stand in line with the rest of the population for our turn at a poke in the arm. I was listening to the radio and noticing that the predicted snowstorm had not yet made it to us. Literally, I jumped out of bed, threw clothes on myself and Beck and ran out the door without stopping to think.

The "without stopping to think" part is important. After all the efforts I'd made in coming to an education decision, a few more minutes of thinking may have been useful throughout the rest of the day. Stay tuned for H1N1: Part 2 (the mass clinic experience was intriguing...).