I would never demean small pox or polio vaccines, for example. Please stop trying to mischaracterize my statements and lump me in with birthers. It's absurd and does nothing to advance a discussion.

You do by demean smallpox and polio vaccines by implication. Each of those killed people, and caused severe harm. What you do is ignore the advantage of other vaccines, and solely focus on the negatives. Taking that criteria, smallpox and polio vaccines would also be viewed as negative.

We considered smallpox and polio vaccines to be good because the harm of getting those disorders far outweighed the risks associated with the vaccines. For every 1 person who died of the smallpox vaccine, hundreds were saved.

We stopped giving smallpox vaccines in 1968 because the threat of smallpox was eliminated, and as such the positive benefits of the vaccines no longer applied.

There are questions and issues with the flu vaccine, which are acknowledged by the CDC, but not mentioned in materials disseminated to the public.

There are questions about every vaccines, but the relentless and uninformed propaganda about vaccines kills people.

The regular flu kills over 30,000 Americans every year. If vaccines reduced that number to 10,000, but the vaccinations themselves caused 10 deaths, it would still be a great net gain. Just like smallpox and polio.

I'm sorry to hear that you were so impacted by the swine flu, Xanthro; I understand that it can be a long time to fully recover.

That’s why it is so critical that pregnant women get the vaccination. Swine and Avian flu hits them exceedingly hard, especially in the third trimester.

However, I know 2 people where I live who had severe reactions to flu shots (yes, they have since been acknowledged as such by the CDC, so this is medically proven, not anecdotal) and have permanent neurological damage.

Assuming this is true, plenty of people caught polio from the polio vaccinations. A very small percentage of people will be harmed by a vaccine, but the number of lives saved from that vaccine is much higher.

And yes, I still have a great concern that an untested vaccine will be given (with priority) to pregnant women.

Since it will be impossible to test in time, there isn’t much choice in the matter.

The last pandemic of swine flu did have serious unintended consequences with the vaccine. The haste of the current program makes me worry.

I assume you refer to the 1976 incident, which was not a pandemic. By the time the vaccine was created, the virus itself had died out. There really wasn’t a need to vaccinate people, because by the fall, nobody was catching the swine flu. Now, in defense of the Government, in 1976 they though the 1918 Spanish Flu was a swine flu (it was actually avian flu) and in that pandemic, the initial spring cases were not that severe, by fall the mortality of the virus was unprecedented. That’s what they feared in 1976. Fortunately, this did not come to pass.

Sungold, I think that you're right, looking into the vaccine before taking it would be sound advice for any pregnant woman. Look for yourself or read articles. Knowledge can help you make the best decision for yourself.

A pregnant women who catches H1N1 is at a very high risk of either losing the child, and or developing life threatening complications. Many pregnant women will die if they catch H1N1 in the fall. The vaccine will reduce the number of pregnant women who will die. Yes, a small percentage will have negative side affects, but this has to be weighed against the number who lives are spared.

2009 is very different that 1976. A very small number of people were affected by swine flu in 1976, and it was not a threat by the fall. Now, millions of people around the World have been infected with H1N1. It will be a threat this fall, and without vaccination, tens of thousands of people will die, over and above the tens of thousands that normally die from the flu.

Vaccines are not evil. Your bizarre stupidity is that, stupidity.

The government tries to limit exposure to all potential risks, so eating a can of tuna every day is not considered wise, because the exposure builds. Having the same amount of mercury from one shot is much different, because the benefits are much higher, and the exposure is much less.

While the H1N1 flu itself is not that bad, it does produce a very large viral load in your lungs, and secondary infections can be very bad, worse than the flu. I know. I had H1N1, confirmed by the health department, I’m still, months later, getting over the upper respiratory infection. Pregnant women are more susceptible to upper respiratory infections, and could easily become exceedingly ill or die, not from H1N1 directory, but from the associated side affects. FYI, I received Tamiflu starting the day after I felt ill.

Spreading your paranoid lies about vaccines KILLS people.