H1N1 shot clinics at all of our Anchorage schools is cause for concern for this parent!
I am sending the following commentary to the Anchorage Daily News, but I have little hope that it will be published. I guess the upside to having your own website is that you can be sure your writing gets published somewhere. Since I’ve labored on this for two days, I figure it’s good enough for rubysoup! 
Earlier this month local news reported that the Anchorage School District would be sending home permission slips for parents to allow their children to receive the H1N1 vaccine at school. Few school districts across the nation have opted to run shot clinics in schools. This decision must raise concern among parents regardless of your position on the vaccine. The most obvious question that comes to my mind is why? Anchorage certainly has plenty of health care facilities, private practitioners and pharmacies that I am sure are all willing to provide access to the H1N1 vaccine and are the obvious choice for medical services for our children. When did the school district become such an expert on our children’s health care?
The concerns about the H1N1 vaccine are valid. If the District intends to administer the nasal spray then they will be giving your children a live virus vaccine. Some hospitals in the Chicago area have declined to have their own health care workers vaccinated with the FluMist because of the small, but very real risk, of actually spreading the virus to sick people. According to Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the CDC, “Theoretically someone who had recently received a FluMist vaccination could spread the virus to someone who was profoundly immunocompromised, such as AIDS patients”. How will a school nurse determine whether or not a person is, or is living with someone who is, immunocompromised? The package insert for FluMist does not recommend use in pregnant women because it can cause “fetal harm or can affect reproduction capacity”. What steps will the District take to assure no pregnant students accidentally receive this vaccine?
If the District does not plan to administer FluMist then they will be using an inactivated flu virus by injection. Each injection will contain 25 micrograms of mercury per dose. Is the District prepared to offer a mercury-free version of the vaccine for those parents who object to having a neurotoxin injected into their children? Are they publicizing the availability of this option? If that is not cause for enough concern, how about the fact that to-date there is no clinical trial data on the safety of either vaccine on pregnant women, children with asthma or on the interaction of this vaccine with other childhood vaccines?
Vaccines are a medical procedure. Patients medical records should be reviewed before giving a vaccine to be sure they are not susceptible to having a reaction. Both types of vaccine, for example, are grown in chicken eggs so anyone with an egg allergy should not be vaccinated. Additionally, any underlying or chronic medical condition should be known and discussed with a practitioner prior to vaccination. Will the District have access to our children’s medical records? Who is making sure that parents are given the opportunity to read and review the Vaccine Information Statement or the product inserts? Who will be recording in our children’s charts the shots they received, the manufacturer, the lot number and any adverse event that may occur? Most of the public is aware that we’ve lost our right to sue the pharmaceutical companies or the government when it comes to vaccines, but what happens if the negligence happens at the point of distribution? Will this become potential liability issue for the District?
By providing free, easy-to-access shot clinics in our schools for the H1N1 vaccine, the District is downplaying the serious, valid concerns about safety and necessity of the H1N1 vaccine. Whether or not to vaccinate yourself or your children against a flu that has proven to be relatively mild for healthy individuals is an important decision that should not be made lightly or because of convenience. The Anchorage School District has no business running shot clinics in our schools. They need to use their time, energy and expertise to educate our children and leave medical interventions in the hands of our primary care physicians.
3 Comments to H1N1 shot clinics at all of our Anchorage schools is cause for concern for this parent!
That is an excellent post, very well written - I hope the publish it, I’m sure it will open a lot of eyes!
TawnyOctober 16, 2009
Hey, thanks Ron! I really don’t think it will get published. Someone at the ADN is strongly on the opposite side of this issue and I have yet to see them publish anything but vaccine promotional editorials and articles. But, you never know…nothing will ever get published if it never gets submitted!
Outstanding article. I’ve been out-of-town so don’t know if the Daily News published this or not? I’m forwarding this to Mike Percaro the host of an afternoon radio talk show, he has been discussing and endorsing parent consent before a vaccine and consulting your physician.
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National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)
October 15, 2009