Some parents still skeptical of H1N1 vaccine

WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – The new flu outbreak shutting down schools across West Michigan is hitting the region hard. One of the reasons behind its ferocity is that it arrived before the vaccine showed up at local health departments, and now the people who make the vaccines are scrambling to catch up.

“Vaccine production is unpredictable,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control. “We're projecting as far ahead as we can, by November, we're expecting by November there will be a lot of doses and more will be coming out each month.”

Health departments around West Michigan have seen very long lines, but most of those have been people lining up to get a seasonal flu shot. Despite the rapid spread of the H1N1 virus, many people are still wary of the vaccine and don't plan to get it.

Doctors have been answering questions about the vaccine for weeks, and those questions are really starting to pour in as parents face the decision on whether or not to vaccinate.

Marnie Richter's daughters were feeling fine when Newschannel 3 caught up with them on Wednesday, but many of their classmates aren't. At eight and three years old, Richter's daughters are prime candidates to get the H1N1 vaccine, but their mother is not convinced.

“Because the vaccine is so new, it makes me a little nervous,” said Richter. “My kids are very young, so I don't want to expose them to something they're not 100 percent sure about yet.”

The concerns expressed by Richter are being heard by pediatricians everyday. While some parents of sick children say they wish the vaccine had become available earlier, others say they don't plan on getting the shots at all.

“Our answer has always been and will continue to be, they should get the shot,” said Dr. Tom Akland of ProMed Pediatrics.

Dr. Akland says there's a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding the vaccine, and he's spent a lot of time trying to help parents sort it out.

“All they did was swap out the viral strains for H1N1 shots,” said Dr. Akland. “Every year manufacturers combine three or four strains of that, H3N5, H6N2, three or four get put together every year. Manufacturing hundreds of millions of vaccines, we send them out and give them. This year they switched out to make it H1N1.”

Still, the arguments are not persuasive enough for some parents, many parents Newschannel 3 spoke to say they will get the seasonal flu vaccine for their kids, but not H1N1.