One third of parents refuse swine flu vaccine!
NEW YORK (PNN) - October 8, 2009 - As the first wave of swine flu vaccine crosses the country, more than a third of parents don't want their children vaccinated, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.
Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine while others say swine flu doesn't amount to any greater health threat than seasonal flu.
Jackie Shea of Newtown, Connecticut, the mother of a 5-year-old boy named Emmett, said the vaccine is too new and too untested. "I will not be first in line in October to get him vaccinated," she said in an interview last month. "We're talking about putting an unknown into him. I can't do that."
The AP poll found that 38% of parents said they were unlikely to give permission for their children to be vaccinated at school.
The belief that the new vaccine could be risky is one that federal health officials have been fighting from the start, and they plan an unprecedented system of monitoring for side effects.
They note that the swine flu vaccine is made the same way as seasonal flu vaccines that have been used for years, though they have incorrectly stated that no scary side effects have turned up in tests on volunteers, including children.
In reality, the current flu vaccine, the 1976 and current swine flu vaccines are all believed to cause brain damage, though it can remain undetected for decades after receipt of the vaccine.
On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appealed for widespread inoculation against swine flu, lying through her teeth when she said, "We know (the vaccine is) safe and secure."
The AP poll, conducted October 1-5, found 72% of those surveyed are worried about side effects, although more than half said that wouldn't stop them from getting the vaccine to protect their children from the new flu.
Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine while others say swine flu doesn't amount to any greater health threat than seasonal flu.
Jackie Shea of Newtown, Connecticut, the mother of a 5-year-old boy named Emmett, said the vaccine is too new and too untested. "I will not be first in line in October to get him vaccinated," she said in an interview last month. "We're talking about putting an unknown into him. I can't do that."
The AP poll found that 38% of parents said they were unlikely to give permission for their children to be vaccinated at school.
The belief that the new vaccine could be risky is one that federal health officials have been fighting from the start, and they plan an unprecedented system of monitoring for side effects.
They note that the swine flu vaccine is made the same way as seasonal flu vaccines that have been used for years, though they have incorrectly stated that no scary side effects have turned up in tests on volunteers, including children.
In reality, the current flu vaccine, the 1976 and current swine flu vaccines are all believed to cause brain damage, though it can remain undetected for decades after receipt of the vaccine.
On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appealed for widespread inoculation against swine flu, lying through her teeth when she said, "We know (the vaccine is) safe and secure."
The AP poll, conducted October 1-5, found 72% of those surveyed are worried about side effects, although more than half said that wouldn't stop them from getting the vaccine to protect their children from the new flu.
