One H1N1 Vaccine Enough for Kids Age 3-9. Supposedly.

You know, this is exactly why there are thousands of parents questioning the methods behind the testing and trials of new vaccinations and not trusting our government to take care of us, and instead, trying to do the research ourselves using the vast information wasteland called the internet.

I don’t mean to come across sounding like a government plot zealot, but I knew this was coming. I have talked about this to parents at school, my husband, my parents and others that as soon as they realized we were facing a shortage of vaccines, it would quickly be announced that children now did not need to come back for another booster.

The new recommendation for dosing for children between three and nine years of age reflect findings from clinical trials in Europe that suggest a single half-dose of adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine “may provide an acceptable level of protection from the H1N1 flu virus,” the government says in a statement obtained by Canwest News Service.

“For healthy children over three years of age and under 10, this means that one shot may be enough to provide protection from the H1N1 flu virus,” said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada’s chief public health officer.

Curious as to why?

It’s because at least here in Alberta, the vaccination process was completely and irrevocably screwed up. Healthy mid-age Albertans were allowed to stand in line to receive a vaccination for what now seems to be a low grade flu that doesn’t put the general healthy population at risk. Then our wonderful bureaucrats realized that they were running out of the vaccine, and they pulled the plug. Literally.  Closed the clinics, and closeted themselves into desperate meetings to figure out how they were going to solve the mess they got themselves, and all Albertans, into. Albertans who were counting on them to have a proper vaccination plan in place, since we were forewarned about the flu months ago. I mean honestly, who didn’t know that H1N1 was coming this fall?

So now there are children who were vaccinated three weeks ago, and are due, and parents are mad, confused and frightened that they cannot get their children back in for their booster at the 21 day mark they were supposed to. Because the clinics are not open to healthy children over the age of 5.  A perfect example is the woman my husband works with who took her 7 year old in the very first day of vaccinations and has spent the last week stressing about how to get her child in again for the booster.

The next announcement date was November 19th, and that still does not include children.

Then this morning, as I predicted, they have announced that there is no reason that children need a second booster.

So the government is asking me to believe that this had nothing to do with the vaccine shortage. That there are “new clinical trials” that show an “acceptable level of protection.” And nothing to do with the fact that perhaps hundreds or a few thousand children are now due for their next booster.

What may I ask, is this acceptable level? What is acceptable to them compared to what parents find an acceptable level of risk to their child? For some reason, I have no question that the two will not come even close to being the same expectations.

And the word “may”.  Do you, as a parent, find it’s acceptable that one dose “may provide an acceptable level of protection from the H1N1 flu virus”. Is that supposed to make us feel better?

There is no such thing as coincidence. I am not buying it, I am even more distrustful of the vaccination roll-out for H1N1 and I am ashamed and enraged at our government for placing parents in a position of stress, anger and worry.

We all misguidedly placed our trust in the system. Perhaps that won’t happen again next time.

Related posts:

1. Vaccinate kids to control H1N1 flu: researchers
2. Rise in Number of Children’s Deaths From H1N1 in States
3. Majority of Parents Will Not Vaccinate Their Children For H1N1
4. Now The Elderly and Obese Top H1N1 Risk Group
5. Flu Shot Mismatches