Global health systems are still struggling to find ways to fight the H1N1 virus in a more effective way. The fact that the World Health Organization believes that the disease can affect a quarter of the world’s population is ample proof of the fact that this is not the last that we have heard of the swine flu virus.

Meanwhile, questions about the safety of the swine flu vaccine persist. There is a whole lot of hype and many myths floating around everywhere about the effectiveness of the vaccination. The swine flu vaccine was approved for human use in the year 2009. They are said to be much less risky than the diseases that they prevent from occurring. Those who are worried about the side effects, called the Guillian-Barre syndrome, will find solace in the fact that only one or two of every million people who get the vaccine shot fall victim to the GB Syndrome.

During clinical trials, around 15,000 children received the vaccine from various approved manufacturers. The results of the trials have not shown the vaccine causing any drastic side effects to the children. There are some problems with the vaccine yield though. Vaccine manufacturers reported problems in getting a hybrid of the swine flu virus—a crucial step in the current technology for making swine flu vaccines. In some cases, the viral yield was only a fifth of the potency of what was expected.

There are some manufacturers who are working with a different seed strain that is expected to increase the yield. It is important to develop the necessary technology as soon as possible to ensure that the vaccine is available in its most potent and safe form when the virus makes its presence felt across the globe the next time around.

Both kinds of  vaccines are made the same way. The virus is injected into chicken eggs and grown into larger quantities. If you have a known allergy to chicken eggs or a compromised immune system due to some other medical condition, talk to your doctor about whether flu vaccination is even an option for you.

For the vaccine that is administered by needle, the virus is harvested from the eggs, killed and chopped into segments. When it is injected into you, it activates your body’s immune system to produce the antibodies that will kill the actual flu virus should you become exposed to it.

When making the nasal-spray vaccine, the virus is grown in the eggs at lower temperatures, which weakens it so that it can only survive in the nose. The nasal vaccine infects the mucosal cells that are closely monitored by your immune system and once this system detects the vaccine, it produces permanent immunity to the flu virus.

Only healthy people ages 2 to 49 and who aren’t pregnant can receive the nasal-spray vaccine. If you fall into this category and cringe at the thought of having to get a  needle, the nasal spray might be the way to go. However, if you are getting both the seasonal and the swine flu shots, you will need to wait four weeks in between the two nasal-spray vaccines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can’t get the flu from either the injectable vaccine  or the nasal-spray, because the viruses have been inactivated. With the flu shot, minor side effects can occur, including soreness, redness or swelling where the shot is given, low grade fever, aches and nausea. These problems could occur soon after the shot is given and last from 1 to 2 days.

The nasal spray can cause the following side effects in children:

• runny nose
• wheezing
• headache
• vomiting
• muscle aches
• fever

In adults, side effects, if they occur include:

• runny nose
• headache
• sore throat
• cough

There can be serious side effects from either vaccine but these are very rare. One such side effect is Guillian-Barre Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the person’s own immune system damages nerve cells. Visit the CDC website for questions and answers about this condition.

The Flu.gov website has links to Q & A’s about both the H1N1 nasal spray and the needle that answers questions about what symptons to look for in the event of any kind of severe reaction and how to proceed.

Thanks to rick (April 28, 2009 at 2:52 am) Who pointed out some flaws on our last map.
View 2009 Swine Flu (H1N1) Outbreak Map in a larger map