Nurses face flu vaccine dilemma

Margaret Hartle, a nurse in a nursing home is too afraid to get vaccinated because she had flu-like symptoms last September. The doctor diagnosed her with a viral infection so she is not allowed to go to work for a week. She is unsure of the reaction of her body. But she has already received the seasonal flu shot and would like to get vaccinated against H1N1. Since she doesn’t know if she had H1N1 flu, she doesn’t want to take the risk by getting vaccinated. She is scared to think what will happen if the virus mutates. All nurses and other people didn't get the shot because of being unconfident.

A microbiologist at Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital named Karl Weiss said "those who have confirmed cases of H1N1 must not have the vaccine because their immune systems could react excessively."

More research is needed to help people study about these things. Dr. Sande Harlos, a medical officer at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said that the research of Weiss is only based on opinion.

Harlos said, "There is no risk in taking a vaccination if a person already has H1N1, it is needed and it won't have any result because an individual has built up natural immunity." [via winnipegfreepress.com]