swine flu vaccine

I too am terrified of both the flu and the vaccine. What is the difference between the regular flu shot and this one??>

Not sure what the origin of your terror is-- haven't you been vaccinated against tetanus and pneumonia in recent years? The flu vaccines, both seasonal and H1-N1, containe killed virus, so unless you're sensitive to something else in the injection (preservatives, etc), nothing in it can hurt you. You cannot get the flu from a flu shot-- as I said, the virus is killed and cannot make anyone sick.

But anyhoo.... the "regular" flu is actually called seasonal flu. That vaccine contains killed virus from a few different strains of flu that the CDC (Center for Disease Control in the US) has determined will probably be the most common types of flu this winter. Every winter, the strains included in the seasonal shot vary according to what those in the know decide we need protection from.

The so-called swine flu shot is actually a vaccine for the H1-N1 flu, a particularly nasty flu bug that's currently striking small kids, kids in schools, and health care workers. Anyone can get sick with it, of course, but it's proving more deadly in young people and those with loads of exposure, like hospital workers. Those with chronic diseases (like diabetes) or chronic health risk factors(like obesity) also need vaccination (both kinds) because a bad case of the flu could carry them off much more easily.

Posted by: "BK"