Some areas of Canada are reporting H1N1 outbreaks and our public health boards are getting really pushy about having to get flu vaccinations. My province will not allow people to enter hospitals unless they have been vaccinated or they wear a mask. I'm OK with that.

Problem is, there are conflicting reports about this H1N1 vaccine. They are using the same formulation as they did in 2009 here and subsequent studies that were done at that time revealed that those who had the vaccine were 50-75% more likely to get the flu. Apparently that was a "Canadian vaccine" issue only.
Add to that the health board claims that this H1N1 virus is unchanged from the one in 2009, yet their own researchers say that viruses mutate at a very rapid rate and so vaccines must always be changed to accommodate that change for them to remain effective.
It leaves me to wonder why this H1N1 hasn't mutated in 4 years, or if we are getting the whole story. Right now it just sounds like someone along the line is cashing in on the sale of the vaccine...maybe at the expense of the public's health. IDK.

I don't get the flu shot because the three times that I have, I've gone into a major flair that took months to recover from each time. The last one I got was in November of 2007, and the body spent the next 6 months in a flair of MS and digestive inflammation. By April of 2008 I was still in and out of ER because of those symptoms as well as pericarditis and thyroiditis.

When the 2009 H1N1 epidemic hit, there was the same push to get vaccinated as the one that is going on now. My PCP was all for it but my naturopath, who is also a pharmacist, said that for some people, the adjuvant (primarily squalene oil), causes pre-existing auto-immune diseases to increase in severity, and may actually cause an auto-immune disease called Gillain-Barre to develop. Gillain-Barre syndrome is very much like MS in that the immune system attacks the squalene oil component in the myelin as well as the squalene component in other soft tissues like the joints.

Because the Canadian vaccine contained squalene oil (I've since found out that the USA didn't use squalene oil in their H1N1 vaccine, but did use it for soldiers deployed during Desert Storm; and that many soldiers developed auto-immune and neurological symptoms during that time), she suggested that I not take it, so I didn't.

I've since been diagnosed as having SPMS and can't get a straight answer from anyone on whether or not the current Canadian vaccine contains squalene oil or not. On the one hand, I don't want to get the flu (haven't had a flu since 1989), but on the other I most certainly don't want my immune system to go crazier than it already is.

The latest threat from our government that being tossed about is that we may be denied government funding of our health care if we are not vaccinated. Already hospital workers have been fired or laid off for refusing to have it. Teachers and other public sector workers are now being pressured with the same threat.

If it comes to mandatory vaccination, I really don't know what I'll do; but I am prepared to quarantine myself away until the flu season is over. The risk of taking the vaccine is just too great the way I see it now .

With love, Erika

I get one every year and it doesn't cause me a problem. I never get the flu either. One year when I worked at a small business all of the employees except me had horrible cases of flu and all were gone for at least a week, one owner was hospitalized. I was the only one showing up and keeping things going, and I was the only one who had had the flu shot. It works for me so I'll keep taking it!

Yeah, that's the thing Wiz,

For some it seems to work consistently well and for others, it seems to consistently cause problems. Its so confusing.

With love, Erika

i have always gotten a yrly flu shot. for many yrs because i was in the health care field and then because my neuro recommended it.

i've never had a problem and feel that it's worked for me.

I debate this issue every year. I have looked up things like you did. Ten years ago I got the flu, type A Asian. I was sick for 4 months. I have auto immune conditions, and don't really know if it hurts or helps. I just know I want to cut down the risk of getting the flu again. I got my shot the last few years. I don't know if we are getting the truth about the strains either. Hard decision when you are sick to begin with. ginnie

We had a poster join from Canada with a severe reaction to the
Canadian flu H1N1 vaccine:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post822437-1.html

He has 12 posts, and you can click on his name and view his statistics in his profile, for more.

It is a real problem, Erika. So I can sympathize with your concerns about mandatory rules forcing people to get this vaccine, if they have reasons not to.

I never used to get them because I was always suspicious of them after the Swine Flu vaccine scare in the 70s. But I've been getting them for the last 5 years or so and never had any problems. And also haven't gotten the flu since, so there's that...

I have never had the shot and never get the flu. But I taught for years had sick children, have maybe a hey-wire aggressive immune system, who know? Too many variables to know. Had my kids get immunizations, have a friend who is against them. Very confusing. Have very little exposure to others right now too.

I'm mostly concerned about the squalene oil adjuvant being used in some of the vaccines up here. Apparently the USA's FDA hasn't approved their use so its not in your vaccines. Some pharmacists say it isn't being used here anymore and some say that it is. Apparently it depends on the supplier (which pharma company produces the vaccine), as well as the lot numbers.

I don't often come down with viral infections like the flu...only the occasional head cold, but that only happens maybe once every two years or so. I'm down right compulsive about hand washing and not touching my face, so maybe that has helped me from not getting infected.
I've only had the flu three times in 53 years and two of those were when I was still a child.

This H1N1 sounds like its a real nasty thing though, and I did just get over a bit of a cold. It made my MS symptoms worse and I'm still dealing with some of the effects of it in my joints and with spasticity. I fairly sure that the last few weeks of trying different meds made me more susceptible to infection because the reactions to the meds affected my sleep and appetite (wasn't sleeping or eating much).

I just don't want to do something that might make these symptoms worse, or heaven forbid, produce new ones.

Thanks for your input everyone.

With love, Erika