There’s been much debate about getting the H1N1 vaccine.  Do you?  Don’t you?  I was torn, just like many other Mom’s I have talked to.  Until last weekend.  When my son’s best friend came down with it – the first person we’ve heard of so far (fortunately he’s fine now).  Then a couple days later a seemingly healthy 13 year old hockey player in our area died suddenly of the flu.  He had only been sick with it for 2 or 3 days.

And that REALLY freaked everybody out.  Especially all the parents of other seemingly healthy children.  That event, combined with the release of the vaccine last Monday evoked a mad rush to all the public vaccination clinics.  Which were really only meant for the “priority groups” in the first week.  But they quietly admitted that no one would be turned away.  So of course everyone started showing up.  All the panicked parents with their seemingly healthy kids.  And the line-ups grew.  Some people waiting upward of 6 hours or more.  Some people lining up for hours only to be eventually turned away.

And yes, I bought into the hype.  The fear of something happening to my children griped me tightly.  I couldn’t shake it.  So I quickly made the decision to get us all vaccinated.

My husband heard a rumour that a local Walk-In Clinic in our town had the vaccine.  Could it be?  A clinic with the vaccine and no one knew about it?  Nah . . . couldn’t be.  Could it?  So while The Eldest was at soccer with his Dad Thursday night The Youngest and I headed over to check it out.  Sure enough – rumour was fact.  And an mere 1 hour later we emerged.  Smiling like we had just won the lottery, with the needle marks to prove it.  I couldn’t believe our luck!

So the next morning I took The Eldest there first thing – even if it meant he’d miss an hour of school.  Just as we were about to step into the room to get his vaccine I got a call from the school.  The Youngest needed to be picked up because he had started throwing up in the classroom.  Great.  By the time he got home he also had a fever.  Fabulous.  Had he gotten the vaccine too late?  Had he already been exposed?  Was I in for a week of playing Florence Nightingale?  Were the rest of us destined to catch it?  Am I asking too many questions???

He laid on the couch all day.  He napped in the afternoon.  He certainly wasn’t himself.  And by the next morning . . . he was fine.  Fine!  Back to normal and perfectly fine.  Whew.  I still don’t know what the heck happened, but I sure am thankful it was over before it began.  I’m no expert, but I’m guessing he had some kind of mild reaction to his vaccine.

And in the meantime, the panic continues.  The vaccine is now being strictly restricted to the priority groups only and health officials have announced they are running short of the vaccine.  A shortage that likely won’t change for a few weeks.

My husband didn’t get his yet, but at least the boys and I have.  So I can rest a little easier.  Well, at least I can in 2 more weeks, when our vaccines become most effective.

What about you – is your family going to get the vaccine or not?  Can you even get it where you live?