Still on the fence

Just when I thought I had worked everything out in my mind about the flu vaccine, things change again.

Firm in my resolve to get the vaccine for myself, I called our local public health office to find out when the "pregnancy" vaccine (a different one than the general public one) would be available in our area. I was told that being so late in my pregnancy, they would not give it to me. I was both shocked and outraged. Although the health experts are saying that it is possible to give the regular vaccine to pregnant women, they strongly encourage the separate one. What had eased my mind about the vaccine was the fact that it had been used in Australia over the past 6 months, which ultimately can amount to "testing." The regular vaccine has not been tested on pregnant women.

And now, over the past few days, I have heard from several health expert sources that the flu season in our province is essentially peaking right now. And so, even if I am able to get the special vaccine over the next few weeks when it is anticipated to arrive, add another 10 days for the vaccine to take effect and I wonder if there is any use in it at all. I will be less than a month to my due date, and from what I hear, past the real danger of the flu season. At that point I see myself simply waiting until the baby is born, as my baby is my real concern when it comes to injecting myself with a new and relatively untested substance.

Add to that the fact that I am not willing to go and stand outside in the cold for 5 hours to wait for the vaccine. Caleb has the sniffles, I can barely stand for more than 10 minutes, and there is no way Caleb would actually wait that long.

And so the waiting game continues...