By Rebecca Leibowitz
CNN Medical Intern

I had H1N1. It started with a cough, which quickly progressed to a headache, body aches and a 102-degree fever. A rapid flu test came back positive, confirming my diagnosis. Although this nasal swab test for H1N1 is not very reliable, so much so that it is no longer being used, I had all of the symptoms of the flu. H1N1 was pretty much the only strain circulating in late August, so chances are very high that I did indeed have it. I spent the next three days isolated in my apartment, pumping my body with vitamin C and chicken soup. Then I was fine. I felt great and I was no longer contagious; I could go to class, to the grocery store and to the gym without fear of infecting others. To my friends, I was finally “swine-free.”

My decision whether to be vaccinated against H1N1 has been made for me. Since I most likely already had H1N1, and therefore have built up immunity to the virus, I will not be getting a vaccination. However, millions of Americans are facing the decision of whether to vaccinate themselves and their children against the novel influenza A virus.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends the following high-priority groups get vaccinated: pregnant women; people who live with or provide care for infants younger than six months; health workers; people aged six months to 24 years old; and people 25-64 years old with certain pre-existing conditions.

So, when my mom told me that her doctor recommended she not get the H1N1 vaccine, I was confused. As a chronic Lyme disease sufferer (who is well under 64) and a social worker who works with very young children, my mom fits into one of the high-risk groups. Why, then, did her doctor advise her against getting it?

As I later discovered, there are several reasons why people are apprehensive about getting the H1N1 vaccination. My mom’s doctor told her that he did not see the evidence that the H1N1 inoculation protects one from getting the virus, a concern he also raised regarding the seasonal flu vaccine. This contradicts what the CDC has been saying for weeks. CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden recently told reporters that the vaccine should work very well because “it is an excellent match with the strains of the virus that are circulating.”

There is also widespread concern about the safety of the vaccine. During the 1976 swine flu epidemic in the United States, those who received the vaccine for that strand of swine flu were proven to have an elevated risk of contracting Guillain-Barré syndrome. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of its nervous system. The most common complications from Guillain-Barré syndrome are breathing-related, and patients are often placed on respirators. The majority of people who contract the disorder recover, but it can be fatal.

The CDC says that it expects the H1N1 inoculation to follow a similar safety profile as the seasonal influenza vaccine, which has not been associated with increased risk of Guillain-Barré. Officials also say that this new pandemic vaccine is much “purer” than the 1976 inoculation. The expected side effects from the 2009 H1N1 vaccine are similar to those from the regular flu shot, including soreness or swelling at the point of injection, low-grade fever and body aches. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration will be closely monitoring the safety of the immunization. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System exists so that health care providers can report vaccine concerns directly.

And then there are those who think natural immunity is better and safer than any vaccine and are suggesting “swine flu parties” are the way to go – get yourself infected with H1N1 and your body will build up immunity. Most doctors and the CDC strongly advise against this method of protection.

What factors have influenced your decision whether or not to get the H1N1 vaccine? What advice has your doctor given you? Have you come to a decision whether to vaccinate you or your children?

As a  feature of CNNhealth.com, our team of expert doctors will answer readers' questions. Here's a question for Dr. Gupta.

From Shannon:

"I have a 4-month-old infant and I recently had myself and my 6-year-old son vaccinated for H1N1. My question is, will my infant also gain my immunity to H1N1 through my breast milk? I hope so." 

Answer:

This is a great question and a huge concern for many parents whose children are less than 6 months old and therefore too young to get the H1N1 vaccine. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to your question, Shannon, so the best we can do is spell out what we do know.

We know that any time you breastfeed your 4-month-old, you pass on potent antibodies (proteins that your immune system produces to fend off disease in the body) that protect him or her against a whole range of infections.

We also know a bit about other vaccines and breast milk, for example, the pneumococcal vaccine that protects against things like pneumonia and meningitis. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, mothers who received that vaccine produced antibodies that were detectable in their breast milk, and passed them on to their babies. What is not as clear is whether those antibodies actually conferred immunity to their newborns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance about breast milk and the flu vaccine is a tinge more hopeful, albeit far from conclusive: "By breastfeeding, mothers can pass on to the infant the antibodies that their bodies make in response to the flu shots, which can reduce the infant's chances of getting sick with the flu."

While experts wrestle with this question, you have already taken a positive step – and significantly reduced your baby’s chances of getting the H1N1 virus – by getting yourself vaccinated. The next step is to create a "cocoon of protection" around your baby by making sure that other caregivers in the family also get vaccinated.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Ann J. Curley
CNN Medical Assignment Manager

Many of our readers are still asking questions about H1N1 and seasonal influenza. Today we’ve got a question from Patty:

I am a 63-year-old health care worker in relatively good health, and I’m caring for a 2-month-old infant (my granddaughter). I have had a reaction to thimerosal in the past. It was used as a preservative in contact lens solution.

Is thimerosal used as a preservative in either seasonal flu vaccine or H1N1 vaccine? Are there available alternatives to these vaccines? How would I access them?

Thanks,
Patty Holly

Patty,

Thank you for your question. It’s important that you make your health care provider aware of your sensitivity to thimerosal, which is a preservative used in many products, including some vaccines, nasal products, and eye solutions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines approved by the FDA are being manufactured with and without thimerosal.

Multi-dose vials of flu vaccine need to contain a preservative to prevent bacterial contamination, which can occur when multiple syringes are inserted into the same bottle.  However, some manufacturers also produce single-dose flu shots, which do not require any preservatives.

The nasal flu vaccine – both for seasonal flu and H1N1 – is always thimerosal-free. However, it is recommended only for people ages 2 to 49 who have no underlying health problems. The nasal spray vaccine is made from a weakened live virus and is not recommended for people with autoimmune disorders, pregnant women, and patients with certain chronic health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and lung disease. Unfortunately, you can’t take the nasal flu vaccine because you are 63. You can find more information about the live vaccine here.

Ask your doctor for a thimerosal-free flu shot. If he or she doesn’t have one, you can visit the CDC’s H1N1 Web site and check out its “flu shot locator” .  It has links to the Web site of each state’s health department, with specific information about where vaccine can be found.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a lot of useful information about both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu on its Web site. Also be sure to check out CNN.com’s flu page.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Val Willingham
CNN Medical Producer

I don't smoke. But I have a good friend who does. For years, she's been trying to quit, using patches, gum, group therapy, even exercise programs designed to help you "lose your cravings." She's gone cold turkey, smoked fake cigarettes and many times begged buddies to take her cigarettes and throw them in the trash if they saw packs in her home or car. And although she's had a few smoke-free periods in her life, she's never really quit the habit. She says it's just too hard.

Of course she's not alone. Drug experts say nicotine is more difficult to kick than heroin. Of the 44 million people in the U.S. who smoke, the American Cancer Society says, 70 percent of those smokers confess they want to quit and about 40 percent do quit each year. Yet only 4 percent to 7 percent actually give up smoking, without help, for good.

But now there may be hope. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded Nabi Biopharmaceuticals a $10 million grant to take its anti-nicotine vaccine into phase 3 human research trials over the next few months. Called the NicVAX, the vaccine is designed to stimulate the immune system to generate antibodies that would latch on to nicotine in a smoker's body and actually prevent nicotine from ever entering the brain.

When a smoker inhales a cigarette, nicotine is absorbed through the lung tissue, into the bloodstream and carried through the body. Because nicotine is a small molecule, it easily crosses the blood brain barrier into the brain. The nicotine then binds to receptors in the brain, which release dopamine, which is a stimulant that gives the smoker a pleasurable sensation, known as a "smoker's high."

This process occurs very rapidly in the body, less than one minute after tobacco smoke is inhaled, so the nicotine fix is quick. That's what causes the addiction.

The NicVAX vaccine creates antibodies that bind to nicotine in the bloodstream, blocking it from crossing into the brain, through the brain-blood barrier. That's because these nicotine-specific antibodies are large molecules and are too big to cross into the brain. So the bound nicotine is trapped in the blood and can't reach the receptors that trigger that release of dopamine, which is what causes the pleasure response.

It's believed that the addiction of the smoker to nicotine will gradually diminish because as the antibodies created by NicVAX continue to bind the nicotine, the amount of nicotine reaching the brain will gradually decrease.

According to Nabi, these phase 3 trials could begin by the end of the year. The companys says that so far, the results have been promising with few side effects. In the phase 2 trials reports, Nabi says "a statistically significant number of participants treated with the NicVAX optimal dose were able to quit smoking and remain abstinent over the long term at rate of nearly three times that of those receiving the placebo. In addition, those participants that continued to smoke and but showed a high antibody response to NicVAX significantly reduced the number of cigarettes smoked over the full 12-month period from a baseline of 20 cigarettes per day to 10 cigarettes per day."

The vaccine will be tested over a six-month period with participants receiving a vaccine every four weeks. .The antibodies should remain in the body for a long period of time. Just how long, researchers don't know yet. Trial sites will be located across the country. You can check on clinicaltrials.gov if you're interested in becoming a participant.

I am sure my friend will be waiting to sign up.

But here's the question. Would you be willing to take a vaccine periodically to help you quit the habit? Or do you have a method that has helped you to remain smoke free? We'd like to hear.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

As a regular feature of CNNhealth.com, our team of expert doctors answers readers’ questions. Here’s a question for Dr. Gupta.

From Birgitta in Newcastle, Washington:

I think I already had the swine flu but do not know for sure if it was swine flu, do I take the vaccination anyway? Is it safe to take if I suspect that the flu I had was swine flu?

Answer:

Tens of thousands of people right now, like Birgitta, are suffering from or getting over the H1N1 virus. Those numbers will continue to swell as the flu season wears on, and these questions will inevitably come up over and over again.

Incidentally, I can relate. I contracted the H1N1 virus recently while reporting on the war in Afghanistan, and I was miserable for days. I got my immunity to H1N1 the hard way, so I can take a pass on the vaccine this year. But what about people who are not as sure, like Birgitta?

The bottom line is, unless you got a laboratory test confirming it, you cannot be sure that you actually got the H1N1 virus. There are several strains of influenza floating around out there this season, two of which are H1N1 and seasonal influenza. There are a handful of other strains you could have contracted.

The old adage, "Better to be safe than sorry," may apply here. Unless you're sure you had H1N1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you get vaccinated. Even if you did, in theory, get H1N1 the CDC reports no evidence that subsequently getting the H1N1 vaccine would cause problems for you.

You can think about your vaccination like an insurance policy. If you did have H1N1 during your recent illness, then you're protected. If you did not, you're also protected.

If you're wondering when the vaccine will be available, the largest shipment of H1N1 vaccine is scheduled for mid-October. By then, the first 45 million doses of the vaccine will be ready, with another 20 million doses shipped out each week until December.

And don't forget, the CDC recommends that you get the seasonal flu vaccine as well.

By Miriam Falco
CNN Medical News Managing Editor

The U.S. Department of Agriculture symbolically slapped the news media on the hand Thursday for perpetuating the term "swine" flu in reports about the new H1N1 strain of influenza that's spreading across the world.

In a written statement and during two telebriefings, the USDA reminded reporters that since last Spring they have “consistently asked that the media stop calling this ‘novel’ pandemic virus ‘swine flu.’”

So what's the big deal? Health officials say the H1N1 virus more closely resembles the pandemic Spanish flu of 1918 than a swine flu. The USDA says struggling pork farmers are being hurt in a big way when the virus is called “swine flu.” USDA officials stress that “ you cannot get infected with 2009 pandemic virus from eating pork or pork products."

"Each time the media uses the phrase ‘swine flu’ a hog farmer, their workers and their families suffer,” says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement posted on the USDA Web site. “It is simply not fair or correct to associate the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza with hogs, an animal that does not play a role in the ongoing transmission of the pandemic strain."

USDA officials point out that China is not importing U.S. pork because of the erroneous belief that eating pork is tied to the spread of this new type of flu.

I am a member of the news media and I have used both H1N1 and “swine flu” in my stories because some people know the virus only as “swine flu,” which is what it was originally labeled.

So how did the confusion start?

Back in the spring, when we first heard about "swine" flu, it was given that name because initial tests showed it resembled some known viruses that have circulated in pigs. However, the CDC explains on its Web site, "…further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs." The agency explains that this new H1N1 virus has genetic material from viruses found in European and Asian pigs, as well as genes from birds and humans. Plus, USDA officials point out that this is a human virus because it was first detected in humans. They say there are no reports of H1N1 circulating in any swine herds here in the United States. They acknowledge that Canada, Australia and Argentina have found H1N1 in a few pigs. And Deputy Agriculture Secretary Dr. Kathleen Merrigan says she wouldn’t be surprised if the H1N1 virus does eventually surface in U.S. pig herds. But she stresses that pigs infected with the virus would not be sent to market.

Health officials keep reminding us that the best way to avoid getting sick with this new H1N1 flu virus is to take the following precautions:
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Cough into a tissue or your sleeve, not into your hand.
- Get a regular seasonal flu shot now, and the H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available, allowing the highest risk groups to get their shots first.

And please don't call it swine flu.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Caleb Hellerman
CNN Medical Senior Producer

I’d just gotten the kids to bed and was cleaning up the house when the news flashed on my BlackBerry – a Chinese news report that researchers in South Korea, working with a sample from Atlanta, had discovered a potential vaccine against the swine flu H1N1 virus. It was nearly 10 o’clock at night but that’s how this goes – a worldwide, round-the-clock effort for the past several weeks, what some are calling a model of international cooperation.

A few minutes later I was on the phone with Dr. Seo Sang-heui, of Chungnam National University. He told me that yes, he believes he has created a vaccine that could be used against the virus. He’s packed up eight vials of the new vaccine and was waiting for a courier to pick them up and fly them to Atlanta, for testing at the CDC. He figured the courier would arrive in about an hour.

We’re not talking about a usable vaccine, not yet, but this is an important step. Here’s how it works: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention isolated the 2009 H1N1 virus in its lab, in Atlanta. It sent isolates to a number of researchers around the world – including, it appears, Dr. Seo. These researchers follow a careful regimen, genetically modifying the vaccine to make it grow well, while keeping the traits that will – we hope – induce a strong immune response. It’s a process of trial and error, but Dr. Seo told me that in the past few days he figured out a way to grow the modified virus in an agar solution. He says he’s doing what any vaccine researcher would do, sending the samples back to Atlanta at no charge, with no conditions attached.

CDC spokesman David Daigle told us that he wasn’t aware of the finding — yet. But assuming the samples do arrive, they’ll go straight to the CDC laboratory for genetic analysis. That’ll tell us, one way or the other, if this is really a potential vaccine. Dr. Gupta and I were at the lab just two weeks ago, peering through the window where scientists were tinkering with the swine flu virus under stainless steel hoods that provide special ventilation, keeping the virus from floating around the room and out the door. The hoods look a bit like big fans over a stove, except for a glass front that lets the researchers see what their hands are doing.

Assuming this finding is the real deal, samples of the candidate vaccine will be shipped to manufacturers around the world. These companies have to adapt the material to their own processes. They have to make sure the vaccine grows well in eggs. Yes, chicken eggs. They have to test various mixtures, to see how well it grows and also whether the vaccine produces a strong immune response in animals, probably mice. They’ll want to see if additives – “adjuvants” – can enable them to produce an immune response using less vaccine – an important consideration if there’s limited supply, and we want to inoculate a billion people. At least one company, GlaxoSmithKine (GSK), says it’s already received notices from several governments that they intend to purchase mass quantities of vaccine, once available. According to GSK, Great Britain has pre-ordered 60 million doses and France, 50 million.

If the vaccine works in animal testing, they’ll test it in people. If that works – and seems to be safe – it’s up to regulators – the Food and Drug Administration, in the U.S. – to give the thumbs-up. If all goes well, the first doses could reach the public in anywhere from four to six months. Of course, the U.S. and other governments might not order mass quantities of H1N1 vaccine. There’s a limited number of eggs, and depending on the final formula, buying more H1N1 vaccine might mean producing less of the seasonal flu vaccine. We’ll be following this closely over the next few months.

There’s a long way to go, from Seoul to a pharmacy near you. And keep in mind, there may be other candidate vaccines discovered. But if the finding we hear about last night is confirmed, it’s a pretty big step. A new strain of influenza can be a scary thing, and it will be a big relief if we have an effective vaccine before the next flu season hits.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By David S. Martin
CNN Medical Senior Producer

The details we heard this morning were vague but heartbreaking nonetheless: a 22-month-old from Mexico died from the swine flu in Texas. As a parent, the loss of a child is the worst imaginable tragedy. For those of us living in the United States, the toddler’s death lets us know that we do not necessarily have protection against this new virus that had until now resulted in deaths in Mexico but nowhere else.

There’s something else. Something history is warning us. The four deadliest pandemics in the last 120 years arrived at the end of a flu season, dissipated and then returned with a vengeance the following winter. That’s what happened in the deadliest pandemic ever: the so-called Spanish flu, which arrived in March 1918 but took its devastating toll in the winter of 1918-19. More than 20 million died worldwide. Worldwide flu outbreaks in 1889, 1957 and 1968 also followed this pattern. The virus’ second appearance in the winter was in each case much more deadly than the initial outbreak in the spring.

This history is no doubt on the mind of Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. At his briefing Tuesday, he said the CDC was considering making a swine flu vaccine. But it isn’t simply a matter of adding this vaccine to the seasonal vaccine offered each fall.

The seasonal flu vaccine for the winter of 2009-10 is already in production, and the government has already chosen which three flu strains to protect us against. The swine flu isn’t among them, and the process doesn’t allow for simply adding a fourth strain to the mix. That means a swine flu vaccine would have to be separate shot.

If a separate swine flu shot became available this fall, would you take it?

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

There is a special court, known colloquially as a vaccine court. It is a place where judges called “special masters,” who are legal experts, not medical doctors, hear claims about vaccine injuries. It’s been around since the late 80s, in part prompted by the scare over the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine possibly causing injuries. If the court finds that an injury was likely caused by a vaccine, it can make a monetary award. For example, a few years ago, there was a case of optic neuritis after the tetanus vaccine. Other awards were given for fibromyalgia after the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccine; transverse myelitis after the HiB (Haemophilus influenzae type B) vaccine; and Guillain-Barre and MS after the hepatitis B vaccine.

Many people started paying attention to the court after the federal government last year awarded damages to the family of Hannah Poling, conceding that Hannah was injured by a vaccine, causing her autism-like symptoms. (Read about Hannah’s case here) According to the Department of Justice, more than 1,500 people have been paid in excess of $1.18 billion since the inception of the program in 1988.

There is no question there is lots of money at play here. For more than 20 years now, the program has been funded by an excise tax of 75 cents on every purchased dose of covered vaccine. And, with today’s decision, some of the big questions about vaccines and autism are being addressed. It is worth noting the standard the court was using allowed for the petitioners (the parents of the children with autism) to demonstrate “biologic plausibility” as opposed to direct cause and effect. Scientifically, biological plausibility is an easier standard to meet. (Read about vaccine court now).

While this can by no means be a complete overview of the hundreds of pages that composed the ruling (read the decisions here), it is safe to say that the court found no biological plausibility of a connection between autism and either the MMR vaccine, or the combination of MMR vaccine and thimerosal-containing vaccines: no awards will be granted in any of these test cases. We spent some time with Michelle Cedillo, one of the children represented in the test cases last year (meet her here). You will no doubt hear a lot more about this in the days to come. Within the world of autism and vaccines, this is a huge deal and a major ruling.

Couple of points: Remember that thimerosal is a mercury-derived preservative that was present in many childhood vaccines that did not contain a live virus (for example, the MMR vaccine never contained thimerosal). Nowadays thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines that are routinely recommended for children six years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. In case you are curious, a preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. And, in the interest of clarity, vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose. (Learn more about vaccines here)

On page 278 of the decision in of the cases, Snyder v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the statements even get a little snide. The special master, Denice K. Vowell, wrote “to conclude that Colten’s condition was the result of his MMR vaccine, an objective observer would have to emulate Lewis Carroll’s White Queen and be able to believe the six impossible (or, at least highly improbable) things before breakfast.” She goes on to say “the families of ASD and the court have waited in vain for adequate evidence to support the autism–MMR hypothesis.”

So, do you feel like you are gazing through the “looking-glass?”

I hope you get a chance to click on the links above and read the rulings. You will find that not all the experts agreed with one another and the evidence is worth reading. After that, I’m eager to hear what you think.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

By Andrea M. Kane
CNNhealth.com Producer

A small drama is unfolding in Minnesota. Five cases of Haemophilus influenzae type B (known as Hib) disease were documented in 2008 – the most since 1992. But this is more than just five individual tragedies. It’s tragedy times two – because a vaccine exists to prevent Hib disease, and it has been routinely given to children in this country as part of the standard vaccine schedule since 1991.

Hib is a serious bacterial infection that usually occurs in infants and children under 5. It can lead to meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings); pneumonia; infection of the blood, joint, bones and covering of the heart; and severe swelling of the throat. Sometimes, it results in death. Before the vaccine, there were about 20,000 cases of Hib disease each year and Hib was responsible for up to 60 percent of all cases of meningitis (resulting in death 2 to 5 percent of the time, and producing lasting brain damage and deafness 15 to 30 percent of the time).

Part of the problem is that there has been a national shortage of the Hib vaccine since November 2007, and Minnesota has been particularly hard hit. The other part of the problem is that some of the parents did not immunize their children (admittedly, I have no knowledge of their motivation). According to Minnesota officials, three of the five cases - including the one death - occurred in unimmunized children (in the other cases, one child was too young to complete the four-dose series and the other child had an underlying condition).

I am a parent. I have two young girls, now 7 and 9. And, like every parent, I like to believe that I am doing the best I can to protect them. And for me, part of that is to make sure they are vaccinated.

But I’d be lying if I said that, when it came time to immunize them during their toddler years, I didn’t worry that they might  develop autism.

Stories suggesting a link between vaccines and autism are very pervasive  and proponents of the theory are vocal. But even though there is no scientifically sound research to support it, the speculation persists. Despite the emotion inherent in this debate, I am a medical writer who has read many studies finding no connection between autism and vaccines– including a recent one from California showing that the incidence of autism had actually gone up despite the removal of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from most vaccines and an earlier study from Denmark.

Still, in the back of my mind, a little voice whispered, “What if one of my girls is genetically predisposed, and this is the environmental trigger…” Or “What if one of my girls receives one too many vaccines today, and it pushes her immune system over the edge.”

But all I had to do was take a look at my own mother, who has lived with the consequences of polio, a disease she contracted when she was 2 – way before the polio vaccine ever existed - and my resolve was hardened. Growing up, I heard stories (never from her) about how she spent months at a time in a body cast, and how my grandparents were at first heartbroken and then sought to shelter her from life’s daily insults. I know intimately the criss-cross of scars on her legs, the clippity-clop sound of her particular gait, and the swift hand-on-knee movement she makes to manually move her leg in and out of a car. And I can see where her quiet-but-unyielding determination, and her dignity in the face of adversity came from. And her ordeal is not over: she now gets to worry about post-polio syndrome.

I love my mother and I wouldn’t change anything about her but I would do anything - especially vaccinate my kids - to avoid my children having to go through anything like what she experienced and continues to go through. Vaccines were developed to spare our children pain, damage, disfigurement and death. It seems ridiculous not to avail myself of the tools I have been offered to protect them from diseases we know can and will hurt them.

Did you, will you vaccinate your children? Tell us why or why not.

Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.