There were roughly 30 deaths in the U.S. from Guillain-Barre syndrome in 1976. GBS can be caused by a variety of things (typically infection), which stimulate the body to produce antibodies not just against the infection, but which also attack the nerves, producing (usually) temporary weakness and paralysis. It's thought that many of the GBS cases that year were linked to the swine flu vaccine. Nobody knows exactly why, since the flu vaccines used in the decades since 1976 have not caused the problem. I made an incorrect statement earlier in this thread about the incidence of GBS during the 1976 swine flu - it was much less common than the figure I gave: "In all, the vaccination resulted in nearly one extra case of Guillain-Barré for every 100,000 people immunized, which would translate into roughly 450 cases for the 45 million people who got the shot." Obviously, even those numbers were unacceptable (particularly when the flu strain in '76 did not turn out to be an especially dangerous one). Given the continued advancements in vaccine science and the good health record since 1976, I'd expect far fewer side effects from a 2009 vaccine, and given the choice between the vaccine and taking my chances with a full-blown deadly flu outbreak, I'd go for the vaccine, no question. apollog is dead on target, by the way, when he contrasts the risks of getting an immunization with a small quantity of killed virus, with the far, far greater hazard of having large amounts of virulent virus coursing through your system. Many of us have forgotten or never known what it's like to actually face a deadly epidemic of infectious disease in our community. When such a thing happens (and I hope it doesn't in this case), the current climate of alarmism about vaccines will change rapidly.

Luna, the flu is in our area now too. My 1 yr old GS is at doctor right now to see why he's so sick. Waiting on them to call at the moment. Hope you are soon feeling better, and that Bob doesn't get it too! When I was at the dr last week for my monthly visit, I was going to get a flu shot, but they said that most insurance won't pay if you get it the same day you're being seen by the doctor. How ridiculous! I haven't had the time to drive back across town to get it, and may regret it now. We need to stay on our politicians to make insurance coorporations be more reasonable & accountable with our citizens' healthcare needs. Some bad decisions constantly being made by them, all in the name of profit. What about human suffering and medical needs? Prevention? An ounce of time saves 9? etc. Sheesh ..... I don't see how some of the insurance "deciders" can look themselves in the mirror! For example, back in the 1980s I was an insurance clerk in a Family Practice office. They denied a little girls diseased tonsils being removed, because she had tonsillitis previously. Duh? Why the heck else would you take them out, because they were never a problem in the past? Lawsy .... it just makes me shake my head in disbelief, and it made me go back into printing, and forget about doing medical insurance for a living! ~tenderlee

same here.... it's more media than anything else. I was online for a while last night, finding out whatever became of Jessica Lynch, the 'big recovery'...and all of that media frenzy... I soooo much dislike television and the hyped up media! they interviewed that little Mexican boy, who had it and was down for over a week, so sick...but he recovered and he's in Mexico, on a pig farm... he wasn't the first but he was the first they could do a mucous test on, so they knew he really had it. you ain'ta gonna die one day before your time is up... might as well enjoy everyday you have and make the most of it. drink lots of water!...but not in Mexico.

A little girl age 6 just died here in San Diego from swine flu. That being said, I will not get the vaccine, nor will I get it for my 7 year old. She's had the regular flu many times, and just as my parents did when I was a kid, you treat it with common sense. When she got the flu three weeks ago and missed three days of school I called her doctor to see what he thought. He said to let it run its course as long as she did not exhibit symptoms like shortness of breath, inability to drink/eat/go to the bathroom, etc. She recovered just fine. I've never had the flu shot, and neither has my daughter, and unless something drastically changes, we will never get the shots. She is fully immunized, btw. I just never saw the benefit to the shot since everyone I know who got it always got sick after, sometimes really really really sick! And I get it once a year, or once every other year, or sometimes twice a year, but I figure that's normal. Wash hands. Practice good hygiene. Cover your sneeze. Don't panic.