When William Mullan received the H1N1 flu vaccine, he did not consider any possible side effects. Although he was not impacted by the possible side effects, many people are and remain in the dark due to lack of research on the topic. While thousands of people are getting vaccinated daily, few actually know where this vaccine came from.
Mullan, like most college students, received the shot without any prior knowledge on it, the side effects, or how it is even made. This may be a situation that you are familiar with, just how much do you know about the vaccine you are getting or the virus you are being treated for? According to Health Services representatives approximately 10% of students at Marist College have received the H1N1 vaccine, but do they really know what it is? During an interview with student and vaccine recipient William Mullan he stated “I didn’t research the shot because my parents and my doctor said it was fine, why should I think that they wouldn’t be right?” Due to thinking similar to Mullan’s, students and faculty may approach the H1N1 vaccine completely unaware of what they are receiving treatment for and just where it came from.
The H1N1 influenza, commonly referred to as “swine flu” was first detected in April 2009 according to the Center for Disease Control. With the emergence of a new virus, came the need for a new vaccine. William Mullan may have simply received the Marist-wide email announcing the arrival of H1N1 vaccines on campus, however many remain unknowledgeable as to how Marist received this vaccine. “The H1N1 vaccine is actually made in the same exact manufacturing process as the seasonal influenza vaccine” said Dr. Larry Palevsky of the New York School of Medicine. Furthermore he said that because of this, doctors uphold that because the flu vaccine has been adequately tested to be safe, it can be concluded that the H1N1 vaccine is safe.
Dr. James K Festa of St. Francis hospital attests that the flu vaccine goes through a long process before it ends up in the hands of doctors at Marist and the hospital. Yet, before Marist received the vaccine, it had to come from a distributor. Distributors such as Afluria and The Flu Initiative control where the vaccine ends up and how much of it is distributed. “The distribution of the H1N1 vaccine was first delegated for young children and those who were pregnant” said Afluria representative in during a phone interview. The company did, however, state that they are not the only distributor of the flu vaccine and therefore it cannot be assumed that the vaccine distributed by Marist came from Afluria. While being involved in distribution, Afluria is also in business with CSL Biotherapies which produces the vaccine.
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