H1N1 Flu is a new strain of the common influenza virus that started with an outbreak in April 2009. According to an article from Associated Content written on May 18, 2009, the first death in New York City occurred on May 17, 2009 to a 55 year old man named Mitchell Weiner in Queens.

When asked for information about the spread of H1N1 Flu in New York City, Legislative Analyst of Department of Health & Mental Hygiene Jason Hansen provided a PowerPoint presentation that stated that there were 930 identified hospitalizations and 54 identified deaths in New York City from April 2009 to September 1, 2009.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the symptoms of the H1N1 flu includes include a fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Because the H1N1 flu has been spreading very fast all around the world, people everywhere is anticipating the vaccine for the flu. According to CDC the vaccine is being distributed starting October 2009.

The H1N1 vaccine will be made using the same method as the regular influenza vaccine. According to CDC there are two types of flu vaccines. The first type is the flu shot, which is injecting at inactivated virus, a version of the virus that is dead, into the body with a shot. The second type is a nasal spray vaccine, which is spraying into the nose a weakened version of the flu virus. Both types of the vaccines are supposed to create antibodies in the body, which will fight off the virus when someone actually contracts it.

Both types of the vaccine will be available for the H1N1 flu. According to the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, the flu shot is recommended for pregnant women, all health care workers, anyone between the age of 6 months and 24 years old, anyone between the age of 25 and 64 that have health conditions that may increase the complications of the H1N1 virus, and anyone that cares for babies under the age of 6 months. But according to Fox News, the nasal-spray shot should only be administered to healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49. Pregnant women, babies and the elderly should not receive these sprays because the sprays are a weakened virus and not the dead version, making it potentially dangerous.

The vaccines will be distributed in separate batches in the United States. According to the New York State Department of Health, about 16 million of the total 250 million vaccines will be distributed in New York. Department of Health & Mental Hygiene says that the vaccines in New York City will be available in doctors’ offices, 60 hospitals who will distribute to health care workers, inpatients and outpatient clinics, more than 100 community health centers, health department immunization clinics and some pharmacies.

As the vaccines are on the verge of arriving, there seems to be a controversy brewing in New York City about the safety of these new vaccines. All vaccines have side effects because you are injecting a version of the virus in to your body, but this vaccine is especially being criticized because it was made in a very short period. People are wondering if the vaccine passed enough clinical trials to be safe. One pharmacist, who wished to remain anonymous, stated although we cannot determine the safety of the vaccine yet, “vaccines take 7 years to make but this one was rushed to the market in 7 months, you decide how safe it is”.

Many people are very worried about the H1N1 virus and they cannot wait for the vaccine. Another pharmacist, Luba Soroker, said that people come in everyday asking about the H1N1 flu and the vaccine for it. When asked if the virus was as serious as people made it, she said she thinks that the flu is more similar to the seasonal flu. Ms. Soroker said that she would recommend the vaccine to the patients that fall in the recommended groups but not specifically for the healthy 25-64 year olds, who do not fall in the groups.

Another reason that the people are not sure of the vaccine is because the new vaccine contains mercury. According to an article from Associated Content, H1N1 Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury written on August 01, 2009, it has been proven that mercury in vaccines causes a rise in the number of cases of autism in children and Multiple Neurological Complications. People are afraid that the mercury in the vaccine will harm the children because a major group receiving the vaccine will be children.

Another controversy surrounding the new vaccine is the fact that the vaccine will be mandatory for health care workers in New York City. According to CBS News, the idea is that the health care workers come into contact with patients that have weakened immune systems, so the health care workers should be vaccinated so they cannot spread the disease.

According to a New York Times article, New York Health Care Workers Resist Flu Vaccine Rule, written on September 20, 2009 by Donald G. MCneil Jr., the health care workers that wanted the vaccine are happy that they are first in line for the vaccine but, many people are protesting this decision because they are worried about the side effects mentioned in this article. Also the unions do not want the vaccinations to be mandatory because they do not want companies firing their union workers for not getting vaccinated.

Angela Chu, a volunteer at Bellevue hospital in New York City, said that the health care workers at Bellevue hospital are divided in the rule that every worker has to be immunized. Some hospital staff sees the H1N1 virus as just another flu and others find it very serious.

We do not know the side effects of the new vaccine for the H1N1 flu yet, but we will soon find out because the vaccine is scheduled to come out on October 06, 2009. We have to just hope that it will do more good than harm.