Many younger parents are wary of the 2009 H1N1 (Swine flu) vaccine for their children. They need not be.The Los Angeles Times is reporting on the ambivalence of many parents regarding vaccinating their children for the H1N1 virus, noting, “physicians say they are hearing young parents — many of whom have neither seen nor suffered any of the once-common diseases of childhood — express doubts about inoculating their children against the novel strain of influenza.
This new generation of vaccine skeptics has been forged by the stubbornly persistent belief — discredited by a welter of studies — in a link between vaccines and autism.
And it is further fueled by a combustible mix of distrust of drug manufacturers, media outlets, and the federal government.
Although many family physicians and pediatricians are readying stern lectures in support of vaccinating children, a few contacted by The Times acknowledged they have doubts about recommending a vaccine that is still in testing for all of their young patients.
My sense is as the results of the testing become available, virtually all doctors will recommend the vaccine. Why? It looks like it’s just as safe, and even more effective, than the seasonal flu vaccine.
Here are other blogs in this series you might find useful:

• Will the Swine Flu Vaccine be safe?
• Separating Swine Flu Myths From Facts
• More on the Risks of Not Vaccinating Your Children
• Parents continue to have unwarranted fears and delusions about pediatric vaccines
• Radio Listeners ‘Angry as Hornets’ About Dr. Walt’s Comments on Childhood Vaccination
• Doctors Debate Delayed Vaccine Schedule
• Vaccine Myth #1: Vaccines Cause Autism
  • Special court rules against families who claim vaccines caused autism
• Vaccine Myth #2: Vaccines Don’t Work
• Vaccine Myth #3: Vaccines Aren’t Necessary
• Vaccine Myth #4: Vaccines Are Unsafe
• Vaccine Myth #5: Infants Are Too Young to Get Vaccinated
• Vaccine Myth #6: It’s Better to Be Naturally Infected Than Immunized
• Vaccine Myth #7: Vaccines Weaken the Immune System
• Vaccine Myth #8: A Preservative Contained in Many Vaccines Harms Children
• Vaccine Myth #9: Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Occur More Often in Vaccinated People Than in Unvaccinated People
• Vaccine Myth #10: Vaccines, If Administered during the First Two Years of Life, Can Cause Diabetes
• Vaccine Myth #11: The DTP Vaccine Caused Deafness in the 1994 Miss America Beauty Pageant Winner
• Vaccine Myth #12: The Polio Virus Vaccine Is Contaminated with a Virus That Causes Cancer
• Vaccine Myth #13: Vaccinations are made from aborted babies
  • Doctors and Families Asked to “Just Say no to New Aborted Fetal Vaccine