Many Parents Don’t Favor Swine Flu Shots

Swine flu vaccine began arriving in doctors’ offices this week. But a poll shows that many children may not get it, though they are among the groups recommended for early vaccination. In the Associated Press-GfK poll, 59% of parents said they were likely to allow their children to get vaccinated at school. About 38 percent of parents said they were unlikely to give permission. Among all groups, about 72% said they worried about side effects from the new vaccine. No major side effects have showed up in tests so far. In a different survey, about half of parents said they didn’t think swine flu was any worse than seasonal flu. Vaccination against seasonal flu also is recommended for nearly all children. But most kids don’t get the shots. About 2.2 million doses of nasal spray vaccine for swine flu are available now. Injectable vaccine will begin to arrive next week.