Little interjection from a health professional. I am an infectious diseases physician, and a big fan of most vaccines, especially the seasonal influenza. I can tell you that most physicians outside of ID have no clue what to tell their patients about the H1N1 vaccine, so it’s not surprising that patients feel confused - especially when the messages coming from different bodies conflict. The H1N1 vaccine appears to be immunogenic (as measured by the surrogate marker of antibody concentration) and safe in the human studies that have been ongoing the last few months. Further, it is produced in exactly the same fashion as the seasonal influenza shots. This means the only possible wild card is the risk of antibodies to the vaccine haemagglutinen cross-reacting with a human protein.
I rate that risk as improbable, but not impossible. It is however virtually impossible that there would be a repeat of the 1976 swine flu shot-related Guillain Barre epidemic. We would have seen that by now.
BTW, yes the case fatality of H1N1 in the southern hemisphere flu season has not been terribly impressive, but what we’re seen here in Canada in the off-season grumbling pandemic is quite concerning. Even if the case fatality stays below 1%, the use of intensive care measures, intubation, and yes ECMO, could cripple cash-strapped health care systems like ours (and your VA, Medicare etc.)
So get the shot, not the flu.