His and Her Health

Evidently, flu activity is widespread in 46 states and occurrences are already well above average. Has anyone been vaccinated for either the common flu or H1N1? The CDC provides good resources to learn more about H1N1 vaccinations:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/general.htm

Stay healthy everyone!

The Society for Women's Health Research's Op-Ed "Do Women Need Such Big Flu Shots?" about how swine flu vaccine may be different for women is in New York Times today. Women and men are different, so their dosage of flu vaccine may need to be as well!

Here is an excerpt from the article and an interesting argument:

"Under the current guidelines, men and women are to get equal-sized doses of the H1N1 vaccine. Yet women's bodies generate a stronger antibody response than men's do, research shows, so less vaccine may be needed to immunize them. If we could give women a smaller dose, there would be more vaccine to go around. And we might also spare them the mild side effects that vaccines can cause, like pain at the injection site, inflammation and fever. All of these are more common in women than in men."

Here is the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/opinion/28klein.html

On Monday, the FDA approved an additional vaccine for H1N1: www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnn...ements/ucm190783.htm

Has anyone received their flu shots? If so, did you have to wait for it to become available? Have you experienced any side effects?