Getting Vaccinated Pros And Cons

Two divergent views in national magazines.

The Atlantic: Does the Vaccine Matter?

Newsweek: The Long-Term Evidence for Vaccines: Vaccination does more than protect against flu. Study after study shows that keeping children safe from viruses has long-lasting, positive health benefits.

H1N1 Flu Shots

PhysOrg on making pregnant women a flu shot priority. See: Pregnancy likely to be swine flu shot priority

Pregnant women account for 6 percent of U.S. swine flu deaths since the pandemic began in April, even though they make up just 1 percent of the U.S. population.
On Wednesday a federal vaccine advisory panel is meeting to take up the question of who should be first to get swine flu shots when there aren't enough for everyone. At the top of the list are health care workers, who would be crucial to society during a bad pandemic.
But pregnant women may be near the top of the list because they have suffered and died from swine flu at disproportionately high rates.

Vaccine For Autism Related Disorders Being Tested

See TechReview: Drug Trials for Autism

Three drugs will be tested in humans to treat rare, inherited conditions that are often linked to autism: Rett syndrome, fragile X, and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Scientists hope that the new drugs, if successful in the current trials, will eventually help treat more common forms of autism, which affects about 1 in 166 children in the United States. Existing drugs are used to treat symptoms of autism, such as digestive problems and psychosis, rather than the root of the disease.