Providing accurate information about vaccines is part of the mission statement for the National Vaccine Information Center, a non-profit organization founded in 1982.

Barbara Loe Fisher, the group's president, who we spoke with via Skype from her living room near Washington, D.C., says we simply don't know enough about the h1n1 vaccine. "We have an H1N1 vaccine that was tested for a couple of weeks on a couple of thousand people, that was not tested on the high risk groups for which its being targeted”, said Fisher. “So this database they have is not robust in terms of the people they’re saying should get it, and this is of concern to us "

And it seems more and more parents are concerned as well. Recent polls from the Associated Press have shown 38% of parents say they're unlikely to have their children vaccinated, and 72% say they're worried about side effects.

Fisher says her organization doesn't recommend against any vaccine, but with a rise in autistic and chronically ill children in recent years, she says parents need to research and decide for themselves. "I encourage everyone to get full information”, said Fisher. “Don’t just go to our website. Go to the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics website, go to all of the websites and get the information."

Meanwhile, the nation's big medical organizations are rallying behind the vaccine, overwhelmingly saying it’s as safe as the seasonal flu vaccine, and urging especially those at risk to be vaccinated.

Dr. Jeff Lamont, a pediatrician for Marshfield Clinic, says he encourages questions from patients, and especially parents. But he says when it comes to this and other vaccines, the big questions have been answered. "When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support giving the vaccine, when the American Academy of Pediatrics and Academy of Family Physicians both support giving the vaccine, when the public health department supports giving the vaccine, you have to ask what information and what source could these parents have that they feel trumps those”, said Lamont.

The medical community says there is no risk-free vaccine. But medical organizations say the risks are small and rare, while risks associated with the virus are significant. "The parents who choose not to vaccinate reduce that very small chance of a vaccine reaction to zero”, said Lamont. “But in exchange, they expose their child in a much greater and much more serious way to a very serious disease which has killed children"

Fisher agrees that H1N1 and other diseases children are vaccinated against are dangerous, but she says a better effort has to be put forth by our Government to ensure that safe means safe. "It all comes back to doing the good science”, Fisher says. “We don’t think enough good science has been done in the vaccine arena, and I think until its done, you’re going to continue to have people questioning"

Will you or your family be getting the H1N1 vaccine? Why, or why not? Post your comments below.