Reader and fellow toddler mom Monica Krachman wrote recently and asked whether we’re having our younger children vaccinated against H1N1 (aka the swine flu). I thought it interesting because her better half is a doctor yet they’re struggling with the same difficult decision as many of us about this vaccine.

It might be an understatement to say that most parents I know look upon this shot as an untested, rushed, possibly mercury-tainted potential nightmare.

I’ve yet to hear from any friends that they have or are planning to have their children get the innoculation, despite almost daily news coverage featuring photos of other parents rushing right out.

It’s bothersome that government health officials (or is certain politicians trying to cover their A’s in case of potential disaster?) have felt it necessary to report on each and every child death that has occurred with this strain. Details are fuzzy, yet it all sounds so scary. Obama’s now declared a state of emergency and parents, even doctors, are left wondering which is the right decision.

One hears anecdotes. Oprah’s Doctor Oz, for example, whose claim to fame is offering health advice, has said he left this decision to his wife, and she is not vaccinating their children. How many millions of moms will follow suit, despite the good Doc’s semi-cop out?

Over the summer, my neighbor, Gayle, told me about her niece in California. She contracted the virus while recovering from a liver transplant (I’d say that’s a major health issue) yet recovered at home within days.

My twin niece and nephew in West Virginia, nine years old, had the virus last week, one passing it to the other. They felt awful, were prescribed Tamiflu early on, and their mom says they were on the mend within 24 hours.

Both my college daughters’ roommates have had H1N1 without passing it to them – that was in September, but there’s still the entire winter to weather.

Carly, who’s at Ole Miss, reported a majority of students on her freshman dorm hall had H1N1 in the first two weeks of school, yet she didn’t catch it. We communicate a lot by Skype (where you can see each other on the computer) and it was more than a little nerve wracking for this mom as she walked the halls with her computer, showing us real time video of dozens of masked co-eds waving cheerfully from their postage-stamp sized rooms. You gotta give them credit — nothing was going to dampen their first taste of college life. At one point, Ole Miss cancelled classes for a day, and the students mostly went home (likely sneezing their way throughout the southeast). I’m not sure that was the intent of administrators.

As for our very healthy two and four year olds, we’re currently not planning to vaccinate, though we’re second guessing daily.

What’s your take on the H1N1 vaccination? Do you trust it? Do you trust the headlines?