SHE got two of her young children vaccinated for H1N1, though one of them screamed while getting the shot.

Mrs Elizabeth Pang, 27, who has three children, felt it was better to be protected.

On Friday, the customer service executive took her children to get their jabs at the Healthway Anchorvale Clinic, just a few blocks from their flat.

Her children are among the first to be vaccinated for H1N1, after the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it was safe for those from 6 months to do so last week.

MOH has advised vaccination now that the holidays are ending, and students are returning to school, many after travels overseas.

Mrs Pang’s son Garren, 6, was the first to get his shot. He didn’t mind and even smiled for the camera.

But his sister Gabrielle, 4, appeared nervous.

She hugged her mother tight while she watched her brother get his shot and cried when it was her turn.

Mrs Pang’s younger daughter, Gabbi, 1, had a fever, and so did not get vaccinated on Friday.

But she will get her shot when she recovers, said Mrs Pang. “If one of my children gets sick, the illness will definitely get passed to the others. I feel it’s better to prevent the illness altogether,” she said.

Mrs Pang and her husband, 31, will also get vaccinated next week, through their company doctors.

She has heard about the reported side effects of getting the vaccine, such as fever, rashes and nausea.

But she said this was “to be expected” from any sort of vaccination.‘Kiasu’ but ‘cautious’

Madam Ng Suan Hoo, 59, let her grandson Edgar Borst Pauwels, 5, get his H1N1 vaccination on Thursday.

On Friday, Edgar was happy to show us the area on his arm where he received the shot. There was mild swelling, but he was not bothered.

Another parent, Mrs Lee Chin Ping, 38, got her three sons, aged 12, 9, and 7, vaccinated once the green light was given.

Mrs Lee described herself as “kiasu” and “cautious”, and said she was worried because her children could be “affected by all sorts of things”.

The housewife paid $26 each, before GST, for the vaccinations at the Healthway Compassvale clinic along Compassville Link.

She said: “If there are side effects, at least it is better than getting sick.”

Before the vaccination, the H1N1 scare was a cloud that hung over Mrs Lee’s head.

She was worried about her children returning to school after the holidays.

“If one of my sons fall ill, his classmates will be affected. I don’t want this sort of hassle, and I think it’s my responsibility not to get other children involved.”

Mrs Lee and her husband, 46, also received their vaccinations a month ago, when the vaccine first became available here.

She knows the vaccine takes about two weeks to take full effect, so she is keeping her fingers crossed that nothing bad happens before then.

She said: “Once we learnt the vaccine was safe for children, we started calling clinics to see where there was stock.”

But some parents are still hesitant about letting their children get the vaccine.

Madam Woi Mei Ling, 41, said she would not let her children get the vaccine for now, even though her son has a weak immune system.

None of her family members have been vaccinated, and they are not in a hurry to do so.

The housewife, who has a daughter, 15, and a son, 11, wants to wait for two or three months, before she considers getting it for herself and her family.

She feels that the most important way to prevent H1N1 infection is to maintain good hygiene.

She ensures that her children wash their hands before meals, and after they use the bathroom.

When dining, they do not dip their own spoons or chopsticks into common dishes, to make sure diseases do not pass from one person to another.

This article was first published in The New Paper.