The Swine Flu Shot a Waste of Time!

[OakLeaf]

I had to get the seasonal flu shot for work, and to me that was a dangerous waste.

It's true, rolling out the swine flu vaccine while the virus is already circulating widely isn't the ideal situation, but you may as well close the barn door while some of the horses are still inside, eh?

Did your friends get the flu more than two weeks after their shot (i.e. after enough time had passed that the shot should have worked), or was it just a matter of timing? Did they get the DNA test (not that I think seasonal flu is circulating anywhere, but still)?

I used to get the flu every year when I was young. Sure, I don't have a full-time job and I don't have any kids, so being in bed for two weeks isn't as big a deal to me as it is to most people. Still, it's not a whole lot of fun, and of course physically the rule of thumb is that for every week you spend in bed, it takes a month to recover. But as a general rule I might get a flu shot every 3-4 years. I agree though, I don't think that mass vaccination for something that's basically minor, is a good idea. Protect the ones for whom it could become a major illness; vaccinate against devastating (and non-fast-mutating) diseases like polio. And for crying out loud, devote half the resources to a freakin' malaria vaccine as are being devoted to the stupid flu right now.

Still, I said in the other thread - if I hadn't had to get the seasonal flu shot, I'd have been all over the swine flu shot as soon as it became available. I definitely don't need to be in bed for 3-4 weeks like everyone I know who's had the swine flu. But I'm very, very hesitant to get two vaccines in quick succession.

Truth is, with travel and the holidays coming up, I'll probably take the coward's way and get the shot. I don't know whether it's best to get it as soon as it's available to me though, or whether I should wait until the inflammation from the seasonal flu shot is completely gone...