Sarah,

I hope your son is doing better and continues to recover.

***

I get the flu shot partly for myself. I can't afford to be off work for a couple weeks, as one of my colleagues was a couple years ago. I work with young adults, and I know their handwashing isn't quite what it might be. I'm in a relatively low risk group (middle-aged woman, healthy), and I've never had the flu.

I'll get the swine flu vaccine when the people at higher risk have had opportunities to get it and it becomes available to the wider community. As I understand it, the swine flu vaccine is made with the same process that's been used for seasonal vaccines for years now; it's a proven method, safe and pretty effective for most people. Too bad they didn't know and have it ready to go to put in the seasonal shot because it would be less of a hassle for all of us.

But the other reason I get the flu shot is because it contributes to herd immunity. If we can get 90% or so of the community covered, we can reduce the chances that folks with compromised immune systems or other problems catch bugs. That means a lot to me. I want to help keep Sarah's son and others just a little safer.

One last word about vaccines: small pox. Okay, that's two words, but really, we got rid of a disease that used to kill a lot of people.

We have a chance to get rid of polio if we can get everything together. My aunt had polio in the 50s, and it still causes her problems. I'm grateful to have had the polio vaccine as a kid; none of my schoolmates got polio that I remember. What a change that was from my parents' generation!