The Swine Flu Shot a Waste of Time!

[Zen]

This definitely is one of those personal choices, so everyone has to do what's right for them.

It essentially is a 'personal choice'. But if someone chooses not to be vaccinated then becomes ill and infects others exponentially what kind of choice is that?

[malkin]

Since I probably have H1N1 now, the question of getting the vaccine is moot.

[Tuckervill]

Feel better, Malkin.

Karen

[lo123]

It essentially is a 'personal choice'. But if someone chooses not to be vaccinated then becomes ill and infects others exponentially what kind of choice is that?

I struggle with this.. As a high risk person (severe asthma and taking multiple immunosuppressive drugs), I want everyone to get vaccinated. However, I also have the ability to be vaccinated, so long as it's not a live vaccine. So, I have some control over the situation.

Sfa, I feel for you. I really don't know how I'd feel if I were unable to get the vaccine and knew many would not get it because it doesn't affect them.


On the other hand, I support people's right to decide for themselves. I just wish more people would make the decision I like

[Selkie]

It essentially is a 'personal choice'. But if someone chooses not to be vaccinated then becomes ill and infects others exponentially what kind of choice is that?

Then those who got sick apparently chose not to get vaccinated as well.

As I said before, it's a personal choice. I respect that and try not to judge. Now what pisses me off is when someone who is sick comes into work and spreads it around. People where I work are TOLD to stay home if they have the flu. A lot of folks ignore this, however (everyone where I work has sick leave as a benefit, so it's not like they aren't paid if they are off).

[Tuckervill]

Then those who got sick apparently chose not to get vaccinated as well.

Or they couldn't be vaccinated, for whatever reason. Like their own personal medical history, or that they are not in the group that can get the vaccine (me).

Karen

[indigoiis]

Now what pisses me off is when someone who is sick comes into work and spreads it around. People where I work are TOLD to stay home if they have the flu. A lot of folks ignore this, however (everyone where I work has sick leave as a benefit, so it's not like they aren't paid if they are off).

Yes, this bothers me too. Nothing is so important that you HAVE to come in to work coughing, sneezing, spreading germs. I don't get that!!!

[Crankin]

I'm with Eden and Knott. I had the seasonal shot for the first time in my life about a month ago. And I have had the flu; to those who say they have a "flu" you shouldn't use the words so casually. Seven days in bed, 105 fever, and a recovery that took 5-8 weeks. I am sure i had pneumonia.
I am in a high risk category, with mild asthma and I cannot find a place to get the H1N1, especially since I need the single dose shot (I'm too old for the mist) with no preservative. At this point, I am wiling to risk the reaction to the mercury because I am pretty sure if I caught it, I'd be the one in the hospital with pneumonia and be dead.
I don't have contact with kids anymore and I was born in the fifties. But I do work in a psychiatric clinic 3 days a week and use public transportation/go to grad classes twice a week. I never was a hand washer until now. Now I am obsessed.
I guess I value my life too much to say I am not getting the shot. Short from staying inside my house 24 hours a day, I think it's the best protection we have. And this is from someone who has reactions to everything.

[NbyNW]

Nothing is so important that you HAVE to come in to work coughing, sneezing, spreading germs. I don't get that!!!

+1!!!!

My boss decided last winter that it would be okay to spread her germs around the office, and the next thing you know, the rest of us were dropping like flies, AND I had the worst asthma flare-up that I've had in YEARS as a result. Took months to start feeling well again, and most of the time was not up to the kind of physical activity I would have liked.

Re: whether to get vaccinated or not, I wonder whether those who don't get the vaccine (for whatever reason -- by choice, lack of availability, or contraindicated) might be few enough and not in contact with immune-compromised people that hopefully the risk is minimized enough to deem the vaccine successful in terms of controlling the spread of the virus? (Sorry about the poor sentence construction)

[OakLeaf]

FWIW, if you don't have an anaphylactoid reaction to eating eggs, you can get the shot. I have the other type of egg allergy, and I actually tried to get a note from my allergist to get out of the seasonal flu shot - specifically so I could get the H1N1 shot without reservations - but no dice. (And I've never been asked about feather allergy, and never had an allergic reaction to a vaccine, even though feathers are the one thing that induces a very severe asthma attack for me.)

Who's saying it's going to be two+ months before the H1N1 shot will be available to the public? That's not what I'm hearing at all - in our area all first responders were vaccinated last month, pregnant women and young children are getting it right now, and we're expecting everyone who wants one will have access by the end of November.

[Tuckervill]

"Meanwhile, Tom Skinner at the CDC is hopeful that the shortage will be resolved by mid-November or early December, as the agency has projected."

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/27/swi...-shortage.html

I've heard the virus doesn't grow as fast as they thought it would in the eggs.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

"mid-November or early December"

Not far different from the "end of November" I've been hearing.... certainly not January or later.

[Tuckervill]

I heard January somewhere else. Actually, what I heard was "2010" for everyone to get fully vaccinated. But I admit it was on the news, in passing, and it could have been before they figured out how to increase production.

Karen

[Eden]

Then those who got sick apparently chose not to get vaccinated as well.

As I said before, it's a personal choice. I respect that and try not to judge. Now what pisses me off is when someone who is sick comes into work and spreads it around. People where I work are TOLD to stay home if they have the flu. A lot of folks ignore this, however (everyone where I work has sick leave as a benefit, so it's not like they aren't paid if they are off).

Some people, and these include the most vulnerable people like Sfa's son cannot get vaccinated. They rely on everyone else to get it to keep outbreaks from happening.

Not staying home when you are sick is of course stupid, but you are capable of spreading the flu virus a full day before you get any symptoms. This is by far enough time to have spread it to your co-workers - and remember flu can travel in the air, you don't necessarily have to touch a surface then touch yourself to catch it, so even the most diligent hand washing isn't an assurance that you will be safe. Do you know how many of your co-workers have vulnerable family members? Kids with asthma, elderly parents, partners in chemo? Vaccination works best when you protect the herd. If you prevent people from getting sick in the first place then they cannot spread the illness to the more vulnerable people.

[badger]

my dad has leukemia and taking chemo which has left him with virtually no immune system to speak of.

He's already gotten his shot, so I'm glad about that. I'm still sitting on the fence in regards to my taking the H1N1. I won't bother with the seasonal flu vaccine, as I just never do, but I'm a bit weary of the H1N1 simply because I would hate it to mutate like it did in 1918 and kill the young and healthy.

I also admit that, although this is a very rare side effect, I do worry about adverse effects of the shots:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh5F5wP8RdU