Abby and I received the H1N1 vaccine today

[MaineDolFan]

^^You need to, Stink.  There are few, if any, risks. 

Put it this way - the risk of the vaccine greatly outweighs the risk of picking up this bug.  You and I are both exposed to people that could be carriers, why take the risk? 

[bsmooth]

Sorry Maine, I am glad it seems to be working for you and your family, but after being forced to take a FDA approved vaccination, that we did not really need< and seeing people get fucked up by it and some very healthy people even dying from it, you will have to excuse me for being more than a little reticent in rushing out and getting some.

[Gabriel]

Sorry Maine, I am glad it seems to be working for you and your family, but after being forced to take a FDA approved vaccination, that we did not really need< and seeing people get fucked up by it and some very healthy people even dying from it, you will have to excuse me for being more than a little reticent in rushing out and getting some.

That's fine. You or your family members might get sick, but they'll recover. As long as you're not one of these god damn idiots who refuses to get his kids vaccinated for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, etc. 

[YoFuggedaboutit]

That's fine. You or your family members might get sick, but they'll recover. As long as you're not one of these god damn idiots who refuses to get his kids vaccinated for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, etc. 

I've heard that if a kid doesn't get vaccinated for those, the school system will not admit him/her.

[Dave Gray]

Vaccinations are important to society, not just to the individual child.  Vaccinations do not work on everyone, and certain people cannot get them for whatever reason.  If enough of the population is vaccinated, we get what's called "herd immunity", where diseases are wiped out, because even if one person gets it, there aren't enough people who are susceptible, so it doesn't spread.

The medical community is in unison (as much as it can be) over the risks/rewards of vaccines, but detractors are getting equal time, due to celebrity spokespersons, unqualified to speak intelligently on the subject -- namely Jenny McCarthy.

Don't be jack-off; vaccinate your kids.  Not doing so is not only irresponsible parenting to them, but it also can result in the death of other kids who are unable to receive the vaccines.

[Pats2006]

Don't know if I am going to get this vaccine.  My son is to young to get this because he is only 4 months, I work in health care so my only concern is getting the H1N1 and taking home and getting my son sick.

[MaineDolFan]

I'm with you Pats, my largest concern isn't so much myself (although it probably should be) but my daughter getting sick.

So, straight out of the "of course this happened" files:

Saturday night I get a call from an old friend.  He is moving.  He has plenty of help unpacking his U-Haul, just had a bunch of people bail on him for the next morning.  Would I be willing to help pack the U-Haul on Sunday morning?  A friend in need...you know how it goes.

So I helped him pack up the U-Haul and off he goes.

I get a text from him about five hours later.  His girlfriend and her 2.5 year old daughter were just released from the doctor with a diagnosis of (wait for it...)

H1N1.

My friend feels fine.  Felt fine last night, woke up today feeling fine.  Me?  I woke up feeling a little punky...which could be about half a billion things.

A vaccine takes about 10 days before you're fully protected.  Sunday was day two after mine.  I am going to laugh if I wind up coming down with the pig because I helped a friend last second...8 days before the vaccine that is supposed to help had a chance to really settle into my body.

Does that fit irony...or just bad timing?  LOL.  Hopefully I won't be posting first hand accounts of h1n1 for you all to love and enjoy!

[JVides]

Go my shot 2 weeks ago.  My wife and my daughter still hadn't, went for a trip to Texas while I finished tax season, and BOTH picked up the flu.  So my wife is now better, but my 2 year old's going through the worst of it (seems better today, though).

[Gabriel]

I've heard that if a kid doesn't get vaccinated for those, the school system will not admit him/her.

I know for a fact that Broward County gives waivers for kids whose parents have "objections" to vaccines for whatever reasons. I assume it isn't the only such county in the state.

We'll continue down this idiotic path until a kid in the U.S. gets polio.

[MaineDolFan]

The problem is that these things happen from time to time and it gives the anti-vaccine people all the fire power they need to stay on their soap box:

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/42981847.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUHPYDiaK7DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

They don't see the facts and stats, they just see someone died.

[bsmooth]

That's fine. You or your family members might get sick, but they'll recover. As long as you're not one of these god damn idiots who refuses to get his kids vaccinated for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, etc. 

I do not have kids.
Also I believe there is way too much hype over this. I do not think this will reach the level of the Spanish Influenza for several reason, even without vaccinations.

[Gabriel]

I do not have kids.
Also I believe there is way too much hype over this. I do not think this will reach the level of the Spanish Influenza for several reason, even without vaccinations.

Like I said, I'm not all that worried about the swine flu vaccinations. Most people will be fine. It's the parents that keep their kids from getting vaccinated for other stuff that worry me. Seriously, polio...that's what it's going to take.

[MaineDolFan]

I do not have kids.
Also I believe there is way too much hype over this. I do not think this will reach the level of the Spanish Influenza for several reason, even without vaccinations.

86 kids (under 19) have died - in the US alone - as a direct result of H1N1 since April.  That is six months.  The death rates between April - October, a period where seasonal flu is all but dormant and any deaths are rare - is staggering.  5,000 dead in six months...in a period where people rarely die of any flu bug.

Seasonal flu usually kills less than 70 kids under 19 in an entire calendar year.

It's not overblown at all.  It shouldn't have to reach 1918 stages in order for people to see this as the threat that it is.  5,000 dead in six months should be scary enough.

This is a flu for younger people.  The virus is insidiously good at getting deep into lung tissue and causing respiratory failure.  The one treatment that would greatly help are antiviral IVs...and the FDA has yet to approve their use.

This won't be the end of the world.  It won't reach 1918 stages (unless it mutates).  But it is still a virus that the vast population will eventually get.  And with it's ability to cause havoc in areas that the seasonal flu can't even dream of...and doctors not armed with the drugs that could save you life...

Well that should at least earn your attention.

[fyo]

The strange -- and deceptive -- thing about Influenza A / H1N1 / swine flu is that in the vast majority of people, it presents LESS severe than your standard flu. In rare cases, however, it causes huge problems for an unlikely group of patients (young people with no pre-existing conditions). The mortality rate for Influenza A in that group is INSANE compared to normal flu.

So you can gamble that you (or your kids) will be one of the vast majority and odds are, you (or your kids) will be perfectly fine even if you get it... the consequences if you're unlucky, though, could be disastrous.

[MaineDolFan]

... the consequences if you're unlucky, though, could be disastrous.

Truer words have not been spoken.

What I don't understand is the reluctance to at least put this in your mind as "something to consider."  Not saying anyone on this board is this way but I've heard of so many people that think it's like catching a cold, media creation, what have you. 

It isn't that hard to simply keep an open mind.