Oink Oink
I got into a disagreement today with a friend about the dreaded swine flu and whether or not to get vaccinated. This might be a moot point by now because I’m pretty sure peeps all around town are running out of the vaccine so it probably doesn’t matter and I guess I have no options and am looking imminent death straight in the eyeball. It’s just that…I’m not concerned about it.
Is that wrong?
Is that my sense-of-invincibility youth talking?
Is that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?
Eeeeeeek.
JUDGE ME. GO AHEAD. I’m serious. Let’s talk about this rationally.
A little background for you about my experience w/ vaccinations:
I have been vaccinated for everything that is…mandatory. (Who mandates these things? The state? The federal government? I am grossly uninformed.) She will correct me if I’m wrong but my mother spaced out our vaccinations as best she could and declined to have us vaccinated for “optional” things. I remember her dropping me off at the doctor for my last physical before leaving for college and her warning me to say no to everything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
Sure enough, I got a lecture that went on for decades about meningitis and how it is EXTREMELY RISKY and RAMPANT IN COLLEGE DORMITORIES and how I was probably going to die and HERE’S A PAMPHLET ALL ABOUT IT. I persistently declined, nearly in tears, remembering my mother’s words and not really understanding either way. If it was deadly, shouldn’t I get a vaccine? Or was the vaccine going to kill me? What the HELL?
I actually knew a girl who died of meningitis. But not in college. Here in New York City. She went to the ER with a fever and stiff neck, begged for a spinal tap just in case it was meningitis and was sent home to bed, where she died.
That story haunts me. Especially because I saw her at an audition a few weeks before she died. She was so young and so pretty and now I’m getting off track because I suddenly feel the need to get a meningitis vaccine. Oh my.
Point is, I’m not anti-vaccination. I completely understand the point of them and have been vaccinated accordingly. I just don’t get the “optional” stuff. As in, I have never gotten a flu shot in my entire life. It’s not how I roll. But is that just..stupid? Hubris? AWESOME?
And as far as swine flu goes…
I just.
I don’t know.
As far as I know, the twins have not been vaccinated for it and those are the only kids I’m around on a somewhat regular basis. In fact, they haven’t even been vaccinated for the chicken pox and about a month ago, because of this reason, they were kicked out of school for two weeks. Did you know that? That if your child attends a New York City public school and ONE kid in the ENTIRE SCHOOL, ONE KID! gets chicken pox, your child/children are sent home to be quarantined for two weeks if they haven’t been vaccinated?
What?
I didn’t know that was legal.
And so the twins have to get the chicken pox vaccine and that’s just weird to me because…well. I didn’t realize chicken pox was such a big risk. Uh, like, I had it in kindergarten and missed some school and I have a scar on my scalp from it but…is it really that serious? Polio, I totally get it. Chicken pox? Wha?
The swine flu is a bit different because I’m obviously hearing that people ARE dying from it though I was a little misguided as to who is really at risk here. I was under the impression that pregnant women were considered VERY high risk as well as the very young and the very old. But today, my friend was all, I JUST SAW ON THE NEWS THAT A HEALTHY 35 YEAR OLD IS IN A COMA! And a healthy 28 year old got a fever at his desk at work and had to be airlifted to the ICU!
And I didn’t know what to do with that information.
Because I got a little scared.
Because, UM, WHAT?
And of course, my friend followed it up with, SOOOOOOOOOO GLAD I GOT THAT SHOT!
And I felt extremely defensive because what is the appropriate response here?
“SOOOOOOOO GLAD I DIDN’T AND NOW AM GOING TO DIE/FALL INTO A COMA/GET AIRLIFTED TO THE ICU/LOSE MY ANKLES TO AMPUTATION!”
!?
I’m not sure. It made me reconsider my option to NOT get the vaccine.
Though like I said, it’s probably a bit late now. My office has run out of it and so has the Actor’s Fund clinic.
Am I relying too much on the fact that I’m young, healthy and wash my hands with soap and warm water regularly, scrubbing between the fingers and under the nails for approximately 15-20 seconds, about the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice through, I know this because I actually do sing it out loud in public restrooms while I wash??
What do you think?
Should I reconsider my I AM TOO GOOD FOR SWINE FLU stance?
Do I trust a vaccine that some dude whipped up in like a week and got paid MAD CASH for?
If I was pregnant or around small children, I think I definitely would get it so HEY, I am not judging you, okay? I love you. All of you pregnant/small children that read this blog.
Just…I don’t know if that vaccine is a good choice for me.
What do you think? YOUR TURN. Lay it on me. You’re all WAY smarter than I am anyhow.
You should get the vaccine if you can. No research or documentation to offer you, but it is supposed to be harder on young healthy people, and I won’t get one so you can have mine (i am 56, and will live thru it). OK?
Now, are you going to do this by popular demand? So if 3 answer, “do it!” and 4 say “don’t!” you won’t? maybe you should do some research…. But I am glad you are not scared, scared is a waste of time. Scared is for 5 seconds, when you hear a rattlesnake, and determine your next action quickly, it is not a good long term place to be.
It is a personal decision. In med school now - not doing research on it myself, but from what I have heard, it is basically the same as the reg flu vaccine, just with a diff strain of flu inserted…and reg flu vaccine is fairly safe. If you decide to get it, try to get the shot and not the spray…shot has dead vaccine; spray is a very weakened live vaccine so the shot is probably safer…
I read your blog sometimes bc it’s entertaining
…I never comment but thought I would bc this has effected me lately. A woman at my school just lost her 15 yr old daughter to complications of swine flu…it was horrible. Not saying based on this one event, you or anyone else should make a decision, but it is unbelievable when it strikes so close…
So to vaccinate or not to vaccinate that is the question…
I’m prob going to get it…I think I have to for school anyway…good luck!
Maggie - Oh am I laughing at “Scared is for five seconds when you hear a rattlesnake!” Words to live by! Of course, I will do some adequate research before making a decision. I just figured I would ask the blogosphere while I wait and decide…:)
LaLa - 15 year old daughter!? OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HORRENDOUS! That is so sad. I hate this swine flu.
Regular flu kills about 40,000 people every year in the USA alone. Worldwide deaths from swine flu in 2009 are currently “only” at around 7,000. Seems like the swine flu scare is pretty overblown, to me. Of course, the real issue is what swine flu’s death rate is versus regular flu. The data isn’t in on that, yet, but so far it doesn’t appear to be any more virulent than regular flu. I’m not getting the vaccine, myself, but I am in no way encouraging anyone else to follow my example.
Not that I worry about stuff like this for a living or anything (okay, yes I do) but I can tell you this: Anyone who gets a vaccine and is not in the “high risk” category takes the vaccine out of the hands (or arm as it were) of someone who really SHOULD get it. You know, like little kids and pregnant women.
You might get H1N1. You might even die from it. But then you could also die from about a thousand other things. Oh, but here’s the other good news oh City-dweller friend…thanks to all those nasty germs you are regularly exposed to your immune system actually has a clue what to do with the virus all on its own. Your sassy, funny, 26 year old self is not in the “target” group and frankly 25 is sort of pushing that limit anyway. But first graders? Oh yes.
So do me a favor an whap that friend of yours upside the head - because they took the vaccine from one of the millions of people who REALLY REALLY REALLY need to get it. And that’s just selfish.
To me it all sounds like fear. It is better to build your immune system in various ways and when you have symptoms of the flu go to a doctor and be monitored. Yes, the deaths are proportionately small with swine flu than to the flu each year. One death is sad enough. However, it’s a fact of life. I just sense that there is this constant, “Let’s keep on top of things and everyone will be well forever.” Hmmmm, not realistic and not possible. We ain’t in control and if you even think you are, you could be mistaken.
Next year it will be some other strain of flu…and the next year…and the next year. We are anti-bacterialling (What kind of word is THAT?)ourselves to more resistant microbes. Those who work in hospitals are keeping mum about MRSA, CDIFF and other biotic resistant diseases that are REALLY killing people. A friend of mine could not believe the line out the ER door and around the block last year from the first scare of swine flu. People were wearing masks, some with the type the military would use! She was exhausted from processing the admissions for those who had the slightest symptoms. All along she wasn’t even protected herself. She just couldn’t believe how afraid those people were.
Building up resistance can do more for the population than killing every germ you can name and find.
Just my take. I stand by my anti-vaccination stance. Bombarding your system with stuff just sounds stupid. Time for bed!
Because there’s a shortage of H1N1 vaccines, only get one if you fall in a high risk group because there are definitely people who need it more. Of course, that sort of altruism plays negatively on the “honest” people of the world, particularly when you see certain financial institutions acquiring vaccinations for their executive staff. Because they are so important and all that.
Having had the swine flu, I can say with certainty that, if I had access to the vaccination I would have gotten it, hands down. As for the virulence of this particular strain, all I can offer is anecdotal evidence in that when one member of a family gets it, the whole house is taken down. It’s been sweeping through school and work like a friggin’ wildfire and very few are escaping it. Those novel viruses have that affect.
Is it dangerous? In some cases yes, but it’s also not something you want to get if you can avoid it, unless you like being miserably sick. And hand washing really isn’t going to do the trick - you need people avoidance. We’re going on two weeks now and I’m still coughing up a lung and not feeling good. Emma now has a raging ear infection and has been beyond miserable with fever, headache and stomache ache going on 12 days now. Rates of absence in our kids school is at an all time high.
Anyway, if you can gain immunity and avoid getting the actual flu by getting vaccinated, don’t think twice about it. Just do it.
I don’t get the chicken pox quarantine thing. I thought we wanted kids to get chicken pox while they’re young, since it’s worse for adults.
Funny, not too long ago I wrote a post with the exact same title! Cute
I certainly hope that you come to the decision that is right for you, as that is all it can be. It is your body, and your decision.
Maybe there’s something I don’t know, but Debbiy, the last part of your post was a tad offensive. We don’t actually know what Laura’s friend’s health history is like, or why she got the shot.
Laura, I loooove your blog! Your writing is hilarious, and I am totally addicted!
When I was in kindergarten my sisters and I all caught chicken pox. However, my youngest sibs who weren’t born at that point got the vaccine before starting school. They started promoting the vaccine because the virus that causes chicken pox in kids also causes shingles in older people. Shingles is a more painful, more serious expression of the virus, and if you had chicken pox then the virus never left your body, it’s just sitting dormant and could become active again when you’re older. So, conventional wisdom has changed from letting kids contract chicken pox and build up an immunity to figuring out a way for kids to avoid the virus entirely.
I’m anti- flu shot and anti-scaremongering. I know three people who have had swine flu in the past few weeks and, uh, none of them died. They just had the flu and it sucked. I stayed away from them.
I’m sure otherwise-healthy people have died from it, but people die from all kinds of random crap. That doesn’t mean I have to go to agonizing lengths to protect myself from all of it.
And seriously, people! It’s freakin’ chicken pox! It’s a right of passage!
p.s. Alex– good point about chicken pox and shingles! That does make sense.
YOU GUYS! - Oh man! Such interesting stuff and Deanna, I DID NOT KNOW YOU HAD SWINE FLU!? Oh maaaaaaaaaan. I am sorry. I have been reading up and despite healthy young peeps like me dying, I really am not considered high risk. I do not take aspirin, do not have lung/breathing problems, am not pregnant, etc. So for now, I’m thinking I shall decline and maybe I can get my mom to pray over me. ANYONE?
However, as I stated in the post, no one has any swine flu vaccine left that I know of anyhow. To Deanna and Debbiy’s point about a shortage, it’s probably true that I would be taking the vaccine from someone else who could use it. It’s also true that Big Financial Company I Work For made it available to all their employees, regardless of risk. (GOTTA VACCINATE THOSE CEO’S YO!) It’s ALSO true that the friend I argued with has diabetes so he is actually in the high risk category.
I pretty much have the frailest immune system in the history of the universe and I Just Say No to unnecessary vaccines. First of all, my immune system sucks so bad that the vaccine would probably make me pretty sick. But I never get the flu shot. Nothing against those of you who get it and clearly I understand those at higher risk getting it, but it seems almost pointless. There are so many different strains of the flu and they are constantly mutating, so there is no way to keep track of it. So you could go and get vaccinated and just get beat down by a different flu. Also, to Tim’s point, regular flu kills tens of thousands of people each year…along with countless other ailments out there. Point being…right on Laura! Don’t give in to the scare tactics. Also, my mom the nurse is not down with the H1N1 vaccine and fought against the state mandate that all hospital workers get it. And they won!
I got the vaccine because I’m pregnant. I won’t repost my whole blog post about it here in the comments, but… I never get optional vaccines. I never go to the dr, as I subscribe to the “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” philosophy of medical care. However, pregnancy changes these things. To me, the risk of getting H1N1 was higher than the risk of getting the vaccine. So I got it.
Abbie - I read that post on your blog and agree completely. The pregnant woman statistic is scary. PROTECT THAT BABY. And yourself, of course.
Ash - Couldn’t agree more. And WOWSAS! I feel strangely confident that your mom is anti the vaccine as a nurse, no less. Yeah, man. I’m thinking no swine flu vaccine for me.
Oh, also wanted to add that a week after I got the vaccine, 4 teachers in my department were sick, and many many students. My vaccine wasn’t effective yet, but I didn’t get it. I believe I have a strong immune system because I was regularly exposed to animals and dirt as a child (and adult) and also because I’ve been teaching for 7 years, so I have a Super-Farmkid/Teacher combination of immunity. But still, I got the vaccine cause of the baby. And as a science person, it’s nice to talk about who we know that got the flu, etc., but that kind of anecdotal evidence doesn’t prove anything… Just food for thought. Me knowing 4 people that got it and survived is not proof that swine flu doesn’t kill people, and it’s certainly not statistically significant.
Wow, the method of approach to chicken pox has changed dramatically since my youth. That fascinates me. So, I have the chicken pox virus in my system to this day and it could one day become shingles. Huh. I guess it’s just more company for those cute little demodicids.
Viruses are so weird. They’re not even considered to be alive. Bacteria? Alive. Virus? Not alive. One theory is that they’re escaped genes. They’re just programed to replicate themselves and make life for the actually living suck just a little bit more. Weird, eh?
Oh, and I agree with Pony re: addiction to Laura’s blog. Laura’s blog is like being hurled into an airplane propeller… of awesomeness.
The big financial companies getting the vaccine did not go over well in the medical community. There is some investigation into the vaccine distribution process as a whole as many experts believe the shortages should have triggered a different distribution.
Pony’s point is well taken and I apologize for not considering that your friend may have had an underlying condition that made them a candidate. So whether or not to get the vaccine should be a serious conversation between you and your medical provider (although diabetes is considered a border condition - it depends on what type and how well it is managed.)
But to echo the joy of your blog - I’m hooked in part because you actually PONDER things like this. And apparently you love tomatoes.
I am so not for it either!!! they pushed that vaccine through in less then a years time? How do they know anything about the long term effects? And did you know that some of the flu shots are live viruses! like the nose spray! So people are getting sick from getting the vaccine, no need for the extra stuff to be bumped in your body if it does not solve a problem!
okay, i’m a terrible pregnant lady b/c i have not and am not planning to receive the swine flu vaccine. i’ve had conversations with my OB/GYN and sister (who is a pediatric nurse) and both feel that the recent swine flu resurgence (b/c, remember, we have seen this virus in the U.S. before) is NOT a pandemic or nearly as widespread as the media would like us to believe.
i’m not crazy about putting strange stuff in my body (hypocritical admission: i’m take SIX pills per day due to pregnancy and i did receive the standard flu vaccine) and even though i do, or want to, believe the swine flu vaccine is safe, i don’t find it necessary to introduce something else into the mix.
i know and know of people who were actually diagnosed w/ the swine flu and for them (thank jebus) it was no worse than the standard flu.
i had chicken pox as a kid and my mom was the mom who brought all of her healthy kids around sick chicken pox kids. we all had it and are perfectly fine as adults (minus all the sinning, of course). my mom never had the pox and came down with shingles a few years ago - guess what happened? she was out of work for a week or two, was in pain, took some drugs and recovered completely.
basically i haven’t seen enough to make me want to run out for the vaccine. even though i received the regular flu vaccine, i realize that it may not protect me at all if i come down with a strain that differs from the one in my shot.
oh - and another fun mom story. my mom had seven kids, 14 grandkids and was a kindergarden teacher for years - she has NEVER GOTTEN A FLU SHOT in all of her 69 years!!! i was horrified when i heard this, but realized that she’s probably immune to every illness there is. so after humanity is wiped out by some horrific pandemic, there will be cockroaches… and moms.
OMG REGINA! I love you. And your pregnant self! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! So crazy about your mom!