Will you get immunized against the swine flu?

[dessa_dangerous 13,315]

I suppose the options given on the poll somewhat reflect my own attitude on the matter, so for those of you who had alternative answers, thanks for posting them here.

 

I do not intend to get immunized against this flu because I do not get immunized against any flu, and I never catch the flu. I think I've had the flu once or twice in my entire life. The point Freising made about keeping the flu contained is a good one--the best one a reasonably healthy, childless person with no other dependents could consider.

 

A certain acquired resistance to fear-mongering also comes into play here as, being an American citizen, I have been told for the last eight years not only when to be scared but how scared to be, when to buy duct tape, when not to go to a baseball game, which countries to fly to, whose cows I can eat. I'm sick of it, and I don't intend to be told which illnesses to be afraid of as well. If statistics and projections are to be believed, H1N1 will affect fewer and kill fewer people this year than the normal flu does, and as previously mentioned, I don't immunize myself against that either.

 

The "pizens, the PIIIIIZENS!" that may or may not be in it are not a factor.

 

IMO everyone should remain level-headed about this thing. Hysteria is contagious and both attitudes--"get the shot or we're all gonna die", and "don't get the shot because of the piiiiizens"--are dangerous in large quantities.

[Steven192 272]

 

Did you get any side effect from the shot? I'm thinking about getting it, but I didn't get any info how and where to get it.

 

Sore arm where the needle went in and a bit of muscle stiffness in the same shoulder. Lasted about 2 days and that was it.

 

I just googled "Schweinegrippe impfung Duesseldorf" (you might want to put Berlin ) and got the address of the only place they are doing it here.

 

Went along - showed my krankenkasse card and filled out the form (6 tick the box questions) and that was it. Took about 30 mins all told.

[bostonkat 4]

H1N1 is killing people. Quite a lot of people. I am most worried about my babies getting it.

My otherwise healthy mother had it this past spring and was VERY sick for a VERY long time.

[Mariposa 1,281]

 

I suppose the options given on the poll somewhat reflect my own attitude on the matter, so for those of you who had alternative answers, thanks for posting them here.

 

I do not intend to get immunized against this flu because I do not get immunized against any flu, and I never catch the flu. I think I've had the flu once or twice in my entire life. The point Freising made about keeping the flu contained is a good one--the best one a reasonably healthy, childless person with no other dependents could consider.

 

A certain acquired resistance to fear-mongering also comes into play here as, being an American citizen, I have been told for the last eight years not only when to be scared but how scared to be, when to buy duct tape, when not to go to a baseball game, which countries to fly to, whose cows I can eat. I'm sick of it, and I don't intend to be told which illnesses to be afraid of as well. If statistics and projections are to be believed, H1N1 will affect fewer and kill fewer people this year than the normal flu does, and as previously mentioned, I don't immunize myself against that either.

 

The "pizens, the PIIIIIZENS!" that may or may not be in it are not a factor.

 

IMO everyone should remain level-headed about this thing. Hysteria is contagious and both attitudes--"get the shot or we're all gonna die", and "don't get the shot because of the piiiiizens"--are dangerous in large quantities.

 

I agree with you. I've never gotten a flu shot and never had the flu in my entire life. I am not getting the regular or swine flu shot this year. I'm in no risk group and I don't really have any contact with risk groups (except passing in the street).

[cinzia 2,643]

I'm recovered from H1N1 now, but it lasted over two weeks, which is a long time for me to be sick. I was ambulatory except for the first two or three days, but I spiked a low fever almost every afternoon/evening during that two weeks. My husband and daughter didn't catch it, and I think we're well past the incubation period. Whew!

 

If you know ahead of time whether you're likely to have a mild case or not, it would be a lot easier to decide whether or not to get vaccinated, but my understanding is that a lot of people seem to get sick all out of proportion to the state of their health.

 

By the way, vaccination rates will be much lower in the US than formerly expected, because of the delay in getting the vaccine to clinics. Lots of people got the virus while waiting for the vaccine.

[Bipa 5,814]

Where's the tick box for "not sure, haven't made up my mind yet"?

 

Was chatting with my Dad recently, and he had some interesting info to pass on. According to his doctor, the swine flu is similar to another flu bug that was going around back in the 1950s in Toronto. (and I assume all of North America). Anyone who was alive back in the 1950s should/could/maybe already have some immunity to this one, which puts them in a lower risk category.

 

Fewer Senior Swine Flu Cases May Hint At Protection

 

 

"One of the alternate possibilities of course is that it is an infection that is primarily going to younger people because there may be something about older people which is preventing them from being infected."

 

Scientists at the CDC have been working since the epidemic's earliest days to identify that something. They have glimpsed what are, in effect, its footprints: evidence that people aged 60 and older have a preexisting immune-system component that reacts to the novel strain of flu.

 

The phenomenon, called cross-reactive antibody, does not mean that older people were infected in the past by this exact strain of flu. Rather, their blood contains proteins that were produced by their immune systems when they were infected by a different strain of H1N1, and that also react more weakly to the current strain.

 

The reaction may be so weak that it represents only a laboratory result and not any real-world protection, Dr. Carolyn Bridges, associate director of epidemiologic science in the CDC's influenza division, cautioned in an interview.

 

see also:

Study Explains Immunity to H1N1 in Older People - Reuters, Oct 14, 2009

[Clapoti 65]

 

Sore arm where the needle went in and a bit of muscle stiffness in the same shoulder. Lasted about 2 days and that was it.

 

I just googled "Schweinegrippe impfung Duesseldorf" (you might want to put Berlin ) and got the address of the only place they are doing it here.

 

Went along - showed my krankenkasse card and filled out the form (6 tick the box questions) and that was it. Took about 30 mins all told.

 

Thanks for the info :)

[fraufruit 42,671]

I had the swine flu jab during the 1976 pandemic because pregnant women were advised to have it. No apparant side effects for me or my son 33 yrs. later. Some sources say that those who had the swine flu in 1957 or 1976 may have more resistance to it. I don't know about those who had the vaccines. It was a slightly different strain.

 

I want to get this one only because I will be visiting my elderly parents in Dec. and don't want to carry the swine flu into their home in case I pick it up on the flight, etc. One can be a carrier without having symptoms.

[cinzia 2,643]

Not to discourage you from getting the vaccine if you want it, fraufruit, but the elderly are not considered particularly vulnerable to this flu, for once, unlike the seasonal flu:

 

 

The new 2009 H1N1 virus does not seem to be affecting people 65 years and older in the same way that seasonal flu usually does. Most people who have gotten sick from this new virus have been younger. In fact, people 65 and older are the group that is least likely to get infected with this new virus. There have been relatively few infections and even fewer cases of serious illness and death with this new virus in people older than 65. Laboratory tests on blood samples indicate that older people likely have some pre-existing immunity to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. But while people 65 and older are the least likely to be infected with 2009 H1N1 flu, those that do become infected are at greater risk of having serious complications from their illness.

On the other hand, you don't want your own holidays to be spoiled by H1N1.

[leeza 1,895]

I usually don't get the regular flu shot because I had a bad reaction to one many years ago, and that kinda freaked me out and put me off. But I have two illnesses which put me in the high-risk group and my doctor is pushing me hard to get it. I am also seriously considering getting my 8 year old son vaccinated as well. His father doesn't want him to have it and has been swayed by some of the "poison" propaganda, so I need to sit down and go through the research with him to put him at ease and see if we can come to an agreement.

 

The thing that freaks me out a bit is that healthy children are dying from this. When I mentioned it to the ex, he said, "Healthy kids die in car accidents every day," and I said, "Well, that doesn't keep us from not putting on [our son's] seat belt when we drive with him, does it?" Basically, I know if my boy got seriously ill or died and I could have vaccinated him, I could never live with myself.

[rabtazers 23]

Vitamin D (5000 IU per day) to prevent it, Sambucol (elderberry extract) to treat it if you get it.

 

That's what the hippies say and I'm going along with it.

[cinzia 2,643]

Show me the double-blind clinical studies that show that a vitamin will prevent a viral infection, rabtazers.

 

A friend of mine phoned me yesterday. She had vaccinated her kids (ages 4 and 8) against H1N1 on Saturday. She told another friend (a known sceptic about vaccinations) that the kids had been vaccinated, and the friend said, "Oh, if you feel that's really the right thing to do."

 

So friend phoned me Monday for "reassurance" that she really had done the right thing. I asked her if the kids had any adverse reactions to the vaccine (given 36+ hours before), and she said no, other than soreness at the vaccination site.

 

How could she let an anti-vaccine person upset her even AFTER her children have gotten the vaccine with no ill effects? People are really emotional about this issue.

 

As usual, parents are in the middle. Some people will call you a bad parent for vaccinating, and some people will call you a bad parent for not vaccinating.

[Freakster 91]

This is a cool H1N1 flu map. You can zoom into your individual town/city/region and see how many cases there are where you work and live. According to this map (which is correct for my city as I cross-referenced the data) there has been 1 confirmed non-fatal case in my entire city (which was in May), so I don't deem it necessary to risk the possible side affects of the vaccine based on the small odds we would even contract it. However if the numbers locally start to rapidly rise, then we would do a new risk assessment.

 

http://flutracker.rhizalabs.com/

[Steven192 272]

Nice map but not sure on the numbers.

 

It gives a total of 28 for Duesseldorf but when you read the reports it says 52 cases.

 

Is it updated as the radio news is reporting a huge jump in the number of cases this week.

[Jimbo 1,269]

 

You forgotNo, because I have already had H1N1 and survived it.

 

As well as 'No, because I have had H1N1 and not survived' - though I think it's fair to say that we perhaps don't need to differentiate between dead voters and still living ones as, well, dead people don't often surf the net.

[sparkling 132]

A friend suggested washing the mouth and nose with salt water twice a day to kill the bugs. Any ideas?

[andyandy 1,120]

Nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense.

Nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense.

Oh yea, and nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense nonsense.

 

Where to start, where to start...firstly, how would you do this? Put your head in a bucket of brine and sniff? Salt water isn't gonna kill anything in your nose, let alone the flu virus. Sodium chloride and water are part of your mucous membranes anyway, and they're full of bacteria all the time. Even if it did kill the flu virus (it wouldn't), it'd also kill a load of the other bacteria etc living there too, leaving you prone to other opportunistic infections.

 

What about the rest of your respiratory system? Pulmonary lavage anyone? Put your head in the sea and inhale salt water until your lungs are thoroughly wet. Have a friend handy to resuscitate you, and if you don't drown, no flu!

 

What about your cells that are already infected? Are we killing those too?

[NoBullJim 3,685]

Well, I think I have something right now. Whole body is soar (like being run over by a truck). upset stomach, headache, no appetite, and can't get comfortable. Still I won't be getting jabbed and I also don't medicate. Just going to let it run its course. So, if you don't hear from me or see me logged in....send a mobile refridgerator. :P

[andyandy 1,120]

Alright guys...listen up. I'm gonna tell you what BIG PHARMA and the GOVERNMENT don't want you to know.

 

There's actually already a way to kill the swine flu virus that's been known for at least a hundred years, but the government won't tell you this because all they care about is profit profit PROFIT! Bleach. That's right, simple household bleach. Bleach kills 99.99% of all known germs and is available in your supermarket for a fraction of the price of Tamiflu or the flu vaccine. By simply ingesting, insufflating and injecting household bleach you can kill the swine flu virus dead...GUARANTEED!

 

But the government and pharmaceutical companies don't tell you this...why? Because there's no profit in bleach! Instead they insist that you get vaccinated at a cost of hundreds of dollars per person to make sure the rich keep getting richer. Oh, and the vaccines also contain mercury, a toxic heavy metal that they include in order to poison the population. Peer-reviewed scientific literature my erse...THEY WANT TO KILL YOU! Wait, why do they want to kill us? Oh yea, cos they're evil and greedy and <insert crackpot theory as to why it's in the interest of either the government or pharma to poison people here>.

 

I know this is hard to believe, but just take a look at this! <insert link to video on youtube that either (i) doesn't work or (ii) has some borderline crazy academic with a minority opinion that he just has to share with the world>. Proof if proof be needed!

 

Disclaimer: Any perennially gullible readers should note that I'm not actually suggesting ingesting or otherwise introducing bleach into your body. This would almost certainly be harmful.

[mlovett 8,681]

Someone in my local mom club just advertised a "swine flu party" at her house, as a way of immunizing your kids, as hers are infected. Uh... no thanks; the time is rather inconvenient, as I'll be busy douching with bleach. :lol: