The flu.

[brinshannara]

Today, I am going to use my LJ as a soapbox.

I got my flu shot today. The Quebec government is letting people between the ages of 20 and 65 with chronic diseases (asthma, in my case) get their flu shots for H1N1 now. So I went and it was surprisingly painless and I hardly waited around.

That's not soapboxy.

What drives me crazy, and I don't know if it's just because my dad's a doctor or what, are those people who don't like vaccinations.

And by "don't like", I mean don't vaccinate their kids or themselves against actual dangerous diseases, not the people who don't like needles or what have you.

It continually astounds me to hear about people who do not want to vaccinate their children for fear of autism, cerebral palsy or risks to do with mercury and aluminum. Drives me nuts. If vaccines actually, without a doubt, caused things like autism and cerebral palsy, would they still be used? Seriously. I'm guessing not. All I've read is that there are tenuous, POTENTIAL links between these illnesses and vaccines in a small PERCENTAGE of populations.

As to mercury, yes, thimerosal (a form of mercury) is used as a preservative in some vaccines, particularly the H1N1 vaccine that I got today. Know what? You get more mercury in a can of tuna fish than you do in this particular vaccine. And do not get me started on aluminum causing Alzheimer's, because again, there isn't a direct, proven correlation. My dad worked in the aluminum industry for 20 years, doing his part for occupational health and safety of the workers. If my dad tells me there's no direct link between exposure to aluminum and Alzheimer's, I'll believe him, because he's a doctor who has had a job in which he had to do research that covered that possibility.

Is everyone going to have an easy time with a vaccine? No. Everyone's body is different, everyone's immune system reacts differently. People are unique individuals and there will be more severe reactions to vaccines than others.

I got the shot about two and a half hours ago.

In the first fifteen minutes or so (where they ask you to stay in a waiting area to ensure you don't have a severe reaction), I felt a little bit light-headed and dizzy, but it soon faded. And I am TOTALLY jinxing myself here, but my arm isn't even sore. I'm sure it will be, since that's a side effect in 50%+ of the population, but right now, I'm feeling pretty good. I am not concerned that I will develop autism, cerebral palsy or Alzheimer's. I am not concerned that I will have a severe reaction to the vaccine. And what's more, I'm not concerned about getting H1N1, now. I wasn't terribly worried before, but the reason I got the vaccine was that I got the regular flu last year and felt like death. So I wanted to avoid that again, and will also get the seasonal flu vaccine when it becomes available.

In so doing, by making myself as close to immune as possible (as it bolsters, but does not guarantee full immunity), not only am I saving myself the trouble of being very ill, but more importantly, people are probably not going to get sick because of me. I take public transportation, I hang out in public places, and if I'm contagious just before I'm symptomatic, then guess what? I've just potentially infected the 50 or so people I was sitting near, handed money to or held the door for. That's how a pandemic works, people. That's why governments are setting up vaccine centers, are giving out information. It's not necessarily because they care SO much that you, personally, are going to be sick. But one sick person can get any number of other people sick. That's why there are vaccines -- to immunize and prevent the spread of disease. That's why there's a schedule for people who are eligible for vaccination. Health-care professionals first, because they're the ones in contact with the sick people. Then people at risk of serious cases of the illness. Then people at risk of moderate cases or side effects of the illness (chronic illnesses, like asthma). Then people who are basically healthy. And finally, people who have probably already been exposed.

And speaking of that, H1N1 isn't new, people. My dad had it in 1968. He was miserable, but he lived to tell the tale. And, just in case, he STILL got his flu shot, too.

What really drives me crazy about all this is that there's very little middle-of-the-road thought about this. I saw a man today who lied about his age to try to get a vaccine. They're currently vaccinating people 20-65 with chronic illnesses, right? Dude was born in 1938 and was busted. He said he was 64 and then had to hand over his medicare card (province-run health insurance card) and they're like "uh... you're 71."

So you have all these people PANICKING about the flu and trying to lie their way in to get a vaccine, and then you've got the other loonies who are so adamantly against vaccinations that they look at you as if you have three heads when you tell them that yes, you got the flu shot.

Obviously, I feel strongly about this myself, but I didn't panic about getting the flu and I even debated getting my shot, but ultimately, I got it because I didn't want to be as sick as I was last year and I didn't want to spread it.

Anyways, rant is done for now, but oooooh, some people being so misinformed makes me nuts. It's like that xkcd comic: http://xkcd.com/386/

I try to tell myself to breathe, but it doesn't always work. :P

Comments

[erbie.livejournal.com]

We don't usually get the flu vax, though I've considered it for this year. And by considered it, I mean called all our doctors and several pharmacies and been told there are waiting lists of 700 for the H1N1 vax, and they don't know when they're getting it, and good luck with that. Every time I call the peds office, there's a half hour wait on hold.

Youngest falls into the priority group, with her prematurity and previous RSV and RAD. Oldest had RAD as a young child, but hasn't had a respiratory illness in several years, *kow* except for the flu she had in June that knocked her on her ass for three days that was not H1N1. And that was mostly just aches, high fever, flushed face, and misery, but not a lot of coughing. (We know this because they were still testing at that point, and the dad of the family she got it from got really sick and was tested. It was A, but not H1N1. And I know she had the same strain, because fully half of her school was out the last week of school with this flu, and she and the friend had it about four days later.) Nobody else in the house got it, oddly.

I'm not sure if llnaughty and I would be able to get the vax at this point anyway. We're not clearly in the priority group, but we have two kids who are, and I take medication that lowers my stomach acid, putting me at risk for all sorts of stuff (and I've been sicker in the eight years I've been taking it that I was prior) and he has apnea. I figure we'll all come down with H1N1 and then a week later the vax will be available in the area.

[brinshannara]

The more I look into H1N1 stuff in the US, the more I'm kind of astounded how little of it is available for you guys. We're moving merrily along and my group (adults 20-65 w/ chronic conditions) is the second priority group. At least here in Quebec, they expect to be giving the shot to the general population by December 7th.

And you're telling me that not only is there a waiting list of 700 people, but there isn't even any vaccine available for those people?

How old are Edgar and Bob, now? I think we're only doing 5-19 as of next week, regardless of conditions.

I hope California, and the rest of the US, gets their shit together. We've been vaccinating people for about 2 weeks now. That you people I know in Illinois, Texas and California have no access to the vaccine is really unsettling.

[erbie.livejournal.com]

Bob is 8 and Edgar is 3.5. In the US, the priority groups are a little different. The first is pregnant women, followed by household contacts of infants under 6 months, then healthcare and emergency medical workers, then 6 months to 24 year olds, and then 25-64 year olds with health conditions associated with higher risk of complications from flu. So the kids are in group four, and we're sort of in group five. But when the first H1N1 clinics by the County were done, they weren't checking, so my 74 year old aunt got it, and my cousin's wife, who isn't in any of the groups. My cousin got it, but he has a heart condition, so he's in the last group, and their son got it, and he's four, so he's in group four.

The waitlist at my girls' peds office is over 700 people, or at least it was three weeks ago. I imagine it's longer now, since they haven't gotten any vax in and three weeks have passed.

Supposedly, the reason it's so hard to come by is that the manufacturers are having a hard time growing the virus in sufficient quantities. They grow flu virus in chicken eggs, but this one doesn't grow well in chicken eggs.

[erbie.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I talked to the peds office this morning and they don't have any and don't know when they're getting it. They do finally have the seasonal flu shot, but I wanted to get the H1N1 first, since there's some indication that having had the seasonal flu shot makes people somewhat more likely to contract H1N1. I'm most concerned about Edgar, with her history of respiratory issues.

[drsnicket.livejournal.com]

The concern about seasonal flu vaccine predisposing to H1N1 was based on Canadian data that was a) never made public (or at least not last time I checked) and b) not in line with any other country's data. I don't know how their conclusion was reached, but if they looked retrospectively, then it makes sense that those who have had seasonal flu shots last year (ie: those who tend to be at high risk of flu illness and therefore got vaccinated) are the same people who would be at risk of H1N1. Just saying, so that if you want to get the seasonal flu shot out of the way while it's still available, you could. Only caveat is getting the live (intranasal) seasonal flu vaccine if you want to get the live h1n1 too - they have to be separated by a few weeks (sounds like your kids probably couldn't get those given respiratory issues anyhow).
Oh - and the US has a lower supply partly because they chose not to use vaccines with adjuvants, unlike Canada.