I saw a facebook poll; it said 70% of respondents out of a sample of about 50,000 said they would NOT take the h1n1 flu vaccine.
Is this number inflated somehow?

I'm not too worried about when I get the vaccine because my kids got the swine flu allready, and I'll wait my turn and all--offer it up to the more fragile people first and whatnot; however, I've taken a flu shot every year the eleven years I've worked in medicine, and I'll get this one.

I saw a facebook poll; it said 70% of respondents out of a sample of about 50,000 said they would NOT take the h1n1 flu vaccine.
Is this number inflated somehow?

I.....think it's a baby Sebastian. I'd step on it but it's just. Too. Cute.

I would guess that the number may be highter than 50%, but 70% does seem a bit high.

I work in healthcare (a Pediatric ER, no less!), so I'm definitely on the front lines. Although as of today it seems that the number of cases appears to be dropping off (at least here on the East Coast).

I wouldn't be surprised at any number of respondents stating they wouldn't take the vaccination. I think it's a combination of laziness, ignorance and selfishness.

Many people are of the opinion that H1N1 is just another flu, and while it might knock them about for a week or so, they're healthy enough that they'll recover.

What they don't consider, is that there are many people who are particularly vulnerable to the H1N1 virus within our communities, such as pregnant women, indigenous Australians, people with underlying health problems, etc. and that many thousands have died from this virus.

When swine flu first emerged, Melbourne recorded the greatest incidence of cases in Australia, probably because it was a large city in the south during cold and flu season. I recall perhaps half of our staff falling to severe cold/flu symptoms during that period, and many of them continued coming to work, despite common sense suggesting they should stay home. Only two staff members were tested for H1N1, and they were both confirmed to have had it, which suggests all of the other cold/flu sufferers in our office also had it.

Now how many of my work colleagues caught public transport to/from work, shopped in the supermarket, etc. How many others did they pass it onto? Were any of those pregnant women, indigenous Australians, or people with underlying health problems? Were any of them unknowingly responsible for the death of a fellow Australian? They'll never know.

But if you knew, could you live with yourself knowing that staying at home when you suspected you could have had swine flu, or taking the vaccine, could have saved the life of a complete stranger?

And it might not be a stranger. My father recently completed four months of kemotherapy treatment for leukemia. He's doing okay now, but there were periods during his treatment where he was in isolation, only seeing his wife, not even his own kids, because his immune system wouldn't have been able to fight off even a minor infection.

Saving the lives of strangers is given high consideration in our societies, this is why we have firefighters, donate to cancer research, or have a dot on our drivers licences to indicate our consent to being organ donors. Why should we treat vaccinating ourselves, and thereby protecting others, against H1N1 with any less weight?

At least around here it's more a case of by the time the vaccine will be available to anyone but those in the highest risk brackets, we'll have already been exposed to it so there's no longer any point to the vaccine.

Two of my three children have asthma, as do I. We'll all get it as soon as possible.

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting ti introduce a foreign substance to my body. The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

Microbiologist says take it!
People have forgotten the pandemic after WW1 with a bottom end estimate of 20 million dead. Top end estimate is around 100 million. What makes it slightly more worrying is that particular flu virus most probably started with pigs...

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting ti introduce a foreign substance to my body. The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting ti introduce a foreign substance to my body. The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

Lenarior wrote:

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting ti introduce a foreign substance to my body. The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

The problem with this position is that, if everyone refused to be vaccinated, formerly "eradicated" childhood diseases would return with a vengeance and kill tens of thousands (if not many more) each year. I would guess this is why a refusal to be vaccinated might be called selfish.

bugleyman wrote:

Lenarior wrote:

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting ti introduce a foreign substance to my body. The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

The problem with this position is that, if everyone refused to be vaccinated, formerly "eradicated" childhood diseases would return with a vengeance and kill tens of thousands (if not many more) each year. I would guess this is why a refusal to be vaccinated might be called selfish.

In the UK there was a big deal made by people with a link between MMR vaccine and autism. The drop off of people not vaccinating their children has now lead to a huge rise in these three diseases. Levels of autism have remained the same and the doctor who published the paper has been discredited...

The MMR shot comes up often as well. A very few of them have children with mental health problems and when the idea that the MMR shot could have had something to do with it was proposed, the only finger pointing that was done was by those who didn't have any children. Many of those that did monitored their children(and grandchildren in some cases) closely for any signs of mental health problems from early on so they could get help that in many cases they didn't when they were their age.

FYI
I actually do know what I'm talking about. I have a degree in Medical Microbilogy and my little speciality is growing flu virus on live chicken embryos. The guy who proposed the whole MMR thing had no actual link to autism at all but passed it off like he did.
My advice is if you can have it, take it.
*edit* I'm having it. If there was anything to worry about it do you really think I would have it?

Probably yes. Flu virus vaccine is dead and contains no living virus. You can't catch flu from the vaccine. See my previous post about the 1918 pandemic. No vaccines or medicines then (to speak of) to lower immunity. That is a myth. Microbiologist says so.

And the funny thing is that the vaccine was of course so I wouldn't get any nasty stomach viruses when I went abroad, and I ended up shooting my food out both ends (me trying to be colorful).

Spacelard wrote:

Probably yes. Flu virus vaccine is dead and contains no living virus. You can't catch flu from the vaccine. See my previous post about the 1918 pandemic. No vaccines or medicines then (to speak of) to lower immunity. That is a myth. Microbiologist says so.

Oh sorry, you missunderstood. I added the word medicine in my statement for lowering the immunity system. However I still feel that since the only time I've been sick for seven years or more (I don't keep a sickness diary) was when I took a vaccine, it does acctually prove something. Perhaps not about the human race as a whole but about myself and my own biology.

And the funny thing is that the vaccine was of course so I wouldn't get any nasty stomach viruses when I went abroad, and I ended up shooting my food out both ends (me trying to be colorful).

Animals are killed by the disease however certain diseases will effect different animals in different ways depending on physiology and their individual biochemistry.
Think about when Europeans first hit America. Thousands died from disease brought by Europeans which had a natural resistance but the American Indians didn't. That is similar with the flu (very lay man)vaccines do work. That is why small pox has been eradicated.
Wikipedia has a nice artical about the last H1N1 variant outbreak here which is worth a read.
You can not catch a disease from a vaccine.

Curious:

My kids all had the swine flu; yet neither I nor my wife caught it. I actually had saliva end up in my eye.....
My kids' Pediatrician also at that time said he had been inundated by numerous cases, but had at that time not caught it.
Wondering; if perhaps some of us have some resistance left over from the 70's?

It is my firm belief (and you are allowed to disagree) that vaccines and medicines are the reasons that humans have so poor immunity systems nowadays that the swineflu is even considered a threat.

And by the way, I am lazy and selfish, but only ignorant of how anyone could call me selfish for not wanting to introduce a foreign substance to my body.

Your lazy if you don’t set out to gain an education on the subject, to elevate your ignorance of it.

And your selfish when you choose not to immunise yourself against diseases. Immunisation does not ONLY protect you, but every one around you, as it is most effective when there is a high level of herd immunity.

The last time I took a vaccine it was required for me to travel, and that was about six years ago. That was also the last time I got sick. Coincident?

Just because you last had a bout of food poisoning at a time which correlated with a vaccination, does not mean that the vaccine was the cause of the illness.

Spacelard wrote:

Probably yes. Flu virus vaccine is dead and contains no living virus. You can't catch flu from the vaccine. See my previous post about the 1918 pandemic. No vaccines or medicines then (to speak of) to lower immunity. That is a myth. Microbiologist says so.

Oh sorry, you missunderstood. I added the word medicine in my statement for lowering the immunity system. However I still feel that since the only time I've been sick for seven years or more (I don't keep a sickness diary) was when I took a vaccine, it does acctually prove something.

Perhaps not about the human race as a whole but about myself and my own biology.

And the funny thing is that the vaccine was of course so I wouldn't get any nasty stomach viruses when I went abroad, and I ended up shooting my food out both ends (me trying to be colorful).

Animals are killed by the disease however certain diseases will effect different animals in different ways depending on physiology and their individual biochemistry.
Think about when Europeans first hit America. Thousands died from disease brought by Europeans which had a natural resistance but the American Indians didn't. That is similar with the flu (very lay man)vaccines do work. That is why small pox has been eradicated.
Wikipedia has a nice artical about the last H1N1 variant outbreak here which is worth a read.
You can not catch a disease from a vaccine.

Curious:

My kids all had the swine flu; yet neither I nor my wife caught it. I actually had saliva end up in my eye.....
My kids' Pediatrician also at that time said he had been inundated by numerous cases, but had at that time not caught it.
Wondering; if perhaps some of us have some resistance left over from the 70's?

That isn't to say that you might not be more resistant to the pathogen for some other reason.

Yeah; I'm still gonna get the damn shot. Unless I end up with the swine flu first.

Oh sorry, you missunderstood. I added the word medicine in my statement for lowering the immunity system. However I still feel that since the only time I've been sick for seven years or more (I don't keep a sickness diary) was when I took a vaccine, it does acctually prove something. Perhaps not about the human race as a whole but about myself and my own biology.

And the funny thing is that the vaccine was of course so I wouldn't get any nasty stomach viruses when I went abroad, and I ended up shooting my food out both ends (me trying to be colorful).

I received a swine flu innoculation in 1976. Am I correct in thinking that it was for a different strain of the flu and therefore ineffective against it. Would an innoculation againt a disease be effective 34 years later in any case?

I received a swine flu innoculation in 1976. Am I correct in thinking that it was for a different strain of the flu and therefore ineffective against it. Would an innoculation againt a disease be effective 34 years later in any case?

Yes, it will have some beneficial effect, but after 34 years with no other exposure, it won't be as much as if you were infected closer to the vaccination.

Bill Lumberg wrote:

I received a swine flu innoculation in 1976. Am I correct in thinking that it was for a different strain of the flu and therefore ineffective against it. Would an innoculation againt a disease be effective 34 years later in any case?

Yes, it was likely for a different strain, although it may provide a small boost to resistance.

Yes, it will have some beneficial effect, but after 34 years with no other exposure, it won't be as much as if you were infected closer to the vaccination.

Well, if you catch the Swinish Influenza, you could always just go see this guy.

Well, if you catch the Swinish Influenza, you could always just go see this guy.

I've had some of the secret diseases, but I can't talk about them. I've probably said too much already.

But seriously folks, get your H1N1 vaccine! I had to take my little boy to emergency on the weekend because my sister's dork of a BF refused to get his and passed it on to my family.

When I got my shot 2 weeks ago today, all I got was a ache in my arm and it was gone the next day. Better that than spreading it around to those more vulnerable than yourself!

It also protects against tiger attacks and zombies.