The H1N1 Debate

I just read this great post on a Daddy Blogger's site about why you should get your child the H1N1 vaccine. Read it here. I particularly liked these quotes from his post:

• The evidence in favour of the flu vaccine (much as with routine childhood vaccinations) is so overwhelming and clear that getting the vaccine -- and making sure your children get it -- seems about as clear and straightforward as buckling up before you go for a drive.

• Basically every medical expert -- from public health officers down to family doctors -- is saying people should get the vaccine. So why isn't that good enough for you? Or is it only when it comes to preventative medicine that you think you're smarter than someone with a medical degree?

I'm a strong believer in shots. Claire got the flu shot when she was 6 months and the booster that same winter. She has all of her shots done now until she goes to Kindergarten. I have also gotten the flu shot every year since I was 18 and never gotten "the flu" -- coincidence or not, I'd like to think it helps. We've already gotten our regular flu shots this year (at the start of Sept!) and I've been calling the OB and Peds office to see if they have them in yet. The Peds office has a message saying they are not in. My family doctor that I go to said they do not have any and will not be getting any. So it might not even be an option for us to get them, but if and when they become available, I will definitely be getting them for Claire and I. Josh isn't eligible.

We travel a lot and actually venture into the world so I think we need vaccines. Going to get groceries even...who knows what you could pick up there. If you actually think about the variety of products and where everything came from as far as types of fruits, veggies, and meats...as well as boxes and cans and all sorts of products that have been touched by several sets of hands to just end up on the shelf...not to mention all the shoppers who touch stuff...you are exposed to lots of germs just walking into any store. I guess the fear factor is in place with me. I'd be scared not to have my child vaccinated. I guess some people have a stronger faith that their kid will not wind up sick. I'm just a big chicken!

I have talked in length with my mom and cousin Kami about the shots. I guess since they are both nurses, they have seen and cared for the sickest of the sick with this. Kami was telling me about a male Josh's age who also works in an office on computers who thought he was getting a cold and ended up on her floor for almost 2 months. It's definitely not an illness I feel comfortable with me or my family getting if I could've prevented it. On the other hand, I also respect those people that don't want to get shots for their family for whatever reason. My logic is, however, at some point, they will have to show shot records for something...school, living in a dorm at college, being a teacher, or working in a medical field...what do you think?

What is the biggest fear out there? From what I've read on other blogs and facebook...the non-professional stuff...it seems like the biggest concern are the additives. Well, we don't eat organic. I tried that for about 3 weeks in Jan. and decided it was not possible living in the Midwest unless we wanted to spend about 5 times as much on food. We don't buy all organic clothes, bedding, and toys. We are probably still breathing in highly "toxic" fumes from the paint, wood, and carpet in our house that was built just over 4 years ago. Ha. You're damned either way on the house thing...if you live in an old house you'll have lead paint and other toxic things! I'm sure we bathe in toxic soap and wash our hair with poisons. I even read something awhile back about how "toxic" different cars were. You know that great "new car" smell. Yeah...TOXIC! CHEMICALS!!!!!! Everything has some sort of side effect. I guess the only truly safe thing would to be to move to the middle of nowhere and live in a tent. You'd have to live in entirely clean air and drink water completely untouched by chemicals. And if you think drinking bottled water is safer than tap...you've got the plastic bottle to worry about. HA. So anyways, my point is just that any preservative or additive in a shot is probably a lot less harmful than some sugar or caffeine which people readily and eagerly dump into their bodies. Seriously...they are not out to get us...they are not trying to kill us all or force injections.

I think it's great that the offer shots in schools again. Why should a parent have to take off work, have the kid miss school and go to a doctor's office...usually full of sick people to get a shot that takes all of one minute/person to administer. It drives me nuts when people say they get sick from getting the flu shot. WRONG. You get sick because you probably sat in a germ-filled doctor's office and picked up some creepy-crawlies there! They have to get permission slips signed, so don't freak out they are going to jab your kid if you don't want them to be jabbed. Heck, at Ben Davis, they not only brought a mobile doctor for schooly physicals, but a mobile dentist to school! I think shots are a little less invasive than those more lengthy procedures. Yes, I understand food enters your body differently than shots do, but really...it's all gonna mix around eventually.

I think another big concern was the way shots were made. Yeah...think about any consumable product. Have you read My Year of Meats or The Jungle which are excellent books on the meat industry. It will keep you away from steak for a few weeks after you finish reading it. They are along the same line as Fast Food Nation ... if you look into anything too much, IT WILL DRIVE YOU NUTS AND SCARE YOU! NOTHING IS 100% SAFE! I mean if you pick apart water or H2O you have HYDROGEN! AHH! IT'S A FLAMMABLE GAS. But whatever, I'm done with this post...so tell me if I shouldn't get the shot...leave a really long detailed comment with lots of links, but make sure to read that first post by the daddy blogger as he does address the comments from Dr. Sears who say "maybe" to the H1N1. I really am interested in reading both sides pros/cons.

But telling me the shot contains monkey brains or something won't scare me. I enjoy eating liver paste and have tried cow tongue and brains. :) I've also eaten raw hamburger and goose lard...delicacies in Germany! And I still eat meat after reading those meat books I mentioned!