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masakochan November 20 2009, 18:36:54 UTC
I generally don't ever think about getting the H1N1 shot, just like I don't ever think about getting the flu shot, cause I don't like shots or the possibility about getting sick/having bad reactions to the shot anyway.

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furiosity November 20 2009, 18:44:27 UTC
Yeah, I've never even considered the seasonal flu shot. H1N1 is a bit different, since stats are showing that it actually directly kills people (whereas garden-variety flu deaths very often have to do with complications arising from the flu). I JUST DON'T KNOW. First I was going to get it for the sake of my pregnant friends, but now they're split right down the middle and arguing over whether or not it's a good idea for THEM to get the shot, so I'm like, dude, I'll just see you next summer >_> XD

I still think the widespread H1N1 vaccination is a cash-in attempt, especially with all the fear-mongering by the media and the scare tactics North American governments are using; it just really seems over-the-top for something that, while certainly dangerous, is far from equivalent to the 1918 pandemic. x_x

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samena November 20 2009, 19:00:27 UTC
since stats are showing that it actually directly kills people

That's not what I heard. I heard that most people who died from H1N1 already had some underlying condition which had weakened their immune system. The doctors over here say that if a person is generally healthy, they should have no trouble getting through this form of flu.

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furiosity November 20 2009, 19:02:24 UTC
No, I'm talking specifically about the deaths that involved people without preexisting conditions, because there are such people (primarily children under 15, so far). Current data shows that it's the H1N1 virus attacking the lungs directly that's causing the deaths; that's not usually the case with seasonal flu.

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samena November 21 2009, 10:11:37 UTC
One of the kids in The Netherlands that died from H1N1 also had cancer, but the other week a little girl passed away, and I don't think she had any pre-existing condition. I'm not sure. I'm trying not to go along with the general panic, but it is definitely scary. I'd like to get a shot, just in case, but apparently I can't. Maybe they'll change the policy. *fingers crossed*

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blamebrampton November 21 2009, 02:00:46 UTC
F is right. While the usual pre-existing condition set are badly affected by this flu, there is a high incidence of death among people with no pre-existing conditions and among those whose only risk factor is something minimal, such as being overweight (not obese). More important than the deaths are those who were hospitalised, which in Australia last winter were in such unexpected numbers that they sent the health care system reeling. (A friend was bumped from heart surgery 5 times because the bypass machines and ICU were all being used for H1N1 victims.)

Pregnant women are particularly susceptible, with high levels of miscarriage and a surprising number of women ending up on heart-lung machines until their lungs recovered enough for them to breathe properly again. Unfortunately, because the summer incidence of H1N1 in Europe was much weaker in both spread and effect, there is a lot of complacency. The Australian winter experience was enough to send me off to be vaccinated before my upcoming European trip.

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samena November 21 2009, 10:07:41 UTC
I'd really like to get vaccinated, because I *am* overweight (obese even), and my parents' GP said that's a risk factor, but GPs over here are not allowed to vaccinate people that aren't chronically ill, or pregnant, etc. And there's no other way. The doctor's assistant I spoke to yesterday said that it's just like the 'normal' flu, except a bit heavier, and she sees no reason why most people shouldn't get through it without problems.

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blamebrampton November 21 2009, 10:49:24 UTC
On the cheerier side, most people who contracted H1N1 in the Australian winter did NOT end up in hospital, they just felt bloody awful for a few weeks. The government information that was distributed here at the height of our flu season was to treat yourself as you would for seasonal flu, and to seek medical attention at the first sign of compromised lung function or other complication.

The attacks on lung tissue were not universal, just often acute in those patients in whom they did occur. Seeking early medical treatment stopped the damage from progressing in most cases, and even though Tamiflu is recommended for use at the very first sign of infection, it appeared to have good success rates when doctors used it at later, more acute stages.

In short, take care of yourself, and keep an eye out for bad complications if you're unlucky enough to catch it.

Are vaccines there being limited because of low availability?

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samena November 21 2009, 16:54:19 UTC
Are vaccines there being limited because of low availability?

I'm not sure, but everywhere you ask, people say it's simply because healthy people shouldn't have many problems if they get this flu, so there's no need to have them vaccinated. It might be a financial thing. I don't know.

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masakochan November 20 2009, 19:02:52 UTC
Huh, that's interesting. I'd heard, in one of my Health class lectures that H1N1 was had just a couple less symptoms of the flu. I figured a combination of things that would end up killing the person though. *shrugs* Plus, if I remember correctly from my Biology 101 class: when you get a vaccine/shot against something- you're pretty much just getting a dead strain part of the virus, so that when the living virus strain comes along- it think's your body's already had it. Or..something like that.

Yeah, I'd also chalk it up to paranoia, the media, and the drug companies. -_-;;

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norton_gale November 20 2009, 23:35:30 UTC
Part of the problem with the 1918 pandemic is that we didn't have the drugs we do today to treat it (this is my assumption - I don't know this for a fact). I got the seasonal flu shot early this year when I was pregnant and the H1N1 shot is no different. Recently I got the latest seasonal vaccine, plus H1N1.

Yesterday I received an email about the obituary of a 21-month old child, the daughter of a parent in my local Mothers of Twins Club, who just died from H1N1. Although vaccination-makers surely wish to profit, I believe the H1N1 threat is very real for those who've never been exposed to swine flu.

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