Photo found here.
It’s a pandemic that’s swept across North America in the last six months. People are dying; men, women, children, young people, old people, middle-aged people. No-one is safe from it.
It’s the flu, but it’s scary.
I’ve kind of been ignoring it, going about my life, thinking it will just go away. But more and more people are getting sick and more and more people are dying.
Now, I know people are saying don’t panic. And I KNOW the regular flu has killed more people than H1N1, but the thing is, H1N1 is a brand-new flu and 1 in 3 Canadians will catch it. That’s a lot more than any normal flu season.
Also, young healthy woman are high-risk for getting H1N1. I don’t really get why. Maybe it’s because we’re so busy? We push ourselves too hard and run our bodies down. Who knows, but we’re at risk.
When it comes to the vaccine, I feel a little freaked out. The idea of getting a new vaccine where we have no idea what the side effects will be in one, five, ten years kind of freaks me out. Maybe it’s because it’s almost halloween but I’m having these weird visions of us all turning into zombies in the next few years. You know, like on I am Legend? Can’t believe I just admitted that, I’ve clearly watched too many movies. Will Smith is hot, though. Moving on…
Now, I’m not a doctor, nurse, scientist or even an extremely knowledgeable-person on the topic. I’m fairly knowledgeable about the media and I do know that the media tends to blow things out of proportion. A lot.
There are some scary statistics floating around. I’m just not sure which ones to believe.
The vaccination is coming to Kamloops at the end of this week and will probably be made available at my university in the next few weeks, if I’m not sick by then, I’m wondering if I should get vaccinated (even though it totally freaks me out, see above). I hear that I’m stupid not to but I still don’t know.
Right now, I’m perfectly healthy and working hard to stay that way. I’m getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night, drinking lots of water, exercising daily and taking vitamins. But it doesn’t seem like that’s enough with this virus.
Anyhoo, clearly I don’t know a whole lot, so I’d love to hear what you guys think about the whole thing.
Are you scared? Have you got H1N1 yet? If so, what was that like? Did you get vaccinated? Are you planning on getting vaccinated? Why or why not? Should I get vaccinated? Why or why not?
Thanks, ya’ll!
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m not too worried about H1N1 and I am not planning on getting the vaccine. But at the same time, I think that maybe I shouldn’t take it so lightly. I never get the flu and I never get a flu shot and so I think I take that for granted. While in Canada, I did get extremely sick and felt flu-like for about a two days. I did think, maybe I have the Swine flu! But when things got better, I figured it was no biggie, nothing to worry about…
I better go knock on wood so I don’t get sick!
Or get the shot, haha.
I have no advice on whether you should get the vaccine or not, but I do understand the concern of not wanting to subject yourself to a new vaccine.
From what I have heard from our local health officials, most people who get the Swine flu survive and recover just fine, like the normal flu. It is not an automatic death sentence. And some who take Tamiflu to fight it get even sicker, so for some it is better to just ride it out.
There is a lot of information out there, some of it contradictory, most of it confusing, and it can be hard to know what is right and what you should do. I think it just comes down to personal choice. At least it sounds like you are doing all the right things to protect yourself from getting it in the first place.
I have a lot to say about it and not a lotof time this morning.. BUT i will say before I go.. I would not personally get it unless I was “high-risk” meaning under 24, pregnant or had a compromised immune system. However, I also think if I was a completely healthy under 24 year old I would not get it anyway. But that is because I have no underlying health conditions. If you get H1N1 MAKE SURE you take care of yourself and keep your fever if you get one under control. GO to the hospital as soon as you have complications (breathing, continus high fever that wont break with tylenol). I am ateacher and it is GOING like crazy through our area right now. I have no idea how I have not gotten it, but it is hitting my classroom hard this week. I will probably come back with more stuff later but now I have to get ready to go teach those sick kiddos haha
I think a lot of people have mixed feelings about getting the shot so you’re not alone. I don’t really have any advice other than to keep doing what you’re doing. UGH! And I can’t believe you put that picture there! That was not something I was ready to see before 7 AM!
For some reason, I am not at all worried about H1N1. Yes it’s scary that it is sweeping the nation like it is, but I think I’m less scared because people in my office have had it and are back at work, totally fine. Yes it knocked them out for a good week and they were miserable, but they didn’t die. So I think that it’s more rare for it to result in death.
But maybe I have a false sense of safety or something.
I got the regular flu shot since it was free at work and I figured I might as well get it. If they offer the H1N1, I don’t know that I will get it.
As a pregnant lady, I am waiting rather impatiently for the H1N1 vaccine to get to our area. I know it is a risk for my baby and I not to get the vaccine, and I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk. My mom and MIL are totally freaked out that something will happen to me and the baby and have been harping on me for weeks to get it (even though it’s not in our area yet so I can’t).
It’s hard to say whether you should get it or not. I think it’s a personal choice, though I have to say if I was in your position I might not get it. Hopefully you’ll find the right answer for you. Maybe talk to your doc about it and see what he/she has to say?
I worked at a camp in Madrid, Spain this past summer and we had an H1N1 outbreak. A lot of the kids got it and were quarantined which ultimately closed the camp early. The kids were all fine and their biggest problem was just cabin fever. I didn’t personally get the swine flu (well…no fever but you CAN have H1N1 without a fever!!). So personally, I wouldn’t get the shot because what if I was already exposed to the virus but never knew it? Also, I wouldn’t want to be the first round of people to get it and then find out 10 years later that there were some long term effects.
However, it is scary and I know there are a lot of good reasons that someone SHOULD get the vaccine. It ends up being personal f0r everyone and only you can make the right decision for YOU!
I’m not worried about it – I’ve never gotten the regular flu vaccine and I don’t plan on getting this one. I think it’s a personal decision, but I definitely will not be getting any un-needed sticks with needles! LOL Now, maybe if it were in pill form…maybe.
I’m not getting it. No thanks. I’m not that concerned about it. I might have already had it, when I had a flu like virus last month. If I get sick, I get sick.
But I’m not someone who is considered “At risk”. I may think different if I were, but I’m not.
And I Am Legend? Holy moly…Now I have that visual! Lol…
i say if you’re a high risk, then yeah. But if you’re not, don’t get it. I think i’m overall pretty healthy — weirdest thing for like a 2 week span — everyone in my department got sick except me. *knock on wood.* i don’t take public transportation, I try to wipe down my cart and scanner thing when i go grocery shopping. drink lots of water and eat healthy. Do your thing, and i think you’ll be fine.
my fiancé takes public transportation, i would only suggest if he gets a shot, just a flu shot.
I don’t plan on getting the vaccine. I’ve actually never had the flu vaccine either. I’m healthy right now, and even if I get the slightest bit sick, I plan on going to the doctor immediately.
I do not plan to get the H1N1 vaccine. It’s just too new, and there are way too many stories (at least around here) of people that have been worse off from the vaccine rather than the flu. One of the most heartwrenching is the Washington Redskins cheerleader who was as healthy a young woman as anyone who took the vaccine, and within ten days was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder!! While doctors are saying her case is rare, there have been many reports of infants and others dying from the flu shot itself, and I just don’t want to take that chance!!
Love the Will Smith reference
I thought the same thing, about the h1n1 shot, ZOMBIES. I am not worried about it, my mom is trying to get me to get the shot, umm no. I won’t even take aspirin so my whole outlook on this is natural immunity inhancers, like echinacea, oregano oil, lot’s of c and sweat sessions. I’m ocd about germs so it helps me out as well. My brother’s friends who sit by each other both got it and are now back to school, I know my body and I want to know what goes into it, so unless I can understand the make-up of the vaccine, then I’m not getting it. This is my own personal opinion, I am not a doc, I am just Britt. I do love reading your blog .
I am getting the vaccine because I am going to the Dominican Republic over New Years, and I don’t want to take any chances. Besides they make new vaccines all the time, and no one is worried about those side effects (HPV etc). The vaccine takes 3 weeks to kick in, so I am totally getting it ASAP. I want to know that I did everything I could to not get it. Also, I am a teacher and around a lot of germs, and I am run down from work/ school/ life, and probably would get it!
I am not getting the vaccine and am honestly, the fact that the vaccine was so rushed, no one knows the side effects, etc scares me. Some of my family members and friends have had the H1N1, its very similar to the regular flu and they all survived. I think that the media aids in peoples fears about the “pandemic” aspect of it. One of my cousins is 9 and has a heart condition, her doctor advised my aunt to NOT get it because it contains mercury and of the unknown side effects. She tested positive for H1N1 earlier this week, its running its course and shes on the upswing. I’m of the mind set that if I get it, I’ll get it and be over and done with it. That said, hand sanitizer is my new best friend.
I’m not particularly scared. Hand washing, healthy eating and exercise are my preventative measures. As far as the shot goes, I’m still undecided…and since I’m not really on the priority list there is no harm in letting those people get their shot while I do a little more research in the coming weeks.
I’m a bit concerned about the adjuvant used so I don’t think I’m going to get it. And if I did need to, I think I’d lie about being preggo so that I could at least get the unadjuvanted vaccine…
Nope, not getting the vaccine. Don’t plan on it either as I’m not one of the at-risk folks either.
Does it scare me? A bit, but if I get it, I get it. I will go to the doctor/hospital if I need to and make sure to get myself taken care of.
So far I don’t know anyone who has had it and if I have heard of someone getting it, they’ve been fine. No death. No complications.
I don’t get a regular flu shot because I don’t get the flu, just really bad sinus infections, which aren’t the same and also because there is fish in the flu shot and I’m allergic to fish so, well, that would be bad.
I think as long as we wash our hands, are cautious, make sure to listen to our body cues and etc, we’ll be fine, including you!
And here’s hoping those who did get the shot don’t turn into zombies!
If I had access to the vaccine I would get it!!! It has been here twice now and ran out within a couple hours. There are so many restrictions on who gets it though, and I am not even close to being one of the at risk groups. I really wish I could get it though because I work around kids daily and it makes me nervous. I have a bug right now that I have been fighting for a week and I’m worried it’s a small case. Let us know what you decide to do!!
Amber, the vaccine is the same vaccine as the flu but instead it has the H1N1 component. It is a killed virus vaccine. You definitely should get this because you are out and about so much. Love You.
I’m a nurse at a hospital and I never got a flu vaccine until I was required to for work. I’m not at risk and I’m sure I could conquer the flu just fine if I ever got it (I never have.) I get the flu shot now because I’m around at risk people all the time, and I’m hoping to get pregnant. Those are also the reasons why I will get the H1N1 vaccine if it becomes available to me. I spoke with an infectious disease doctor the other day about it and he was very confident about the vaccine which made me feel better.
I’m not worried about myself, but definitely about catching it and giving it to my sister. I’m pretty sure I’ll get the shot but I do have some reservations and unanswered questions. Plus, it takes 21 days to take effect! You can totally catch the flu in the meantime (if I understood correctly anyways).
Oh, and I hate waiting in line.
I won’t be getting vaccinated, though through a single degree of seperation, I know two people who have died from it. I was very sick in September, which makes me think it might have been h1n1 then, and therefore I’ve beat it. Mostly though, it is the unknown effects of the vaccine that make me nervous, and willing to take my chances with ‘the swine’.
A friend posted this video on the after effects of the swine flu vaccination of 1976. If you want to watch it, here is the link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9mh9f_swine-flu-1976-propaganda_webcam
Good luck with whatever decision you make! There are certainly pros and cons to both getting it and not.. I’m just glad I only have to make the decision for myself. I know a few friends who have children are definitely struggling with what to do.
<3 ox
I haven’t decided either. I feel the same way as you do about being scared to get the vaccine. I don’t have a serious fear of dying from H1N1 but frankly, I don’t want to be that sick either!
There’s a lot of it floating around down here. But I’m not getting vaccinated. If you get it and treat it right away, it’s not a big deal. I’d say no.
I got the regular flu shot, but I haven’t even had the opportunity to get the H1N1 vaccine yet. And I’m still not sure whether I want to. If it weren’t for the fact that young (and healthy) people are those most at risk, I wouldn’t bother at all. But the fact that normally unaffected people are dying kind of scares me.
Although, if everyone would turn into zombies, my boyfriend would be ecstatic! He hopes the world will some day be infested so he can fight them. And since he’s anti-getting the shot, he won’t be one himself.
Okay, so the comment from your mom was just too cute! that made me smile!
I am SO back and forth on the shot…like REALLY back and forth…do I want to get it and in 10 years have some side effect??? OR do I want to get it now and avoid POSSIBLE (please note I am saying POSSIBLE) death.
I don’t have the slightest clue. But I will make my decision based on what I know.
HOWEVER, I must note. I made the EXACT same reference to “I am Legend” yesterday…although it went in favor of GETTING the shot: would you rather be a zombie in 10 years and part of the killing crowd?? Or would you rather be a zombie snack??? – NOTE: this reasoning SHOULD NOT be used in determining whether or not to get the H1N1 vaccine
I’m really not that worried for some reason. I have co-workers taking days off so they can go get the shot and I’m a 25 year old woman and I’m NOT using one of my personal days to wait in a 5 hour line… no thanks!
I’m not. The vaccine scares me way more than the actual flu. It’s way too new, been rushed out of the labs, and hasn’t been tested on anyone. And you also get a “taste” of the swine flu with it to help your body learn to fight it.
I’ve never gotten the flu shot, work with preschoolers, and have never gotten the flu. Knock on wood…but I’m not that nervous about it! Plus, I’ve known people who have gotten the swine flu and have been perfectly fine a few days later. As long as you catch it early, you’re fine.
Honestly, I don’t think about it that much, as I’m not one who’s prone to getting sick, nor do I have any underlying conditions. BUT, my mom told me I have to get the vaccine, and I still do what she says
My best friend is 27, seven months pregnant and asthmatic. Now her situation is scary!
i don’t think worry too much about it either. I don’t get the flu shot, so I don’t plan on getting the h1n1. If I got the flu/sick regularly, maybe I would be concerned.
I got the regular flu shot this year but the H1N1 vaccine hasn’t come out at my school yet. I may get it; my brother and sister got it. I’m not too worried though.
I think I might have already had H1N1 but right now at the school where I am student teaching we are nearing 45% absences among students which is just crazy!
I read an interesting article recently about why more young people are getting H1N1 than the elderly, which is the opposite of how flues normally strike. (The article was in Scientific America, so I think its fairly credible.) The article said H1N1 is similar to the strand of flu that caused the flu pandemic back in the 20s. Thus people who were alive back then (or shortly after) picked up some time of immunity when they were younger. And younger people, who had no interaction with it before are more susceptible. I thought it was a pretty interesting theory.
I stood in line today for 2.5 hours in Edmonton. I’m glad I did. The sooner I get the vaccine, the sooner it’ll start protecting me. So many young people are getting sick and it’s not just the unhealthy ones who get it and die. A lot of young healthy people are dying. I just don’t want to take the risk. I think it would be pretty irresponsible not to. Maybe if my circumstance were different, I would reconsider it, but I’m in university, with a lot of people around me, I take public transit and I work in a mall. I am constantly around new people everyday. You just never know.
I’m uncomfortable with vaccines in general, especially one so new and untested, so I will not be getting it. I’ve never gotten a regular flu vaccine either and I’ve never gotten the flu (knock on wood). My immune system is pretty strong (I almost never get sick), I get enough sleep, eat healthy, exercise regularly and generally take good care of myself, plus I’m not really exposed to big groups of people (or many people at all), so I don’t think there’s much risk for me.
Dear Amber, I highly recommend you go with your intuition on this one. I just watched a video the other night (my hubby reads up on all this stuff for both of us) and it explained that there are high levels of mercury, aluminum and *squalene(this can cause crippling) in it, and it is toxic for your body. Those most are risk are obviously the people who have low immunity, but the symptoms in and of themself are not worse than the regular flu is what they were saying. I have a really good youtube on it but he’d have to send it to me if you wanted to contact me further, i could pass it on to decide for yourself. But you should know this as many people do not, if you take a vaccine and something happens negatively, they cannot be held responsible. Meanwhile, they do not check the labels for safety,.. this puts the ownership on the person who takes it either way it goes. here is an article I found to share with you: http://justgetthere.us/blog/archives/Health-Officials-Admit-Fast-Tracked-H1N1-Vaccines-Will-Not-Be-Tested-for-Safety.html
Let me know if you want that youtube but I wanted to share as I stumbled across this. I’d hate to see anything happen to you, and there are many stories of healthy persons losing ground fast after taking it.. much luv, Jen
As someone who works in the media, I know what you mean by the media, as a whole (especially those TV journalists) really exaggerate and make things more dramatic than they truly are.
While I believe the swine flu is an epidemic, I’m not really worried. From all accounts I’ve read, it sucks, but so does the regular flu. The vaccine isn’t readily available where I am, the newspaper didn’t go out of its way to get nurses to bring shots to us (like they did last year, bless them) and I don’t have a spare $50 to get a regular flu shot. Or another to get the swine flu shot.
I have no idea what I should do. As you know Cheryl and I are prego, her with her second and me with my first. We’re considered high risk, but i thinking i won’t get it. They don’t know enough about side affects for me to get it. I in no way want to risk the health of my baby. Its kinda scary! I have a doc appointment this Thursday so i’m going to ask a TON of questions then. I would most definitely wouldn’t think about getting it if i wasn’t prego, i wasn’t planning on getting it. BUT i work downtown and ride transit so i’m explosed to hundreds of people every single day all day.
Amber,
Is H1N1 readily available in Canada? It’s still pretty hard to get from what I understand here in the States. It seems kind of strange that they have made the cutoff at 24 years to be considered high risk. So if you are 24 and 6 months, you are magically safe?
Now, here’s the kicker. I actually had H1N1 when all this stuff first started shaking down, I believe it was in May. I was still flying for United and I probably caught it from one of our passengers coming in from Mexico (or who knows where, frankly). It hit me in the middle of a trip but luckily I was going home the next morning so I toughed it out. I’ve never had the “regular” flu so I can’t compare it to anything but I have never been more miserable in my life. I spent 4.5 days laying on the couch and my body ached so bad that I would just sit there and whine and moan to no one because I was by myself during the day. I had a high fever as well, basically it just SUCKED!
So, I can’t really recommend whether or not to get the vaccine (I don’t really do the whole annual flu shot thing anyway) and I should be immune to this H1N1 thing unless it mutates. WOO! But I don’t think it’s necessarily anything to fear, I mean, I lived through it
but then again, I am relatively healthy and have no underlying health issues.
Good luck in your decision!
If it’s available here, I will probably get it. I work in a health setting, so I’m within decent proximity to sick people all day long. Not only does that make me more susceptible to the flu, it makes me more likely to pass it on to someone who already has a compromised immune system.
If you’re healthy and around mostly healthy people, it’s a personal choice. The risks of dying from H1N1 should be higher than the risks of getting anything from the vaccine, or they wouldn’t put the vaccine out there in the first place. Most vaccines don’t seem to have long-term effects, if anything you have a risk of immediate reactions but those are very rare. So I consider it a safe vaccine. Also consider how hard it would be for you to literally be knocked out for a week or two- can you handle that in your schedule? I know I couldn’t.
On the other hand, you want to keep an eye on who they choose to vaccinate first in your area. I know at my school, they’re vaccinating high-risk individuals (those with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, etc) and health care workers first, because there will not be enough of the vaccine to go around. So it may not be available to you at first.
~Amanda
I never get a regular flu shot, so I don’t see any reason to get this shot. I’d rather risk getting sick and having to get treatment for the flu than to get a shot that we don’t know what could happen as a side affect later on. The chances of me getting the illness are pretty slim if I take care of myself. So I figure I’d rather risk getting it than take the risks that come with a vaccine that got rolled out in a big hurry.
Me? I’m just an average teenaged girl – I do get sick, but I’m not high risk. I’ll take vitamins, but I’m not a fan of medications. And I think that though the media doesn’t want to panic the population, there might be a bit of sensationalizing going on. Also, with all the talk of vaccine side effects, I’m not sure what the greater risk is. Worse, a lot of doctrs are refusing to take sides, or recommend the vacciene.
In my opinion, the best thing a person can do – whether they get vaccinated or not – is to take care of themselves. Don’t let school/work/children run you down – get plenty of rest, because that is what will keep you healthy.
TIP: If anyone is into natural remedies, try EsterC (vitamin C with bioflavoniods), or a combination of echinacea and goldenseal vitamins. Just don’t use the goldenseal for longer that a week, because it’s a pretty potent root. Other than that…SLEEP! And make the vacciene/no vacciene choice that feels right to you – regardless of parents, friends, or anyone else. (Well, anyone else who isn’t medically qualified!) Best of luck to y’all!
i think it will be like I am Legend, but maybe i watch to many movies, and video games like RE and L4D -sigh-
Hi,
I did not get the vaccine, I did not get H1N1, I also survived Bird flu, Y2K, and I totally plan on living past 2012.
Mainstream media in the UK has released information
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/30/swine-flu-who-pandemic
That the Swine flu ‘could have been’ government induced. How does that make you feel? Knowing that our tax dollars are hard at work fear mongering?
I will continue to never get another vaccination, nor will i inoculate my children.
Amber, I hope you did some research for yourself and found the best answer.