Boy vs H1N1

It’s flu season! Bring out your arguments, both for and against getting a vaccine. I imagine they will be fantastic. I have heard a number of both. To be honest, I will take the first chance I have to get the vaccine for H1N1. It doesn’t matter which age group you're in, or even if you end up just a carrier, the risk of passing this on to someone else is too high to say no to the vaccine. I realize I am probably going to upset all those pseudo-scientists…but tell you what, you guys don’t have to get it! That is the great thing about this entire debate: getting this vaccine is completely voluntary. You don’t like it, don’t get the shot. Better yet, don’t do anything. Don’t get your children vaccinated, and more importantly don’t go running to the doctors and expect them to help cure the illness you could have prevented in the first place.

I'll always be a firm believer that someone else should not be able to determine whether or not I can do something. Unfortunately, the negative hype behind the H1N1 vaccination has caused more people to become afraid of something which is supposed to help many people. Everyone will have their own beliefs, but why can't we just leave at at that? Why do some people feel the need to interfere with the rights of others, causing the vaccine to be protested and ending up more difficult to attain for the people that actually want it.

Tell you what, go protest in the countries that aren’t wealthy enough to afford the vaccines we're able to get for free (for the most part). Ask them if they would prefer their children getting sick or to simply receive a vaccine to possibly prevent a number of illnesses and sometimes death. Better yet, give those free immunizations people have turned down to those in other countries who are literally dying for them.

Have we honestly become so spoiled and used to better health that we have forgotten what it was like before immunizations? I would not force someone to get a vaccine if they are unwilling. I would hope that those individuals who are protesting will not prevent the willing from getting the vaccine either. However, it cannot be expected that those who protested getting the vaccine and end up catching H1N1 will have much sympathy. Let’s face it, a child catches it because the parents said no to the immunization, putting everyone else’s children at risk, including those who were caring enough to actually get the vaccine.

On a lighter note: If we keep on creating flus, we should start naming them like hurricanes. In alphabetical order. Oh no…here comes Flu Agatha, Flu Bertha and Flu Coraline! We will improvise for the Z.

Post written by Heather Whitney