The Swine Flu and Vaccination

How serious is the Swine Flu threat? That's the million dollar question everyone seems to be asking. A lot of us are confused. Is it really a more-than-normal serious flu? Or is it just a propaganda campaign backed by the drug companies who stand to make a fortune in sales? And, are the death rates going to be worse than in other years?

Both my wife and I batted these issues around in trying to get to the truth. In the end, we faced a few unchallengeable certainties. Amongst them:

- Otherwise healthy people seem to be dying, and they all weren't old . . . in fact, many of them were in the prime of their lives and athletic;

- The serum is basically the same as used in previous years for routine flu shots, except it was modified to suit this particular strain;

- The Swine Flu is a problem globally;

- Some older persons seem to have an immunity to it - perhaps because they may have had the same strain of flu back in the fifties; and

- Lastly, there seems to be no guarantee that healthy people who get the Swine Flu are going to have an easy time with it.

For moms and dads with children, the decision to get the shot or not should be a "no-brainer": the children are your wards - they cannot make the decision for themselves - and you are entrusted to protect them from anything that might, even in the remotest of possibilities, cause them harm. You and your children should be vaccinated with due haste.

For the remainder of us, a decision has to be made to protect ourselves, to protect others around us, and to help eradicate this life-threatening menace.
There's nothing macho about risking ourselves and our loved ones.

I was procrastinating. I hate needles - even the thought of them. Then last weekend, my wife and I baby-sat our two oldest granddaughters. That morning they were all vaccinated. Our oldest, Nicola, became the catalyst for me getting down to the clinic. Five years old, she acted more mature than a lot of us adults. When she arrived at the clinic with her parents and younger sister, she stepped forward and said, "I'll go first." And she did - never flinching - and set the example.

Later that evening when she sat with me, I mentioned that I would probably go on Monday for my shot. She put her index finger and thumb gently together on my fore-arm and said, "did that hurt Poppa?"

I said, "no, sweetie, not a bit."

She added, "that's what the needle will feel like."

On Monday, I got my Swine Flu shot and, you know what? Nicola was right, I didn't feel anything more than her gently pressing on my arm.

If you haven't done it, I encourage you to do so. It may save a life.

Gary