MojoJD - 26 October 2009 09:56 PM

H1N1 is a complete load.  It is just another variant of the common flu.  Did you know that pregnant woman may also, GASP, sometimes get complications from the regular flu?

Yeah, so you should also get that vaccine.

Some people here seem to think that getting the vaccine is something you do just for yourself.  However, it is also something you do for others.  If you are vaccinated, not only will you not get the flu, but you also cannot pass it to someone who hasn’t been vaccinated.  Some people cannot get vaccinated due to health/age reasons.  So, by not getting the vaccine, you are also increasing the risks to some other people.  This is what happened in San Diego a couple years ago where paranoid parents wouldn’t get their kids their normal shots and then their kids gave a preventable disease to a baby who almost died.

Basically, people are really REALLY bad at statistics and error on the side of selfishness.  Pisses me off.  We live in a society, not in isolation chambers.

If there is anyone who doubt the extremely huge impact that vaccines has had on the human race, check out this website: 

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/livingproofproject/Pages/default.aspx

Also check out this article discussing and refuting the arguments of the anti-vacciners

http://www.skepdic.com/antivaccination.html

Excerpt from the above article:

If everybody in a population is vaccinated, the chances of contracting the disease is near zero. But the more people in a population who do not get vaccinated, the more the whole population is jeopardized. Imagine a robust individual who is not vaccinated and gets mumps. Before his parents keep him home from school he infects half his classmates, some have been vaccinated and are not affected. Some have not been vaccinated and they get the mumps. Most recover. Maybe one of the non-vaccinated dies. There may also be a child who was vaccinated but who is not very robust and she gets infected by several people, some of whom have been vaccinated and some who have not. Both can be carriers of the virus. The weak but vaccinated girl dies. Does this mean the vaccine doesn’t work? No. It means that if some people don’t get vaccinated they can jeopardize those who do. On the other hand, if most people have been vaccinated, those in the population who haven’t been vaccinated benefit from the actions of the others and get protection against the disease without being vaccinated. If too many people take this free-ride approach, the group suffers.

More discussion regarding whether there is too much hype about H1N1:

http://www.factsnotfantasy.com/2009/10/why-epidemiology-of-swine-flu-matters.html

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=1229

Excerpt:

In areas where 2009 (H1N1) emerged during the traditional influenza season, like Australia, they have reported more than a doubling in the number of people hospitalized from influenza, with around 1 in 5 requiring ICU-level care.  Similar to what we have seen in the US, Australia has likewise demonstrated that 2009 (H1N1) has a higher attack rate in younger people, which is in stark contrast to the normal seasonal influenza pattern, and has shifted its mean age of death from influenza from 83 down to 54.  Unlike what we have seen thus far, Australia has had a much higher hospitalization rate of 34.6/100,000 in ages 0-4, and an overall rate of 12/100,000 for the population.  This likely reflects the differences between being on-season and off-season.

Final thought:  Whenever I get a piece of news or article, I do my “consider the source” test (works great for propositions)  I look at the source of the information and where they have an incentive to fudge the truth.  In this vaccine/H1N1 debate, the side who claims that it is nothing and that vaccines are evil largely consist of commentators, “natural cure gurus”, and conspiracy theorists.  On the other side are doctors, health experts, scientists, the CDC, and the WHO.  I think I will stick with the latter.

PeterUK - 27 October 2009 10:09 PM

IrvineRealtor - 27 October 2009 09:38 PM

irvine_home_owner - 27 October 2009 05:54 PM

I don’t use pillows, so I’m good.

<attempt to lighten the thread>

I had the flu.
It sucked.
For a little over 6 weeks.

The hospital would only tell me that:
- I was not contagious when I came in (after two weeks)
- My treatment would be the same either way, so they would not test for H1N1
- I was fortunate to not have it complicated with pneumonia, as many others have.

You all can choose for yourselves, but for the House of Deuce it is “Veni, vidi, vaccinate.”

-IR2

To add to what Deuce is saying, I had Pneumonia when I was in ICU last June and whoa Mama!! It was literally like drowning, I remember the Dr and Nurses standing over me as they tried to suck what seemed like runny Custard with a Vacuum Pipe…the machine couldn’t keep up, so I would go for the Vaccine to avoid that alone…..

It’s hard to make a descision on whether to be Vaccinated or not, it’s a very personal choice and lets face it, somewhat of a gamble, it’s even harder when you have Kids and have to make the descision for them…

There is a vaccine for the bacteria form of pneumonia.  One shot for adults and that’s it (no yearly shot) - can get it for $65 cash at Costco (same day as the flu shots - check schedule at costco.com).

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:23 AM

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Good luck finding it. While it was widely available only just a week ago, not so now.

tmare - 28 October 2009 04:26 AM

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:23 AM

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Good luck finding it. While it was widely available only just a week ago, not so now.

I think my employer is offering it soon.

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:27 AM

tmare - 28 October 2009 04:26 AM

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:23 AM

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Good luck finding it. While it was widely available only just a week ago, not so now.

I think my employer is offering it soon.

It will be interesting to see if they actually get it. Apparently production has stopped to increase production of the H1N1 vaccine, most places are sitting around waiting to see if they they will get more. This is not something anyone expected to happen but it’s happening. It is now only being offered to a greatly decreased “high risk” group, that definition just changed according to our doctor, it no longer includes age groups, but instead people with specific conditions.

tmare - 28 October 2009 04:26 AM

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:23 AM

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Good luck finding it. While it was widely available only just a week ago, not so now.

Yeah, it seems like everyone’s out of this one too. Albertsons’s was supposed to be doing some clinics, but I’ve called a couple of stores and they’ve canceled their clinics because they don’t have the supply.

I find it frustrating because everybody’s telling us it’s important to go get vaccinated (for H1N1), yet it’s impossible to find the vaccine.

.

I got one three weeks ago.  My doctor said they were running low.  Currently they don’t have a single shot in sight.

Some information regarding free clinics upcoming in the OC offering H1N1 flu shots:

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-swine-flu28-2009oct28,0,3322926.story

http://www.ochealthinfo.com/public/flu/fluclinic-schedule.pdf

Excerpt from the LA Times article:

Orange County public health officials, who plan to open their first two public clinics Saturday, will restrict vaccines to healthy children 2 to 9 years old and healthy adults age 49 and under caring for infants 6 months old and younger. Those who do not qualify will be turned away, according to Deanne Thompson, spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency. They have received about 10,000 vaccines for public clinics, she said.

traceimage - 28 October 2009 06:45 AM

tmare - 28 October 2009 04:26 AM

Sunshine - 28 October 2009 04:23 AM

Shots, pills, etc… make me uneasy/uncomfortable. I guess I’m a bit suspect of the use and misuse of pharmaceuticals and specifically, antibiotics. However, after a terrible stomach flu experience last winter while on vacation visiting family for Christmas, I am considering, for the first time, whether or not I will get the regular flu shot this year.

Good luck finding it. While it was widely available only just a week ago, not so now.

Yeah, it seems like everyone’s out of this one too. Albertsons’s was supposed to be doing some clinics, but I’ve called a couple of stores and they’ve canceled their clinics because they don’t have the supply.

I find it frustrating because everybody’s telling us it’s important to go get vaccinated (for H1N1), yet it’s impossible to find the vaccine.

I think the Ralph’s in Woodbury is still giving the regular flu shot for $25.

MojoJD - 26 October 2009 09:56 PM

H1N1 is a complete load.  It is just another variant of the common flu.  Did you know that pregnant woman may also, GASP, sometimes get complications from the regular flu?

To say that one strain of a bad-but-not-horrible virus is just like another is a little puzzling.  Take HPV, for example.  Infection with some strains causes problems, but not life threatening ones, whereas other strains cause cervical cancer.  One of the complications with H1N1 is that people less than 65 years of age do not appear to have been infected with this virus or something similar (unlike other strains of flu), such that the complications from the flu are likely to be worse.  Also, H1N1 seems to be causing brain fever in some children as old as 8, whereas with “regular” flu, one (typically) need not worry about brain fever for children over the age of 1. 

Listen to what you are saying.  ONE woman from Texas with complications.

Death strikes me as a pretty serious complication, but YMMCV.  Also, because the story referenced one woman does not mean that there are not more.  For someone who schooled me on the definition of straw man, I am surprised that you are not aware of the anecdote as an illustrative point.

Did you hear how many people have this thing now?  Let alone have contracted it, but did not show terrible symptoms and never saw a doctor (by far the majority).

Sure, but the complication rates are far higher in pregnant women, which is pretty much where this thread started and was what I was primarily addressing.  Also keep in mind that there are people who knew they were sick, but never got tested for H1N1 (or whose physicians would not do the test), so the reporting rates are skewed.  Is it worse?  Is it better?  I don’t know.  I just know that people who had the flu outside the typical flu season had a really bad flu that was worse than other flus they had had.

Listen to calmer minds who do not stand to make a profit from the scare tactics (like CNN, other news shows, etc).

  Assume much?  My only news comes from overseas and sometimes the LA Times.

If you feel the need to protect your baby from H1N1 and are pregnant, that’s your call and I can’t blame you.  Otherwise, if you are truly scared of the swine flu, I feel sorry for you.  In fact, you’ve probably already been explosed, had “the sniffles” or some other low-level manifestation, and already fought it off with your natural immune system.  Especially if you live in SoCal.

Yay!  One less person in line for shots!

freedomCM - 26 October 2009 09:46 PM

wash your hands regularly.

if you really are concerned about your time accessing your office, you can wear a smock, a mask, and some glasses during your “public” time, then take them off when you arrive at your office/car.

Some of it was tongue in cheek, and some of it was recognition of bad habits.  My eyes get dry and seem to pick up every speck of dust around.  I then wipe out the fibers with my fingers.  <——Very bad habit!  I bought some eye drops to deal with the problem, but don’t always remember to use it.

.

The following information is for those interested in getting the seasonal flu vaccine:

I called around for you all (tmare) and verified that this clinic does currently have the vaccine…

Sand Canyon Urgent Care
15775 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 100, Irvine
(949) 417-0272

As of now, this will be available until November 7 (based on availability, of course but as I said, they DO currently have it. They do not yet have the H1N1 but possibly some time next week.)
Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Those of you who rent from IAC may have received a coupon for this clinic. The shots are $25 each but the price is reduced to $18 if you bring your IAC flyer / coupon.
No appointment is necessary.

EvaLSeraphim - 28 October 2009 05:33 PM

freedomCM - 26 October 2009 09:46 PM

wash your hands regularly.

if you really are concerned about your time accessing your office, you can wear a smock, a mask, and some glasses during your “public” time, then take them off when you arrive at your office/car.

Some of it was tongue in cheek, and some of it was recognition of bad habits.  My eyes get dry and seem to pick up every speck of dust around.  I then wipe out the fibers with my fingers.  <——Very bad habit!  I bought some eye drops to deal with the problem, but don’t always remember to use it.

My new look: 

Credit:  sfgate.com/AP

Thanks, SoCal. I called and was told that they are running very low but they still have shots for kids 4 years of age and over. Looks like I’ll be driving down south.

i just got my seasonal shot.  was told that h1n1 will be in next week.

SoCal78 - 28 October 2009 07:27 PM

The following information is for those interested in getting the seasonal flu vaccine:

I called around for you all (tmare) and verified that this clinic does currently have the vaccine…

Sand Canyon Urgent Care
15775 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 100, Irvine
(949) 417-0272

As of now, this will be available until November 7 (based on availability, of course but as I said, they DO currently have it. They do not yet have the H1N1 but possibly some time next week.)
Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Those of you who rent from IAC may have received a coupon for this clinic. The shots are $25 each but the price is reduced to $18 if you bring your IAC flyer / coupon.
No appointment is necessary.

I got this exact coupon in my IAC weekly fan mail last week.

But from what my Doctor says. The older you are. The less you should worry about the Swine Flu.
Guess its related closer to some of the older flu strains we got as kids in the 50`s and 60`s.
So not as likely to impact us older folk. We may be immune from our childhood exposure.

My daughter and I got the flu last Thursday. Not sure which one, but from what I have read, it sure seems like it was H1N1. We are both over it now. Amazingly my son, known as Mr. Immunity did not get it. That kid didn’t miss a day of school last year. He never gets sick - not even a cold in years.

free seasonal flu shots

You don’t even have to risk driving to Irvine and getting lost.  If you want, you can stay in the safety and comfort of Santa Ana.

Here are the details:

Who: Anyone 4 and older.
When, where: Friday, Oct. 30, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at:
Cox Communications, 29947 Avendia de las Banderas, Rancho Santa Margarita, drive-throughs or walk-in

Crystal Cathedral, 13280 Chapman Ave. in Garden Grove, drive-through or walk-in.

Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., drive-through clinic. Enter through Washington Avenue and Bristol Street for drive-through. Walk-in available but no free parking on site.

Additionally, the county’s first two public H1N1 FluMist vaccinations will be held Saturday, but only for a limited audience.

Here are the details:
Who: Healthy kids 2-9 and healthy adults under 49 who care for infants under 6 months. Priority is children 2-9 because they will need a second vaccination four weeks later.

When, where: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at:

Irvine Valley College, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, Building A300, Room 307, free parking

Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, Building “U” in the Johnson Center, free parking

Information: Health Care Agency referral line: 1-800-564-8448

What the heck is a drive-through clinic?? Do you just stick your arm out the window?

SoCal78 - 30 October 2009 07:35 PM

What the heck is a drive-through clinic?? Do you just stick your arm out the window?

You got it.

Stop at one table and get handed the paperwork.
Move forward and stick out your arm.
No muss, no fuss.  You can do it in your housecoat and fuzzy slippers.

Does anybody here remember the drive-in church here in OC?

SoCal78 - 30 October 2009 07:35 PM

What the heck is a drive-through clinic?? Do you just stick your arm out the window?

For the kids they have a line that forms separately inside, as moving vehicles and strangers with needles leaning in don’t work very well for them.