Swine Flu Vaccinations Safe?

[MegaBuddha]

Here shortly, my school will be setting up a clinic or whatever to vaccinate the entire school from the Swine Flu. Lately online I've been hearing a lot of argument against and for getting the flu shot. I came here expecting to read about it more and educate myself for my decision(like I do everything else, lol) but there isn't a topic about it yet that I can see. I figure this is relevant to most of you because I think after high school, they next list of people to be vaccinated is college students.

Are people being paranoid or is there a real problem to worry about when getting it? I've heard mostly online that it's bad because of the amount of mercury in the vaccination, like most other shots.
Now of course, since it's only supposed to be a one in a million thing it's not as big a worry but I figure I should also bring up this video also.

So please, discuss.

 

[Eraddd]

Personally, I'd get it. I had a case of H1N1, and it blew balls. I was in band, and I couldn't play my clarinet. My eyes were blood shot, and I was shivering. I was wearing a huge jacket and a thick vest underneath, and I was shivering. My throat hurt so badly.

That night I woke up every 15-30 minutes, shivering with a huge headache. I had nightmares for some of the periods of sleep. Finally, I took two tylenols, and went to sleep, but wasn't the most pleasant sleep or with the most pleasant dreams. Slept well til noon. Woke up dehydrated and with throat hurting like a bitch still. Had to keep on drinking hot tea so that the throat didn't hurt too much.

Right now, the throat still hurts, and all that hot tea has burned my tongue and parts of my gums, so now it's hard to eat because it hurts so much.

I'd personally get the shot. I think I read a study how you get more mercury from eating fish for a certain period of time, than getting a shot.

 

[B-Lulz]

Not that i'm an expert on this but won't the vaccine be useless once the strain mutates?

 

[MetalGearSamus]

@B-Lulz:
Yes, the vaccine will become useless. That is why AIDS is such a problem and we need new flu shots every year. But for most other infections a vaccine will give you permanent immunity/resistance because they do not mutate as fast or if they do the mutations are small enough so that your body can respond in time.

As for whether or not to get it, well...I don't know. I have not had a vaccine or an infection so I can't offer any personal advise unfortunately. =/

 

[DM]

I would never knowingly accept a vaccine that has been rushed out in about a year. There has been no true long-term testing done, and as of right now Obama calling a state of emergency on H1N1 was the stupidest fucking thing I've seen in a long time, and will only make this media-driven panicstorm even worse.

 

[Surgo]

DM: every flu vaccine gets rushed out in a year or less by definition. The virus changes sufficiently each year to require new vaccines.

To the OP: despite the fearmongering that morons like Jenny McCarthy and Glenn Beck seem to love spreading (especially that idiotic bitch Jenny McCarthy), there's nothing wrong with modern vaccines and the mercury-based preservative. This has been extensively studied and debunked, scientifically (as opposed to the completely non-statistical, non-scientific waaa-waaa'ing of said moron celebs).

That all said, I can't help but be saddened at the anti-vaccine idiocy of these public figures nowadays. What ever happened to the days when guys like Humphrey Bogart would publically urge everyone to get their kids vaccinated instead?

 

[cantab]

ALL vaccines have a degree of risk. That risk is far smaller than the risk posed by the disease (otherwise the vaccine would be pointless).

I'm not going to seek out the jab. I'm not worried about pandemic flu any more than regular flu, plus I hate injections.

 

[supermarth64]

I read somewhere (or for another vaccine, I forget which) that this vaccine has the same amount of mercury as a tuna fish sandwich.

Though it was probably for another vaccine.

 

[Surgo]

The mercury present in vaccines is ethylmercury, which does not accumulate in humans.

 

[VKCA]

I figured the only reason they were really worried about it is if it mutates in to something much more deadly, while keeping the same level of contagiousness. If that did happen the shot would prove quite futile I should think, so I probably won't get the shot. If it does mutate into some mega-death virus, well nothings really been controlling our population thus far, and maybe H1N1 is going to cut us back to a million or so. Survival of the fittest seems like a good way to keep the population under control, if a little barbaric.

 

[MegaBuddha]

The fear mongering get's to me =|.
Should I get it? Lol I mean is there any real reason not to? Or am I safe and have nothing to lose by taking it.

 

[TEA_DEMON]

lol, swine flu. The injection wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Hipmonlee]

I think that unless you have a specific reason to not get a vaccine (like an allergy or something) then, whatever flu shot side-effects there may be, you are much more likely to be a lot better off with the vaccine than with the flu.

Have a nice day.

 

[Chompy]

I wonder how that effect will last? I mean if she could only run/walk backwards the she is now for the rest of her life. She may as well be on a wheel chair for all we know.

 

[mudkip72]

My mom was talking with some other lady about this. This lady has had her kid take the flu shot every year, but believes that the H1N1 vaccine is dangerous and rushed. No matter what my mom tried argueing, this lady could not get it through her head that they go through the same procedure for the normal flu vaccenes as the H1N1 vaccene.

The point is, if you are willing to take the normal flu shot, take this one, because that is just what this is, only the media has hyped this strain of flu to death.

Honestly if this virus was not called "Swine Flu" there would not be this much panic over it. (Though this flu is paticularly dangerous compared to others, seeing as it is indeed killing people and spreading rapidly).

If you don't want to get the shot, just make sure you got a good immune system. I say drink lots of Orange juice. Good stuff and Vitamin C for a strong immune system! =)

 

[Surgo]

throughout history vaccinations have been risky to take. if you are not within the exposure of swine flu i'd just be cautious and not get the shot.

Bullshit. "Throughout history" (as long as vaccines have been around), vaccines have completely wiped out in the United States a massive number of deadly diseases that killed or maimed an incredibly large number of people, with virtually no side effects. Cite your source that shows that vaccinations are statistically "risky" or get out.

 

[cim]

If you consider "educating yourself" on an issue being spooked into counter researching the advice of thousands of medical professionals because of a viral video relying on the most sensationalist and least accurate forms of evidence in all of medicine (the anecdotal report), perhaps you need to reconsider your priorities just a little.

As with all medical issues, I'd talk to real doctors.

I would never knowingly accept a vaccine that has been rushed out in about a year. There has been no true long-term testing done, and as of right now Obama calling a state of emergency on H1N1 was the stupidest fucking thing I've seen in a long time, and will only make this media-driven panicstorm even worse.

The swine flu vaccine is a simple variant on the normal flu shot. For a vaccine that wears out in a year based almost completely on another vaccine that's been offered for several (albeit with a different virus yearly), you could pretty much guarantee a lack of "long term side effects".

If you can afford it and are in an area prone to it (especially if you're a college student and are generally more prone to these kind of diseases), there's no reason not to get it. The swine flu isn't something that will kill you or anything, but it makes you sick for a week or two, and no one really wants that. Many will yell about how drummed up swine flu is, but it doesn't mean that getting a free shot to prevent it is stupid just because it won't kill you.

 

[akuchi]

I'd have got it if I'd stayed pregnant; since that's no longer an issue, I don't think I'm eligible to get it free. I'm not going to go out and buy it, but I'd get it if I could; same as the seasonal flu vaccines.

The Brit media (cant speak for our Yank cousins) is bloody awful about things like this; that girl dying of an unrelated medical condition on the same day as getting the cervical cancer jab (which is actually not a jab for cervical cancer at all, it's a jab against an STI that causes some cervical cancers - but try telling the public that!) caused such a massive shitstorm and it wasn't even really amended; it made headlines that she'd died and was only a small amendment that the jab had absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Bloody english.

P.S. if you found flu 'annoying at best', it wasn't bloody flu. Flu is fucking nasty. I have a mild cold and that's annoying; flu will render you unable to get out of bed.

 

[VKCA]

Honestly if this virus was not called "Swine Flu" there would not be this much panic over it. (Though this flu is paticularly dangerous compared to others, seeing as it is indeed killing people and spreading rapidly).

I'm fairly certain swine flu has killed less people than the regular flu has, but yes the rapid spreading is what they are worried about.

So far the death toll of H1N1 is 5382

Every winter, tens of millions of people get the flu. Most are only ill and out of work for a week, yet the elderly are at a higher risk of death from the illness. We know the worldwide death toll exceeds a few hundred thousand people a year, but even in developed countries the numbers are uncertain, because medical authorities don't usually verify who actually died of influenza and who died of a flu-like illness.

 

[cim]

Swine flu is not "particularly dangerous" in that it has no particular property that makes it "more deadly" than the normal flu, other than young adults being slightly more susceptible to it (though we're not exactly the type dying of diseases now).

What's cause for concern was the rapid spread of an alternate flu strain without forewarned vaccinations and shit, but that's obviously not an issue anymore.

 

[Robo-Ky]

To the OP: despite the fearmongering that morons like Jenny McCarthy and Glenn Beck seem to love spreading (especially that idiotic bitch Jenny McCarthy), there's nothing wrong with modern vaccines and the mercury-based preservative.

I find it freaking hilarious how Glenn Beck is practically exploding over the government "invading our bloodstreams" by providing vaccinations over H1N1. Is that guy trying to actively kill his viewers or what?

Back on topic, I've already gotten vaccinated, and can safely say that I have not experienced any abnormal side effects or anything like that, other than the typical sore arm that comes with getting any other flu shot. If people want to not get vaccinated, they can go right ahead. Just be sure to eat and drink plenty of chicken soup and orange juice. Honestly, I don't see why everyone is so afraid of getting vaccinated for H1N1 when it's pretty much just like any other flu shot.

 

[cantab]

I read somewhere (or for another vaccine, I forget which) that this vaccine has the same amount of mercury as a tuna fish sandwich.

Though it was probably for another vaccine.

That may be true - but you don't inject a tuna sandwich.

 

[Caelum]

On the note of safety. When have flu shots ever been a real problem (1976 was hugely overblown since we aren't even sure if the vaccination caused any of the deaths, and subsequent evidence shows that to be unlikely) ? The seasonl flu vaccine that has been used for years and the swine flu vaccine are surprisingly similar. In fact, the normal vaccine has always contained glycoprotein elements from H1N1. It's a standard influenza-A sub-type vaccine, it's nothing particularly special and the safety of influenza-A vaccines are well established. Also, the U.S. already performed clinical trials on over 10,000 + people with no serious side effects to speak of. Flu vaccines do not have long-term damage potential, so what's the problem?

Also, for those of you claiming in this thread that if H1N1 mutates that the vaccine is worthless, you are incorrect. Excluding a few viruses, mutations tend to be, relatively speaking, minor. If you get a vaccine for a similar strain, your body develops antibodies for that strain and due to the similarity of the neuraminidase between the two your body can mount a more effective response. It grants you a partial-immunity of sorts. It's like how the standard flu vaccines afforded some partial immunity to the mutated avian flu, despite the vaccine not containing the mutated strain.

I won't get vaccinated since I already had the swine flu. My antibody titers will be higher since I got the real thing anyway so I don't see the point of getting the vaccine. I was strong enough to fight it.

 

[Aeolus]

I think the Glenn Beck bashing is a bit unwarranted (on this subject anyway). I watched the show that everyone is referencing and the only thing he objected to was the government FORCING certain groups of people to get the vaccine (like health care workers, etc.) He didn't rail against the vaccine itself... just the government mandate. Rather, his idea was that if the health care professionals in the field thought the vaccine was worthwhile, then the hospital administration itself could require its employees to get the vaccine. It was simply the government intrusion (and the obviously slippery slope entailed) that Mr. Beck condemned. You can argue that point as well, but let's be accurate in our criticism.

 

[akuchi]

That may be true - but you don't inject a tuna sandwich.

No, you just uh.. eat them.