Swine Flu Vaccine Released, But Will People Use It?
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The Washington Post hit us with a good news/bad news punch on Sunday. The good news? The swine flu vaccination is about to be released to the public. The bad news? Huge percentages of the country are wary of the vaccine and will refuse to take it—only 40 percent of Americans are sure they're going to take it, and only 50 percent will make sure their children do.
I'm sure people have many understandable reasons for this lack of enthusiasm. Vaccines take not just money, but also a chunk out of your day, and that may not seem worth it. Plus, American selfishness, as evidenced by the explosion of gated communities and the hostility to health care reform, probably plays a factor. Sadly, way too many people are willing to hurt themselves to make sure they don't do too much for their neighbor, and that kind of thinking could incline people to resist helping establish herd immunity. But Rob Stein of the Post lays the blame on the growing anti-vaccination movement, which floods the rumor mill with conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical companies that want to harm you for profit. Never mind that safe vaccines would result in the same amount of profit.
If this is true, and the anti-vaccination movement has gained this much of a foothold, then that's a worrisome trend. Right now, the hardcore anti-vaxxers appear to live mainly in wealthy liberal enclaves, which means that the measles outbreaks caused by their foolishness thrive in the aisles of Whole Foods, but luckily can't spread too far. But unfortunately, paranoia has a way of spreading across the country, and the crunchy anti-vaccination arguments that lean on a lot of loaded but meaningless terms such as "natural" and, sadly, "green" (which used to have a specific meaning—sustainable, nonpolluting—but now is morphing into a meaningless term like "natural") have a tendency to work their magic even on people who don't shop at Whole Foods and attend daily yoga classes.
I never cease to be surprised at how "natural" works so well as a bullying term to end rational discussion. Even the usually irreverent Bust magazine had an article in their most recent issue extolling the virtues of natural family planning, because it's so natural, and implying that the only reason that women might prefer the pill is that they're not in touch with their bodies and they're in the thrall of pharmaceutical companies. That some women might not be happy with having six to 12 days a month marked off as no-intercourse days (six around ovulation, four to six for your period) didn't even register.
"Natural" is a harmless enough fetish if you're the only one who has to keep getting pregnant on accident, or you're the one foolish enough to think that bag of potato chips is healthier because they slapped the word "natural" on it. But if it really is getting to the point where half the country is wary of a basic vaccination that could save thousands of lives, then loving "natural" stops being a risky personal hobby, and starts becoming a public menace. Personally, I'll take an unnatural vaccination over the natural swine flu any day.
Photograph of a syringe on homepage by George Doyle and Claran Giffin/Getty.
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Comments
Flu season...
By: OKlanP | Fri, 10/30/2009 - 22:15
Since it is the start of the fall flu season, there not only will be the ordinary flu, but also the H1N1 influenza strain, or the Swine Flu. Any vaccine carries risk of infection, but most likely it will protect you. The worst possible H1N1 vaccine risk is a possibility of developing GBS, or Guillain Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune condition which involves the break down of the lining of nerve cells. The odds in an H1N1 vaccine leading to GBS are about a million to one. However, the risk to already high risk patients is worth running – as the swine flu can kill. Children under 2, adults over 65, pregnant women, teenagers on an aspirin regimen, and adults that are already immunocompromised. It's worth getting emergency loans, not from unlicensed lenders for an H1N1 vaccine.
compelling arguement for vaccination- cancer kids
By: im1 | Tue, 10/06/2009 - 01:16
Ever thought, "Wow, I wish I could do something for those poor brave cancer kids in the bright cheerful children's hospital?" Well, you can, and it is to get off your ass and get vaccinated for the flu, for measles, etc. Herd immunity protects those whose immune systems are weak and will not respond well to vaccination. Herd immunity is provided by the healthy to protect the weak. Don't hate kids with cancer, get vaccinated.
Other populations with weak immune systems: adults with cancer, newborns, the elderly, pregnant women, HIV patients, and I'm probably leaving some out.
It doesn't have anything to do with being "natural"
By: ockeghem | Thu, 10/29/2009 - 09:57
I'm with you, Juliesunday. I could care less about anything being "natural." But I'm not going to get the flu vaccine. We're not talking about the measles vaccine or the polio vaccine here. We're talking about a vaccine that prevents against one strain of the flu -- a strain I might not even get.
I've heard a lot about the vaccine lately, because I'm nine months pregnant and it comes up in just about every group practice meeting they have. The doctors in my practice say it's a relatively mild strain of the flu, in fact, although in rare cases people have a bad reaction to it. Also, interesting point made by one of my doctors: 30% of people have already had the swine flu and don't even know it. In those people, it was mild enough that it could have passed for a bad cold.
There's some research coming out now in my province that having the regular flu vaccine could make you more susceptible to having a bad case of swine flu. And who knows whether it will actually protect you from getting the regular flu, anyway, as the flu vaccine in any given year is an educated guess as to which strain will actually make the rounds. If they guess right, great; if not, then the vaccine won't help you.
Interestingly, I've never had a flu vaccine, and I haven't had the flu in probably 20 years. I know plenty of people who've had the flu vaccine, and still have gotten the flu. Flu vaccines are an imperfect science. So it has nothing to do with rich, white "anti-vaxxers," or not having the time or money to go in for it. For many perfectly intelligent people, no compelling argument has been made that the flu vaccine actually prevents the flu -- unlike vaccines for measles, polio, TB, etc.
flu vax: snore
By: juliesunday | Mon, 10/05/2009 - 11:04
I'm definitely not anti-vax (depite my railing against Gardasil) but I don't ever get flu vaccines and I don't plan to get the H1N1 vaccine (though I could get both for free at work) because I just don't think vaccines for viruses that mutate as quickly as the flu are effective.
Sigh.
By: lorikay4 | Mon, 10/05/2009 - 10:24
If only this were going to be a case of natural selection hard at work, where the stupid and anti-scientific sorts were going to sicken and die. But when you combine the dim with those too poor or overburdened by work hours to get to a vaccination appointment, then we are really losing any chance of establishing herd immunity to this bug (or others) at all. And of course, the other problem is collateral losses among the CHILDREN of the stupid and anti-scientific, who don't really deserve such a fate.