reply to post by Curious and Concerned
Please note the exact wording of my original post. I did not say that H1N1 was a "sure killer". I realize very well that at this point it doesn't
seem to be much if any worse than the "ordinary" flu. What I said was that it is known for certain that this virus does sometimes kill young and
otherwise healthy people. Yes the majority of cases are minor, just as with the regular flu. The only difference is that this one has made the news.
That said - since H1N1 is more or less an ordinary flu, why should we not treat it as one? The best way to prevent the spread of this flu, like any
other strain, is to have susceptible populations vaccinated against it. Widespread and ill-founded fears of the vaccine are going to be, I suspect,
the single largest factor in ensuring that H1N1 claims many more victims than it should.
As for risking my children's health....well I do that all the time for all sorts of reasons. I risk their lives by putting them in the car to drive
them to school in the morning. I accept the risk of injury that comes with an active lifestyle and in fact encourage them to participate in dangerous
activities like hiking in the mountains. Heck I even allow them to eat peanuts. I do not protect them from these risks because I have made a
judgement that a life well-lived is worth taking some chances for. To get them vaccinated certainly does carry some slight risk, but I have judged
that the benefit of avoiding what seems likely to be a very widespread and potentially lethal disease is worth any slight risk they may incur from the
vaccine.

