Obama's Daughters Not Vaccinated Against H1N1

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.

reply to post by total_slacker

Originally posted by total_slacker
reply to post by Curious and Concerned

 

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.

I have to disagree with you there. I'd say the best way to prevent the spread of flu is an accurate awareness of how to maintain a healthy immune system, along with appropriate precautions by people who have contracted the virus. I'm pretty sure even a well tested seasonal vaccine could only be considired mildly effective at preventing illness from a flu virus, while it may lessen the implications of the symptoms.

I'm not saying you're doing the wrong thing for your kids, just that it's not what I'd do

If you have weighed up the risks and choose to get the jabs, so be it. However, I would be more focused on keeping a healthy immune system with a healthy diet with plenty of natural vitamins, and a healthy dosing of sunlight (vitamin D).
Good luck with your up and coming flu season. We got through it without too many troubles (without a vaccine, I might add) here in NZ. Keep healthy

www.cnn.com...

daughters Sasha and Malia received their H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines last week. The president's daughters received the vaccine "after the vaccine became available to Washington, D.C., schoolchildren,"

For what it is worth:

Sasha and Malia given H1N1 vaccinations

Malia and Sasha Obama were given the H1N1 flu vaccine last week, the White House disclosed today as a case of H1N1 was confirmed at the private school campus 11-year-old Malia attends.

The girls received the vaccine after it became available to Washington, D.C., school children, a spokeswoman for first lady Michelle Obama said today.

...

The girls' H1N1 vaccine was administered by a White House physician, who applied for and received the vaccine from the district's Department of Health, using the same process as district vaccination sites, Lelyveld said.

Meanwhile, the Sidwell Friends School told parents Wednesday of a confirmed case of H1N1 in its Upper School. Malia attends Sidwell's Middle School, located in Washington on the same 15-acre campus as the Upper School. She is in the sixth grade.

Sasha Obama, 8, attends Sidwell's Lower School, located in suburban Bethesda, Md. She is in the third grade.