H1N1 Flu Shot

So, I get up this morning and turn on the news.  I hear that the state of Massachusetts is considering making the H1N1 flu shot mandatory. This is crazy! The H1N1 is not really all that different than the regular influenza. Yes, people die each year from the flu. Most of the time they die from respiratory complications or because they already had health issues that were made worse because of the flu. This is not big news. Unfortunately, this happens. People die. We are not talking the Bubonic Plague ("Black Death") here. The CDC has given the symptoms of the H1N1 virus. Everyone hold your breath....here they are......The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. I don't know about you, but anyone that has been sick before feels this way, don't they? I still don't get it.

But why all the hoopla? Why is the World Health Organization calling it a pandemic? Why is our country freaking out over the flu? Why scare the ba- jeebies out of people? If this legislation passes in Massachusetts then officials will have the right to go into people's homes and quarantine them if they didn't get the shot.  If they still refuse, then they can be fined up to $1,000 dollars a day. For crying out loud!!! What is with that?

They want to give the shots to our children first.  Uh, no thank you to that. This particular flu shot is so new....they have no idea what the side effects could be. Does anyone remember the 70's when Ford had people get the flu shots for this same sort of thing, and more people got sick or died from the vaccination then anyone did from the flu outbreak itself!

I have had family members and friends tell me that their family doctors have told them that they are personally not getting the H1N1 flu shot, nor are they allowing any of their family members to do so.  What does that say? If the doctors themselves don't feel it's safe enough for their own families....then I am for sure not subjecting myself or any of those I love to it!

Now, some of you might be all gung ho on getting the H1N1 flu shot. Okay, that's fine. I've gotten seasonal flu shots for years, and so has my family. I'm not against vaccinations in general. I just don't like THIS one. I think amongst all this panic we need to ask ourselves, why? Who would benefit from scaring the public into believing we are in a global pandemic? Hmmm..........