H1N1 creeping in closer

[DrakeMaiden]

Thanks. That is interesting. I guess I thought the immune system had a better memory than that . . . maybe that is best left to the CNS. So . . . . how good, in general, of a memory does a vaccine create? I imagine less of one than actually catching whatever virus?

 

[patandchickens]

I think as a general statement that is more or less roughly true - as witness many/most vaccines requiring boostering, whereas for those diseases the disease itself tends to produce good immunity just from one bout. Although of course when you're sick you have the buggies in your system for a good while, vs a quick needle stick, so it may be kind of apples and oranges there.

OTOH, I would rather be immune to polio by being vaccinated than by actually contracting clinical polio -- not that things can't go wrong from vaccination but on the whole your odds are better that way.

I'm not certain whether that statement could be made for the current H1N1 situation though.

Pat

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yes. Pick your poison.

Thanks for answering my question.

 

[Big Daddy]

I never thought I would have to pay a fine for talking on the phone either. Smokers never thought they wouldn't be allowed to ply their trade inside a building. Bike riders and helmets. Motorcycles as well. Seatbelts. All couched as public health concerns, or protecting people from illness and injury. Those things are mandatory, why not the vaccine?

That's true. All those other laws are passed because of the cost to society. If you don't wear a helmet and become a vegetable and you don't have the money to pay the costs for the medical care it is absorbed by the public. Same with seat belts and smoking.

So you're right. It follows that if you get the H1n1 and it puts you in the hospital and you are uninsured it is a drain on the public.

However I don't think we'll ever see that.

 

[patandchickens]

Actually AFAIK school age kids are legally required to be vaccinated for various things, in most states (at least -- I think it is all? not sure, too lazy to look up). So there is precedent.

But going along with that, I believe that all states that have mandatory vaccinations (polio, DaTP, MMR) *also* have language permitting exemptions for medical, religious and/or philosophical reasons. (The exact assortment of eligible reasons, and the amount of paperwork involved, varying among states).

If they ever did make pandemic flu vaccine mandatory, I will betcha dollars to donuts that unless it were in a super severe situation that is not currently imaginable (for instance a version of H1N1 coming along that has like 90% mortality, or something -- and I really, really would bet very heavily against it) then there would be the same sorts of exemptions permitted.

Not necessarily the best situation but I am just trying to point out that one does not have to expect an all-or-nothing situation.

Pat

 

[Big Daddy]

I think the girls-only vaccine being referred to is the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine against some forms of cervical cancer.

From what I have read, going to the original literature on the studies assessing its safety (although mind you I have not looked at anything new that's come out in the past year or so), I would not let a daughter of mine near it with a forty foot pole, its safety is pretty completely un-assessed. The initial study that established its 'safety' for its initial big roll-out followed recipients for IIRC a grand total of six weeks after vaccine administration, that's *it*. Now it may be that more has been published since then -- it really doesn't affect me, I am 44 and have only sons, so I have not kept up -- but to me that means that basically everyone recieving it for the next five years or so will be guinea pigs. Which would be ok in some circumstances but not for this, IMO.

Pat

I feel the exact opposite Pat. However I respect your logic. The usual argument is "That's tantamount to telling my daughter to go have sex". I have someone very near and dear to me that got cervical cancer from that virus. Fortunately they caught it soon enough that they were able to remove it surgically and it hasn't come back. If we had been uninsured at the time it might not have been caught and it could have come out much worse. That is one form of cancer that is quite common that can be prevented with he vaccine.

 

[Big Daddy]

DM--I think I know what you mean. I sometimes have this low-grade sense of "coming down with something" that never materializes. I figure it was something my body fought off before coming down with full-blown symptoms.

I've been getting some low grade stuff. Just low grade fevers and coughing. Just feel kind of punky. Went to the doc because I have asthma and I was worried about getting pneumonia. I have bronchitis, but they didn't test for anything else.