H1N1

Well I have to let off some steam. It's not a lot of steam but I'm going to vent all the same. It's about the H1N1 vaccinations here in Calgary.

Now you are not going to hear me complain that the health region was asleep at the wheel rolling out the vaccinations for the city. No, what gets me is that on the first day (yesterday) too many people rushed out to get their shot. I'm talking about perfectly healthy people rushing out overwhelming the city's resources at the four locations and then complaining that the city wasn't equipped to handle it. Now, if I remember correctly, the people that were suppose to get the needles first were the sick, elderly or pregnant. Children were perhaps in the list but truthfully, I don't remember. So why did so many people stand around outside for hours in the cold weather waiting for this vaccination? Here perfectly healthy people were running the risk of getting sick waiting for an injection that would prevent them from getting flu. Oh it makes me crazy. How I see it is ... the people that "need" it should get it first ... everyone else wait. Are people so selfish that they think they have to run to get it before it runs out? What is the rush?

They say one in 3 will contract this flu with varying degrees of intensity. That doesn't mean everyone that gets it will just drop dead.

I was watching the Rick Mercer Report the other day and he said on the show that Canada has enough vaccine for 1 in 35 Canadians. Now I don't know how accurate his information is but if that's the case, that's the way it is. Let the really sick and people with compromised immune systems get it. The rest of the public should just take care of themselves. Eat properly, sleep enough, wash their hands and don't consume sugar.

Okay one more thing. Staff vaccinations were held yesterday and today at four locations in hospitals around the city. All day long we were fielding calls from health region staff asking if they can bring family members to the vaccination locations to get vaccinated also. What part of "staff" don't they get. I was getting pretty annoyed and most people said they would bring their family members anyway and it would be a 50/50 chance that they would also vaccinate them. How terribly selfish. People never fail to surprise me ... whether it's good or bad. I think this H1N1 is bringing out a lot of hysteria in people and they are being stupid.

I know I am pretty much on the fence about the flu shot ... both the regular one and the new H1N1. But I do know for a fact that I will wait until the people that need it the most are taken care of. I'm not rushing out to get my children vaccinated ... we are all, thank God, healthy and we will take our turn if and when we deem it necessary.

Thanks for letting me vent.