On Saturday I tried to get the H1N1 vaccine but was unsuccessful. I was greeted at the South Main Public Health Center in Salt Lake City by hundreds of people who had gotten there before me and had already formed a line weaving throughout the parking lot. Some had been waiting for more than three hours.
I decided I was going to tough it out and wait, until I was told that if you were one of those people in the back of the line, you had no hope of getting a shot today. Feeling discouraged, I brought myself to the reality that I would ultimately have to wait until the next round of vaccines was available and in the meantime, arm myself with a little bottle of hand sanitizer and hope for the best.
In an ideal world, everyone on the U campus would get the H1N1 vaccine in the name of respect for fellow classmates’ well-being. However, as agents of free will, each student has the choice of whether to get the vaccine. It seems like a no-brainer to me: five seconds of discomfort from a shot compared to a week of hell accompanied by body aches, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea and vomiting.
Although the choice of increasing the chances of not getting sick seems obvious to me, many people still have reservations about getting the H1N1 vaccine.
“I think the most common (worry) I’ve heard is that it was rushed into production and that there hasn’t been enough time for research for side effects,” said Chris Nelson, director of public affairs at the U Health Sciences center. Regardless of public worries, Nelson said he hasn’t seen any reports about significant adverse reactions from the vaccine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. government has purchased 250 million doses of 2009 H1N1 vaccine, so anyone who wants to get the vaccine will have the opportunity to do so. So far, Utah has received 110,200 doses, only 7,000 of those were distributed last Saturday at the mass H1N1 vaccination clinics. Of course the vaccine isn’t a guarantee that you won’t contract H1N1, but it is a nice precaution.
“Most people who get the virus are going to be fine in the end, but they’ll feel really terrible for a week,” Nelson said. “But if you do get the vaccine, it will lessen the symptoms if you end up getting it.”
So what if you’re one of those “brave souls” who decides to tough it out and decline the vaccine? Nelson recommends staying home.
“If you choose not to get the vaccine, have the courtesy to stay home when you get sick, because that’s what causes the explosion in the number of cases,” Nelson said.
And for those of us waiting patiently to get the vaccine? Don’t isolate yourself in a bubble, just remember to wash your hands frequently and exercise good health habits. Yes, that might even mean buying an extra cup at your next Halloween costume party instead of sharing one with a friend in order to save a few bucks.
So let’s be smart and not make this swine flu thing bigger than it has to be. There’s no need to panic, but there is a need to exercise your common sense and good judgment. Make a conscious effort to keep your germs to yourself, and stay home when you’re feeling under the weather.
As Nelson reminds us, “the more people who get the shot, the better chance we have of controlling it,” but if you make the choice not to get the vaccine, be responsible about the consequences that may ensue.
