H1N1 (or: The Pig-flu Blues)

Being of a certain frame of mind I don't believe in killer bees, avian flu, Ebola, or any of the many other media driven excuses for ignoring real news from the past few decades. I know they all exist, I just don't think that any of them were as big a deal as they were made out to be at the time. Much like the H1N1 (or 'swine') flu is today. It the H1N1 potentially serious for some people? Sure, but so are all your bog-standard flu's. Lots of people die every year from "the flu" so I'm just not buying into the whole 'pandemic' thing.

Now, having said that, I had no intention of getting the H1N1 vaccination shot. The whole vaccination program just seemed so uncoordinated with the first you should get it, then only certain people should get it and if you didn't don't worry about it, then everybody should get it even though the rates of infection were dropping and not as serious as first thought, then, whatever. The drama went on. I do get the regular flu shot every year and have done so for over ten years now and have not had a serious flu in all that time, but I really didn't see the need for an H1N1 vaccination.

The thing of it is that so far this year I hadn't even gotten the regular flu shot yet. Every year it was just getting harder and harder to wedge open the wallet and tug out $15 to pay for the shot, which is what my doctor charges. Then I heard that they were offering the regular flu shot with the H1N1 flu shot and my mind was made up. If it was going to save me $15 then I figured I could put up with the H1N1 thing.

I went to the flu clinic at the Health Unit and stood in line for a whopping twenty minutes, before explaining myself to a young girl behind a desk. In answer to her questions the only allergies I have are to bad music, infotainment and televangelists, and she told me that none of those would prevent me from getting the shot. Then she asked if I would like the regular (or 'seasonal') flu-shot and I said 'yep' (cha-ching! $15!) Then she said that there may be a charge for the seasonal unless I met certain conditions. "Curses," I muttered, then, "How about if I let you guys use one of the extra big needles, and you can even re-use a dirty one if you like, and we don't say anything more about silly old charges for the seasonal flu shot? How's that sound?" I really didn't want to spend fifteen bucks if I didn't have to.

"Actually," she said, "we only have one size of needle, and we never re-use our needles, ever. The condition is are you in regular contact with anyone who is over the age of 65?" Well I have many family members who have jogged past the 65 mark and once I told her that I was in, and my fifteen bucks was still safe in my wallet.

So just so we're clear on this; I did not get vaccinated out of some sort of media-frenzy induced worry about getting the swine-flu. It was purely a financial matter and I think I came out ahead in that deal. Okay? Okay!

Anyway... Humouroceros