Comments

1. #1 Greg Laden

   November 4, 2009

   We ran out of vaccine again. My wife has it, I do not, my daughter does not, no one in my daughter’s mother’s household has it, no one one at the inlaws.

   I think in the US we will be having an interesting thanksgiving. Or, more exactly, an interesting post-thanksgiving die-off.

2. #2 Martin R

   November 4, 2009

   Don’t worry, the risk of a new mutation that produces a really deadly virus is negligible.

3. #3 James W.

   November 4, 2009

   I’ve not yet had mine despite the fact that there have been “confirmed cases” of this imaginary flu at my university. I did get the flu in the beginning of October but since I did not turn into a pig, I feel certain it wasn’t swine flu.

4. #4 Pär

   November 4, 2009

   I try to keep up with the tabloids’ reporting, to decide whether to be killed by the deadly flu itself, or by the lethal side effects of the vaccine. At the moment, I’m slightly more inclined to letting the inoculation have me. Bigger headlines.

5. #5 Kevin

   November 4, 2009

   It’s funny how your perspective changes when it happens to someone you know, even second-hand. A friend of a coworker, 26 f, is in the hospital on a respirator, and a 10-yo son of a neighbor of another coworker died after a week’s illness, both blamed on H1N1. Now I’m like hmmmmm.

   I know it’s anecdotal, but it will scare me into getting the vaccine more than either the tabloid reports or the skeptics who say it’s no worse than the common flu. Well that plus the fact that you got the vaccine, Martin.

6. #6 Sigmund

   November 4, 2009

   We were refused the same vaccine today at our center (Odenplan). They told us to come back next week but they are witholding it from our son who is six since he had an egg allergy when he was younger. He’s fine now and his allergy consultant gave us the go-ahead for the flu vaccine but the nurses in the vaccination clinic are refusing to take the risk ..grrrrrr!

7. #7 Martin R

   November 4, 2009

   Kevin, yeah, I think it’s a good idea to get the shot. Very few people are killed by this virus. But being laid low by the flu is a major drag anyway, and somebody with a compromised immune system might catch it from you and die.

   Sigmund, that’s frustrating! Hope you & missus got the shot.

8. #8 Tree

   November 4, 2009

   Um…has anyone noticed that a new mutation has produced a really deadly virus in Ukraine? They have over 80 dead (a bunch from hemorrhagic pneumonia)and close to 500K sick (today, was only 250K sick on Monday) in the last week or so. WHO is on the ground investigating.

9. #9 Martin R

   November 5, 2009

   Apparently the Ukraine has confirmed four dead hospital staff, which given the usual proportions of these things suggests that the two-digit total death count is probably very understated.

10. #10 DianaGainer

    November 5, 2009

    Apparently children and the elderly are most likely to die of H1N1 (swine flu), as is typical of other types of flu. However, the particular type of virus is similar to the so-called Spanish flu, the one that killed so many people in the prime of life at the end of World War I. If someone you know gets it, try to see to it that they receive oxygen, as that appears to be the one of the best predictors of survival. Anyone who has an egg allergy is at risk from the vaccination itself, though. They are better off doing lots and lots of hand-washing (and very little face touching).

11. #11 jakc

    November 10, 2009

    Oh good god Martin, this is socialized medicine. No doubt your vaccine was nothing more than saline with a small contrivance created by a homeopath. It’s only in the US, where medicine is restricted to a few, that you get the real deal (other people just get the autism vaccine).

    You Europeans with your universal health care and your “science”–those things won’t do you much good in h-e-double hockey sticks!