H1N1 - will it pass us by, or is it the long awaited super flu that Stephen King called "Captain Trips" in his epic (aka frigging long) novel "The Stand". Its hard to know given the various media reports that on one hand play this up as a real (H1N1 is coming for you!) crisis and the government dispatches that tell us we have nothing to fear as long as we do exactly what they tell us to do (so that's always worked out well before right? whoops tainted blood and the Red Cross - what was I thinking).
In situations like this perhaps the only way to make sense is to measure the levels of paranoia associated with each side of the debate - for example in this case there are those who believe EVERYTHING that the Government tells us to do is wrong - the vaccine will harm you, its unproven etc - just eat gluten free products and do yoga and all will be well. Uh Huh. Then there are those who think that the government is actually holding back how serious it all is and everyone should get every possible shot they can find, we should all practice "social distancing" (as if Ottawa wasn't slow enough already) wear face masks and gloves in public - well you get the picture.
So where is reality in all this? One of my nostrums is that reality is that which doesn't go away when you stop believing in it. So given that what's left over? My reality is that given all the crap already wrong with me I'll stand for a couple of hours to get the shot regardless because I personally think the risk not to get it is greater. For my children I am really torn - they're both healthy now but if you believe what we've heard about so far that doesn't mean anything.
If anybody reads this I would love to hear your take on it, until the next time...
"There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong."
H. L. Mencken,
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the hyseria is confusing, the variety of 'sources' spouting off facts numerous, and so we get stuck in limbo, afraid.
ReplyDeletei remember the meningitis scare in the early 90's in Ottawa, where everyone under 18 needed to be vaccinated or else were not allowed back to school. i had a friend who contracted it so i contacted to local hospital to see what I should personally do, since I had been in contact with the virsus. Their answer - Call the radio station. No, REALLY!? CALL the RADIO station to find out what I should do? Yup. That was the answer. Luckily, I didn't contract the virus.
Lesson learned? Don't rely on the healthcare system itself to tell you anything - go to the media! Awesome. Not...
:)
Leel