rss
twitter
    Find out what I'm doing, Follow Me :)

H1N1: Swine Flu

So I was approached by my family and asked whether or not I was going to get vaccinated when the clinics open up within the next week... I said no. My mother said that I had to because she didn't want to get swine... and I replied, "But you're taking the shot, aren't you?"

Something doesn't sit well with me about this whole situation and how everyone is seeming to blow it out of proportion, so I went to the media and to the WHO and I begun my research.

Apparently since the outbreak of the H1N1 it's been released that 4800 people have died, which doesn't seem to be a lot. Sure it's still a lot of family members and a lot of brothers and sisters and sons and daughters, but statistically it's not a lot of people.

So I reflected on the normal flu, and exactly how many people yearly this more "common" flu has been killing, with little to no hysteria caused throughout the world.

Taken directly from the WHO's website, I quote:
Influenza epidemics occur yearly during autumn and winter in temperate regions. Illnesses result in hospitalizations and deaths mainly among high-risk groups (the very young, elderly or chronically ill). Worldwide, these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250 000 to 500 000 deaths. Most deaths associated with influenza in industrialized countries occur among people age 65 or older. In some tropical countries, influenza viruses circulate throughout the year with one or two peaks during rainy seasons.
Yet that was never a reason to invest $400 million into Pharmaceutical companies for imunizations for the nation... but on the flip side I do respect that the government is going an extra step to potentially help it's citizens, I do. But this just doesn't sound right.

So I looked to the history books, and through this I found that previously we've been hit with a Swine flu, with little to no implications of a worldwide pandemic, or mass hysteria.

1918, 1976, 1988, 1998, and in 2007 an outbreak in the Philippines amongst only pigs, and now, 2009 among humans. Some would look at this as being a potential evolution of the virus and maybe, just maybe, this time the virus has figured out a way to wipe out the entire earth and take over the world!

And lest we forget the terrible AVIAN influenza that rocked the worlds and destroyed the human population last year... or sorry was that SARS... or maybe that was the common cold! The WHO has a graph that shows the breakdown of deaths of the so called pandemic of avian influenza last year, and as you can see... it doesn't seem like much of a pandemic to me.

[Avian Influenza Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases.]

I think we need to calm down, eat healthy, get in shape, maintain a healthy lifestyle and continue our lives without pumping chemicals and other diseases into our systems that we barely even know the consequences of yet... already there have been a few cases of complications with the H1N1 shot, and it the hasn't even been globally administered yet... imagine on the large scale how many deaths could come from the side effects... my gods! that's another case for another WORLD WIDE PANDEMIC!

I'm never leaving my house again.

3 people commented:

Ashli said...

Geeeeeez.

Just what the world needs, another vaccine. I don't bother with this shit. I get the vaccines I know I need. I don't even get my flu shot.

If they ever came out with an HIV vaccine, I'd get that...but this is just getting insane.

zephyrkaye said...

I totally agree. The "flu" kills more of us a month than H1N1, and everyones shitting a brick over this. Seriously, I am not young (immune system not fully developed), nor old, nor seriously ill, so if I get the flue, or H1N1, I'll hide in my house and deal with the shits and cold shivers on my own thanks. I don't need a vaccine. Maybe it might be beneficial to give it to people with comprimised immune systems, but don't come after me with that needle thanks.

Good rant, I enjoyed that one.

Manju said...

I'm not getting that shot, but that's only coz i'm chicken and needles scare me haha
new follower :)