H1N1 Vaccine – Necessary Expenditure or Perhaps People Could Just Learn to WASH Their Hands… Just a Thought…
We complain when the government spends money, but we complain when they do not. Take the millions of dollars that the government is spending on the latest round of flu vaccinations. They bought the drugs, which have yet to be proven effective in children or pregnant women, and have opened clinics to help deliver them to the masses. Every newspaper is showing stories of the latest numbers of infections and deaths, a small fraction of the numbers infected and killed by the season flu shot every year. Doctors are stressing that they would rather focus their efforts on prevention rather than treatment – a grand idea.
Everybody has formed their own opinions on this subject. Some of the comments from the CBC website today run along the lines of, and I am paraphrasing here because there are just far too many comments, “swine flu isn’t really a big deal, everybody should get the shot, people are dying from it” to “this is a media-hyped problem, you wouldn’t hear about people dying from the regular old flu”.
I personally don’t get flu shots at all, a disagreement that I have with my doctor every year. I also haven’t gotten the flu since I was in high school – the last year that I got my flu shot, ironically. I have no intention of getting a shot this time around for a drug that remains controversial and for which I haven’t had the chance to read all of literature out there. But what I have read indicates three things:
1. Last time the predecessor of this shot was given out, more people died from reactions to the vaccine than from swine flu itself.
2. Not enough testing has been done on children or pregnant women to say that it is actually safe for them.
3. Usually children and elders are more at risk of getting the flu – right now we have perfectly healthy, active young adults getting sick.
The government is spending so much money on a vaccine that most doctors I have talked to are on the fence about. They are still recommending that people get it strictly as a preventative method, but why don’t we go back to the basics? Wash your hands people! A recent study done in the US indicates that more than 50% of the population do not wash their hands once a day! That is pretty disgusting. From that same study, approximately 65% of people tested had ecoli and trace amounts of fecal matter on their hands. Apparently the other 35% believe in hand sanitizer.
But back to the issue: unnecessary spending on our governments’ part. Can you imagine the backlash if the Canadian government had said “no, we aren’t going to administer the vaccine to our citizens”. People would be fired! Perhaps if people learned to wash their hands and not sneeze on other people things like this wouldn’t spread the way that they have been. If our bodies weren’t so drugged all the time and our immune systems were actually capable of fighting off viruses and bacteria, then our government wouldn’t need to spend this kind of money. I suppose my point is that we can’t always criticize the government for their choices, let’s take a little glance at our own day to day habits. This can be applied to other areas of our society: the criminal justice system, education, health care and the environment (yes I support the oil and gas industry – that’s my job – but instead of pointing fingers at big oil companies, try recycling and not letting your car run idle, buy a civic and not a suburban, and turn the lights off when you aren’t in your room).
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October 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Hi Alison,
I’m curious as to what your sources are concerning some of the statistics you mention in the article. You mention a shocking study that indicated over 50% of the US population does not wash their hands daily, and some other surprising statistics. If you could please share the source of this study that would be great, I’d like to read a little more about it. Thanks!
October 28th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Tamir,
Yeah its pretty gross, made me feel slightly ill and I am now addicted to antibacteria hand lotion – not great for promoting natural immunity but eww. I will have to do some digging to find the article, i read it a few months back.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-20-handwashing-cold-and-flu_N.htm
This is one of the articles that discusses America’s hand washing habits… let me just clarify something… over 50% of the US population does not was their hands daily, because according to the American Society for Microbiology on 33% of people use soap… rinsing isn’t the same as washing people!
October 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Thanks for uncovering that article Alison! Those are some mind-blowing statistics :S
October 29th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Wow, don’t people wash their hands when they take a shower (I thought that was daily for most people in North America)? What about before preparing food? Hard to believe someone would come home from work and not wash their hands before helping to prepare a meal. I don’t blame people for not washing up in a public toilet, your own body is probably the cleanest thing in there, no sense touching anything else… I use a paper towel to flush the toilet and touch the door knob. I don’t think the study is accurate, not possible not to wash your hands at least once or twice a day.
Regards antibacterial soap, its just rubbing alcohol mixed with hand lotion. Flu is caused by a VIRUS, not a BACTERIUM. Antibacterial soap won’t stop a virus, sorry everyone, you’re not cleaner or safer using this, its a soap company scam.
H1N1 seems to kill younger people. The vaccine is prepared in a different way than the 70′s vaccine, will not cause Gillian Barre (or however its spelled). If you love your children, get them vaccinated — I certainly will. This article is DANGEROUS and misleading, the author has NO authority.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Kevin,
I am not a doctor – obviously. And honestly I don’t really like doctors as I have been the unfortunate recipient of mis-diagnosis (actually had a case of viral bronchitis not bacterial and hence the penicillin was kinda useless but the first two doctors I saw were convinced it was just a really bad case and didn’t bother testing and I ended up with pneumonia as a result). Obviously anti-bacterial soap doesn’t work on viruses, what is required is friction to remove the viruses from your hands (also a reason that many doctors recommend paper towels in public washrooms not the air dryers – plus then you have something open the door with and turn the taps off as you mentioned above). Hand sanitizers do not kill viruses, they simply make the hands ‘inhospitable’ to viruses so there generally fewer viruses on the hands.
However, unfortunately the stats aren’t that wrong. I pulled a few more studies this morning and they are slightly more positive than the one mentioned above.
The following are results from a test on commuters hands that was done in the UK, where fecal matter was found on ~25% of peoples hands.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/10/05/hand-wash.html
The following are the results of a 2003 study from the American Society for Microbiology observing airport travellers.
http://www.asm.org/?option=com_content&view=article&id=21773&Itemid=417
The following is a survey conducted by Harris, on American hand washing habits.
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NEWS/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1000
In the November(?) issue of Cosmo (okay yeah it is cosmo) there was a women who has a phobia of germs and she wanted to know what was really out there. She worked with a researcher and they swabbed a number of things (from the pen at the grocery store to her kitchen counter), mostly they found e coli and salmonella, but also norovirus.
As for whether the vaccine is truly safe – that’s unfortunately a matter of opinion. Doctors have been heard in the public on both sides of the argument. My personal opinion is that it is unproven, in the past the seasonal flu has been more deadly than H1N1. So don’t just sit and read one article from CNN saying to get the shot, ask around, talk to doctors and read all of the literature. Since my penicillin incident a few years back I generally refuse treatments involving drugs until I have the opinion of at least 2 doctors (preferably specialists). The only vaccines I get are the ones that have been on the market for a significant period of time and are required for me to travel for work. If it is optional – I don’t put it in my body.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Don’t take my word for it, here’s a University of Michigan study, a comprehensive analysis on antibacterial soaps — they actually prevent antibiotics from working against some bacteria! Here’s the truth on antibacterial soaps “Plain Soap as Effective as Antibacterial Soaps”: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/uom-psa081507.php
October 29th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Fecal matter does not cause flu. Fecal matter is a part of the natural environment, whether in your own bathroom, on your pet, etc. I grew up in New York City. I’m sure I’ve had a fair amount of exposure to fecal matter. Safety of the vaccine is not a matter of opinion, its a matter of fact. The question is whose facts you choose to believe, random doctors and bloggers, or actual scientists and researchers. Otherwise healthy children are among the people dying from complications of this flu. A recent case of a young boy in Ontario must be cause for concern by parents. Please see: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/faq_rg_h1n1-eng.php for facts from the Canadian government respecting the safety and monitoring of this vaccine. Obviously its an individual choice, but I must point out, the best outcome depends on a degree of immunity achieved across the entire population. I’m not a blogger, I have a business to run and children to raise healthily. My family will be immunized.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Brilliant article. It’s nice to hear a non-status quo stance on this issue. When I hear the flu virus being referred to as a pandemic I have to laugh. The news reports a whopping 5000 deaths this year worldwide as a result of it. 5000! Everybody get out your dictionaries.This does not qualify as a pandemic. Malnutrition, cancer, AIDS; those are pandemics. Lets focus our media and medical expertise on that, shall we. The flu has been around FOREVER and though there are always a few casulties, lets say amounting to 5000 worldwide,most people just stay home from work/school, get rest and drink lots of fluids. Within a few days, good as new. I shudder to think who is benefitting from these vaccines being administered to the gullible. A vaccine which is not even effective. Does anyone question how long it took to come out with these vaccines? When did they get all the testing done?
October 29th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Without exception, everyone I know who got the flu shot got the flu anyway, often immediately. There are many strains of the flu, and altough I am very far from being a doctor I do have the layman’s knowledge of the fact that viruses, by nature, constantly adapt and mutate. Logically, how can we immunize against potentially endless strains of the flu? Ridiculous. A strong immune system, the result of a healthy lifestyle, is the only real defense against the flu. You will get it no matter what, but save yourself the trouble of pumping your body full of unnecessary chemicals.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Although I agree that practicing better hygiene is a great idea, and although I too am not considering the vaccination at this time, it has nothing to do with the “facts” that Allison refers to in this blog. Guillain-Barre syndrome is so rare that if the entire population of the U.S. were vaccinated, approximately 3 to 4 deaths would result as a reaction. The H1N1 virus has already claimed more than 4 lives so clearly the virus is more dangerous than the vaccine. If 50% of the population does not wash their hands, how does your personally practicing more hand washing prevent you from being contaminated by those who don’t? You’d have to wash your hands after touching any surface outside your own home every time to be 100% sure. If you are very concerned, just get the vaccine. A pandemic is defined by it’s infection rate, not it’s mortality rate.