Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccination

Pardon my extended break from writing, but I must emerge from my piles of papers to weigh in on some of the hoo-ha that has been going around regarding the H1N1 vaccines.

First, here's what you need to know about H1N1 (information aggregated from here, here, here, here and here):

• Young, healthy people (aged 10-60) are at a higher risk of being infected by the virus, which is unusual for influenza, since it usually attacks the elderly and very young
  
• H1N1 is mild in most who catch it, but for those who develop the severe form, H1N1 is life-threatening
• Many more people will catch the H1N1 flu than is typical of the season because it is novel and immunity is lacking in the population
• The vaccine cannot give you the flu, the vaccine contains a dead form of the virus that is incapable of infection
  
• The H1N1 vaccine has been tested and is safe with no aspect of production or clinical trials having been rushed
  
• Besides protecting yourself, vaccination protects others around you by preventing the spread of the flu. This is known as herd immunity.
• The current H1N1 virus bears a high resemblance to the 1918 influenza, otherwise known as the Spanish Flu
• H1N1 is the fourth flu strain that has been officially given the status of pandemic in the last 100 years, along with the 1918, 1957 and 1968 flu strains

The Government of Canada has put together a very nice list of 'Vaccine Myths' that you should glance over if you have other concerns.

There is no reason why you should not get the flu shot this year, as with any year. The benefits of getting the shot far outweigh its costs especially if you, like me, purport to be a 'young adult' this year.

*Update*

As of November 18th, Canada is making the H1N1 vaccine available to the entire population.

Up until a few days ago, Canada was taking a strange approach to H1N1 vaccinations. Treating it much like the regular flu, the vaccinations were given to the very young and elderly, as well as those middle-aged individuals who have chronic conditions. This approach did not reflect the available scientific information, which clearly shows that the highest risk group for the H1N1 virus are young, healthy individuals.

Please protect yourselves.