[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

From what I understand the only way to get the virus is by breathing it in, unlike the cold virus that can make you ill by touching the virus, then touching your eye, nose, or mouth.

sorry, that's incorrect. This virus is spread through contact with any mucous membrane, be it in the eyes, mouth or nose. It can be inhaled or put there via contact with a contaminated surface, like your own hand.

Originally Posted by edwina

I think the people who are elderly or in poor health should be the only ones that get these vaccines. I dont believe in getting vaccines if your healthy unless its something serious like polio or something like it.

Hm. The flu (whether the "normal" seasonal flu or the H1N1) kills people. Granted, not by the millions, but it kills people. Seems serious to me. I bet all the healthy people who died wished they got the shot or that those around them had gotten the shot. And the problem is that the really sick people CAN'T get the shot...so they remain at risk unless we protect them by getting inoculated ourselves.

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

That just has to be the craziest statement I have heard all week! That is like saying I don't get my dog his parvo shot to keep him from getting parvo but to keep my neighbors dog from getting it!

It's called "herd immunity". If a significant proportion of a population is immune, the unvaccinated portion is protected. It slows the spread of disease and protects those who CAN'T be immunized to to a preexisting condition (like immune disease etc.). I personally don't want to be responsible for potentially killing someone who is immune-compromised (or heck, someone who is healthy for that matter) just because I think getting the flu isn't that big a deal for ME.

And as for developing immunity, a bunch of you said it already: you can't develop immunity unless you've been exposed. A vaccine does just that, only under a controlled situation with dead virus. For some people, getting exposed "naturally" is going to mean their death. Don't get me wrong, I am the LAST person to use anti-bacterial ANYthing, I don't give germs/whatever a second thought 99% of the time, and I totally agree that for the most part the world is ridiculously germ-phobic and that we ARE contributing to weak immune development in children by putting them in a bubble. But your body doesn't just build up generic antibodies that fight off any ol' thing that sneaks into your body...antibodies are very specificly formed in response to each specific virus, or at least to those which are extremely similiar structurally (for example, this is why people who are over 50+ might have some immunity to the current H1N1 strain; because they were exposed to a similar swine flu virus decades ago).


but we're talking about something that kills people...but is totally preventable.

I just don't get it.