Quoted from websherpa

That drivel is from a "Dr." who is trying to sell Vitamins online isn't it?  Come on, there's very little evidence that herbal remedies and vitamins are more than placebos.

Newseek has this to say about Dr. Blaylock's claims: http://www.newsweek.com/id/218513/page/2

Americans are conspiracy theorists, in fact they outlawed the use of "sassafras root bark" the whole basis of the drink in the US because after feeding pounds of safrole to rats, a number of the rats developed cancer.  So now, most of what you get is a substitute.  You have to search for real sassafras root beer (but you can get it and make it in Canada).  Come on, who drinks pounds of anything (well maybe over a lifetime)....

... in any case, there are risks we take every day, and yes, governments have f*cked up in the past, but since I'm not likely to get pregnant, I think I'll take my chances with modern medicince....

I love how that chain email spends more time talking about how great this "Dr." is than talking about the vaccine. It offers no evidence, just one giant appeal to authority.

And folks, please don't get your health advice from chain mails or message boards, talk to your doctor. You can do your own research, but let's face it, you practically need a medical degree to sort through all the rubbish on the net.

If the consensus of the Canadian health profession is take the shot, then do it! This is one time where trying to prove you are an independent thinker might jeopardize the populus. Thats selfish! This is an EPIDEMIC...even worse, a PANDEMIC. If you don't understand, get someone to explain it.

Before dropping out of university 23 years ago, I was majoring in miocrobio/biochem. What did I learn? The health profession is a group of people who are very learned. Unless you have the credentials to prove otherwise, take their word.  You must be an idiot if you are going to fight the trend here.

Wanna learn more, surf the web on EPIDEMICS. See what has happened in the past.

Don't be a selfish fool! You can go against the grain any other way, but not where public health is concerned. We are Canadians, and we are supposed to be civilized people.

Quoted from sentinelking

the amount of mercury in those shots is infinitesimal. You would get more heavy metal poisoning nerve damage from breathing solder smoke than you would get from those shots. People, understandably, worry about their children over the long term and fear the "possibilities". It is also possible to die from the flu. It's a gamble either way.

You want mercury ? Eat fish 3 times a week ...

Quoted from jonny_eh

Consider what would happen if you opt out of the vaccine, then pass on the flu to someone who gets serious complications. I couldn't live with that on my head.

Darn right ! My sister has lupus , an auto-immune syndrome . She ' s often around my family . Just that one fact is good enough for the 4 of us to get the vaccine ...

It is all a matter of your immune system, if your immune system is very strong and you didn't get flu for a long time like me, you dont need it, but getting it
is prevention, and there is so much people around that are getting it everyday, that I believe the word PANDEMIC is coming up and faster than we can think...

I think that like Warren said, if the Canadian medical consensus people said that the ones to be vaccinated first are older people, and like Whizzervic said, sick
people that have auto-immune, cancer, diabetes type 1, and all the diseases that are listed on the medical blogs, and like Jonny_eh mentionned forget the NET,
talk to your Doctor, if he knows your state, he wil tell you...

I will take the vaccine just because I have diabetes type 2 and live in a country environment, which apparently makes us more at risk to catch, and therefore spread,
and I always reacted well to all the flu shots I took....I missed a few but was very lucky and only remember one good flu in my life...and I am 45...still questioning it
but prevention if you read the West is getting 40% abscentism in their schools....scares the mess out of us no ???

We will play PB with freakin gloves, and masks at our next meeting    

Quoted from wbradley

If the consensus of the Canadian health profession is take the shot, then do it!
Don't be a selfish fool!  

Consensus? Maybe we don't get the same info in Quebec.. or maybe we are all selfish fool (big argument)... a lot of health profession people here doesn't see the need to give the shot to everybody but just to people at risk... it's not more deadly  than any other flu just more infectious.

In case of emergency  governments in Canada can force people to have the vaccine by law.. or WHO (World health Organization) can force a country to vaccine people or put it in quarantine.  No emergency declare now just prevention.

Just take the vaccine, I won't and in a few months, we will be happy and healthy, the only thing I'm sure

The govt (on advice from the medical community) recommends everyone gets the flu shot every year, not just the old and sick.

I didn't expect this much reaction to my post but H1N1 is everywhere these days.

I respect everyone's decisions and am usually on the side of not getting a flu shot each year, but this time, I feel different, and wish I had the opportunity to get the vaccine previously.
That said, I am getting better slowly, but the lungs are under constant attack. Not good.

So to add some thoughts to the debate - I'm no expert but this is how I see it.

The reason the H1N1 is a pandemic is because the majority of today's population have never seen experienced it, and have no immunity.
Therefore it spreads like wildfire and unless you develop an immunity, you will assist in the spread and infection of others. It's not your fault, it's just nature at work.
It's not that it kills everyone, but it infects so many that is the problem.  Eventually it finds its way into the population that are at risk, and they may suffer serious problems.

I was at a trade show recently where 175,000 people attend. I assume I contracted it there, (in Germany). Or did I transmit it there? I didn't feel sick when there, but did 4 days after arriving home.
I was shaking hands with 50 people a day. How many of those people now have the flu? How many will they transmit it to? How many of them will suffer serious problems until it keeps going and it is someone you know or love that will have a serious problem.?
We just don't see that each year with the regular flu, the infection of so many.

As said earlier, I normally don't get a flu shot, and normally don't catch a flu each year. Maybe once every 5-7 years or so.
I appreciate that people don't want to put additional products in their bodies that they don't have 100% faith in.
However the reality is we are all hypocrites. How many of us saying this, smoke cigarettes or weed, (or do other drugs)? How many use prescription drugs, or over the counter? How many drink to excess on occasion? How many eat fried foods? How many eat processed cheese? How many eat apples or other fruit? How many eat sausages or processed meats? How many eat any kind of protien, (meat/seafood/poultry)
How may drink coke, or red bull on occasion? How many solder with out a mask, or paint, or varnish? What about sanding or fiberglass?
When you cut yourself do you disinfect it right away or just leave it?

What I am tying to say is that we all take risks with our bodies everyday, knowing it or not. I am in the food business, and unless you grow it yourself, all manufactured food uses chemicals, including fruit and veggies. Bleach, chlorine, ammonia, nitrates, sulphates, etc., etc. it's all in there. Whether you like it or not, you've been putting things alot worse than what is in the vaccine in your body for many years.
I have not included pollution in the air or water or other areas into my argument, and believe this is probably the worst thing of all.

The reality is we take much greater risks each and every day than what is in the vaccine.
Eating better foods, or wearing a mask while soldering will help you. Getting the flu shot will help everyone.

I hope you get better soon coaster.

Another thing I need to stress is that H1N1 isn't dangerous to old people, like the seasonal flu is. It's more dangerous to people with strong immune systems. It's a bit counter-intuitive, but the people that have been dying from it are young people who's immune systems react too strongly. The same thing happened in 1918, it was mostly young healthy 20 something people that died. It's not hard to imagine this strain mutating and becoming just a 'little' stronger to the point that breathing becomes too difficult.

When I had the flu, it was very mild, except with my lungs. At some points in the day it became a bit challenging to take a full breath. What if it was just a 'bit' worse?
Remember, the symptoms you feel while sick is mostly caused by your immune system, not the disease.

Quoted from jonny_eh

It's not hard to imagine this strain mutating and becoming just a 'little' stronger to the point that breathing becomes too difficult.

I agree, but historically, influenza viruses mutate toward milder symptoms. It is counterproductive for a virus to kill it's host.

That sounds a bit grim, but it's usually how it goes.

The immune reaction is called a "cytokine storm" (properly called hypercytokinemia). That's why younger, healthier kids are dying from it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

oink!! oink!!! oiiiinkk!!

I want to add my two cent, i will get the flue shot asap, in Québec for healthy people its will be end of november. Sometning what i dont like, is people who are 100% confident in every word from health autority.... Should we as citizen try to understand and questionning authority to make sure they are not too confortable? I mean the blood scandal was true, Thalidomide too and recently in Québec the big error with the breast cancer test!! So i think we should be vigilant and questionning, no blank check!