Same here. I’ll take my chances.
Funny thing is, my allergist, who I have a great deal of respect for and is very knowledgeable and HONEST, says that anyone over the age of 50 has already had the swine flu two or three times and should not have anything to worry about from catching it.
He also has told me that vaccines are only partially effective many times and there is always a number of people for whom the vaccine doesn’t take anyway.
I’ve (and I admit I read about pandemic stuff rather obsessively on other forum/s) that regular flu vaccines are not that effective, often off target since the viruses change so quickly.
But I am sure your allergist is wrong about the over 50 not getting it. This swine flu is novel and has not been in humans before. Some of the genetics are smiliar to the 1918 flu but most of use weren’t around then, and any antibodies would only be in people who actually had the flu then.
I’ve most likely had swine flu twice so far. People can catch it twice and also after the vax. And now the virus has changed a lot since the vax was made, picked up some new genetic stuff.
There is a new article out about reserach by Kawaoka who is a foremost flu researcher, it’s on FR yesterday. He and his colleagues found that H5N1 can indeed “mix” with other flus that are circulating and create a really bad one. People thought it couldn’t happen for various reasons but it can so that’s another potential. Not to get fixated on, but as a possiblity.
Unfortunately in Indonesia they are putting severe H5N1 and severe swine H1N1 patients in the same hospitals, same wards!
Crazy!
People can get two kinds of flu at once, that’s when the mishcief starts.