[lit-ideas] Re: flu vaccine
- From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 17:08:43 -0700 (PDT)
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Paul <Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Oct 27, 2004 4:05 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: flu vaccine
In years when the flu virus strain isn't especially nasty, 5% to 20% of the
population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu
complications; and approximately 36,000 people die from flu. [CDC] So, wanting
to get a flu shot isn't all that self-indulgent, especially for people like Bill
Balll and me, who are over 35. Most people who 'die from the flu' actually die
from coomplications of it, and the main 'complication' from which they die is
pneumonia, either viral or bacterial.
Why not just gamble that you won't be one of the 5-20%? After all, these aren't
bad odds. One reason is that a mild case of flu in a person who has a robust
immune system is still a case of flu, and the virus can be passed on to someone
really at risk,
A.A. That's why the flu in most years is not a pandemic, because people who get
it stay home and tend to not spread it to others as happened during WWI
(Newsweek).
R.P. and that person will usually be likely to contract 'flu-caused'
pneumonia than most. A serious case of pneumonia is no fun, unless you like
prolonged sensations of choking to death.
A.A. I am not contesting this. The only thing that comes to mind is avoiding
crowds during flu season, not very hard to do when retired. Keeping up the
immune system helps too. (Worth mentioning perhaps is that some supplements
touted for the immune system actually suppress it. Frequent handwashing is
effective. Unlike TB, which is transmitted in air droplets, flu is like the
cold, more likely transmitted in hand to nose or eye contact. The mouth
doesn't seem to be a good point of entry for the bug either, but don't take my
word for it.)
R.P. To imply that complaints about a shortage of flu vaccine are little more
than
yuppie whinings is I think based on several misconceptions.
A.A. I am familiar with these facts, even to thinking that the 36,000
mortality figure is in the same ballpark as deaths from verified suicides each
year. I will admit, having a relatively robust immune system as I do and never
having received a flu shot in my life, perhaps I was callous in not taking the
needs of others into account. My apologies.
Andy Amago
Robert Paul
The Reed Institute
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