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Old 09-27-2009, 05:45 PM
markusk markusk is offline
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The OP was not about the merits of each belief, but whether one belief predicts the other. I personally believe in the science of both. As a healthcare worker, I've always gotten flu shots every year and this year is no exception.

As an aside, getting immunization shots is more than just protecting yourself or your child. It also protects those around you. If only a few children don't get immunized in a school district, it should be fine ("herd" protection). But if more and more children do not get immunized, then at a certain point "herd immunization" is lost and there is the danger of an epidemic, so now others in the community may be affected -- pregnant mothers (who has a child in school), the elderly grandparents with COPD/asthma, the aunt on chemo for breast cancer, etc.

A note on H1N1: it seems to affect young healthy pregnant women and not affect the elderly. If the data from the summer holds up, a lot of pregnant woman may get very very sick this flu season. This is why priority will be given to pregnant women with the first batch of H1N1 shots. The danger is not that a healthy high school student gets H1N1; the danger is when they bring it back to their home/neighborhood, church/supermarket, etc where they are in contact with a non-immunized pregnant woman.
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