Oink Cough Oink

The swine flu has been one of this year's biggest issues, and there are so many different issues that have come up surronding it. We got the slightest hint of fear at the end of last winter, when news of the swine flu first hit the fan, but it all but vanished as flu season ended for the year. It's return was anticipated, so the government had the majority of the year to prepare for it. Yet here we find ourselves with shortages. Apparently the vaccine has a shelf life of only 24 hours, but that is only after it has been initially drawn from the vials. Therefore large quantities of the vaccine should have been pre-made ahead of time in anticipation of the demand. I'm fairly shocked that private clinics have been able to get their hands on some vaccine as well. Normally I actually have sympathy towards a mixed system of private and public health care in Canada, but when we don't even have enough vaccine to fill up our public stores, then I don't appreciate 'money' being a priority group.
Is getting the shot safe? Apparently so. Apparently there's been alot of research done with it so far, but it's not enough in my opinion. Take the 24 hour shelf life for example. That's not because we know something bad will happen if we administer the vaccine after 24 hours. It's because we don't know if something bad will happen if the vaccine is exposed for more than 24 hours. There hasn't been enough research with it yet to know.
Not too mention the whole cheerleader incident. Of course, I believe them when they say it was a 1 in a million chance, but the problem is is they don't know what sort of things might trigger such a reaction, so people have no warning to avoid the shot if they have a certain type of disorder or condition.
Plus, with the allergic reactions that have been occuring, it just continues to point out that we don't know enough yet.
Personally, I have never taken a flu shot, and I don't plan on taking this one either. However, certain factors like those mentioned above deter me from it. I don't think I would want to take one this year even if that was my sort of thing to begin with. Dealing with the flu seems like a smaller risk than getting the shot.
Although there is just as much propaganda in the other direction saying the H1N1 shot is perfectly safe, maybe even more than the regular flu shot, there's just too much on both sides of the fence to feel completely secure.