I got my h1n1 shot

I got my H1N1 shot (and my seasonal flu shot) on Monday on the first day of its release. 

I am asthmatic, and lately my asthma has been acting up, resulting in the need for more meds, so I guess I’m in the higher-risk category, although I am also over 60, so that’s supposed to lower my risk somewhat, although no one really knows if it’s true or why it’s true. 

So far, no problems with the shot – a bit of discomfort in the arm is all, but hey, as a world-class neurotic, I check every day.

So, for the dozens and dozens of people who’ve written in to ask what I’d do, that’s what I did. 

Am I worried about squalene (the adjuvant): no more than I worry about chlorine in my drinking water, medications in my drinking water, low-level contaminants in my food, radiation from plane trips, cancers from my wife calling me every day on my cell phone, because bottom line is that we’re surrounded by low-level chemicals, toxins, pollutants, and I figure that if those low-levels are going to make a large difference in our lives, especially as in the case of an adjuvant in a one-off vaccine, then we’re surely all pretty screwed and merely waiting in God’s waiting room for our pretty-soon meeting with whomever we end up greeting up (or down) there. 

And by the way, I’m a celiac, meaning that I have an “altered immune” response (to a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley), but that played no consideration in my march to get my vaccines. 

Finally, I can’t believe how many people have sent me a viral email claiming that this h1n1 vaccine is the “worst” ever and that it will cause (here you can fill in the blanks), and that all you need to do to prevent getting sick is to stay healthy by thinking healthy and by eating some combination of foods and taking some vitamin D. 

So here’s my advice: common sense tells me that if that were true, nearly every second person would be doing that because hey, who wants to get sick if all you need to do to stay healthy is eat onions, garlic, and vitamin D.  

I sure would cuz eating beats a needle in my arm any day. 

Only trouble is, the h1n1 virus doesn’t really seem to care if you’ve just been eating bushels of onions and garlic, and swimming in vitamin D or even if you eat 3 bowls of Aunt Em’s sure-fire anti-flu remedy of cornbread/mackerel andouille with shrimps straight from Louisiana: if the virus can land in your respiratory tract, you’re going to get sick, although happily, most people who get sick get a mild case (many probably get no symptoms). 

A few, however, get very sick, some severely sick, and a rare few (so far) will die. 

And no one knows who those few will end up being? 

So, do you feel lucky?