norsegirl: (Default)
norsegirl ([personal profile] norsegirl) wrote2009-10-28 02:10 pm

On being a hermit

I don't like the media. They're all about selling fear. Fear that the terrorists are going to kill us all, fear that universal healthcare will degrade our quality of care (honestly, can it get any worse here?), fear that swine flu will kill us all and now fear that the vaccine is the thing to be scared of.

I hate that people are more likely to trust the wealth of fear-mongering articles from news people, who are going to sensationalize because really, all they are about is selling papers but that they won't listen to arguments made by people with credentials because there's more of the former and the latter aren't saying what they want to hear. Really, take a good hard look at that... would you rather get a shot or have a bone set by a doctor or by a journalist? I don't care how charming, trustworthy, or well-written a journalist is, they're simply not trained in the medical field and I don't honestly think they have your best interests at heart either. So if you wouldn't let them administer the health care, why would you take their advice on medical issues over that of your physician?

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of thinking and the whole flu/infant thing is going to be changing some of my plans this year. I'm not going to Estrella because I can't guarantee that no one on the plane or in my camp is going to be sick and I just don't want to risk Georgia's health. I'm also going to be a hard-ass when it comes to visitors. If you didn't get vaccinated, you're not allowed in my house. And yes, I know that non-vaccination doesn't mean they're a plague rat, but in order to get to my house, pretty much everyone has to travel over a long distance, exposing themselves to a bunch of people on the way. So you won't have any reasonable way of knowing you haven't come in contact with anything and aren't shedding virus like Pig Pen from Peanuts. By Pennsic Georgia will be all up on her vaccinations and we should be up to travel again.

In other news my neighbours have put up their Halloween decorations. This mostly consists of a massive inflatable horsedrawn hearse. It's rather impressive, but a bit over the top for me. I'm a big fan of simple and home made. Speaking of which, I need to get out there and finish mine off some time in the next day or two. Need to get a sledgehammer before I can though as I need to drive in the stakes I'm going to be harnessing the web on around the garden. As I don't have the car today I guess that's going to have to wait one more day. I did get some vacuuming done today though, so that's nice. Still have to do kitchen, games room, bedrooms and sewing room, but I got hall, stairs, dining room and living room done. I guess that's about half the house. I also tidied up my bedroom a little. Not sure what to tackle next. I'm still feeling overwhelmed by stuff. I think I'm coming up on time to do another purge.

[identity profile] eliskimo.livejournal.com 2009-10-29 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
I'm annoyed that my child & I seem to be a hidden category that I can't find any information on. The Ontario website says pregnant women and children 6 months to 5 years should be among the first to be vaccinated. Then it talks about seniors, adults, older children, those with chronic conditions, health care workers ... pretty much everyone except breastfeeding women and babies.

I wish it wasn't such a pain to get a hold of my doctor so I could ask her.

[identity profile] eve-the-just.livejournal.com 2009-10-29 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I feel the same way regarding being forgotten. We can't even get H1N1 down here yet so it's a moot point for me, but I'm getting the seasonal shot tomorrow at least. Ironic since I think this state was the place with the most cases. Or maybe just after California. Something about sharing a border with Mexico. Sigh.

I figure babies are not addressed because they cannot receive this vaccine. So nothing there to discuss really. And I think you and I just qualify as adults in whatever age category we happen to fall into (by which I mean breastfeeding teenagers are just teenagers, and you and I are just adults). I don't think the breastfeeding thing has any affect on us with regard to the vaccine. I'm hoping it might confer some resistance to our children, but probably not. Still, better for them if we're not getting sick right?