Vacillating on Vaccinations
My Way News - Sebelius: Vaccinations main swine flu defense
My Way News reports: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that a massive school closing wouldn't stop the spread of the swine flu virus, saying vaccinations must be the defense against a menace that one report said could infect up to half of the population."

My Way News - Half of health workers reject swine flu shot
My Way News reports: "Researchers at the University of Hong Kong surveyed doctors and nurses in public hospitals this year from January to May, asking them if they would get a pandemic vaccine based either on bird flu or swine flu. About 35 percent of health workers were willing to get a bird flu vaccine, versus 48 percent for swine flu. Experts were surprised so few of Hong Kong's health workers were willing to be vaccinated, since the city was hit hard during the 2003 outbreak of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome."

Comment: Vaccinations will be the first line of defense against the spine flu pandemic, so why do health workers have reservations about getting their shots? An informed public should know that almost every medicine ever created has some side effects and in some subset of the population those side effect may be very serious. This is simply because no two people are alike and everyone metabolizes medicine differently. Most medicines are safe for most people, but unfortunately in our litigious society, we force the medical community and government bureaucracy into the untenable situation of denying or obfuscating the truth that medicine of almost any variety can be harmful to a small percentage of people. That is no reason for the majority to refuse vaccination. It is a good reason to be informed and take an active interest in your health and to know your family medical history.