<p>P’sD,</p>
<p>I just realized you are confused about who got the flu and who got the shots. My DW (dear wife) is the one who has the flu right now and had a regular shot (H1N1 not available to her in time). She is the one who had to be hospitalized previously when she had the flu.</p>
<p>goaliegirl OTOH right now is perfectly healthy (knock on wood) and is the one who suffered flu side effects from both the mist and the shot in previous years. Given her track record with any flu vaccination (poor) and her relatively quick recovery from the same flu that hospitalized my wife (the 1 and only time she’s had the flu), we’ve elected not to vaccinate her. And in news from her school (talked to her this evening), it appears that the h1n1 infection rate seems to be dropping very quickly. The students who have had it have been returning to class. Can’t say whether they are dispensing tamiflu or not, as nobody is talking abou that (I’m sure HIPPA comes into play here).</p>
<p>And actually our health insurance covers the vaccinations for free anyplace we get it. We have just chosen to vaccinate based upon individual circumstances. </p>
<p>With regards to the flu, much like other diseases that kill off many people (like the plague), I’m convinced that pretty much 95% plus of a population will be exposed to it at some time. I’m also convinced that there are people who like with the plague are for whatever reason (usually genetic) protected from the worst of the symptoms, as not everyone gets seriously ill (or even ill at all) despite their exposure. These are things we don’t quite understand about viruses.</p>
<p>I know that in my family tree, between my 4 siblings and my parents, I can only count about perhaps a half-dozen cases of flu together in our lifetimes. I know my grandmother was in a nursing home where a flu outbreak ran rampant, yet she was one of a handful who never suffered. Go figure.</p>
<p>Perhaps we are “carriers”. That is one very good reason I am taking tamiflu, as I don’t want to unknowingly pass on a virus that may not be affecting me.</p>
<p>I’m afraid to say that modern medicine still has plenty to learn with regards to infectious diseases. We are starting to scratch the surface, but until we understand how and why certain organisms interact with our genetic makeup, we won’t have a grasp on how to predict infection.</p>
<p>I do understand your position of going with the best of known answers, though. Usually, the medical profession is correct (or at least not fatally incorrect) in its advice. Once in a while though it misses something completely (like thalidamide). </p>
<p>It would be interesting if we could simultaneously put the entire human population on tamiflu for a period to see if it truly would stop the infection in its tracks.</p>