The H1N1 Vaccine is Safe. (Don't Listen to Jenny McCarthy.)

I'm not trained in biology or medicine, so when people around me (who are also not trained in these things) start shooting their mouths off about diseases and genetics I keep quiet and wonder what makes them so confident. (This is why I don't claim to understand evolution - it's kind of hard.)

The Swine Flu is a lightning rod for such over confident talk, but, fortunately, since I study at a university I have a colleague who is a biologist and he sent me some information on the H1N1 virus. He lectures on advanced biology and is working hard at fighting cancer.

This chart doesn't apply to you.

He let me in on some research that I didn't know about. This year, 4,600 people were studied after receiving the Swine Flu vaccine and absolutely none of them suffered side effects of any kind. I know that we have all heard rumors that it can make you sick or give you another disease, but these are only rumors and have no evidence behind them. For some reason, our society is very quick to throw out science and, instead, seek alternative medicine ("Just clean your colon..."), chiropractors ("If I adjust your neck you won't be sick, anymore...), and so-called natural cures ("I'm sure that some echinacea will cure that broken arm...").

THIS chart applies to you; although, the symptoms are pretty much the same. That's flattering.

Don't be swayed by the hype of popular celebrities; they might be pretty, but they don't work in labs. My colleague also informed me that this strain of the flu is much more serious than I originally thought and is a subtype of the infamous Spanish Flu. (Did you know that Spanish Flu was also H1N1? I didn't.) This is no place for amateur scientists - let's let the professionals help us out.

Thinking Through...Swine Flu

As you can tell, I'm not posting a lot right now and it has to do with school. It's this time of year when I don't water the plants, clean the apartment, or take care of anything but the most vital responsibilities to my health while finishing essays and madly reading texts in time for quizzes. And my blog suffers for it.

Anyway, I came across some advice on the swine flu (via Instapundit.com), here's the two main ideas, but there is more at the link:

*There is always some flu around and flu is always killing some people. Even when a raw mutant flu manages to kill off more people than a shooting-war, flu has never ravaged whole cities as cholera or the Black Death can do. As awful pandemics go, flu is like the snotty-nosed little sister of awful pandemics.

*You're not ACTUALLY gonna die unless your lips are turning blue, you have bad chest pains, you can't swallow water, you can't stand up, you're having seizures and you don't know where you are or what your name is. As this document suggests, you're gonna want to watch out for those symptoms.

And this simple, but critical, piece of advice from the Center of Disease Control:

The main way that influenza viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. This can happen when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby. Influenza viruses may also be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose) before washing their hands.

(The link also contains information for what to do if you or someone else contracts the swine flu.)

So wash your hands like your mother always told you to do and don't worry. also, if you know of any more tips that are helpful, let me know in the comments. (Oh, yeah, and this guy looks really funny. Do they steal driver's license photos for these pictures?)