Following the letter to the editor regarding my previous article about the H1N1 vaccine, I feel I should elaborate my position a bit further.The first point of my article: educate yourself. Know what is going into your body.
All the information about the vaccine is on the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site, cdc.gov.
Everything regarding the vaccine is there in black-and-white for anyone to see and read. It’s written in plain English and very understandable.
If you don’t understand the workings of the vaccine, it’s because you are actively trying to not learn about it.
The second point: vaccines are a proven mechanism for a healthy body.
Have you ever suffered from polio? No. A vaccine worked so well the disease is considered to be eradicated from the planet. The official definition of vaccine, from Merriam-Webster, fully defends this.
I am not discrediting the values of exercise and a good diet, but even triathlon athletes still get the flu.
I’m not sayin’ anything, I’m just sayin’ why wouldn’t you get something to help bolster your defenses?
The third point: make a decision for yourself.
Don’t let some pundit make the decision for you. If you educate yourself and think H1N1 is all filler and no killer, then don’t get the vaccine.
It is in my learned opinion from having worked with the J.J. Oakley Campus Health Services this semester that you should get the vaccine. It’s proven safe and to be working. But, that’s just my opinion (and the CDC’s).
And, that brings me to the fourth and most important point.
The vaccine is FREE ($0, none, nada, zero dollars).
Allow me to reiterate my comment from last week. If the vaccine is safe, proven effective and free, why not get it? While there is a lot of hype surrounding H1N1, this disease has the potential for mutation.
Why not play it safe with your health, Evil Knievel?
In addition, I apologize if this article seems strikingly familiar to last week’s. I guess it’s true what they say, some people only read headlines.
