I finally got the H1N1 flu shot last Thursday afternoon, after much thinking and wavering.
– My cousin, the physician, advised me to do it. He had chosen to be vaccinated and had encouraged his three daughters to do the same.
– A friend of mine had the flu, with a fever that reached 105°F. She said it was awful and, even though she didn’t need to be taken to hospital, she found the experience extremely distressing.
– The number of swine flu deaths in Europe has doubled every two weeks since the middle of October. In the UK more people have died from swine flu in the past seven days than in any week since the outbreak began.
– Lots of students have it in my school and I didn’t want to take a chance nor did I wish to infect anyone else.
– I wasn’t receptive to the argument that it is a conspiracy to increase the profits for the big labs. If the vaccine had been made by obscure and unknown labs, people wouldn’t feel any safer and the same people would probably complain.
I was thus given the shot in a gym which had been reconverted in a free medical center.
– First they asked my name, address and health care details. I was then handed a form to fill in and a leaflet to read. The leaflet contained details about the vaccine and the side effects. I had to fill in the form with more details and answer questions about my recent medical history.
– Then I was questioned by a doctor who asked me the same questions over again before deciding that I would be given the non-adjuvanted vaccine since I have a number of allergies.
– I had the shot and was advised to take paracetamol to avoid fever and muscle soreness. In the end I had no side effects, unless they were so light that the paracetamol was enough.
Hannah's Nook 