# Who else is getting sick of anti-vaxxers re:H1N1 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651 "2009-10-29T20:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/101 "2009-11-03T20:34:29Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I can’t argue with this. This is exactly what people should be doing. I don’t know where you live, but I think it is pretty doubtful that there have been no cases in 100 miles. Also, as has been pointed out, you may not be as low risk as you think. > > Still, it isn’t likely anything to worry about. People should just keep informed and watch for their symptoms to suddenly go off the deep end. Keep your hygiene as good as possible and get the vaccine when its your turn. Actually, it seemed my information was mistaken, I was basing my radius around my parents’ significantly more rural town, somehow I got the numbers confused in my head. Currently 55 confirmed H1N1 cases in my county, so the state says. Regardless, I’m not worrying about getting the vaccine until there’s enough vaccine available that I wouldn’t feel bad about getting it. > [@](#): > > Also, don’t tie up the phone lines constantly searching for a vaccine. Yeah, this is about the opposite of how I’m dealing with it. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/102 "2009-11-03T20:39:07Z")
I’m not getting a vaccine. Not that I think it is useless or going to make me autistic or dumb or something, but because; 1. I don’t have health insurance right now. 2. I hate needles in general. 3. I have a healthy immune system and never have an issue with getting the normal flu (and never get the vaccine for that either), and I don’t see much indicating that my chances are higher with H1N1. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/103 "2009-11-03T20:46:24Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > I’m not getting a vaccine. Not that I think it is useless or going to make me autistic or dumb or something, but because; > > 1. I don’t have health insurance right now. > 2. I hate needles in general. > 3. I have a healthy immune system and never have an issue with getting the normal flu (and never get the vaccine for that either), and I don’t see much indicating that my chances are higher with H1N1. Just in case lack of health insurance is causing anyone else to hesitate about a vaccine, our health department (and I imagine many others) is giving both the injection and the mist for free. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/104 "2009-11-03T21:01:58Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > I thought the same. It’s a little over the top. > [@C3](#): > > **lindsaybluth** , do you have some personal issue with **BigT**? Your reaction to his account is very odd. His posts have been irritating in the past, calling out well-respected posters on giving their advice - on a message board, fancy that! (such as on **panache45** ’s excellent advice here: [Tell me this wasn't rape.. - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=536937)). But in this instance I was simply replying personal anecdote for personal anecdote with the less than engaging **NajaNivea**. As I’ve said before, if he really did titer, that’s fine, otherwise his fear is putting the rest of the herd at risk. And individuals who do so willfully should be called out for it. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/105 "2009-11-03T21:24:30Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > His posts have been irritating in the past, calling out well-respected posters on giving their advice - on a message board, fancy that! (such as on **panache45** ’s excellent advice here: [Tell me this wasn't rape.. - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=536937)). But in this instance I was simply replying personal anecdote for personal anecdote with the less than engaging **NajaNivea**. As I’ve said before, if he really did titer, that’s fine, otherwise his fear is putting the rest of the herd at risk. And individuals who do so willfully should be called out for it. Fine, but he said he had a bad reaction - i.e. maybe he is allergic to thimerosal or something else that is commonly used in vaccines? I don’t think it’s fear of the needle or doctor so much as fear of dying because of an allergic reaction that he’d previously had to a vaccination. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/106 "2009-11-03T21:36:52Z")
**lindsaybluth** , what’s with calling me out as “less than engaging” for providing supporting information on the use of titer testing, as per the discussion? My “personal anecdote” involved… the use of titer testing for proving of immunity for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary vaccines. That seems fairly applicable, to me. The story as he presented it did not support you calling him out for his post as a paranoiac or, later, a liar. Don’t start snarking at _me_ for pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/107 "2009-11-03T21:43:14Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > I don’t think it’s fear of the needle or doctor so much as fear of dying because of an allergic reaction that he’d previously had to a vaccination. Fear of dying is a bit extreme, don’t you think? **NajaNivea** , I should have been more specific, I meant BigT’s anecdote in comparison to mine. He posts quite often, throughout the day, so it’s also likely that he’s ignoring this thread intentionally. But really, this back and forth is going nowhere about actual anti-vax H1N1 people anymore, so it should probably just die down. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/108 "2009-11-03T21:47:09Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Fear of dying is a bit extreme, don’t you think? WTH? No, it’s not extreme. That’s like saying someone who is allergic to bees and avoids bees due to a fear of being stung and dying as a result is being extreme. I’m afraid of dying and take measures to avoid things that may cause an untimely death if I can help it. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/109 "2009-11-03T22:14:12Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Fear of dying is a bit extreme, don’t you think? > > **NajaNivea** , I should have been more specific, I meant BigT’s anecdote in comparison to mine. He posts quite often, throughout the day, so it’s also likely that he’s ignoring this thread intentionally. > > But really, this back and forth is going nowhere about actual anti-vax H1N1 people anymore, so it should probably just die down. From [this](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902074557.htm) article (which addresses the safe immunization of people who are allergic to vaccines): > [@](#): > > Serious allergic reactions to vaccines are extremely rare - one or two per million vaccinations, according to some estimates - but when they happen, such episodes can be serious, even life-threatening, making it critical for pediatricians to instantly spot true allergic reactions and differentiate them from more benign nonallergic responses, investigators say. It is also crucial that pediatricians design a safe immunization plan for children with confirmed vaccine allergies. Children who have had one allergic reaction are believed to be at a higher risk for future reactions, typically more serious than the first. The article goes on to say: > [@](#): > > Another option is testing the child to check for immunity. If blood tests show the child has already developed protective antibodies, it may be OK, at least temporarily, to withhold further doses of the vaccine, researchers write. It sounds like **BigT** had an allergic reaction and is taking the correct measures to prevent that from happening again. I’m definitely not anti-vax, but there are some people who cannot be vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/110 "2009-11-03T22:18:18Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Just in case lack of health insurance is causing anyone else to hesitate about a vaccine, our health department (and I imagine many others) is giving both the injection and the mist for free. Both are free here as well. ---
**Author:** ![hamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a8b319/32.png) [@hamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hamster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651/111 "2009-11-03T22:23:18Z")
Oh man… I have a friend who is some massage therapist or something who always posts about how the vaccine causes autism or walking backwards or contains mercury or blah blah blah. I finally took the bait, and posted my disgust. Ouch. Here’s what I think is going on: 1. Vaccines came out, wiped out smallpox and polio. The populous, used to random death, rejoiced, and sang its praises. 2. A generation or two later, the kids look back and say, ‘bah, no one dies from smallpox gramps, you must be making stuff up’, and fail to believe in vaccines because they have no accidental verification of their own. 3. Eventually, generation or two later, the positives of the vaccines are spun into, ‘you only get sick if you get the shot!’, coupled with the wild and wacky news stories, and of course, the press only amplifies the statistical outlier and not the normal outcome. 4. So, now we have a flu that is slightly more deadly than in years past. Time to step up and put it down. Only, half the population no longer ‘believes’ in vaccines because they are the same as the turn of the century, and heck, we used to drink radium drinks back then, so… It’s all rather annoying. I’m sick of the breeders refusing flu shots, and then me ending up with all kinds of stupid diseases because I have to work around them. I’ve already had my swine flu this summer, thanks, and it sucked. Sucked in a big way. I wanted to die, or at least somehow figure out how to make my body stop hating me so much. If I could have gotten a shot, I sure as hell would have. Thanks for the term ‘pro-disease’, I’m going to start using it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-is-getting-sick-of-anti-vaxxers-re-h1n1/515651.md?page=5)