Your Doctor may Give You Swine Flu This Fall

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By Claudia Kalb | NEWSWEEK

Published Aug 15, 2009

From the magazine issue dated Aug 31, 2009

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The CDC says health-care workers should be among the first in line to receive the swine-flu (H1N1) vaccine, which the government hopes will be available by mid-October. But will your doctors, nurses, and other medical providers roll up their sleeves? Only 45 percent of health-care workers get a seasonal flu shot every year, citing the same reasons for opting out that patients do: I'm healthy and don't need it; I'm worried about side effects; I'm afraid of needles. M.D.s and R.N.s are better covered than other staffers, like lab techs and home health aides. But everyone needs to improve. The CDC has been campaigning to raise immunization rates among the white-coat set for years. Already, seasonal flu kills 36,000 Americans annually. When swine flu starts surging, ask your provider: did you get your shot?

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Posted By: violet1969 @ 09/16/2009 12:08:10 PM

Why the heck would you want the shot when it's not safe? You're taking a bigger risk by getting the shot than just dealing with the flu when you get it! Why inject yourself with checmicals that could possibly take your life?
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Posted By: pnfpnf @ 09/15/2009 9:21:54 PM

I'd be quite happy if some of my doctor's office people would forego their vaccine so the rest of us could have it. It's curious how we all take "healthcare providers should be the first protected" without question---some, of course, so they can function on the front line against the disease, but psychologists? researchers working on unrelated diseases elsewhere?
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Posted By: violet1969 @ 08/25/2009 5:36:05 PM

The HUGE push is to scare everyone into thinking they need this shot (but they really don't) so the makers of the shot can make millions of dollars. This is all about money and nothing to do with trying to save people.