Flu Fly Away and Other Vaccine Stories.

Being around students (both kids and undergraduates alike) guarantees one thing: constant exposure to coughs, colds and a whole kaboodle of germs. This often leads to my own personal bouts with the flu or other similar illnesses. This is why, much as I hate getting shots, I decided to get myself vaccinated against the flu. While this may not be protection against the dreaded H1N1 virus, I believe that arming myself against the threat of influenza is an important step, especially since I am a teacher. It’s not just for my personal health that I got the shot, but I recognize my role as a potential carrier in spreading illnesses to people around me.

When parents in my microblogging site heard about my decision, they offered words of encouragement and approval because they have had the sad experiences of having their kids’ teachers expose the children to illnesses.  This is why I highly suggest that all teachers get the flu shot! It is not just to minimize sick days on their parts, but also to limit the threat of inadvertently spreading sickness to people around them.

In the same manner, I also suggest that parents seek medical advice as to whether they should vaccinate their children, not just from the flu but from other diseases such as chicken pox, measles, mumps and rubella. This may be controversial, however, as some parents feel strongly against MMR vaccinations due to supposed (although these are not medically proven) links to autism.  Further, parents of teenagers may even consider the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine.

Whether or not one gets vaccinated is a matter of personal choice. For me, however, being a beleiver in modern medicine, I am grateful that I have the option of getting a shot against many of the illnesses that used to claim lives but that’s just me.

What about you, are you for or against vaccinations?

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