Vaccinations: A Matter of Responsibility?

There has been a lot in the news lately about the H1N1 flu vaccines which are now combined with the seasonal flu vaccine.

            According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, any number of people between two and eight thousand die each year in Canada from the seasonal flu virus alone. Last year, less than half of the population was immunized for the seasonal flu virus, and the same goes for the H1N1 virus; but, health officials are hoping that combining the two influenza vaccinations will result in much larger turnout for immunizations this year. Many people may have been scared away from the vaccination due to a rare neurological disorder that some feared was associated with the H1N1 virus vaccine, called Guillian Barré Syndrome, which causes paralysis.

There has also been much talk about a new way for the vaccine to be taken. In Canada, there is now the option of FluMist, which is the same vaccination in the form of a nasal spray. This could be an effective alternative for people who do not want to get a needle, but who want to be vaccinated. FluMist has recently been approved by Health Canada, after being available in the United States for the past seven years. The vaccine is free from preservatives, which eliminates some of the public concern and suspicion, and is also latex free so is not a problem for those with latex allergies. The most common side effect is nasal congestion, but in the United States, FluMist has been shown to be a safe and effective vaccine. This new form of vaccination is available in Canada from anyone between the ages of two and fifty nine years old.

Reading some of this information really made me wonder why so few people get immunized. Is it because of a fear of complications? That is a likely possibility, although the risk of having severe side effects as a result of the vaccination is one in a million, whereas, the risk of getting very sick from the flu itself is over one in five. Is it because so many people do not like needles? This is another popular fear, but should not be a problem anymore with the FluMist option. Is it because people think that they will not get the virus, maybe because they are not in the highest risk group? This brings up another issue which is related to an interesting article I read. It was talking about our responsibilities as humans to get the vaccination, not only for ourselves, but so that others are protected against the influenza. It went on to say that it was selfish to not get vaccinated because of the people that may be negatively affected as a result. I agree that it would be ideal to be immunized and, in doing so, prevent others from being affected by the flu, but I tend to lean towards the importance of personal choice, and think everyone should be able to decide for themselves if they want to get vaccinated.

Here is the article that I read which talked about the importance of getting vaccinated to protect yourself and the people around you: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/refusing-to-get-vaccinated-is-selfish/article1339120/.

What do you think? Is it the responsibility of people to get the vaccine in order to prevent its spreading to others who may be negatively affected as a result? And, is it selfish if you do not get immunized? Thank you!

Is Alcohol Worse Than Crack Cocaine?

I recently read this article in the Winnipeg Free Press entitled “Alcohol worse than crack”. It talked about a new British study that assessed how destructive many substances, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, LSD, ecstasy, and marijuana were to the individual and to society. Some of the criteria that the rankings of these substances were based on were how addictive it is and the damage it can cause to the human body, as well as many other criteria, including damage to the environment and to families around the world. The study concluded that heroine, crack cocaine, and crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals, but that alcohol is overall more damaging, as it is much more widely used and causes not only harm to the individual, but to those around them as well. It also showed that drugs like marijuana, ecstasy, and LSD were much less harmful to the society as a whole. The study goes on to conclude that alcohol is connected to higher death rates and crime rates than any other drugs, and is therefore “worse” or more “dangerous” than these other lethal drugs.

I am fully aware of all the damage alcohol can cause to the organs of the human body and the negative social effects it can have; however, I feel as though the article’s title is misleading. Yes, I agree that this particular study showed that OVERALL, alcohol causes a larger number of consequences when looking at the effects on society rather than the individual; but, I think this article may be the cause of even more negative consequences. The majority of people do not think alcohol is all that bad, as it is a widely accepted part of our society. Even in the article it says that “alcohol is too embedded in our culture and it won’t go away”. If one of these people in the majority of the population read this article, that basically – as the title reads – says that it is worse to drink alcohol than to take illegal drugs like crack cocaine and crystal meth, they will be inclined to think that if alcohol is okay, and alcohol is WORSE than crack, then crack is okay too. In this way, I think it is important to distinguish the difference between the effects a substance can have on the individual and the effects a substance can have on society, instead of just making a general and, in my opinion, misleading statement, like “alcohol is worse than crack”.

While it is true that alcohol can cause many negative affects on not only the body of the individual, but on society as well (for example, traffic accidents and deaths related to driving while intoxicated), it IS possible to drink alcohol at a safe and responsible level; whereas, it is NOT possible to consume illegal drugs like crack cocaine and crystal meth at a safe and responsible level.

Here is the article that I read in the newspaper, called “Alcohol worse than crack”: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/alcohol-worse-than-crack-106469568.html. What are your thoughts on this article? Does the article make a fair statement in comparing the negative effects of alcohol and other drugs?