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!