Posts by Bart Janssen
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Peter
Personally I am sad about that since the last 'flu vax I had a few years ago (I'm slightly asthmatic) caused an allergic reaction.
Allergic reactions to vaccines are reasonably common. The reason is vaccines always include something called adjuvant which is a mixture of chemicals designed to stimulate the immune system. The idea (which works) is that by generally stimulating the immune system (hey wake up!) you get a much better specific response to the organism you are vaccinating against.
The problem is that if you make a mix that stimulates the immune system you fairly often get things like rashes, itching and swelling. Almost always minor but sometimes it can be major, which is why the nurse likes you to wait around for 15 minutes after the jab.
But it's unlikely (possible but unlikely) that you reacted to the chicken part of the mix, especially if you don't react to eggs or chicken now.
The good part of that is that adjuvant varies quite a bit from formulation to formulation. So a vaccine produced by one lab will be different to one produced by another lab. If I was you and wanted to get the flu vaccine I'd try and find out which company manufactured the vaccine you reacted to and see if it is possible to get a flu vaccine from a different manufacturer. It will be a hassle but may be worthwhile.
Oh and I agree entirely about the behind the scenes efforts to prepare for something like this. The work has been done well, those same doctors that "wasted" money in meetings will now be putting those plans into action.
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That's kind of the point
Yeah it's poetry and I fail at poetry.
But after spending time in the US where "being burglurized was not that big of a deal" I've come to loathe that particular abuse of the language.
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horse would of come
/cry
not of ... have
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What I'm quietly wigging out about is what a pandemic will do to hospital services...
We are likely to see a lot more flu this year than previous years and that will put a load on hospitals. But it is actually the kind of thing for which hospitals prepare. Waiting lists for non-urgent surgeries will get longer but I doubt hospitals will be overwhelmed.
I also don't think you should worry too much about the maternity wards being affected. However you will probably find that you won't see many/any visitors. Where possible I think you might see hospitals limiting the number of people moving around the wards, especially visitors.
The big difficulty for the hospitals will be around staff illness. Hospital staff are exposed more than most but also have better hygiene protocols and will also be the first to be vaccinated. Losing say 20% of the nursing staff to illness would make any hospital run a bit chaotically.
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There is theory that those over 60 have a natural immunity to H1N1 due to a similar but forgotten epidemic in the 1940s. It could possibly be related to the old outbreaks of whooping cough which were everywhere in the 1940s.
The combination H1N1 hasn't been around since the Spanish flu.
But to some degree the more variations of the flu your immune system has seen (either as vaccines or as actual sick in bed shivering hoping to die soon flu) the more likely it is to be able to provide some amelioration of the current H1N1 pandemic. So yes older folk will have somewhat less severe symptoms. But less is a very relative term.
The thing to note is that last years vaccine will provide very little protection against H1N1 but it will protect against the seasonal flu that is also going around.
Yes there are TWO flus this year and it is possible to get both at once.
The new vaccine will protect much more against H1N1 but it will still be possible to get sick with H1N1 even if you get the new vaccine, it just should be much milder than otherwise. And of course the H1N1 vaccine will provide very little protection against the seasonal flu.
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I an not fucking scary! Why does everyone think that?
roflnui
I was just taking the piss, seriously you were mobbed and I did need to go home :)
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Just echoing the grats for a wonderful event.
Someone asked me what the format was for these things - LOL.
And I too sat there thinking "it's T2!!!!" call themselves geeks pfft.
Sorry I couldn't stay later but it was a school night after all. Maybe next time I'll have the courage to introduce myself to Emma, but really she was so scary up there :P.
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Proud iPhone owners are climbing the ranks of categories of people we could do without with something apporaching warp speed.
Our wine tasting group ran a sweepstake on how long it would take my wife to mention her new iPhone at our regular tasting.
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How about dungeon raids?
Don't be silly Friday is the night I catch up on dailies.
Arneus on Khaz Modan US
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Though I did have a very strange dream last night in which I appeared to be Christine Keeler.
Nice ... chair?