--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <authfriend@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Ann" <awoelflebater@> wrote: > (snip) > > I don't vaccinate for Swine flu or flu in general > > Oy. Ann, please have a look at this: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity
I will look at this but I haven't yet so I'm shooting from the hip when I tell you what I believe. I know that my animals (dogs and horses) are over-immunized. I have always been fanatical about making sure they receive what the vet recommends and, let me tell you, they range from West Nile, Equine Infectious Anemia to tetanus, flu and rhino. Dogs have just as many from Kennel Cough to Parvo. At a certain point my older animals are pretty well immune to all of the garden variety things they could ever catch. My vet has even admitted that my 29 year old mare doesn't even need tetanus shots anymore and he told me in his 37 years of practicing he has only ever seen one case of lockjaw in horses. I have also seen many, many horses react so badly to vaccines that they have died. Many, like my own, get lethargic and very large stove-pipe like legs for days afterwards. Some even abcess at the injection site. I have started using inter-nasal immunizations for for flu and rhino as this seems 'cleaner' and results in less reactions. I also know that the flu vaccine covers only about 15% of the possible flu viruses out there and that goes for my equine buddies. I have friends who have gotten the flu vaccination only to catch the flu that same season. A good friend of mine had the Swine flu jab and she felt really, really terrible for a few days. I had it in FF back in about 1978 when there was a Swine flu scare; I think the entire population of MIU went down to the local gym at the high school to get inoculated. At any rate, I'm sticking to my guns and avoiding the flu vaccine. Interestingly, I got the flu twice in my life. Once at MIU and once in Europe about 10 years ago. But I promise I will not give you the flu or rhino or lockjaw or kennel cough. I'm a long way from NJ. > > Even if you aren't concerned about getting the flu yourself, > you should have the flu shot every year to protect the folks > who might otherwise get it from you (and who might then give > it to others). > > Herd immunity is such an important concept when it comes to > vaccines. You aren't just protecting yourself when you get > vaccinated. >
