A Little Shot of Guilt

Ah, the flu shot.  There is almost as great a dividing line between those who get the shot and those who don't as there is between those who agree with the Arizona immigration law and those who don't.  Conversations can get heated.  Fingers are pointed.  There is a line in the sand.

I have never received a flu shot.  Except for treated high blood pressure and issues that crop up after hitting the age of 27 (wink), I'm in good health.  The days I'm out sick are rare indeed and more often than not are taken to stay with a sick family member.  During the Fall of 2009 H1N1 outbreak, I did stay home for three days with a fever and aches, but I never felt as if I were on my death bed, as others did.

So here it is, getting on towards flu season again and the chatter on the radio and TV news has included warnings about which strains of flu they are beginning to see.  There's already a case of H1N1 in this state as well as one person diagnosed with H3N2.  What the heck?  H3N2?  I heard it right here on KPR yesterday morning.  And if three times more "H" and twice as much "N" as the strain that infested the world last flu season isn't bad enough, they are now calling those of us who don't get the vaccination "carriers".  Yep.  They have labeled us carriers.  I've heard that term used in two separate stories, but the one I remember hearing most recently was also on KPR, written by a 42 year old man who just this year, got his first flu shot.

However this year, along with the normal "get your flu shot" campaign, there is a twist.  Health officials and others are trying to make me feel guilty for not getting a flu shot.  Apparently, those of us that don't get the vaccination can host the germs and then, when some trusting, unprotected soul gets close enough to me, these germs flee my person and burrow themselves into that unsuspecting body and make them sick.  *sigh*

Of course I would feel badly about making someone sick, but right now, I feel as if I have a big red target in the middle of my forehead with a capital "C" in the center.  Stay away...she's a (lower voice to an alarmed whisper) carrier!  Not only am I endangering my own health, I am now a walking germ fest endangering the lives of countless others.  Is there a vaccination against guilt?