John Kitsco

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Well, it was big brother Ted who brought my attention to HINI and suggesting  that I take the time to get vaccinated...

Here I was, walking up to the 2nd level of an office building with security
folks and medical folks offering smiles and encouragement.  I could feel
(much like I did as a young lad) a feeling of apprehension and perhaps even
a little edgy about doing this. I heard some folks saying never in a million
years and others talking about a world conspiracy. My thoughts kept going
back to what brother Ted said, which was - you get the shot to protect others....
and I decided those were the words that I would fly with this November 14.

I notice on the literature, the medical folks refer to this as the Pandemic
(HINI) and that those who would benefit most were pregnant women,
children 6 months to less than 5 years of age, persons under 65 with
chronic health conditions, Aborignal populations, health care workers,
household contact/care providers of infants less than 6 months of age and
persons who are immunocompromised (there is a big word you don't see
too often).

And I was the guy under 65 with a chronic health condition, that being
slighly high blood pressure.  I met a friendly nurse& after my health care
card and other identification checked out I was asked whether I had a
history of any kind of severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to chicken
or eggs. I responded, well - I ate chicken last night and had a boiled egg
for breakfast. But - oops, I have a kit I carry in the event a wasp does not
like my looks (or a hornet)...during summer months.

Now, just prior to getting the vaccine I inquired about side effects and
was told that most folks have no reactions. But reactions might occur and
usually are mild. And they usually occur 6 - 12 hours after the immunization
and dissappear within 48 hours. They might be some mild pain and swelling
where the needle was (I can verify that) or irritability and tiredness (well, yes
the tiredness... and headace or muscle pains (and that was the case for me).
Fever and chills? Well, not just yet...

I was also informed that in rare circumstances there is the risk of
GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome....that illness that affects nerves and results
in muscle weakness, tingling in feet and legs but in most cases there is complete recovery. The occurrence (I am told) is 2 cases per 100,000 folks.

So bottom line, there are some unknowns and perhaps we are not informed
of every single unique circumstance but I do believe as brother Ted said:
We do it for others...and that seemed a good enough reason for me.