Comments on: Swine flu vaccine – the appearance of favoritism towards the wealthy

By: StockBoySF

StockBoySF — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:38:12 +0000

DaGoat: "If you recall a couple of weeks ago people were afraid of side effects from the H1N1 vaccine and were questioning why Sasha and Malia hadn't received it. The WH response was because they were at low risk. Now in the next week they've received the vaccine even though their risk hasn't changed..."

I would like to add that this seems to be an example (with regards to Obama) of being damned if he does and damned if he does NOT do something....

As far as a change in the risk guidelines... I don't think we have the full story. Perhaps some of the girls' classmates (or their family members) came down with H1N1 and it was deemed prudent to innoculate the girls. Or perhaps it was determined by the WH staff that now was a good time to administer the vaccine.

But bottom line is you're right- not a big deal and we really don't want the first family (and potentially others in the WH) to get sick and spread this around. We have to remember that Obama meets leaders in the military, economy, world, etc. all day. The last thing we want is for the people who make decisions about national security (military, economic, etc) to be laid up in the hospital along with their staffs.

By: DaGoat

DaGoat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:31:54 +0000

Yeah I understand. If you recall a couple of weeks ago people were afraid of side effects from the H1N1 vaccine and were questioning why Sasha and Malia hadn't received it. The WH response was because they were at low risk. Now in the next week they've received the vaccine even though their risk hasn't changed, so I'm not sure why the WH was following the risk guidelines one week and discarded them the next. Not a big deal though, realistically you don't want the first family getting sick.

By: Don Quijote

Don Quijote — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:29:18 +0000

Hey, just pointing out the obvious, only 45,000 die in the US due to lack of Health Insurance yearly.

DQ, why don't you do your blood pressure a favor and start learning the lyrics to El Himno de Bayamo?

I prefer L'internationale, it's a far better song... And written in French...

By: JSpencer

JSpencer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:23:17 +0000

"Because they're spunky and winsome?"

They may be spunky and winsome, but you're not even warm yet. Think contagion in the white house for starters. Get it?

By: casualobserver

casualobserver — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:57:52 +0000

DQ, why don't you do your blood pressure a favor and start learning the lyrics to El Himno de Bayamo? No capitalists are getting swine flu vaccinations there either.

By: Don Quijote

Don Quijote — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:47:03 +0000

Swine flu vaccine – the appearance of favoritism towards the wealthy

I believe that we live under an economic system commonly known as “CAPITALISM” and in such a system those that have money can buy whatever they want and those who don't can go to their little corner and die like dogs…

By: VeratheGun

VeratheGun — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:39:54 +0000

Earlier this week, at the hospital, there were some H1N1 shots in house. I went to see if I qualified and the answer was emphatically NO. Pregnant women, those who live with an infant under six months of age, and front line health care workers, such as ER physicians and nurses are the only ones getting shots right now.

My understanding is that the vaccine is distributed to state health departments, who then fan it out to various institutions and local health departments. I guarantee you someone's palm was greased, so that the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street got their shots before the truly needy. Did anyone really think that Goldman Sachs was going to go without?

By: DaGoat

DaGoat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:25:44 +0000

Do you really not understand why the Obama girls were given flu shots???

Because they're spunky and winsome?

By: StockBoySF

StockBoySF — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:27:00 +0000

So why are people complaining? We don't have national healthcare and Americans don't want national healthcare. But they want to be treated as though they deserve the vaccine while others are less deserving.

If we had national healthcare and the vaccines were taken out of the healthcare system to treat the wealthy first, then that's where the story would be.

But until then, remember there are "haves and have-nots" in this country. Money talks and it's rarely fair. Many of those with little or no money will not even receive the vaccine.

By: rachelmap

rachelmap — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:57:29 +0000

Did anyone here think that the Swine Flu vaccine would be any different from other medical treatments in the US? The people with money and power are the first in line. If we had a system like… Well, any other industrialized nation in the world, it would perhaps be a scandal, but this is just business as usual.

By: JSpencer

JSpencer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:46:57 +0000

Do you really not understand why the Obama girls were given flu shots??? Think about it…

By: archangel

archangel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:45:45 +0000

odd.here in C olo, it's said prisoners are getting flu shot. Local news had a spot on it. But those of us who are triple threat by age and health issues are still being told no vaccine til Dec

By: DaGoat

DaGoat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:31:43 +0000

If it is being given to high-risk populations I don't see where it matters who is actually administering it.

On the other hand, the low-risk Obama daughters got theirs a week or two ago while many high-risk kids here in Iowa are still waiting.

By: roro80

roro80 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:48:59 +0000

Perhaps it would also be less noticable if the country hadn't been looking so deeply as of late into the very great disparity between the respective healthcare outcomes of rich people and poor people. This makes a pretty clear example of that disparity.

By: JSpencer

JSpencer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:13:39 +0000

Maybe this wouldn't look so bad if there wasn't already a background of controversial behavior and an atmosphere of distrust. Is a nurse or doctor going to refuse to give a flu shot to an executive who has control over his or her paycheck?

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