Need help debunking ridiculous swine flu policy rumor:

[Darth_Ole]

I sing in a chorus with a teabagger, unfortunately. An old teabagger, in fact, and at a gig last night he felt compelled to bring up health care, specifically that, "It's Homeland Security's policy that when swine flu is declared a crisis, people 65 and over will not receive flu shots," going on to tell the rest of us that he read it on the internet. Reliable stuff, right?

I'd appreciate anyone who could help me debunk this. I've searched DHS' site and can't find anything really relevant on swine flu policy.

[Turbineguy]

1. Well.....

DHS was set up by the Bush Administration, so he does have a point.

[Truth2Tell]

2. You can't prove a negative,

especially to an idiot. Tell him you'll sell him some fake ID that says he's 63. $200. Easy money.

[madrchsod]

3. people over 65 are not high priority because they have limited immunity

they are not "forbidden" to get a flu shot. it seems the pig flu is hitting people who did`t live through the last two outbreaks. right now the standard flu vacines seem to be effective on this strain. if it mutates then all bets are off on how bad the outbreaks is.

[Barack_America]

6. The mortality rate among 65 and older is also lower for H1N1....

...because this generation has seen this flu before and already has immunity.

So kids, pregnant woman (who have decreased immunity) and people with lung conditions are first in line this time around.

[hedgehog]

4. From the horse's mouth:

Who will be recommended to receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine?

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the novel H1N1 vaccine when it first becomes available. These target groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for novel H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

We do not expect that there will be a shortage of 2009 H1N1 vaccine, but availability and demand can be unpredictable. There is some possibility that initially the vaccine will be available in limited quantities. In this setting, the committee recommended that the following groups receive the vaccine before others: pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient contact, children 6 months through 4 years of age, and children 5 through 18 years of age who have chronic medical conditions.

The committee recognized the need to assess supply and demand issues at the local level. The committee further recommended that once the demand for vaccine for these target groups has been met at the local level, programs and providers should begin vaccinating everyone from ages 25 through 64 years. Current studies indicate the risk for infection among persons age 65 or older is less than the risk for younger age groups. Therefore, as vaccine supply and demand for vaccine among younger age groups is being met, programs and providers should offer vaccination to people over the age of 65.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_qa_pub.htm

[Darth_Ole]

8. Thanks, hedgehog... You're a good egg...

I realize the scare tactics that target seniors these days are the kind of shit that's impossible to argue reasonably with. But I feel it's important to have adequate information on hand so centrists, moderates, and otherwise sensible people aren't influenced by loonies, as far as I have anything to do with the discussion.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. Sooooooo.......

if you are over 25 but work at or attend a school largely populated by younger folks you are SOL if access to vaccine is limited in your area of the country?

Makes perfect crazy fucking nonsense. But then I've come to expect nothing more....

[hedgehog]

11. I guess you're right. If you work with infants the paln is to vaccinate

you so you won't expose them to the virus. If you read the entire article, the plan is to have enough vaccine for everyone. (I'm wondering how many people in a given area need to be vaccinated to break the chain of contagion.) If there isn't enough vaccine, then the plan is to vaccinate the people most likely to end up in the hospital from this flu. Healthy adults over age 25 might get sick, but they aren't likely to be in any danger. The CDC wants to people at risk for complications to be the focus of initial vaccination drives.

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. Still

if you are over 25 and work at or attend a school largely populated by teenagers the CDC has determined that you are SOL. Fend for yourself. Hope that you were exposed decades ago and have some immunity. The CDC is going to assume that you do in fact have some immunity. Good luck. No immunization for you. Even if you work at or attend a school with an H1N1 outbreak. Even if you are responsible to help care for the aged or infirm. Fuck the CDC.

[truedelphi]

5. Half the teabaggers are upset that the

World Health Organization will be calling up the UN troops to force everyone in the USA to have the vaccinations, and half the teabaggers are scared that they will personally be swindled out of their shot. (Obama will personally see to it that so and so's grandma will be left unprotected, etc.) :sarcasm:

You might simply point out that only one of these two theories can be true.

Senior centers nation wide already have programs in place to help the elderly - rather than worrying about how he (or she?) won't get the shot, maybe they should start calling their local clinics & hospitals and seeing when the vaccine will be available. I am betting anyone who arrives on the first day or two will get it.

[PDJane]

7. I've looked, and there's nothing anywhere stating such a policy.

However, there is something that says that those 65 and over likely do have some immunity to the flu, since the last major outbreak was about 65 years ago, and those older than 65 have some immunity. Swine flu is normally a mild version of the flu anyway; unless your immune system is compromised, you're likely relatively safe.

So far, children and pregnant women are the hardest hit.

[hedgehog]

14. Total speculation, but a lot of people 65 and over had mothers

who went through the 1918-1919 flu. I wonder how much of their resistance was transmitted in the womb or by breast milk.

[TxRider]

10. I don't doubt it..

They say people over about age 50 have immunity to it, and really young people are by far at more risk.

So if vaccine is in short supply it's just good sense to give young people higher priority.

[HughMoran]

12. Since it's infecting & killing 9-14 year olds at a higher rate,

and it's not much worse than a normal flu for older people, then you can tell your teabagging idiot that if they weren't anti-science, they'd understand why they don't even need the flu shot.

[Motown_Johnny]

13. Go large!!! Explain that liberals don't do that shit. We chain ourselves to trees to protect owls

and it is the conservatives who do not value life as we do

[NoPasaran]

15. I thought everybody who didn't get a shot was being sent to a DHS internment camp

And then guillotined so Obama could harvest their organs.

I heard that on the internet, so it must be true!

[LiberalAndProud]

16. You will be sent to jail, unless you want the shot.

If you want the shot, we will not give it to you. We're just contrary that way.