Farmer: Vaccination vital in fighting H1N1

If you get shot, it could save my life.

In the coming weeks, we'll be hearing a lot about the H1N1, or "swine flu" virus. Georgia is already among those states in which the H1N1 flu is considered to be regionally distributed, and the prognosis is that things are only going to get worse. A lot worse.

Unlike the typical influenza, the H1N1 strain seems to particularly affect young people. As a college town with a huge percentage of our population in the vulnerable age bracket, Athens is likely to become one of the nation's flu hotspots. The latest predictions indicate that nearly half the nation could come down with the flu, and the death toll could be more than twice what it is in a normal flu season.

Typically, it is the elderly and the infirm who succumb, but this time around it is the young who are most at risk. Exposure to a similar strain of virus that spread worldwide in the 1950s and another swine flu in the 1970s may offer some level of protection to those of us past the age of 50, one small benefit to being on the far side of the proverbial hill.

As bad as it is going to be, there are things we can each do to lessen the impact, and help is on the way. In the next few weeks, a vaccine against the H1N1 will become widely available. It is vitally important that everyone in the targeted priority groups - including pregnant women, people who care for young children, health care and emergency medical services personnel, and those between the ages of 6 months and 24 years - be vaccinated as soon as possible. This will not be an easy thing to do. For the vaccine to be effective, one must receive two shots spaced about three weeks apart.

Being vaccinated is both a selfish and a selfless act. The reason for this is simple. At the same time we are reducing our own risk of contracting the flu, we are also reducing the chances of becoming a carrier of the virus. Fewer infected individuals means fewer people to spread the disease. The net effect is that the risks from H1N1 are lowered for all of us.

By protecting our own health, we help those who cannot protect themselves.

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