After hearing about the Peace Corps' mandatory vaccination for H1N1 and the flu this past week, I have become more than a little unsettled with the fact that I have apparently given up the rights to my own body by joining the Peace Corps. I contacted our Medical Officer to see if I had a choice in the matter whether I would like to receive the vaccine or not, and I was told (in summary) that yes I had a choice, but if I opted to not recieve the vaccine that I should start packing my things to go home...
I realize that my health is a matter of concern for the Peace Corps, and that if anything were to happen to me, that it would be on Peace Corps' medical tab...HOWEVER, I am pretty unpleased with the fact that I am unable to decide what injections are going into my body. This new H1N1 vaccine is brand new and scientists aren't able to know if there are going to be any lasting side effects....correct?! And yet....it is inside my body now. Thanks.
The thoughts and opinions of this blog do no reflect that of the Peace Corps or the United States Government.
That would displease me as well, but I would have it done just to do Peace Corps. One thing I may be a stickler on, is Lariam. I'm going to see if the area I am in has Chloroquine resistance and if it doesn't, I'm going to ask my doc to write a note reccomending Doxycycline instead. I'm VERY uncomfortable with the idea of a drug that makes you paranoid and possibly bonkers.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand about not having a choice. I'd be pretty pissed/upset if someone said I had to do something to my body/mind and I more or less didn't have a choice.
ReplyDeleteBut that said, I did get the H1N1 vaccine by my own choice, as did my mom and sister (who both work in healthcare) and I didn't have any side effects. In fact, my mom's entire office who always gets the normal seasonal flu shot said that none of them had a single side effect, not even feeling achy or tired, where as with the normal flu shot, at least half the office is getting side effects.
My sister and I also both had that HPV shot....we both agreed this H1N1 was better.....my arm was awfully achy, and my sister....well for some reason she was in tears b/c her arm hurt so bad that she could barely use it for a day. But nothing happened with the H1N1.
My mom and sister both did some research on it, and said it is made exactly the same way as the regular flu shot. In fact, the regular flu shot has multiple strains incorporated into it, and the H1N1 would have been incorporated into it if there had been enough time.
Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that stuff, maybe put your mind at ease, or at least let you see someone else's experience. Who knows. But as for the "you must do it or go home"....I'm totally with you, that's ridiculous.
I'm a PCV in Armenia right now and we just had 2 PCVs ET because they're ethically opposed to getting the forced flu vaccines. I really think we should be given full info about this stuff before they force us into it. Did you have any PCVs ET?
ReplyDeleteAs a response to Jenna: Thanks for your input. I fortunately didn't have any side effects either.
ReplyDeleteto Quibelle: I am actually glad to hear that some people took a stand, but said to hear that they had to ET because of it. I don't believe that any volunteers in the Eastern Caribbean decided to ET over this issue.