We're all gonna die

So let's look at a pretty flower for a while.

Ah.

Feel better?

Well, Alberta's managed to bungle the whole H1N1 vaccination thing so badly that they've just announced they're closing the clinics (for the moment... and as far as I know the clinics only ever opened in the major cities anyway) because of overwhelming demand, and when they do open again it'll only be for those in the high-risk groups.

Way to go, Alberta. This after spending weeks telling us that we should all get flu shots and that everyone will be able to get flu shots and that it was REALLY REALLY important to get flu shots. Then they were surprised somehow to see thousands of people lining up for hours to get flu shots?

Yep. Well effed up, government.

But they promise that we will all get flu shots, you know. Just not right now.

Oh well. It's not like I'd even decided whether to get a flu shot anyway. And no, it's not because I'm terribly worried about the safety or the efficacy (although I think it's important to question both the safety and the efficacy, frankly. There's nothing wrong with wanting more information. Forget that step and eventually we'll all be drinking the Kool-Aid). It's... hmmm... come down to it, I don't know. I guess it's nothing more than the mere fact that I hadn't decided whether or not to do it, that's all.

There was a time in my life when the mere presence of a needle would have decided it for me, though. I was a huge needle-phobe. And yes, I do know that no one especially likes needles, but I was terrified. Terrified to the point that to this day if you examine my back end (not that I'm in any way suggesting that you should do that. Maybe just take my word for it) you'll probably be able to find the scar left behind when the nurses at the hospital tried to give me a shot of something or other before I had my tonsils out as a child. Seems to me it was two nurses and my mother holding me down, and even then I'm damned lucky I didn't manage to break the needle off in my rump because of the struggle.

I'm a lot easier to deal with now, I promise.

Still, there's always that little kid in the back of your mind going AAAAAAH!!! AAAAAAH!!! AAAAAAH!!! at the thought of a needle, isn't there?

Moot point anyway now, though, since who knows when I might have even the slightest chance of getting a flu shot even if I really wanted one?





Well done, stupid Alberta.