No. If you're healthy, you will experience the swine flu as a regular flu, ie you'll be in bed a few days. [...] Here in Norway the virus has already evolved once, and people get the disease twice (if really unlucky), and the second time is rumoured to be worse. [...]
Doesn't sound too logical.
First, it's weird that those people caught the swine flu twice in such a short period (you didn't mention the time range, but I assume it were a few months? It hasn't been around for that long). Is the virus able to mutate that fast?
Also, take a look at Eccho's explanation. If what he states is true, your immune system should be better prepared next time it comes in contact with the virus.
pointless, there's barely difference with the normal flu.
The symptoms seem to be worse, but the most worrying fact about this virus is its easy transmission between people. That aside, there is, indeed, little else we can distinguish from the two. People should have always had hygiene habits – this or the other more contagious disease shouldn't have to remind anyone of that.
People say that swine flu is a virus, and in my science class a year back they hammered it into our heads that there was no way to make a vaccine for a virus. Maybe I'm just missing something, but this doesn't seem right.
I don't think it's impossible, but viruses are indeed harder to beat than bacterias. The regular flu is an excellent example – it's been around forever and there is no permanent vaccine for it, as far as I know; else the government would most likely have you take it obligatorily, considering how common it is.
Once more I refer to Eccho's post which, if indeed true, explains why there is no permanent vaccine for any flu.
Dreadnought[dA];1400750 said:
If you really are scared of it (which any semi-healthy human being shouldn't be) then instead of getting a vaccine, strengthen your immune system by eating certain foods or taking pills. That's a far more effective way to fight off EVERYTHING! Also note it works against EVERYTHING!
Pills? You shouldn't be taking pills for any disease unless you have it. It only makes them less effective when you contract the disease.
Being healthy is certainly a good start, yes.
I read people that do sports often and are just being healthy don't risk getting it.
Well, this is logical. Who is better off? A person with one disease or a person with two? Healthy people risk getting less everything.
[...]
The virus does indeed evolve, at one point at another, but unlike HIV, they were able to make a vaccine against this swine flue one (compare it to the HIV virus which mutates at around the same speed you develop a vaccine for it). And yes, that question struck me too... why taking the vaccine if the virus is going to mutate? First of all, our immune system has a extremely well memory, and recognises not only one specific type of virus but also viruses 'related' to another one. By this I mean, the immune system cells stores information about the viruses they are hit by, and in this case (or most cases?) a protein which is unique for that the virus. Thus in that was the body will recognise it next time, even if it has had some mutations (under the circumstances that the protein formula changes completely).
[...]
I didn't know this. Pretty interesting! Did your aunt tell you this or do you study these things at school? Or did you read it somewhere else?
In answer to the question; no, I will most unlikely take the vaccine for the swine flu.
I know someone who had almost never contracted the regular flu in her entire life and, after taking a vaccine, began contracting it a lot more often when the vaccine was supposed to have prevented it in the first place. This situation lowered my trust on the vaccine for the flu (and we're talking about swine flu here, so I assume you see the point).
Plus, people die of the regular flu. The swine flu just gets more media cover because it is so contagious, for what I can tell.
On an unrelated note, it's weird that you're still calling it «swine flu». In my country, Portugal, we call it the A-flu now, as well as H1N1 virus. The «swine flu» term induced people in error about the disease. Inclusively, I heard (rumour warning) some silly farmer killed all his pigs once he heard about it. If I didn't know better, I would say no one can be this stupid.