I’ve heard a good bit of late about Swine Flu. Apparently I’m not the only one. The interesting thing about this isn’t the disease. It’s basically Spanish Influenza, as far as I’m aware. What really interests me are the responses to the vaccine. Some people are actually treating this as a political issue, and I’m really not sure why. Actually, I have a strong suspicion, but you might not like the answer. Here’s one sample from Facebook (names deleted, grammar cleaned up a little, just because I can):

[status] Who on here is going to get the swine flu vaccination? Also, if you have kids, who will give it to them? I am so worried about it, but I’m scared not to get it. My baby’s doctor tells me to get it, everyone at work (who are nurses) tells me to get it. Any comments for or against?

I have been having the same issues w/my little ones. It’s just so scary w/it being new. I think I’m going to give it a couple of weeks and see if anyone has any problems after getting it.

Not us!!! We don’t trust it. It is WAY too new. We don’t know what side effects it is REALLY going to have. Also, think it is going to take more than a couple weeks or possibly even months to figure out what the side effects WILL be. It’s not a question of if there will be side effects. It is what will they be.

I haven’t decided yet. [We'll get t]he regular flu shot yes, but I don’t know about the swine flu yet. A couple of kids I know have had swine flu along with my sister and it only last[ed] 3 days. Not that I want [my son] to get it, but I don’t trust anything Obama says or does!

A couple of those objections are probably in keeping with what a lot of people’s concerns about a new innoculation. They’re not incredibly well-founded, according to the CDC and NPR. And frankly, I found that via my Facebook page (I’m a fan of NPR) and Google. It’s not as if the information isn’t out there.

It’s that last comment, though, that really intrigues me. A woman is not going to have her son inoculated because she doesn’t, “trust anything Obama says or does!” Um….really? He’s a politician, so I guess that’s a safe guess most of the time, but…really? You’re exposing your son to a disease against which no one under age 50 has any immunity because of your dislike for a man with no direct link to the formulation of the vaccine? If she had said she didn’t trust anything that pharmaceutical companies said or did, it might be indicative of a little too much time listening to Jenny McCarthy, but it would at least be relevant.

On a serious note, this is one of the weird little things about how people think about politics. We call it a heuristic. We only use that word to justify the piles of money and years of our youth we spent on education, though; “shortcut” is an equally good word. Basically, our erstwhile Obama opponent is saving herself the trouble of thinking carefully about the issue of the H1N1 vaccine. Googling “swine flu” and reading the first few articles from reputable sources is time consuming. (The easy part is already done for you here. Also, I’m kind of a jackass.) It’s much easier to think about who is in power (Obama) and one’s opinions of Obama, then come to a quick conclusion. This is a bit like being called on in class and yelling “pi!” because you see a circle on the board. Then remembering that it’s history class. However, people do it all the time, and somehow, the world keeps turning. I have to wonder, though: if there are Republicans who are skeptical of using a private industry, already successful on the open market, to create new health care techniques, what’s left? Surely there’s some sort of OPTION for a PUBLIC method.

(Note: as a kid, I was the type to kick a hornet’s nest and run away. My sister is terrified of all insects to this day. I’ll let you do the math.)