The LaSalle Vipers hockey team is not the first to receive flu shots ahead of members of the public who are supposed to receive priority. After being in my locker room for not even a week I a have noticed how many guys have flu like symptoms. Alberta’s health authority has fired two people for involvement in giving Calgary Flames players and their families the H1N1 vaccine. The shots began a couple of weeks ago and were to be administered on a priority basis, starting with the most at-risk groups, such as people with chronic medical conditions under the age of 65, pregnant women, children ages six months to five years, health-care workers, and those who have had household contact with infected people. Although they have these people who are a priority to get the shot before others, I still think these people should be participants of an organized sport. The reason for this is because they are consistently around the same people, who they are close with while being in the locker room, share the same water bottles and bathing stuff in the showers. Do you think participants in an organized sports should be part of the priority?
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Ontario+health+unit+investigated+over+H1N1+shots+hockey+team/2198109/story.html
I completely agree with what your saying. Sharingn a locker room with a lot of other guys being in close quarters and using the same bottles to drink from is easily putting them all at risk for infection. But at the same time these guys are also in great shape and their immune systems would be better prepared to handle such a virus. So I would like to think that they be giving the shots to the more priority people and children because hockey players are less vulnerable to serious complications from H1N1.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty interesting and you don't really think about how flu like symptoms could spread so easily through a hockey locker room. I actually saw something about that Calgary Flames scandal the other day on the NHL network. All in all though it's good your whole team got the shot.
ReplyDeleteI can understand where people are coming from by saying that it is not right for these hockey players are in good shape and probably at less risk for H1N1 to harm them. However, i feel that unlike people, H1N1 does not have conscience and does not care who it effects, so these guys are at the same risk as everyone else. In fgact, being that most locker rooms are shared by multiple teams over a short period of time, i feel these guys are even more at risk than the general public.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick that hockey players will have a high immune system and others are at a much higher risk. Maybe the hockey players should just be a bit more concsious of spreading germs (stop sharing water bottles) until the vaccine becomes more available. I think that everyone is going to find a reason to complain and argue that certain people should get the vaccine first, but unfortunately the only thing we can do is continue to live healthy lifestyles and avoid spreading germs.
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