Still on the Quest

On Saturday I got treated to the worst round of excuses not to get a flu shot it has been my misfortune to listen to. One person, just one, had the legitimate excuse of being allergic to eggs.

Everyone else was "It's too much hassle", or, "I hate needles", or "Oh, I never get sick!" Sometimes just before wiping their nose with the back of one hand.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Yes, and Typhoid Mary never got sick either!

VACCINES SAVE LIVES. They take you from 'get into a car accident' odds of being horribly ill with potentially fatal complications to 'win the lottery' odds of a bad reaction to the vaccine. Not that flu vaccines have a perfect rate of immunization anyway. There are multiple strains out there. It takes two weeks for the immunity to be established. You're only improving your odds to begin with, but when you do YOU IMPROVE THE ODDS FOR EVERYONE YOU MEET AND EVERYONE THEY MEET AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. It's called Herd Immunity and it's the reason why you think it's a tragedy when someone has to bury their baby! Herd immunity is a vital condition of the population for the safety of people who can't get the vaccine. The ones that are allergic, or are too young, or who have compromised immune systems.

And if you're going to tell me that "experts disagree" try to pick an expert who has an actual degree in medicine, 'kay?

Grrrrrr

If you've been getting mail from MBNA, mostly "checks" for you to use from an old account you thought was long since closed, make sure to open and read the latest offering. And if you're still one of their customers, beware!

I just got a letter informing me that I was going to now be charged 39.95 in a month as an annual fee.

On a card with no balance, that I haven't used in at least seven years.

Well, that got me off my arse, and I have called them and closed the account. According to the very polite young man in Maine to whom I spoke (best part of the whole experience, thank you Paul), I should get a letter saying so in about five days. And if I had the energy to dig through all my old documents I could pin it to the one which closed the account when I paid it off...

Grrrrrr....

ETA to make slight correction. It's 40 bucks a year, not 40 each month. But I'm still not payin'!

*resolves uselessly to remember to READ the post before she posts it next time*