I'll be here, on the couch

*cough cough* I've got a bit of a thing coming on. Pretty mild actually, itchy throat, stuffed up head and a hot feeling in my lungs that might turn into a cough. (It's totally not H1N1- I'd have a high fever by now if it was) Odd as it is, I must say, the timing couldn't be better. Really, this is far enough in advance of our Thanksgiving trip to Washington that I'll just scale back my expectations at work, and spend the weekend in my PJs at home- which had been the plan before the cold anyway.

I whipped up a pretty awesome avgolemono last night, which will sustain us through the weekend. The downside is I had been planning to use the weekend to think of some good holiday recipes, and so far I've been through Cooking Light and Everyday Food and I can't quite get excited about any food stuff. Oh, delicious whatever cookies, ethnic something breads, fancy stuff salads... nothing really resonates. But I've got all weekend, and maybe after a run to the pharmacy I'll be in better shape to make the hard choices.

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In our undergrad discussion on Friday, we did this awesome exercise (I can say this because I can take no credit in it) where the students thought about how to best convey information about H1N1 to the general public, or their own friends and family. We watched two videos- the first from NPR, the second is the source of the footage from the biotech Zirus. The first is a fun, topical glance at how viruses cause infection, the second is a hardcore, long science lecture. Some of the students thought the NPR-fun version was too pedantic and uninformative, but mostly we thought the Zirus-lecture wasn't something anyone would willingly watch. My feeling is that the NPR video made science kind of pop- you might watch it because it is short and fun and heck, you might learn something or be interested enough to look up more. The second video, you HAVE to want to learn about viruses. We need both, but probably only the first type gets viewed much. Would you agree?

H1N1- are you getting vaccinated?

My step-mom-in-law just sent me an email asking about the H1N1 vaccine. To those of us in biology, there are no questions- vaccination is MUCH better that getting sick. But the view from the ivory tower is misleading, apparently this isn't clear if you follow mainstream media. Here is the response I sent her- I hope the rest of you will encourage everyone you know to at least drop the autism argument against vaccination.

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I am glad you asked about H1N1- it is scary the amount of misinformation out there. The video you sent was a typical example- I didn't watch it because the first two speakers are both intolerable anti-vaccination activists. (Did you see the cover of last months Wired? Those people make me furious!) I will agree with them, every vaccine carries a risk, and it is good to understand these risks. Most experts will agree though, the risk of influenza (either H1N1 or any other strain) is much greater.

As for the safety of the H1N1 vaccine, it is no different than the normal seasonal vaccine in the process used to manufacture it. It just directed at this one virus. Normally, predication are made almost a year in advance about what the 'next' seasonal influenza will be and vaccines are manufactured accordingly. This year, the seasonal shot does not include H1N1 (it emerged late in the manufacture process), which is surely the most abundant influenza out there. Since the manufacturing process is the same, if you were comfortable taking the seasonal shot, do yourself a favor and get H1N1 vaccine. I know that there have been soem questions about the adjuvants (chemical additives designed to enhance the immune response) used, it might help to understand that adjuvants are used in most all vaccines. I am attaching a short pdf about the vaccine (prepared for the UK parliament- some of the regulatory stuff does not apply, but I understand we use the same suppliers here).

As for the risks to the elderly, I think the same applies. You should talk to their doctor to be sure it is right for them, but the idea of vaccination is to give the body immunity without getting sick. If there is still vaccine available for them, I would encourage you all to get it. The H1N1 strain sounds nastier than average flu, which itself is not fun to get. I think public health efforts have kept us from seeing major death tolls, but that doesn't mean that H1N1 is not a threat. So please, tell all your friends, the vaccine is as safe as any other flu shot, and H1N1 is at least as bad as any other flu.

Want to know more about the nasal spray?

I hope that helps, if you have any other questions please ask. I've made it my business to know about the flu and vaccine this year.

G20 or H1N1

I've been debating back and forth which would make a better blog post- the impending G20 summit that will be happening HERE in Pittsburgh, or the Pandemic flu outbreak that I will inevitably get first of all our family members. I decided on both, since I will have to come back to both later in their own time.

First- G20, it's happening.

For most of our readers, I suspect that G20 will be hosted in Pittsburgh is little more then a ticker headline, so I'd like to add some color to that description. This year's Leader's Meeting will presidents from the world's most influential 20 nations to talk about the issues that they agreed to deal with last year. It is a kind of economic summit, biege in topic, but explosive in its ability to completely derail the entire city's infrastructure. The 20 Presidents (and their motorcades, and their delegates, and their entourage) will be hosted downtown at the convention center. Most of the downtown buildings will be EVACUATED to minimize the security threat- this means office buildings, stores and COLLEGE DORMS. You know what I would do if I had to leave my dorm for 3 days from some money summit? Protest. You know where the "Designated Free Speech Zone" for the summit is? Across the opposite river. Yeah. That's where all the protesters will head. Sure.

Don't get me wrong- I am super excited that this event it taking place here, it will give Pittsburgh a chance to show it's new face to the world, and in some ways is an ideal venue. But I don't yet have faith that anyone in Pittsburgh knows how to approach an angry protest mob. Hopefully this won't be a topic for a future blog post- all I know is the city is going to be gridlocked around motorcade traffic and I am going to work from home.

Pandemic Flu Stalks Nation- H1N1

We've been talking a lot about H1N1 at work, possibly because we have been inundated with carefully worded memos urging us to wash our hands, get plenty of rest and stay home if we have a fever. More likely because H1N1 is already on campus. As I've mentioned before- Pandemic means it spread well- it doesn't mean it kills you any more. There are some predictions that suggest this might change later in flu season (like, cases reported in August is early, long time since the last H1N1 strain was out, ...) but in the meantime, it is just a flu we have a name for.
We also have the first case in the building I work in. Given that I am planning to fly to Spokane this weekend, I am being extra SUPER careful, especially with disease carrying undergrads swarming campus. Not that I ever want to be sick, but knowing that there is a particular germ with a name hanging around makes me feel like I am being stalked.

Matt and I are looking forward to a long weekend in Spokane, to celebrate Papa's Birthday, Matt's birthday and Labor Day! Matt's Mom will be joining us, which means we will be having a no holds barred awesome weekend. I'll also be taking my AWESOME digital voice recorder to collect more family stories, once I get my act together, I'll try to format them for a larger audience.