Notice: This pig has not been vaccinated!

Everyone’s talking about the swine flu these days, it seems.  Whether it’s a discussion of the late vaccines, New York’s speculated defense because of the spring outbreak, or arguments over vaccination side effects, everyone seems to have an opinion.  On the Today show the other day, I heard the decision whether to get vaccinated for the swine flu referred to as “such a personal decision.”  Well, yes and no.  It’s personal in the sense that any medical care is personal, but in several meaningful ways, vaccines are less personal than any other medical decision you might make.  Vaccines aren’t just about you not getting sick — they’re about you not passing it on to other people who might also get sick.  Vaccines are about public health.

I know that lots of people aren’t planning to get the swine flu vaccine when it finally becomes available, and I think that dialog is frequently missing a key point.  Here it is: even if you’re not likely to die from the swine flu, you might come into contact with someone who is.  And sure, those people should be vaccinated, but let’s be real.  The vaccines are coming much later than anyone had hoped, and lots of people even in high risk categories haven’t had it yet.  Even when the vaccines are widely available (probably several months from now), there will be a few people who for one reason or another get missed.  And vaccines aren’t perfect.

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Anyone who lives in New York or follows the national press on public health issues is probably aware that Mayor Bloomberg has been pushing a nutritional agenda whose primary method of implementation is to force New Yorkers to eat better whether they like it or not.  Recent measures have included banning the use of trans fats in restaurants and requiring chains to prominently post calorie counts for all of their foods.  His latest hobby horse has been pushing restaurants and manufacturers to reduce sodium levels in their foods.  Well, the New York Times today ran an article discussing Mayor Bloomberg’s own eating habits, which apparently include copiously salting pizza.  I can’t quite decide if this is hypocrisy, or if it just means that Bloomberg’s sense that New Yorkers needs the food police to watch them is based in his own need to have the food police watch him.

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Let’s hear it for the pope and his public health expertise!  Tuesday, on his way to Cameroon, Pope Benedict let loose with a charmer on the subject of the public health implications of condom use in connection with the AIDS crisis. “[AIDS] cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.”  Is he kidding?

Look, I get why he can’t encourage condom use.  It’s the Catholic Church.  Contraception is a no-no for the traditional, and they don’t get any more traditional than the man in the seat of Peter.  But could he perhaps keep his mouth shut about a public health issue that’s WELL outside his area of expertise?  Condoms INCREASE THE PROBLEM?  Given that they’re currently one of Africa’s best hopes (one of its few hopes) for keeping the spread of HIV under control, it would have been nice had he kept his statements away from epidemiology and closer to religion.

The pope’s solution?  “[A] humanisation of sexuality, a human, spiritual renewal which brings with it a new way of behaving among people and, secondly, a true friendship, especially for those who are suffering, a willingness to make personal sacrifices.”  He also apparently called for “correct behaviour regarding one’s body”.  Mm-hm.  Universal “correct behavior” is going to be coming any second now.

Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I really hope we don’t have to wait for everyone to achieve correctness before we get AIDS under control.

The whole story on Reuters.