If most people who die of the swine flu die of pneumonia, why don't they just give people pneumonia vaccines? Why are we being given a flu vaccine to protect against pneumonia? Duh. And to you some of you guys logic, can you really live with your conscious if you could have gotten a pneumonia vaccine but didn't? But ah, here's where someone jumps in to give us all a professional lesson about pneumonia. But here's a preemptive, the pneumonia is usually bacterial from immunocompromising of the swine flu. But still, if you immunized against the pneumonia, wouldn't you do that!? Why not? Cause the media didn't tell you to go in your game of "red, light, green light"?

"Green light!"

"Red light!"

"Green light!"

"Red light!"

"Caught ya!"

People are vaccinated against pneumonia all the time. But there are many ways pneumonia can originate, and you have to vaccinate against each one separately.

Guess how you immunize against pneumonia caused by flu virus: you vaccinate against flu virus.

Just read the wikipedia article about pnuemonia.

"Guess how you immunize against pneumonia caused by flu virus: you vaccinate against flu virus."

Well you don't die of the flu though, generally, you die of pneumonia. Just wondering if it'd work just to immunize with pneumonia? Probably not if you're immunocompromised, which is probably how you die.

"Just read the wikipedia article about pnuemonia."

Why, is it fascinating?

Patrick:

"Guess how you immunize against pneumonia caused by flu virus: you vaccinate against flu virus."

Well you don't die of the flu though, generally, you die of pneumonia. Just wondering if it'd work just to immunize with pneumonia? Probably not if you're immunocompromised, which is probably how you die.

The point I was trying to make is, there is no "pneumonia" vaccine. There are only vaccines for certain of the various causes of pneumonia.

Patrick:

"Just read the wikipedia article about pnuemonia."

Why, is it fascinating?

No, it just contains actual information, you should try it sometime ;-)

Pneumonia describes a set of symptoms, it doesn't name a specific illness caused by a specific virus or bacteria. Pneumonia is simply an infection of the lungs which typlically presents with fluid accumulation due to inflammation. It can be caused by a whole host of different infectious agents: mutliple viruses, multiple bacterial strains, multiple fungi.

Seasonal flu vaccination is therefore a means of vaccinating against pneumonia, by providing immunity to the particular viral strain that at that point in time represents the greatest risk of causing pneumonia.

Why not use a PREVENTATIVE treatment, i.e. a vaccine against the flu, instead of treating someone for something they MIGHT get as a complication of the initial disease? Or try to prevent both?

And since when is vaccination for pneumonia a great idea, while vaccination for H1N1 a bad one?

You still persist in making this all about the media, which is of course just you being nuts. In fact, ALL of your posts on this subject are nuts.

I know, it comes with the territory...

"The point I was trying to make is, there is no "pneumonia" vaccine. There are only vaccines for certain of the various causes of pneumonia."

Sorry but there is a pneumonia vaccine.

"You still persist in making this all about the media, which is of course just you being nuts. In fact, ALL of your posts on this subject are nuts."

For you it's all about nuts, huh? Figures. And I suppose anyone you disagree with it is "nuts" by matter of fiat.

Please, do tell.

I think if you do you will find there are vaccines for various causes of pneumonia, notably one against Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus).

One more time, this will do nothing to prevent pneumonia brought about by infuenza. Only something that prevents one from contracting influenza (hint-hint) will prevent pneumonia caused by influenza.

This seems very simple to me. Can you not comprehend this? Can you not understand that the only way to prevent pneumonia assiciated with the flu is to protect against the flu?

caused by strains of streptococcus pneumoniae --it provides protection against infection by 23 related strains.

There are however close to 100 different strains of s. pneumonia, so it doesn't provide blanket coverage even against this family of bacteria, nor does it provide protection against pnuemonia resulting from any other non-s. pneumoniae bacterial strains, nor any caused by fungal infection, nor (and this is the key point re: pneumoina associated with influenza) does it protect at all against viral pneumonias.

So it really isn't all that complicated--if you're looking to be immunized against viral pneumonia associated with seasonal influenza, you want that year's seasonal flu vaccine. If you're looking for protection against pneumonia associated with H1N1, you'll need to be vaccinated against H1N1.

Naturally, you seize on my closing insult and pretend that I'm saying something I'm not. Why? Because you can't deal with facts.

For you, it's all about being nuts. Always has been.