Not buying it

Thank goodness we have access to information and don't need to rely on articles such as this ("Doctors, health officials battle spread of H1N1 vaccine myths" The Reporter, Oct. 30) to make informed health decisions.

The public is increasingly educated and informed, and blanket statements issued by officials just don't hold up anymore.

Many of us have science and health backgrounds and full access to quality information, and we will not have the wool pulled over our eyes.

After all of the recalls of so-called "safe" drugs, we are skeptical. And so we examine, research, we question. We look at the reports, the facts, and most importantly, we look around us at the reality. We gather our data, we pause, we question further.

We need to be convinced that a substance being directly injected into our blood stream is in fact safe, has been meticulously studied by parties that have no financial interest in the results, and then we make our informed decision.

We have every right to decide what goes into our bodies - no two are alike, and there is no "one-size-fits-all" in medicine, no wonder drug without side effects.

This is not fear, this is just the opposite. It is informed decision making and we should celebrate it rather than attempt to squash by labelling it as opinions based on fear and myths.

Sorry, we the educated public just don't buy that anymore.

Barbra Rigelhof

Sammamish