Do you have any idea about what are our rights when it comes to swine flu? Like for example, my friend got sick, and her school made her go to the hospital, where they injected her with multiple things--she has no idea what--and then gave her several unknown drugs to take. A week or so later, she still had a cough, so they made her go back to the hospital, where they gave her Tamiflu, and her school ordered her to take it. I'm not sure how much you know about influenza or Tamiflu.....but that was the most illogical move imaginable. She even got tested for swine flu, and the test says she doesn't have it!
Will I get deported if I don't let them inject me with things? Can your school order you to take drugs? I'm so scared!
Ask the Expat is right to dispute the email's title "Swine Flu Madness," for indeed it's common sense really to take whatever precautions are necessary to keep students and coworkers from getting sick, even, I'll add, if some measures this year---considering it a foreigners' disease at first, taking away passports, and putting faith in kimchi---haven't been sensible. Here's a bit more of what he had to say:
If one of my teachers contracted the virus, we would certainlyforceencourage them to get vaccinated or get the proper treatment. They could refuse of course, but at the same time it would be totally irresponsible of me, the teacher and the school to allow that teacher back in the building before they're cured. The main goal is containment.
In the end, I think that schools have some ground to stand on when forcing teachers to be vaccinated or treated. There is nothing wrong with a school asking you to get tested and if you have something, get it treated...for yourself. WebMD doesn't have all the answers.
And in a follow-up comment:
Perception is everything on this front. For the same reason people wear masks and stop attending classes, schools struggle to know what to do when confronted with this flu or a teacher gets sick.
However, apprehension about having medication put into you is justified, and this is where I think the liaisons between administration and native speaker English teachers should step in to provide information about what's going on, why, and what your options are. Just as it's your responsibility, as a patient, to ask questions about what's happening and what you're putting into your body.
16 comments:
I got some kind of voucher from my school about getting a vaccination. I wouldn't mind getting vaccinated. (Even though I think that I already had swine flu) The thing I'm concearned with though is that the vaccine might come from China. I heard that all the vaccines sent to Korea are from sinovac in China.
Now Chinese products are alright if you are talking about jeans and uniclo clothes, but I'm not to fond of having something injected into my body from the same people who put fromeldehide into toothepaste. I'd rather get vaccinated the old fashioned way and feel like shit for two weeks, but seriously I think I already had it, once in September I was running a pretty high temperature for a day, then in October my parents gave me a nice wedding gift of a pretty bad cold that spread to my inlaws, and then after that I had another night when I had a pretty bad headache and a fever. I'd be willing to bet that one of those was the H1N1.
Not a chance in hell I am letting them inject me (or my family for that matter).
I've had too many serious reactions from crap that they've just given me in this country. Had a pharmasist get seriously pissed off at me the other day when I wanted to know what they English names of the random drugs were he was giving me because I wanted to check for interactions, side effects etc when I got home because the last drugs he gave me caused me to go into anafalatic shock. After about 10 min he did give them too me but kept insisting that there was no problem with them...ya, none except it ends up that one of them stops birthcontrol pills from completely working!
Then there's the tetanus shot I thought I might be allergic to...so instead of doing allergy testing the injected me with half to see what would happen. Yeah anafalactic shock!
And then there was the local anestetic I was allergic to that I keep telling doctors about and they ignored me and gave it to me anyways because it was "impossible". Again anafalatic shock (but then they believed me)!
Wouldnt trust anyone with a needle in this country. Not sure if the NIHI shot is the same in this country as it is in the US but if you're allergic to eggs dont let them inject you with it since flu vaccines are typically made using eggs to incubate the vaccine
The day they come at me with a needle at work is the same day the most read article at Naver is "Foreign English Teacher Strangles Nurse with Her Own Tongue."
I'm not sure what the exact laws governing "epidemics" are in the U.S. I know that the CDC and FEMA have unbelievable power when the president signs off on it. They can basically suspend the constitution in order to "protect."
But barring that swift stroke of a pen, the U.S. Constitution guarantee's a citizens right to privacy, including medial privacy, which extends to choosing your own medical treatment, even when that treatment (or lack there of) could lead to death.
All parents have the right not to have their children vaccinated. All adults have the right not to be vaccinated.
Duh. So does Korea have the same laws? Regardless of morals or ethics, do we have the right to medical privacy?
I sort of think we don't because more than once I have had a doctor call to discuss my medical treatment with my coteacher (unprompted, without my permission, and once without my knowledge) and have heard similar stories.
It sickens me to read comments from people behaving and thinking as if they know enough about medicine as well as its implications. Much more the nature of vaccines, its effect on the body, the side effects, the initial immune response etc., then will go around the internet bashing and complaining on any medical procedure that doesnt seem fit as far as their last memories of the last episode of discovery channel or worse tabloid article is concerned.
Arvinsign, nobody is bashing anyboday. As fatty cat pointed out there are a few practices in Korean pharmacies that require people to do research. I don't have many allergies but I always try to find out the names of the drugs that I am taking when the pharmacist gives them to me too. That is only being a smart consumer. Drugs generally come from the pharmacist unmarked all dosed out in little plastic packages.
Also if you know that you are allergic to something, you don't need to be a microbiologist to know that you shouldn't take that drug, its just common sense.
Sorry that you are sickened by people who worry about their own safety.
@3gyupsal
Sorry if i sound harsh. What i mean is there is a borderline to expressing our complains especially when it regards to medical procedures and phenomenon. I can understand paranoia. And thats it. If someone is starting to behave or act as if he/she better (for whatever reason) than even a poorly trained medical professional or doctor, then thats something to think about. If anyone starts to talk about (with bashing) medical and scientific jargons as if they fully understand what that means, then its really sickening.
"I don't have many allergies but I always try to find out the names of the drugs that I am taking when the pharmacist gives them to me too. That is only being a smart consumer. Drugs generally come from the pharmacist unmarked all dosed out in little plastic packages."
-- This i understand and i fully agree.
arvinsign, you're right, and one point I debated writing in the original post was one found in the original Ask The Expat one: Medical professionals know better than EFL teachers about what one should do for swine flu. I eventually didn't write that because there are many caveats, but in short I think people should do the research for themselves and make up their minds, not simply be difficult out of "paranoia."
The "paranoia" about swine flu is one thing, and you may choose to snicker at the "Kimchi Saves!" talk, but isn't it also just as bad to slag everything Korean just because it's Korean?
I'd have to do my homework more about it, but I think I'd get the shot if I were given the opportunity here in Korea.
@arvinsign
"It sickens me to read comments from people behaving and thinking as if they know enough about medicine as well as its implications."
Doctors are not gods. People should always question and research what is put into their bodies. I would like to suggest that you look at the Depo Provera class action lawsuits. I am one of the millions of women who have perminant health problems due to this medication. Many of us were never told of the side effects in the 90's even though many doctors and manufactures knew.
And, when I tell a doctor "I'm deathy alllergic to that" and they tell me it is impossible and give it to me anyways causing anafalatic shock, yes, I do think I know more.
I have a slight egg allergy which this N1HI vaccine is incubated in so I wouldnt want it forced upon me. Plus, 2 cases of hospitalization in one year from two different injections makes me more then weary.
The big question though remains, what if we refuse to be injected with it?
"I'd have to do my homework more about it, but I think I'd get the shot if I were given the opportunity here in Korea."
In my case, I wouldn't. My body reacts badly with flu shots any time in the past I've had one. Not deadly ill, but sick enough I needed to stay home.
Given the choice, I wouldn't take it. And if FORCED to take it, I'd take the termination first (unless they agree in writing to pay for all sick days and doctors bills that will result from the shot).
"Medical professionals know better than EFL teachers about what one should do for swine flu."
Brian, I would question what constitutes a "medical professional" in Korea as opposed to Western countries. Do pharmacists go school? Is it an incredibly difficult 5-6 year program that weeds out a huge percentage of potential graduates? Do pharmacists spend their days double checking drug interactions and calling doctors to discuss treatments with patients who develop side-effects?
A short example of a "medical professional" in Korea:
My friend had cellulitis secondary to a jellyfish sting. Upon returning to Korea she told her coteacher she needed to see a doctor. The CT brought her to a skin clinic that specialized in dermatological issues.
Two months later they were slicing chunks of her skin out without an a)antiseptic, b) anesthetic, c) reason. She asked for her file, ran to a Western Clinic and found out they were treating her infection with steroids (which weaken the immune system).
Arvinsign,
If you're not questioning your "medical professionals" then who will?
@ fattycat
I am aware of the Depo Provera case as well as hundreds of other lawsuits similar to that. Thank you very much. Now does that make me paranoid? No. You can do research on statistics that covers all drugs marketed within the past 100 years, and lets see how much of these regiments turned out to be more detrimental rather than therapeutic (at least in the long run). Being one of the victims, doesnt make you knowledgeable enough on that topic. You are a consumer. Thats it. Its applicable to anything whether youre buying a car or taking a drug. There is always a risk, no matter how small it may be. Of course you can observe your rights, i agree with that.
@ Mark
No offense, but aside from being pissed off on people claiming/acting to be better than doctors or medical professionals anywhere in the world (including US), i also dont like anecdotal stories. The internet is already littered with those.
To answer your question, again i am with everyone with regards to medical rights. And my answer to the post is NO. I still believe on the rights of each and everyone, in the same way that i believe on a woman's right to abortion. Everyone CAN question the medical procedures or the drugs thats being administered to them. But please be reasonable enough as to why. A layperson should accept that what he/she knows is just 1 pct of the whole story. If you are trained as a medical professional, or youre a physician or a medical scientist complaining about something like the vaccine for example, then i think your argument might have some validity. But if you are not, then of course you can still question, but better get someone who knows or continue researching.
Another piece of advice, Korea is the same as every other country in the world.(All has its share of crappy doctors). There are so many good hospitals here, dont settle for a mediocre one. If you want quality, then pay for it.
@arvinsign
I wrote up a big message but I suspect that like many of the readers here you grew up in a culture where one is expected not to question authority figures like doctors.
I will comment on this one point though:
"Being one of the victims, doesnt make you knowledgeable enough on that topic."
I told the doctors when they first gave it to me that it made me sick. They told me it didnt. They gave it to me again. I got more sick. They told me that it was impossible and the drug was safe. They wanted to give it to me again and I refused because I knew that when they gave it to me it made me sick.
Fast forward a few years later...Guess what?!? It did make me sick! Perminantly and seriously. Thank god I didnt listen to them and stopped taking it or I might be one of those poor women who are having all the bones break in their bodies. The really sad thing is, is the doctors and the drug company knew about the risks but didnt tell the "consumers" and information about these risk were not public (they are now). Yes, this happened in North America but similar things have happened to me in Korea as well.
I think when I have a history of serious allergic reactions to injections (hospitalization due to anaphylactic shock = dizziness, difficulty beathing, chest pains, throat closing, etc) and an allergy to eggs which is what the vaccine is incubated in I have every right to refuse to have it put in my body and that is by no means paranoid.
@ fattycat
"I suspect that like many of the readers here you grew up in a culture where one is expected not to question authority figures like doctors"
Not really. Growing up in a culture like that, doesnt make you or anyone to think exactly like that. My point is just that, laypeople should know their limits. A person who always believe that he/she is in the slightest way better than a professional, is more or less comparable to a person who grew up in the mountain (or a cave) and will not accept any modern medicine in lieu of the traditional ones. And yes you can question your doctors. You can question anyone who wants to inject you with something. Im not taking that away from you. Im just wishing that people will have sensible reasons for refusing such. Not because the vaccine is from China, or not because its a Korean doctor, nurse or pharmacist. The magnitude of crappy professionals here or everywhere is the same.
The internet is filled with useful informations regarding H1N1, how to protect yourself, Info's about all kinds of viruses/infections, FAQ's etc. And the most dangerous part is not not reading it, but READING it and interpreting it wrongly.
"and an allergy to eggs which is what the vaccine is incubated in I have every right to refuse to have it put in my body and that is by no means paranoid"
I understand. Btw there are cell based vaccines for H1N1.
@arvinsign
When and where did you get your vaccine?
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