This virus goes ‘oink’ (Image via Wikipedia)
It took a couple of days for me to score my annual hit of flu vaccine this year.
The first pharmacy had a huge queue. I knew what I was letting myself in for, in general terms, having used this one before. The ginormous promotional presentation of sugar pills at SPECIAL PRICES!!! dominated the counter. Oh yes, at over €1 per gram it’s special alright. Even the manufacturer only touts it as a relief for the symptoms of a cold, at least officially, so why in the name of all that’s decent are you pushing it as a preventative? Especially when you’ve got a fucking degree in pharmacology, you mercenary little bastard?
[...] However, what strikes me first and foremost is the complete silence over that other type of falsified medicine: sCAM. More specifically, since it’s the season for having ads for magic sugar pills shoved down our throats: homeopathy. It’s often the pharmacists themselves who actively punt the stuff; regulars may recall my horror at being offered, in all seriousness, a ‘homeopathic vaccine’ when I was trying to buy a genuine flu vaccine (If this rings a bell, then flu vaccine is full of tocsins). [...]