Vaccinated against the swine flu

One shot = three meatballs on Christmas and I'm done

Sweden is one of the few countries that has chosen to mass vaccinate all citizens (voluntarily) against the swine flu. 18 million vaccine doses were originally ordered (2 shots per person, Sweden’s population is around 9 million), however, after almost 80% of the population have received their first shots it is being debated if that second dose is actually needed and the second dose has been temporary cancelled.

I’m not sure what the deal is in China, I know they are vaccinating some people but far from everyone, and since I prefer dealing with medical matters in Sweden I asked my mom if she could find out if I could get my vaccination in Sweden despite the fact that I have emigrated.

Turns out I could! The hospital even had a certain date (December 23) for “Swedes living abroad/emigrated Swedes” to come in and get their shots (and despite the fact that we are no longer in the Swedish system and receive no social security it was free! Cheers). Unusually enough, there was a rather friendly atmosphere in the hospital’s waiting room?!

Take bunch of Swedes that don’t know each other and put them in a room and there will be complete silence except for the sound of people flicking their magazine pages. Take a bunch of emigrated Swedes, who have been living elsewhere a great deal of their life and feel happy, yet a bit confused about being in the “Swedish system” and meeting so many fellow Swedes again, and you’ll get a pretty nice atmosphere. At least that was the case at this hospital’s waiting room. People were chatting aimlessly, and I ended up exchanging travel anecdotes with an old Swedish couple who’d been living in the UK for 25 years, as well as with another couple who’d spent a few years living in Ukraine before moving to Latvia.

The shot itself didn’t hurt, and I felt great until later that day when I got a fever and started to feel kind of fragile. (This is apparently how the body reacts in some cases against the vaccine: you get a mini flu). The next day (on Christmas itself) I felt as if I had a flu and despite eating painkillers (which I had been recommended to do) I still felt weak and tired, however, the biggest surprise was my appetite. I simply could not eat that much, which is highly unusual for a food lover as me. So, while the other ones were unbuttoning their pants, rubbing their bellies and fighting for the best pieces from the "Aladdin" chocolate box, I was full after 3 meatballs. I think this Christmas will go to history as the first Christmas ever when I did not gain weight.