When do the responsible people get a chance?

First off, Bings:

I think the student in question is either the Hairdresser of the Future or the Grocery Shelf Restocker of the future.

Remember, I don't exactly teach at Harvard, so don't fret too much over one person who seems to not have it all goin' on upstairs. (And in some cases, I think the lack-of-brains is really a lack-of-attention or lack-of-caring.)

Second, the news story that irritated me for the day:

They're saying now that prisoners will be eligible for the H1N1 shot before the "non high risk" population.

Now, intellectually, I understand this: first, prisons are crowded places where people can't get away from one another. And second, many prisoners are probably in poorer health (thanks to drug use and other forms of bodily abuse) than the average taxpayer.

but emotionally, it pisses me off. It feels like yet another instance of "People who followed the rules and did the responsible thing, get to the back of the line. We'll help you when we're done helping the "dee-dee-dee" Special Snowflakes of the world who can't be arsed to take care of themselves - that is, if we are still equipped to give any help."

I teach on a college campus. It's crowded. It has people who don't always take the best care of themselves (I am sure going out and drinking cheap beer several nights a week is not salutary for one's health). It has a mix of people, some with chronic illnesses. And yet, there is no plan to offer vaccines - because there is NOT ENOUGH vaccine.

(I heard this morning that a 40 year old woman in Texas died from H1N1. They're saying she had no underlying conditions. What is this about "only children are seriously affected" again?)

I don't know. I'm just so fed up with what seems to be a lot of contradictory information, a lot of screw-ups on the parts of TPTB, as concerns this. Now they're telling us, "Don't panic," while they continue to report the death toll (yes, this is NOT as bad as seasonal flu deaths. So, dear MSM, why are you acting like each death from this is a major tragedy, and you always ignore the seasonal flu.)

I just have a feeling that either this whole mess is a preview of what the "public option" ("Whoops, we didn't make enough necessary vaccine!") will be, or it will lead to some kind of blanket declarations that limit people's freedom. ("We're from the government, and we're closing down movie theaters, because it's For Your Own Good.")

They're vaccinating schoolkids here (there is an opt-out option, though from all I've read, this vaccine looks pretty safe). I hope soon those of us who are not regarded as "high risk" will get a chance. (I'm especially scared as I live alone - if I get sick I will have no one to take care of me, or to realize that I have a super high fever and need to go to the ER. I wonder if they even send out ambulances for someone who's so sick and weak from flu that they can't drive themselves to the hospital?)