Santa with a potential swine flu carrier. Photo: Karen Bleier, Getty Images
Mall Santas put up with a lot, but this year, they are demanding protection: According to the Sacramento Bee, Santa is asking to be approved to receive the early H1N1 vaccine.
You really can't blame the Santas! Imagine facing down hundreds of sniffling, sneezing, hygiene-challenged kids, all of whom want to rub their germy selves on your fuzzy red suit -- well, except for the ones who are terrified and crying, but that's a different mall Santa story.
All you have to protect yourself is a bottle of hand sanitizer, and the hope that the really sick ones will stay home. That's not much in the face of swine flu.
As Sacramento-based Santa Daniel Gromer told the Sacramento Bee, "Santa can't deliver toys if he's sick." We don't know if the CDC is listening, but having seen "The Year Without A Santa Claus" many times, we can say Amen to that!
Some Santas are taking precautions, like wearing latex gloves under their Santa costume gloves and washing their suits every day. They're having their elves "screen" the line for kids who look ill, and encouraging liberal use of hand sanitizer.
But many mall Santas are fearful that this won't be enough to prevent the spread of H1N1, and they want to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, unless Santa has a condition, like asthma, that puts him at risk for complications from the flu, he'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get the H1N1 shot, just like the rest of us.
Even if he can't get the early vaccine, Daniel Gromer isn't going to let Flu Fear keep him from his holiday duties. As he told the Sacramento Bee, the kids "look forward to Christmas all year, and I can't let them down."
The bottom line, though, seems to be this: "I don't want people to stay away from Santa," Gromer explained, "but they need to bring their kids in healthy." A hearty ho ho ho to that.
Suzy,11-19-2009, 7:15AM
First of all, I can't believe the amount of spam on this message board site! The comments are supposed to really be about Santa and the H1N1 vaccine, virus and kids in the mall... Why the hell does AOL allow all of these retards to post ads here? As if people are going to go to their web sites, or buy their spiel! However, regarding Santa getting the vaccine, as soon as it comes out, is very fair. There are a lot of kids out there, as the article stated, that are "hygiene challenged."
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Jay Silman,11-19-2009, 7:35AM
Suzy,
All you have to do is report each comment that is "spam" or commercial related by clicking on the exclamation point by each listing and confirming it. Granted AOL could do more by deleting these entries entirely instead of just issuing a warning that the email cintains explicit material.
Troyce Claiborne,11-19-2009, 8:07AM
I was wondering the same thing. I have seen it when reading about stories. I don't really think these people have any comman sense. It is a good idea to get any child the flu shot when it is hot there for the giving. Also if a child or adult has the flu they shouldn't even be near anybody in any mall or store and that goes for Santa also. He is doing people a service
each year by being out there to serve them and a lot of people when the kids are sick or with runny noses when go and stick and child on the Santa lap. I really don't blame blame thesthese Santas to be on the cautious side of health. My children are grown now but when they were small I never took them out when they were sick we stayed home until they got well. But it seems most of these parents think they are going to miss something and just drag the poor child out when he or she would rather be home in bed.
Christine,11-19-2009, 10:04AM
I agree 150% on ALL of it!
nicolel3440,11-19-2009, 7:20AM
For crying out loud these kids are contagious before they even show signs of the swine
flu. Once they show signs its to late to protect yourself. And how do they even know
these shots are even safe they havent tested them very much yet.
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lil pod,11-19-2009, 1:51PM
You write 'how do you know it's safe'? Let's try and educate everyone; the vaccine is made by growing the virus in chicken eggs and when there is enough viral particles it is killed. This is the same way vaccines have been made for decades; and other than a one time problem in 1976 (an association with a progressive spinal disorder), vaccines have had a tremendous success rate with a minute rate of adverse reactions. If you have an allergy to egg, don't get the vaccine, but otherwise your odds of getting seriously ill from the swine flu outnumber by far the possibility that you will have a bad reaction to the vaccine. With this knowledge, to not get the vaccine is just plain ignorant and foolish. Me, I'm in the high risk group and got my vaccine last Saturday and I am much more confident about not worrying about this flu season.
tgs1117,11-20-2009, 2:00PM
The H1N1 vaccine has gone through the same testing guidelines that the other flu vaccines go through before being released to the public....actually, they have been tested even MORE than the regular seasonal flu vaccine. All-in-all, I believe it's as safe as the regular flu vaccines and that if we have the chance, we should all get the protection it provides.
liz,11-19-2009, 7:28AM
for all of you who are posting your ads and spam here, no one ever cares about it so you might as well not post it.
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thelma,11-19-2009, 7:35AM
Wow, these people are crazy. No one cares about your spam.
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Sam,11-19-2009, 8:00AM
As it is though, parents may not know when their child is infectious, because during the incubation period, the patient is most infectious, but has the least symptoms, therefore, parents may not know that their children are sick. So in the long run, it might be safest for these "santas" to receive the vaccination.
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Sush,11-19-2009, 8:19AM
I work at a Santa set and even though I take pictures behind a camera desk, I still requested to have the hand sanitizer handy. The kids we've gotten lately to see santa are sniffling, coughing and sneezing all over the place, and the parents don't seem to care that they are putting an older man at risk of getting the flu.
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Me,11-19-2009, 4:30PM
If parents would use common sense.. I get so frustrated with parents who ignore signs of sickness. oh it's just allergies.. bull.. don't take your kid out with a runny nose. Not fair to the other parents who keep their kids home when they are sick. Parents are more worried about missing out on something..birthday parties etc if they keep their kid home.. so it's fair to get everyone else sick because YOU can' tell your kids no? I have 5 kids if one gets sick I keep the others home as well because usually if one sibling has it the others are also contagious. I don't blame Santa.... if you don't have your kid vaccinated keep him/her home.
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vanessa,11-19-2009, 3:31PM
Ok seriously.... I thought your comment about "oh it's just allergies.. bull.. don't take your kid out with a runny nose" was incredibley rude. My daughter does have allergies which were inherited from her father. She is always coughing, sneezing, and occasionally has a runny nose. Does it mean she's contagious? NO. Allergies are real and unfortunately my daughter has it. So to appease you, should I keep her locked up for 6 months out of the year? That's not happening! If I know she is truly sick, of course I keep her home because the last thing I want is to spread illness. I use common sense as I'm sure the majority of parents do. Don't just assume a child is sick because they cough or sneeze. If the parent tells you it's allergies, BELIEVE THEM as they know their child better than you do! Your other option is to make yourself a bubble to live in.
J,11-19-2009, 4:17PM
Every parent who doesn't want to miss something says.. OH IT'S JUST ALLERGIES. You may be one of the 5% who has a true case but you know there are more that just can't tell their kids NO or don't want to miss the playdates etc. Or the ones that send their kids to school like that and get everyone else sick. They don't have to live in a bubble, but you don't have to put them with other kids when they are sick.
Defensive aren't we.. geesh... how was that rude.. LOL
dennismlns,11-19-2009, 8:38AM
The reason they post spam here is that nobody proofreads them before they post, and will stay untill AOL gets the required anount of complaints to look in to it.
P.S. Give Santa the early shots!
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Neil,11-19-2009, 8:41AM
"Hygiene challenged kids" LOL! More like disease infested germ donkey's!!! I mean really! How hard is it to clean your kid up, before they go sit on Santa's lap! That's why they make wet wipes!!
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Megan,11-19-2009, 8:49AM
Do you even know whats in the H1N1 vaccine? Its not necessarily safe. It has not been tested strenuously like other vaccines have. Nobody has the right to tell other parents they have to get their child vaccinated. Nor do they have the right to tell other parents they can't take their child somewhere because he/she isn't vaccinated. All you can do as a parent is vaccinate your own children and then you don't have to worry about it anymore. That's what the vaccine's there for, right? I'll be damned if I'm going to give my child a shot that could potentially kill them, cause them to go blind, or paralyze them, but by all means you go head.
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jalynn,11-19-2009, 9:36AM
The story is not necessarily talking about the kids being vaccinated, it's about the Santa's wanting be vaccinated so that they don't get the swine flu. I agree, i would want to protect myself against swine flu especially when Santa is at the age where complications may very well set in and god forbid. There have been 4000 plus people that died from this illness all ready. This flu is no joke. This time of the year, kids are always getting sick and now the swine flu to worry about...LET SANTA BE VACCINATED!!!! and Parent's, keep your sick kids home!
Serious,11-19-2009, 10:09AM
So what you are saying Megan is that if you don't get your children vaccinated and God forbid one of them dies from H1N1, you are ready to take full responsibility for your child's death??? WHY WOULD ANY PARENT EVER TAKE THE CHANCE?
SHIRLEY,11-19-2009, 12:23PM
IM WITH YOU GIRL...LORD KNOWS WHAT THEY PUT IT THAT....TRUSTING IN MY SAVIOR..TO TAKE OF MY FAMILY......I KNOW SOMEONE GONNA SAY ...HOW THAT WORKING FOR YOU? WELL IT WRONGING JUST FINE............LITTLE COLDS ...BUT NO SWINE FLU......THANK YOU JESUS.....AMEN