Funny Business

Published: Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009 | 4:44 PM ET

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It appears the federal government wants people to get the H1N1 flu vaccine this winter, though it would be nice if there were actually enough doses available.

I say "it appears" the government wants us to get vaccinated, but I'm not sure.

This animated video from the Department of Health & Human Services is meant to explain to children how the vaccine will help.

Using a song, the video tells kids that a flu shot "might hurt a little bit, but it's gonna help a whole lot!" Do you even want to let kids know there's a shot involved? Singing "Roll up your sleeves, and come and get it!!" is not a good selling point. Actually, there's no way to sell the idea of a shot to children. Bribing doesn't even work. Believe me, this I know. But no one at HHS seems to realize this, because the video ends WITH ONE OF THE ANIMATED KIDS GETTING A SHOT.

Then there's just the annoying factor. After seeing this video, someone wrote me, "Did the vaccine make those people look that way, or was it the Panama Red I had earlier?"

Meantime, the flu biz may be bad for corporate America this winter due to lost productivity, unless you're a doctor! According to Sageworks, which provides data to companies, visits to doctors offices are way up despite the down economy.

The firm says while dentists are only seeing a one percent increase in office visits this year (down from a 7 percent increase last year), physicians are seeing a whopping 16 percent jump in office visits, more than double the average growth between 2006 and 2008.

That's a...healthy...improvement.

• Pharma's Market Blog: H1N1 In The Heartland

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