I take sicko season very seriously. I do not desire to be infectious with the germs and bacterias and viral mutations that people spread. That would make me a biohazard to my family and all my super-eating powers would disappear. It would also prevent me from exercising.

Unlike some people (maybe you?) I don’t have the ability to exercise while I’m sick. On top of this, Greedy Kid #1 sometimes gets influenza-ill to the point of “Holy sh!it, we gotta take her to the emergency room!” So when GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) invited me (and some other fab ladies) to tour their facilities where they make many of the vaccines for the ENTIRE country, of course I wanted to be nosey and go see.

That’s me right there in authentic GSK garb – no way I was gonna leave that place without putting something on my head. My initial hope for the trip was to infiltrate a secret zombie vaccine cure to share with you all, but I’m guessing that wing of the facility is cloaked with invisibility though advanced technology. Because I didn’t witness any zombie experiments going on.

So instead, I listened to them talk about why ADULT vaccines are important. Because stuff wears off. When Greedy Baby was born, I was vaccinated in the hospital to protect HER from what I might catch and infect her with. I thought that was really stupid at the time, because I got my shots when I was a kid. But GSK explained how some vaccines do, in fact, wear off, and that a re-boost is necessary. So talk to your doctor about what re-boosts you might need to stay biohazard-free.

One of the most fascination parts of the day was witnessing the passion in the people behind the vaccines, learning about pandemic preparedness (yep, they produced last year’s swine flu vaccine), and the complexities that go into making a vaccine in general. Some have more that 500 quality control steps, all the way down to how the workers put on their garments. They must be certified in garment-putting-on-ing. Certified to put on your work clothes the right way? uh huh.

I could go on and on raving about the day, but I only do medium-length posts, ya know? So here’s what to take away:

Flu season is here. If you’re prone to being sicko, get vaccinated! Otherwise, you’ll have to hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife (or husband) because that flu virus is tryin’ to get err’body out heres [insert entertaining ghetto voice here with head roll and finger snap].

Disclosure: GSK paid for my travel, hotel, and greedy eating expenses. They did NOT headlock me into writing about the company. And I don’t take well to being put in dreadlocks anyway. oh..wait.

[Photo me of me snapped by FatFighterTV. It was fun hanging out with her.]