Should Santa Get the H1N1/Swine Flu Vaccine?

St. Nick deserves to get the H1N1/swine-flu vaccine, because he is in a high-risk group.

That's the argument the head of a national volunteer Santa group is making.

Not only does Santa come into contact with thousands of children nationwide during the holiday season, but Santas are more likely to be morbidly obese, placing them in a high-priority group for the vaccine, Santa America President Ernest Berger told the Associated Press. Berger even has gone so far as to ask a congressman to make Santas a priority group, like healthcare workers.

Santa America is a nonprofit organization that sends volunteer Santas to visit youngsters who are in children's hospitals or the hospice. 

Here's an excerpt from the AP article:

Berger hopes Santas will use hand sanitizer and encourage children to do the same, without turning the experience into a hygiene lecture.

"It's a delicate balance here. This is not an exercise in health care. This is visiting Santa," he said.

Should Santa get the swine flu vaccine? What other holiday-related occupations are at risk during this season? How concerned are these workers about getting the swine flu?

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