Will the H1N1 shot give me a curly tail?

It seems that Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn't the only one who's a bit squeamish about getting his H1N1 shot. Some of his former MPs and Conservative staffers are also saying no, or at least, whining all the way to the clinic. Earlier this month, Harper was non-committal when asked if he and his family members would be rolling up their sleeves.

Today, Harper's former revenue minister, Carol Skelton, is making clear her intentions not to get the jab:

"I'm staying away, got a flu shot a few years ago in Ottawa and was sick all winter," she wrote on former Conservative Staffer Ron Wood's FB page. "Maybe it was the scrums!"

And another former minister, Maxime Bernier, is also telling the CBC he won't be getting the shot for "personal health reasons."

But perhaps these aren't the best words for a government to hear from its former cabinet members on the very day Canadians are being asked to start offering themselves up as pincushions. Nor is it good news communications-wise the same week an Ottawa-area girl (with no previous health conditions) died of the virus.

At least Ron Wood, the former Conservative staffer that Skelton was writing to on Facebook, says he's going to be vaccinated. But he adds he hopes it doesn't leave him "squealing and grunting because it will remind him of scrums outside the Commons and could be quite traumatizing."

For the record, Transport Minsiter John Baird says he'll get the needle, as will NDP Leader Jack Layton and Liberal MP Ralph Goodale.

*Disclaimer: all references to Hill scrums and swine were made solely by Conservatives and former minister, not by the makers of this blog.