I don't plan on getting one. Side effects are strong for me, I'd rather just get the flu. Though that rarely happens. I will reconsider as I get older and more vulnerable, but I'm healthy and young so I'd rather take my chances than face certain sickness after getting one.
Personally, I think we're better off without them. In the decade since I stopped getting them, Flu season has only affected me once.
^Yeah, better off. Unless you're one of the the thousands of people who die from the flu every year. I'm okay with healthy young adults who don't work with kids, the immunocompromised, or the elderly not getting vaccinated (though, ideally, everyone who could, would), but saying we're better off without them is just straight up untrue and irresponsible. People die of flu. I'm not trying to be alarmist or overstate the danger, just to point out that it's pretty easy to say "we're better off without them" when it's not your kid, spouse, or parent who died from a preventable illness.
I never get flu shots. I'm not morally opposed to shots in general. I get them for when I travel to countries that are high risk zones. But I rarely get sick so I never bother with the regular stuff. I haven't taken a flu shot for over 20 years, and I've never gotten the flu. I only get a mild cold maybe once a year for a couple days in the fall, or if I'm on a bitch of a flight that has a few connectors, long lay overs, and 30+ hour transit time. Other than that, I'm strong like bull!
Isn't "I never get sick so I don't get a flu shot" sort of the same logic as "I've never been in a car accident so I don't wear a seatbelt"?
Get one every year. You didn't get deathly ill from the vaccine, which is inactive in the shot and weakened in the nasal spray and incapable of infecting your lungs. There are some occasional mild and short-lasting side effects, like soreness, headaches, and low-grade fever. The vaccine only targets the three or four strains of the flu that are expected to be the most common in any given year, so it's entirely possible to get another strain. Also, people with a reduced immune response are still vulnerable (though better off than without it), and people often confuse illnesses with similar symptoms that strike at similar times like the common cold. Well, if it was just about you, that might be a good point, but it's also about the people you might infect who may be more vulnerable, which is why even healthy adults should be vaccinated. Read up about the herd immunity tsq mentioned. I know you're around a lot of healthcare workers like I am, and they are around a lot of patients who are more vulnerable than you, so it's really irresponsible not to get one in your case. As far as its effectiveness:
That is a silly argument. As far as I know, we have immune systems, and when we sustain it, the body is fully capable of fighting off minor and major illness more efficiently than the majority of stuff prescribed to us. As it stands, I don't think our immune systems can handle flying through a wind shield. This hypochondriac society suffers from more illness, affliction, and deficiencies than those who choose not to indulge in all that "great" healthcare available. But that's an entirely other debate. I don't take my flu shot. You do you, and I'll do me.
If people in the past had had a negative view of immunisations tetanus, rabies, polio, yellow fever and smallpox would still be common diseases today.
When my son was very young, we got flu shots in the hope of protecting him because he had troubles with a weakened respiratory system. Now, though, we make a point of washing hands frequently and faces (when we enter the house), and we take vitamins to bolster our immune systems. I have researched both sides of the flu vax argument and made the decision I think is best for me and my children. Hubs makes his own decision on the matter. I'm not anti-vax. But I've become more careful about what we vax for and why we're doing it.
Okay, let me correct an erroneous impression I seem to have created here. Just because I say "we're better off without them" does not mean I expect them to stop. It means I don't intend to get them myself. Anybody else wants to do so, knock yourselves out. If they work for you, wonderful, They don't for me. Everybody happy now?
I wonder what your moral position might be regarding gravity, electromagnetism, or orbital mechanics. Yes, it's another debate. One in which your position is patently false and actually dangerous.
Only vulnerable people get it for free where I live. I think it's unusual for the rest of the population and I'm a part of the rest of the population
Well, you missed or ignored the point about how you can infect others who are more vulnerable than you since you're in contact with a lot of healthcare workers, missed the point about how herd immunity works, spread some misinformation, and remain stubbornly stuck in your ways, so I'm guessing... no. It's one thing to say you're not going to get it, but it's another to go all Jenny McCarthy on the subject and make it look like the vaccine makes you deathly ill and that we're better off without them. At least you backed off on the latter a bit, I guess.
Well, you can be allergic to the vaccine. After getting ill multiple times, my wife's doctor advised her to no longer get it. My wife hardly ever gets sick, but something about the various flu vaccines just does something to her. Me? I obviously tolerate it very well and get it yearly. My cardiologist says the vaccine helps protect the heart in case you do end up with the flu.
The company I work for gives them out for free every year. Some years I get one, sometimes not, but I did get one last week. I'm not sold on the fact that they really work.
It was an analogy. It sounds like you've been victim of some misinformation, incomplete information, and perhaps don't know as much on the topic as you think. Nova recently did a fabulous episode about vaccines which you can watch here, I'd highly recommend it, because as MLK Jr said, "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xm9mZ9j-oQ[/yt] Except this isn't just about you, it's about everyone.
Back to the OP, I work at a university, and our medical school was offering free flu shots, so I got one. And I didn't need an appointment nor did I wait long, either. Which, by the way, is something to note: colleges and universities sometimes offer free flu shots. If you're a college student, college resources can be your friend.