Hey Asshole, the Flu Shot Is Not for You
Now is flu season and everyone who can should get a flu shot if they haven’t already.
You might be thinking, “Hey, the flu shot isn’t 100 percent effective, so what’s the point?” Or, “Even if I miss my shot and get the flu, it doesn’t really matter.” Or: “It’s already February, isn’t it too late?” Guess what: you should get it anyway!
Why? First, because you are wrong – as our health editor Beth Skorecki writes: “Flu shots work and are a smart way to reduce the chances of you getting sick this winter.” But secondly, and this is a more important point, this is not about you!
If you’re not going to do it for yourself, do it for kids and seniors, as Aaron E. Carroll writes in The New York Times .
The flu, commonly called the flu, spreads easily . You can get infected from someone who coughs, sneezes, or even talks to you from up to six feet away. You can infect others the day before any symptoms appear and for a week after the illness. Children can transmit the virus even longer.
He adds that because the flu is so common, we tend to underestimate its impact. But in 2014, “more than 57,000 people died from influenza / pneumonia. It is the eighth most common cause of death after diabetes. ” And of those deaths, two-thirds are in the elderly, while children under five are hospitalized for the flu at twice the rate of adults under 50, according to the Times.
Now consider this:
During the 2015–2016 flu season, the CDC estimates that the flu shot prevented more than five million flu cases, about 2.5 million doctor visits, and over 70,000 hospitalizations. It was also calculated that this prevented 3,000 deaths.
The flu shot greatly reduces the risk of dying or passing it on to the person who dies. Therefore, if you are not worried about getting the flu shot for your own health, consider children and the elderly. “You don’t get vaccinated just to protect yourself,” Carroll writes. “You also get vaccinated to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
Finally, federal law requires that flu shots be covered with no co-pay or coinsurance, and there are low-cost options for people without insurance (location and access can be a limiting factor, though).
In general, don’t be selfish: get the flu shot.
This story was originally published in 2018 and has been updated with new information on 02/13/2020.