FOR GOD’S SAKE, GO GET A FLU SHOT
JANUARY 13, 2013http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/01/for-gods-sake-go-get-a-flu-shot.html
This article from the New Yorker is about why people don't get flu shots and why you should. The flu epidemic this season is already getting bad, killing twenty children in New York. The virus has spread widely throughout the country and has not peaked yet. So why are there still people who refuse to get vaccinated? Michael Specter points out the commonly used excuse from people: "I never get a flu shot, and I never get the flu." The article goes on the point out how that is not a good rationalization to make, and the author compares it to saying "I never wear my seat belt, and I never get killed in car crashes.". The article goes on to talk about how even if you aren't concerned with getting the flu, you should think about the elderly or very young people you may be in contact with who could get it.
I like this article because I agree with the author that everyone should just get the vaccination. It's too easy to do and the reward is too great to not want to do it. If you don't get vaccinated you are not only harming yourself, but anybody who you might be in contact with could get the virus from you. The article talks about how according to the CDC, less than forty percent of Americans have been vaccinated against the Flu this season. This just seems ridiculous to me, that we are such a developed nation and we are extremely fortunate to have things like these vaccines easily available to us, and yet a lot of us don't use them.
The article especially stuck out to me because my father refused to get a flu vaccine for a long time until he finally gave in to the rest of my family pressuring him to do so. The arguments against getting a flu shot are just silly and the risk is too high and the reward too low to not get one.
This is a very interesting article because it's true. People mostly think that they never get the flu vaccine and never get the flu so why get the flu shot? As we learned in class it should be neccesary to receive a flu shot every season because the virus can change as we change our living conditions. This contributes to one of the reasons why humans will never be able to get rid of a lot of diseases and viruses because they are living organisms as well and adapt to their surroundings just like we do. I also like this article and I feel that people should be more educated on how viruses can adapt every season and that the vaccine might not be fighting the same virus as the previous year.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that a lot of people out there are too stubborn to get something as little as a shot to save their life. They see people around them getting very sick and even dying from the flu, and they still wont get the shot. They have the flu shot for the sole reason of having people get it to prevent from getting the flu. Therefore people shouldd be getting it down and not be stubborn to not. I agree with Alex. Even though this is something as little as getting a flu shot, it is part of the reason why diseases never fade away. Nobody cares enough to keep themselves and others around them healthy. If people understood how important something like getting a flu shot is, more people will want to get it done.
ReplyDeleteThis article opens up a very interesting discussion. I respect the opinions of Morgan, Alex, and Mark, and almost completely agree with them. People should be educated more about the many benefits from vaccinations. However, I do not think that people should be made ignorant to the opposing sides of the debate.
ReplyDeleteWhile many medical officials say that vaccines are our salvation from disease, there is a significant community of doctors and mothers who claim that vaccines are directly causing neurological damage in infants. ADD, seizures, convulsions, paralysis, infertility, and epilepsy are believed to be caused by flu vaccinations. This is quite rare however, but not insignificant.
Because there are bonafide risks along with the many benefits, I do not believe that the vaccine should be pushed as the others recommend. I believe that education should be provided, but people should not feel pressured either way to receive the vaccine.