5 ms·

This is the conclusion I have come to for myself. I got the initial COVID vaccine but the flu vaccine doesn't seem worth it for me and I won't be getting any bo

This is the conclusion I have come to for myself. I got the initial COVID vaccine but the flu vaccine doesn't seem worth it for me and I won't be getting any boosters or further vaccines.

mikeyouse 5y ago
It's astonishing how bad people's risk assessments are.
- mattbuilds 5y ago
  It really is amazing, especially from a group that likes to think of themselves as scientific. Full of bias and cherry picking data.
  - ben_w 5y ago
    Perhaps I’m getting old and cynical, but… no, wait, I was always cynical. I remember thinking much the same two decades ago when it was risk of death from terrorists vs bees.
  - dekhn 5y ago
    have you worked with medical biologists? Bias and cherry picking there, too.
mullingitover 5y ago
> but the flu vaccine doesn't seem worth it for me Such a confusing, yet common stance. The flu vaccine is free, risk is essentially nil, and it reduces your chance of death across the board[1]: > At a median follow‐up duration of 19.5 months, influenza vaccine was associated with a lower risk of all‐cause mortality (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60–0.93 [P=0.01]), cardiovascular mortality (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.80–0.84 [P<0.001]), and major adverse cardiovascular events (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.80–0.94 [P<0.001]) compared with control. The use of the influenza vaccine was not associated with a statistically significant reduction of myocardial infarction (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.49–1.09 [P=0.12]) compared with control. It's the biggest no-brainer since seatbelts. [1] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.019636 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.019636
- Ntrails 5y ago
  > It's the biggest no-brainer since seatbelts. What if I told you I don't wear a seatbelt?
- darkerside 5y ago
  Participants' mean age was 69.2±7.01 years This tells me, when I'm 65, I should definitely be getting flu shots.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    That's very much not what it tells you.
    - darkerside 5y ago
      So I shouldn't be getting flu shots when I'm 65? Care to expand?
      - jacquesm 5y ago
        The fact that the group of participants in the study was of a certain age range means that the study says nothing about the result for people outside of that age range. Much more and better explanation about flu shots here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/flu-shots/art-20048000 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/...
        darkerside 5y ago
        That's exactly what I'm saying. The study tells me something about that age range, and nothing about anyone else. So it tells me that it's a good idea to get a flu shot when you reach that age range. What exactly are you trying to say???
        jacquesm 5y ago
        > So it tells me that it's a good idea to get a flu shot when you reach that age range. No, that's not what it tells you. Really, I can't help you if an article that spells this stuff out in great detail results in a response that indicates that you have not understood it, they spent a lot more time on this than I will be able to do in this context.

This is the conclusion I have come to for myself. I got the initial COVID vaccine but the flu vaccine doesn't seem worth it for me and I won't be getting any boosters or further vaccines.

mikeyouse 5y ago

It's astonishing how bad people's risk assessments are.

mattbuilds 5y ago
It really is amazing, especially from a group that likes to think of themselves as scientific. Full of bias and cherry picking data.
- ben_w 5y ago
  Perhaps I’m getting old and cynical, but… no, wait, I was always cynical. I remember thinking much the same two decades ago when it was risk of death from terrorists vs bees.
- dekhn 5y ago
  have you worked with medical biologists? Bias and cherry picking there, too.

mullingitover 5y ago

> but the flu vaccine doesn't seem worth it for me Such a confusing, yet common stance. The flu vaccine is free, risk is essentially nil, and it reduces your chance of death across the board[1]: > At a median follow‐up duration of 19.5 months, influenza vaccine was associated with a lower risk of all‐cause mortality (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60–0.93 [P=0.01]), cardiovascular mortality (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.80–0.84 [P<0.001]), and major adverse cardiovascular events (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.80–0.94 [P<0.001]) compared with control. The use of the influenza vaccine was not associated with a statistically significant reduction of myocardial infarction (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.49–1.09 [P=0.12]) compared with control. It's the biggest no-brainer since seatbelts. [1] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.019636 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.120.019636

Ntrails 5y ago
> It's the biggest no-brainer since seatbelts. What if I told you I don't wear a seatbelt?
darkerside 5y ago
Participants' mean age was 69.2±7.01 years This tells me, when I'm 65, I should definitely be getting flu shots.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  That's very much not what it tells you.
  - darkerside 5y ago
    So I shouldn't be getting flu shots when I'm 65? Care to expand?
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      The fact that the group of participants in the study was of a certain age range means that the study says nothing about the result for people outside of that age range. Much more and better explanation about flu shots here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/flu-shots/art-20048000 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/...
      - darkerside 5y ago
        That's exactly what I'm saying. The study tells me something about that age range, and nothing about anyone else. So it tells me that it's a good idea to get a flu shot when you reach that age range. What exactly are you trying to say???
        jacquesm 5y ago
        > So it tells me that it's a good idea to get a flu shot when you reach that age range. No, that's not what it tells you. Really, I can't help you if an article that spells this stuff out in great detail results in a response that indicates that you have not understood it, they spent a lot more time on this than I will be able to do in this context.