4 ms·

> has made me as sick as I've been from the flu itself (which is why I don't get flu shots anymore) #1 FEELING sick is not the same as BEING sick. Even if you

> has made me as sick as I've been from the flu itself (which is why I don't get flu shots anymore) #1 FEELING sick is not the same as BEING sick. Even if your perceived experience is comparable, almost certainly there's less long-term damage to your health from a controlled vaccine than from an uncontrolled viral infection #2 Some selection bias is definitely in place here. Those times you got a flu shot you didn't subsequently get that season's flu strain that the vaccine was targeted for. Since you didn't get that season's flu strain, you have no idea how much worse it would've been if you didn't have the vaccine. (And if you DID get the flu anyway, then you DO know that it would've been even worse had you not had the vaccine). #3 Getting flu shots isn't just for you, it's for your community. Even if you don't get sick from the flu or don't mind getting it, by passing it around you increase the risk to those more vulnerable than you - the immunocompromised, and the elderly. Please continue to get flu shots. Your future you and the rest of humanity thanks you.

nickff 3y ago
From the HN Guidelines: >"Please don't use uppercase for emphasis. If you want to emphasize a word or phrase, put asterisks around it and it will get italicized." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
logicchains 3y ago
> Even if you don't get sick from the flu or don't mind getting it, by passing it around you increase the risk to those more vulnerable than you - the immunocompromised, and the elderly. Isn't it backwards to ask the young to make health sacrifices for the elderly? Plus it seems influenza vaccines don't even reduce hospitalisation in the elderly: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045684/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045684/ .
JohnFen 3y ago
#1: I'm fully aware of this. But the flu shot puts me down for 3-5 days, so the cost is not low. #2: I haven't got a flu shot in over 15 years, and I also haven't gotten the flu. Before I gave up on flu shots, and after my children moved out, I never got the flu either. There's no actual selection bias going on with me. #3: Which is why I'm hopeful about this mRNA vaccine. If I can tolerate that, I'm on board. > and the elderly. Not sure when "elderly" starts, but I may qualify. > Please continue to get flu shots. I would if it didn't cost me so much.

nickff 3y ago

From the HN Guidelines: >"Please don't use uppercase for emphasis. If you want to emphasize a word or phrase, put asterisks around it and it will get italicized." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

logicchains 3y ago

> Even if you don't get sick from the flu or don't mind getting it, by passing it around you increase the risk to those more vulnerable than you - the immunocompromised, and the elderly. Isn't it backwards to ask the young to make health sacrifices for the elderly? Plus it seems influenza vaccines don't even reduce hospitalisation in the elderly: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045684/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37045684/ .

JohnFen 3y ago

#1: I'm fully aware of this. But the flu shot puts me down for 3-5 days, so the cost is not low. #2: I haven't got a flu shot in over 15 years, and I also haven't gotten the flu. Before I gave up on flu shots, and after my children moved out, I never got the flu either. There's no actual selection bias going on with me. #3: Which is why I'm hopeful about this mRNA vaccine. If I can tolerate that, I'm on board. > and the elderly. Not sure when "elderly" starts, but I may qualify. > Please continue to get flu shots. I would if it didn't cost me so much.